Archive for April, 2017
Treating Cerebral Palsy With UCB Stem Cells – Financial Tribune
The biggest national project to treat patients with cerebral palsy (CP) through injection of stems cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB) into the brain began its trial run in March. The project is jointly undertaken by Royan Institute, Childrens Medical Center (affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences), and the Iran Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO). In the first phase, it will provide treatment to 130 children with CP between the ages 5-13. The treatment was tested in September 2016 on children with CP in some hospitals, and the results were highly satisfactory. Approximately four in every 1,000 children in Iran have CP while in the developed countries the rate is 2 to 2.5 per 1000 live births. Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term for the effects of damage to a developing brain by various causes. It is connected with a range of symptoms, including muscle weakness and movement problems. The damage to the brain usually occurs early on in its development, either in the baby during pregnancy or during the period soon after birth. Symptoms may include difficulties in walking, balance and motor control, eating, swallowing, speech or coordination of eye movements. Some people affected by CP also have some level of intellectual disability. No two people with cerebral palsy are affected in exactly the same way. The IBTO plans to expand the storage of stems cells from umbilical cord blood to 100,000 samples from the current 80,000, said Ali Akbar Pourfathollah, head of the organization, ILNA reported. Around 75,000 samples have been stored in private banks and 5,000 in public banks, but the number will surpass 100,000 soon, he added.
Valuable Source for Treatment Umbilical blood is a valuable source of hematopoietic stem cells which can be used for treatment of many malignant diseases such as leukemia. Hundreds of transplants have been performed using stem cells from such blood, which is easy and risk free. The use of stem cells reduces the risk of viral diseases transmission and incidence of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). The ability to perform organ transplants is among the benefits of umbilical cord blood transfusion. Using stems cells is also one of the best ways to treat blood diseases since the method has a success rate of 70% worldwide. Storage of stem cells is a valuable investment. So far, 27 cord blood banks have been launched across the country. There are two types: public and private banks for stem cell storage. The former does not charge a fee for storage. But in the latter, the cost of collection and genetic testing is about $645 and the annual charge for storage is $33, according to ISNA. Pourfathollah said the IBTO is looking to store stem cells in medical cases when a patient needs to receive treatment from matched unrelated donors. In the past Iranian year (ended March 20), out of the 8,000 stem cell transplantations in the country, only 100 were from matched unrelated donors and the rest came from sibling (or related) donors. IBTO is also looking to set up coagulation/transfusion and HLA/immunogenetics laboratories in the country on par with international standards. The Immunogenetics and HLA Laboratory provides human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing, HLA antibody identification and post-transplant engraftment monitoring services. These tests are required for patients undergoing evaluation for organ transplantation, recipients of bone marrow/stem cell transplants, patients requiring platelet transfusions from HLA-matched donors, and patients undergoing evaluation of particular health conditions.
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Treating Cerebral Palsy With UCB Stem Cells - Financial Tribune
17 Spine-Tingling New Books For Fans Of Dystopia – Huffington Post
The end of 2016 brought with it a spike in classic dystopian book sales. George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four and Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale which will be released as a Hulu show this month eachpiqued the interest of book buyers, who mightve drawn uncomfortable parallels between the stories and the world around them.
These books, of course, are not the only dystopian titles resonating with readers. The science fiction subgenre has enjoyed a long period of popularity thanks to YA installments like The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner and The 100, each with its own onscreen offshoot.
There are those in the sci-fi genre who are tired of dystopias proliferation; there are, after all, many ways to speculate about the future, and not all of them need be pessimistic. Still, as the subgenre grows, its capacity for holding a mirror to todays problems climate change, stringent definitions of gender, and discrimination based on race or gender or nationality persists.
If you still see the worth in dystopian stories for social change or for entertainment value there are, luckily, loads to choose from. Climate-fiction, or cli-fi, has emerged as a sub-subgenre of dystopian fiction, with authors like Lidia Yuknavitch and Jeff VanderMeer both of whom have upcoming film adaptations leading the charge. Other titles explore cryonics, religion, gender and more.
Weve included a few were excited about below. Just note that our definition of dystopia is a broad one; any vision of the future that could go awry qualifies.
Knopf
1. American War by Omar El Akkad
Fought amid a changing climate, Americas second Civil War lasting nearly 20 years was fought with homicide bombings and drones. An academic born during this period remembers the story of a girl who lived through it.
47north
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In a town outside of Estiel what was once St. Louis a girl named Etta fulfills her duties as a forager, but must venture to face a tyrant called Lion when women from her community are kidnapped.
