Category Archives: Stem Cell Therapy

Qatar Conference Center

If our readers in the Middle East are looking for a first-hand assessment of the state of stem cell research, they might want to take in the four-day conference this week in Qatar, which features the president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.

Alan Trounson is one of a number of international stem cell notables at the session at the new Qatar Conference Center in the tiny nation in the Persian Gulf. The country is putting on the conference as a means of developing its own stem cell research capabilities.

Qatar had a gross national product of $129 billion in 2010, with a per capita income of $138,000, according to the U.S. State Department. The population is about 1.7 million, more than 75 percent of whom are foreigners with temporary residence status.

In addition to Trounson, other California and CIRM-connected researchers are speaking at the conference in the Qatar center, which just opened in December.  They include David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate and a former director of the stem cell agency. A company Baltimore co-founded, Calimmune, of Tucson, Az., is sharing in a $20 million CIRM grant. Other CIRM grant recipients or representatives of recipient companies appearing at the conference are Irv Weissman of Stanford; Deepak Srivastava of the Gladstone Institute, and Ann Tsukamoto Weissman of Stem Cells Inc. of Newark, Ca.

Social activities at the conference include sand dune "bashing" in off-road vehicles, camel tracking along with a look at their "robot jockeys" and a visit to the original Arabic Oryx farm.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Here are the verbatim statements from James Harrison, outside counsel to the California stem cell agency, and John Sladek concerning Sladek's conflict of interest and resignation as chair of the agency's grant review group.

Harrison made these initial remarks first and provided a few other details later.

"While preparing the public summary for Basic Biology III (grant round)applications, CIRM staff discovered that Dr. John Sladek was one of several co-authors on scientific publications with a researcher who was listed as a consultant on a CIRM grant application.
"This is a technical violation of CIRM's conflict of interest rules, which prohibit a member of the Grants Working Group ("GWG") from participating in the review of an application if the member has co-authored papers with a salaried investigator listed on a CIRM application within a three year window.

"It should be noted, however, that Dr. Sladek's participation in the review of the application would not have constituted a conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act's conflict of interest standards because Dr. Sladek did not have a financial interest in the application. In addition, the amount of funding involved - approximately $3,000 of salary per year for three years, less than one percent of the total award - was not material, and Dr. Sladek did not stand to receive any financial benefit from the application. Finally, Dr. Sladek's participation in the review did not affect the outcome because the application was not recommended, or approved, for funding.

"Nonetheless, in the spirit of setting an example of strict compliance, Dr. Sladek tendered his resignation from the GWG."

Sladek's response to a question for comment:

"Mr. Harrison’s account  is accurate and there really isn’t anything to add other than I was pleased to serve CIRM and California  for several years and wish them well as they pursue such an important mission with respect to the potential for therapeutic applications to human disease and disorders. Thank you for your inquiry."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The state of California plans to sell $2 billion in bonds next Thursday, but the California stem cell agency, which is entirely dependent on state borrowing, will have to wait until later this spring to see more cash.

J.T. Thomas, chairman of the stem cell agency, said he expected to see CIRM benefit from the next bond sale in April. The agency currently has sufficient funds to operate until about June, plus an arrangement with the state for continued funding if a timely bond sale is not completed.

The $3 billion stem cell agency was created in 2004 through a ballot initiative that authorized its funding through the sale of state bonds over a 10-year period. The interest on the bonds raises the total cost of the agency to taxpayers to about $6 billion. Likewise, the cost of a $20 million grant is actually more like $40 million.

Financially beleaguered California's interest costs have sharply increased in recent years as the state has borrowed $53.8 billion from 2007 to 2010. This year, interest costs will come to about $5.4 billion, nearly 6 percent of the state budget. Nine years ago, it was $2.1 billion or 2.9 percent, according a piece by Randall Jensen (no relation to this writer) of the Bond Buyer newspaper.

The expense of borrowing shrinks the amount of state money available for public schools, helping the medically indigent and other state purposes.

Next Thursday's bond sale will go to refinance debt at lower rates. This year, Gov. Jerry Brown and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer plan to sell only $5.2 billion in general obligation bonds, roughly one-fourth of what the state issued in 2009.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Pat receive a life altering Stem Cell Treatment with the help of World Stem Cells, LLC. Pat went from couch bound to walking 1.5 miles on country dirt road, climbing stairs, gardening and playing piano all thanks to a stem cell treatment.

(PRWEB) March 03, 2012

Pats neurological disorder is hereditary, and the official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is that CMT has no cure. Decades ago, Pat had gone to a neurologist for electromyography, or EMG. The purpose of the procedure was to evaluate her muscle function, and it involved painful needles and days of muscle soreness after each session. Pats neurologist had refused to tell her the results because he said that she would just give up if she knew how bad they were. At this point, Pats symptoms were so crippling and unbearable that she contacted World Stem Cells, LLC worldstemcells.com to explore stem cell treatment as an option. She knew that the procedures were still being developed and experimental, and that they came with no guarantees. She remained interested in learning more and becoming educated on the options presented. At the time, she was unable to walk without a four-leg quad cane, and air and car travel were exhausting and caused unbearable pain. Pat has a long history of surgeries and was told that further surgeries would not assist her. She decided that she was not interested in any treatment that involved surgery with incisions, which is an aggressive approach and would demand recovery time. Stem cell therapy met her requirements of being minimally uncomfortable, requiring only hours for recovery and having a high level of safety, along with a good potential for changing her health quotient for the better.

