Category Archives: Stem Cell Therapy

Public release date: 19-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tim Hawkins Tim.Hawkins@vai.org 616-234-5519 Van Andel Research Institute

Grand Rapids, Mich. (April 19, 2012 ) Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types - most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Scientists hope to take advantage of the finding to develop methods to heal and repair disease and injury in the brain.

Analyzing brain tissue from biopsies, the researchers for the first time found stem cells located around small blood vessels in the brain. The cell's specific function is still unclear, but its plastic properties suggest great potential.

"A similar cell type has been identified in several other organs where it can promote regeneration of muscle, bone, cartilage and adipose tissue," said Patrik Brundin, M.D., Ph.D., Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson's Research at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), Head of the Neuronal Survival Unit at Lund University and senior author of the study.

In other organs, researchers have shown clear evidence that these types of cells contribute to repair and wound healing. Scientists suggest that the curative properties may also apply to the brain. The next step is to try to control and enhance stem cell self-healing properties with the aim of carrying out targeted therapies to a specific area of the brain.

"Our findings show that the cell capacity is much larger than we originally thought, and that these cells are very versatile," said Gesine Paul-Visse, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Lund University and the study's primary author. "Most interesting is their ability to form neuronal cells, but they can also be developed for other cell types. The results contribute to better understanding of how brain cell plasticity works and opens up new opportunities to exploit these very features."

The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is of interest to a broad spectrum of brain research. Future possible therapeutic targets range from neurodegenerative diseases to stroke.

"We hope that our findings may lead to a new and better understanding of the brain's own repair mechanisms," said Dr. Paul-Visse. "Ultimately the goal is to strengthen these mechanisms and develop new treatments that can repair the diseased brain."

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Excerpt from:
New stem cell found in the brain

NEXT-GENERATION stem cell therapy has brought scientists a step closer to a treatment for thousands of people with macular degeneration.

US researchers have successfully transplanted specialised retinal cells grown from embryonic stem cells into the eyes of rats.

One of the lead researchers, David Hinton, said the procedure was a significant advance towards a treatment for the disease, the leading cause of blindness in older people. ''At the present time there is no effective therapy and this at least has a reasonable chance of slowing the progression of the disease,'' Professor Hinton, a principal investigator with the California Project to Cure Blindness, said.

The project team is waiting on US government approval to conduct human trials that it hopes to begin within the next two years.

While embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of body tissue, if cultured in a particular way they can spontaneously transform into the cells damaged in macular degeneration, known as retinal epithelial cells, Professor Hinton said. His team measured a significant improvement in the vision of rats that had received the transplanted cells.

Another group in the US has begun human trials using a similar procedure.

The number of people diagnosed with macular degeneration in growing in Australia and the US as populations age, said Professor Hinton, who will present his findings at the 16th Stem Cell Workshop in Sydney today.

A report published by the Macular Degeneration Foundation found the number of cases of the disease, which has two forms, wet and dry, will increase by 70 per cent by 2030.

The majority of people have the dry condition, which causes the death of retinal epithelial cells and the degeneration of photoreceptor cells - the cells that turn light into a signal the brain can process - leading to blindness. Only 10 per cent of people diagnosed have the wet form, which, unlike the dry condition, can be treated.

The use of embryonic stem cells has been contentious because human embryos must be destroyed to obtain them. Professor Hinton said their research used cells obtained ethically, where the mother had given permission for them to be used. Australian researchers using embryonic stem cells must be licensed with the National Health and Medical Research Centre.

Go here to read the rest:
Researchers see advance in treating leading cause of blindness

AUSTIN The Texas Medical Board approved rules regulating adult stem cell therapy Friday, concerned that the proliferation of the experimental treatment Gov. Rick Perry received last year constitutes "an emergency state."

Despite opposition from some board members who said the action could put more patients at risk of harm from the unproven, unlicensed therapy, the board adopted a policy that allows doctors to use it as long as they get the patient's consent and the approval of a review board that evaluates clinical research for safety.

"We know this is far from a perfect policy, but our hope is that this affords people in Texas seeking this therapy some protection," said Dr. Irwin Zeitler, president of the board. "The wheels of federal government move so slowly - we're not willing to wait to protect our patients."

The board voted 10-4 to approve the regulations and pledged to consider improvements as soon as its June meeting. No date was set for the policy to take effect, but it will be at least 30 days, staffers said.

Zeitler, a San Angelo family practitioner, said the board couldn't afford to wait to perfect the policy because "the cat's out of the bag." Board member Dr. W. Roy Smythe responded that the policy "doesn't put the cat back in the bag - it just allows more cats to proliferate."

No embryos involved

Smythe said the intent behind the policy is good, but in practice it likely will give more doctors permission to use the therapy. He called the policy "a facade of protection."

The policy, thought to be the first of its kind, has drawn criticism nationally and internationally for seemingly circumventing the Food and Drug Administration and for making the therapy commercially available before it has been proved safe and effective. Patients typically must pay tens of thousands of dollars for the treatment, which the FDA last year filed an injunction to stop a Colorado clinic from using.

Adult stem cells, which multiply to replenish dying cells, have long been used to treat leukemia and other cancers, but in the last decade they have shown promise for tissue repair in many other diseases. Less versatile than embryonic stem cells, they are championed by many as a more ethical alternative because no embryo is destroyed.

They are considered five to 10 years away from FDA approval.

Go here to see the original:
Texas board approves controversial stem-cell therapy

AUSTIN The Texas Medical Board approved rules regulating adult stem cell therapy Friday, concerned that the proliferation of the experimental treatment Gov. Rick Perry received last year constitutes "an emergency state."

Despite opposition from some board members who said the action could put more patients at risk of harm from the unproven, unlicensed therapy, the board adopted a policy that allows doctors to use it as long as they get the patient's consent and the approval of a review board that evaluates clinical research for safety.

"We know this is far from a perfect policy, but our hope is that this affords people in Texas seeking this therapy some protection," said Dr. Irwin Zeitler, president of the board. "The wheels of federal government move so slowly - we're not willing to wait to protect our patients."

The board voted 10-4 to approve the regulations and pledged to consider improvements as soon as its June meeting. No date was set for the policy to take effect, but it will be at least 30 days, staffers said.

Zeitler, a San Angelo family practitioner, said the board couldn't afford to wait to perfect the policy because "the cat's out of the bag." Board member Dr. W. Roy Smythe responded that the policy "doesn't put the cat back in the bag - it just allows more cats to proliferate."

No embryos involved

Smythe said the intent behind the policy is good, but in practice it likely will give more doctors permission to use the therapy. He called the policy "a facade of protection."

The policy, thought to be the first of its kind, has drawn criticism nationally and internationally for seemingly circumventing the Food and Drug Administration and for making the therapy commercially available before it has been proved safe and effective. Patients typically must pay tens of thousands of dollars for the treatment, which the FDA last year filed an injunction to stop a Colorado clinic from using.

Adult stem cells, which multiply to replenish dying cells, have long been used to treat leukemia and other cancers, but in the last decade they have shown promise for tissue repair in many other diseases. Less versatile than embryonic stem cells, they are championed by many as a more ethical alternative because no embryo is destroyed.

They are considered five to 10 years away from FDA approval.

Read this article:
Medical board approves controversial adult stem-cell rules