HarperCollins
Lidia Yukanavitch is skilled at writing poetically about the human body, and about nature, so this book her first foray into science fiction makes sense. Its a retelling of the story of Joan of Arc, but in a world ravaged by radiation, and with few land-based survivors.
FSG
Rachel and Wick live in a city destroyed by drought and terrorized by a giant bear, doing what they can to prioritize their survival until Rachel finds Borne, a plant-animal shes immediately attached to.
Orbit
When two coders go missing, an entire future society is at risk. Robinsons work may not be squarely dystopian, but he has a knack for drawing imagined worlds and their societal problems. In his latest,rising tides leave New York partly submerged.
FSG
If the future of the ever-growing tech industry has a physical home, its San Fransisco, where Masons novel is set. Life extension, artificial memory and rising waters converge in a sprawling future epic.
Torcom
Kir has been asked to join a project working towards the possibility of humans inhabiting another planet a project designed to give Earthlings, living on a planet thats overcrowded and climate change-wrecked, a chance at survival. Will her brain wired for optimism be able to heed the warnings of the artificial intelligence she hosts?
Small Beer Press
Sofia Samatars stories are more fantasy than sci-fi, and shes more likely to chronicle an alternate or parallel reality than a possible future. Her story How to Get Back to the Forest earned a spot among the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories 2015.
Weidenfeld Nicolson
Lallas father plans to escape the increasingly dangerous world of future-Britain via ship, but the boat turns out to be eerily different than expected.
Dutton Books
What if the world were living in now was the dystopian version of some happier, more progressive alternate reality?Thats the premise of Elan Mastais debut, which is centered around protagonist Tom, who has to make a tough choice between a thrumming, messy world or a neat and perfect one.
Harper Voyager
On the surface, Elianas life is a pleasant one. She lives on an idyllic island where she works as a weaver, but she is forced to hide the fact that shes capable of dreaming, lest she be cast out. The cracks in her perfect world begin to show when a young girl washes up on the shore, bearing a tattoo of Elianas name.
Scribner
Jeffs father, Ross, has always been somewhat absent from his life; hes a billionaire and hes happily remarried. But when Rosss second wife Artis gets sick, he invites his son to visit him at a mysterious cryogenics facility, where pseudo-science meets spiritual practice.
Tor Books
Patricias a witch. Laurence is a tech wunderkind. Their star-crossed relationship is a love story for the 21st century, where spirituality and intuition are at odds with scientific advancements.
Bloomsbury
Eddie and Lauras suburban life devolves amid an ecological disaster, one that forces them each to reconsider what it is that they cherish most.
Amethyst Editions
The world, it turns out, is ending. That doesnt stop Michelle from dating, from writing, from relocating to a new city to distance herself from her drug-addled past, or from proceeding more or less as normal, except that now, the apocalypse looms.
Two Dollar Radio
For Ellingsen, the personal is political. His storys hero, Brandon, retreats to the wilderness after his professor and lover makes him commit an act of violence. From there, he fosters hope for a future threatened by rising temperatures and the attendant damage done to the environment.
Tor Books
Near-future sci-fi may be all the rage; it would seem that its more capable of shedding new light on present dangers, anyway. But Palmers novel set in the 25th century, when societys perceptions of gender and religion have morphed considerably gives those stories a run for their money.
Originally posted here:
17 Spine-Tingling New Books For Fans Of Dystopia - Huffington Post
Reversing Gene Damage to Treat Blindness | Technology Networks – Technology Networks
Confocal micrograph of mouse retina depicting optic fiber layer. Image courtesy of National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, UC San Diego.
Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, with colleagues in China, have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing cellular degeneration and restoring visual function in two mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa.
The findings are published in the April 21 advance online issue of Cell Research.
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited vision disorders caused by numerous mutations in more than 60 genes. The mutations affect the eyes photoreceptors, specialized cells in the retina that sense and convert light images into electrical signals sent to the brain. There are two types: rod cells that function for night vision and peripheral vision, and cone cells that provide central vision (visual acuity) and discern color. The human retina typically contains 120 million rod cells and 6 million cone cells.
In RP, which affects approximately 100,000 Americans and 1 in 4,000 persons worldwide, rod-specific genetic mutations cause rod photoreceptor cells to dysfunction and degenerate over time. Initial symptoms are loss of peripheral and night vision, followed by diminished visual acuity and color perception as cone cells also begin to fail and die. There is no treatment for RP. The eventual result may be legal blindness.