Pat arrived in Cancun, Mexico, to the treatment site of World Stem Cells, LLC contract clinics, doctors, and hospitals. The first day, she met with physicians to be evaluated, discuss her course of treatment and learn what to expect. She had been corresponding with Dr. Alan Kadish, the President of World Stem Cells, LLC. worldstemcells.com

Dr. Kadish is an unusual physician as he has training and practiced integrated primary care medicine combining conventional and naturopathic diagnostics and therapeutics for 27 years. He has been recognized as one of the leading quality physicians, in his field. Dr. Kadish is an American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine diplomat and completed numerous training programs in Achieving Clinical Excellence, or ACE, which provided opportunities to improve his practical skills in diagnosing and treating people based on their individual needs, using functional medical testing and treatment. He has been an advanced level practitioner (Autistic Research Institute) for autistic spectral disorder children and adults, since early 2000 and is certified in chelation therapy. As a naturopathic medical physician he lecturers frequently and is a host and guest on radio and internet outlets along with appearing in a number of print media publications. At World Stem Cells , LLC in addition to his management duties, he is a primary investigator engaged in research and designs of stem cell therapeutic protocols.

In Cancun, Pat met with specialists at Advanced Cellular Medicine Clinic. The clinic is headed by Dr. Sylvia Abblitt, who has the exclusive distinction of being among the few physicians who are licensed to perform autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants in Mexico. Dr. Abblitt is a board-certified hematologist and oncologist. She has 11 years of expertise as a laboratory director and head of the hematology department at the Fernando Quiroz Hospital. She is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks and the International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS). The Cancun clinic that Pat visited is a contract clinic of World Stem Cells, LLC. It houses the state-of-the-art Advanced Cellular Engineering Lab. The high-tech lab is suited for providing patients with the most up to date stem cell treatments and for conducting stem cell research to improve future opportunities for health.

After her evaluation and discussion of treatment options, Pat decided to go ahead with the stem cell therapy. The procedure involved a needle puncture to harvest her bone marrow utilizing her own stem cells. Only a local anesthesia was necessary and though she described the procedure as uncomfortable, she added that it was livable. The procedure took less than half an hour, and she experienced no side effects.

Pats improvement was remarkable and rapid. In fact, she did not feel fatigued and overwhelmed with pain, as she had in the past, when she traveled back home from Cancun by airplane and car. Within days, she had regained her ability to play piano. Playing at church concerts had always been a passion of hers, but she had been unable to play before her stem cell treatment because of a lack of coordination. She had much more energy after treatment, and was able to garden, run errands and work, without feeling exhausted. Her sleep was more restful. Her husband and friends noticed that her agility and balance were better. She could climb up and down stairs more easily and walk around the house without clutching the walls. Her speed on the treadmill was increasing gradually and she now walks a mile and a half on country roads.

Pat is extremely grateful to World Stem Cells, LLC for changing her life and giving her hope. For the first time, she has reversed many of the negative changes that she had been experiencing for years due to her CMT and lack of effective treatment. Now, Pat and her husband are experiencing a bright future and thankful that Pat was given this second opportunity, following stem cell therapy. worldstemcells.com.

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See original here:
Pat was Diagnosed with “CMT” Disease and was Given a Second Chance with a Stem Cell Treatment

By Bonnie James Deputy News Editor The stem cell and regenerative therapy programme, constituting a major part of research at Qatar Cardiovascular Research Centre (QCRC), has important clinical and scientific implications, co-chairman Prof Sir Magdi Yacoub has said. He was giving a keynote presentation at the Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy 2012, which concluded on Thursday at Qatar National Convention Centre. Myocardium (the muscular tissue of the heart) regeneration and tissue engineering and valves tissue engineering are among the focal areas at QCRC, which aims to establish in Qatar an internationally competitive centre of excellence for cardio-vascular research. QCRC, which has a heart muscle lab and a tissue engineering, regeneration lab, works with a mission to maintain a translational focus, relevant to the development of health policy and practice, and provide opportunities for capacity building, professional development and research collaborations in Qatar. It is also meant to provide opportunities for biotechnology development in Qatar and contribute to cardio-vascular health in the developing world through improved knowledge base, capacity building and development of appropriate tools and strategies focused on poorer countries. Cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs) kill 17mn people per year globally and there is particularly high incidence in the Middle East and Gulf region, Prof Yacoub pointed out. The incidence of CVDs is three times more in the region than in the UK, the US or Europe. Smoking, one of the main reasons for CVDs, is also increasing in the eastern Mediterranean region compared to the Americas. There is a significant lack of clinical, epidemiological and genetic data from this region and an overwhelming need exists to better understand epidemiology and disease mechanisms of CVDs. Research should then be linked to development of appropriate tools and strategies to strengthen prevention, diagnosis and treatment, he said. Pointing out that heart transplant options for those suffering from severe heart failure are becoming increasingly rare, Prof Yacoub observed that the number of donor hearts is going down globally. While we used to do up to 130 heart transplants a year at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals in the UK in the late 80s, now we would be lucky to do 20, he said while emphasising the need to focus more on the reversibility of heart failure. Few recent drug trials have shown evidence of minor reverse remodelling and there have been near-complete reversal of almost every change in myocardium in some patients. There are unprecedented opportunities to unravel the secrets of heart failure at cellular and molecular levels, he stressed.

Continued here:
Stem cell study ‘should aim at innovation in treatment’

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

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Research and Markets: Artificial cells, Cell Engineering and Therapy