In their published research, a team led by senior author Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, chief of ophthalmic genetics, founding director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine and co-director of biomaterials and tissue engineering at the Institute of Engineering in Medicine, both at UC San Diego School of Medicine, used CRISPR/Cas9 to deactivate a master switch gene called Nrl and a downstream transcription factor called Nr2e3.
CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, allows researchers to target specific stretches of genetic code and edit DNA at precise locations, modifying select gene functions. Deactivating either Nrl or Nr2e3 reprogrammed rod cells to become cone cells.
Cone cells are less vulnerable to the genetic mutations that cause RP, said Zhang. Our strategy was to use gene therapy to make the underlying mutations irrelevant, resulting in the preservation of tissue and vision.
The scientists tested their approach in two different mouse models of RP. In both cases, they found an abundance of reprogrammed cone cells and preserved cellular architecture in the retinas. Electroretinography testing of rod and cone receptors in live mice show improved function.
Zhang said a recent independent study led by Zhijian Wu, PhD, at National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, also reached similar conclusions.
The researchers used adeno-associated virus (AAV) to perform the gene therapy, which they said should help advance their work to human clinical trials quicker. AAV is a common cold virus and has been used in many successful gene therapy treatments with a relatively good safely profile, said Zhang. Human clinical trials could be planned soon after completion of preclinical study. There is no treatment for RP so the need is great and pressing. In addition, our approach of reprogramming mutation-sensitive cells to mutation-resistant cells may have broader application to other human diseases, including cancer.
This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by University of California - San Diego. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.
Reference
Zhu, J., Ming, C., Fu, X., Duan, Y., Hoang, D. A., Rutgard, J., . . . Zhang, K. (2017). Gene and mutation independent therapy via CRISPR-Cas9 mediated cellular reprogramming in rod photoreceptors. Cell Research. doi:10.1038/cr.2017.57
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Reversing Gene Damage to Treat Blindness | Technology Networks - Technology Networks
Genetics are key to hormone therapy lowering risk of broken bones in older women – UB News Center
BUFFALO, N.Y. Women at the highest genetic risk for fracture benefit the most from hormone therapy, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the University at Buffalo.
The study included nearly 10,000 participants from the Womens Health Initiative (WHI), a national, long-term study of more than 150,000 women.
We found that women who are genetically at the highest fracture risk can enjoy the greatest protection from fracture when they use hormone therapy, said Heather Ochs-Balcom, associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UBs School of Public Health and Health Professions, who led the research team.
The findings were published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. The papers first author, Youjin Wang, conducted the research as a doctoral candidate in epidemiology and environmental health at UB.
This study provides a better understanding of who can benefit the most in terms of bone health from hormone therapy use, Ochs-Balcom said, adding that the results have implications for personalized medicine. Its important information as women and their doctors make decisions about hormone therapy use.
The study, believed to be the first to investigate gene-hormone therapy interaction on fracture in postmenopausal white women, utilizes the largest set of known genes linked to fracture risk from a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies.
Researchers looked at a subset of 9,922 women from among the more than 27,000 who had participated in WHI hormone therapy clinical trials. They wondered whether women who are more genetically susceptible to fractures could benefit from hormone therapy.
This is important because, as previous WHI studies have identified, there are risks and benefits with hormone therapy, Ochs-Balcom said. This is where precision or personalized medicine comes in the attempt to get the right drugs to the right person to ensure the most benefit and least harm.
As women age, their bone mineral density (BMD) decreases, leaving them at greater risk of breaking bones from falling, which also increases as they age. But some women also are more genetically prone to fractures. Our study represents a first look at how inherited predisposition to fracture is related to hormone therapy use, said Ochs-Balcom, who also holds a faculty appointment in the program in Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics in UBs Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Wang notes that further studies on gene-therapy interaction are warranted to evaluate the advantages of targeted interventions based on genetic profile. The research team is currently analyzing other gene-environment interactions and recently published another paper on the association of calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and genetic risk of fracture.
In addition to Wang and Ochs-Balcom, other UB co-authors include Jean Wactawski-Wende, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Professions and SUNY Distinguished Professor and professor of epidemiology and environmental health; and Leah Preus, Kathleen Hovey and Jing Nie from the School of Public Health and Health Professions.
Additional co-authors include Lara Sucheston-Campbell, Rebecca Jackson and Samuel Handelman, The Ohio State University; Rami Nassir, University of California, Davis; and Carolyn Crandall, University of California, Los Angeles.
The Womens Health Initiative began in 1991 and consisted of a set of clinical trials and an observational study. Combined, they included more than 161,000 generally healthy postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79.
One of 40 WHI centers nationwide, the University at Buffalo serves as the Northeast Regional Center, managing data collection and scientific coordination among nine WHI-affiliated institutions in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. UB has received WHI extension funding to conduct follow-up studies on the original participants, many of whom are now between ages 67 and 100.
The WHI is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
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Genetics are key to hormone therapy lowering risk of broken bones in older women - UB News Center
Using CRISPR to reverse retinitis pigmentosa and restore visual … – Science Daily
Science Daily | Using CRISPR to reverse retinitis pigmentosa and restore visual ... Science Daily Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing ... |
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Using CRISPR to reverse retinitis pigmentosa and restore visual ... - Science Daily
Duluth woman meets the German donor whose stem cells saved her life – WDAY
It was Thursday afternoon, and the little girl from near Cologne, Germany, and the 40-year-old Duluth woman had known each other for less than 24 hours. But it was obvious that Edwards already had bonded with Ina and her little sister Mila.
They were together because the girls' mother had given Edwards a much greater gift: the gift of life.
"By your donation, I still get to be a mom," Edwards told Daniela Halfkann, 30. "(You're) a mom, so you completely understand how important it is to be here with your children."
Edwards, the mother of 15-year-old twin boys and the wife of Duluth Fire Chief Dennis Edwards, is alive because of the stem cell transplant she received at the Mayo Clinic on Oct. 31, 2014. As a result, she said, she is in remission from the rare and aggressive form of leukemia with which she had been diagnosed that June.
All she was told at the time of the transplant was that the donor was a woman from Germany.
Halfkann had registered as a potential stem cell or bone marrow donor at the large insurance company where she works in Cologne, she said. One day she received a call, saying her donation was needed.
After the six-hour procedure, Halfkann was told nothing more than that the recipient was a woman in the United States.
After a two-year waiting period required in Germany, the two women learned each other's identities last October and connected via Facebook.
Their meeting in Duluth was arranged by Amanda Schamper, Midwest donor recruitment coordinator for DKMS, the Germany-based organization that facilitated the donation.
Halfkann made the trip along with husband Stefan and their daughters, leaving their home at 3 a.m. on Tuesday and arriving at the Duluth International Airport at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Like Edwards, DKMS wants to raise awareness of the need for people to enter the registry, said Schamper, who also traveled to Duluth for the occasion.
She said 14,000 patients are in need of a peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow donation, but fewer than half will get one because there's no match on the registry.
"We're looking for a particular protein in our DNA," she explained.
Only in 30 percent of cases are siblings a match. Edwards' brother and sister both had been screened, she said, and neither was a match for her.
Finding a match "is equated to finding your genetic twin, or winning the genetic lottery," Schamper said.
If more people were on the registry a process that only requires taking a swab from your cheek there would be more potential matches. But only 2 percent of eligible Americans are registered, Schamper said.
When the Halfkanns arrived at the gate on Wednesday, Dennis and Merissa Edwards, along with sons Caden and Jaxon, were waiting at the gate.
It was an emotional moment.
"It was hard for me," Merissa Edwards said on Friday, speaking to Daniela Halfkann. "I was crying. I was so emotional, so happy to meet you and hug you."
She wiped away a tear. "I still am."
"It was amazing," Halfkann responded. "I cried at the gate, too."
The Halfkanns, who are staying at the Edgewater, initially focused on recovery from jet lag. But Edwards is making sure they'll get a full taste of Duluth and Minnesota before beginning their return trip to Germany next Saturday. That includes visits to the Mall of America, the Great Lakes Aquarium and a trip up the North Shore.
A "thank-you party," open to the public, is planned on Sunday afternoon. Halfkann also will be recognized on Monday during the Saints Sports Awards ceremony at the College of St. Scholastica, where Edwards is an administrative assistant in the athletics department.
Recovery from the ravages of leukemia has been a long process, Edwards said, but she remains in remission. She gets a PET scan every six months to make sure that's still the case; the next one takes place next week.
Edwards shares her story, she said, not to call attention to herself but to highlight the need for people to take the simple step of registering as a potential donor.
"It's so important for us to help other people keep their families together and save a mother or father or son or daughter," she said. "The more people we can encourage to cheek-swab and get on the registry, the more lives we can help save and help families stay together."
TO LEARN MORE
For more information and to learn how to get on the bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell registry, visit dkms.org.
IF YOU GO
The thank-you party for Daniela Halfkann will be from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at The Other Place Bar and Grill, 3930 E. Calvary Road.
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Duluth woman meets the German donor whose stem cells saved her life - WDAY
Stem cell-based treatment prevents transplant rejection, in animal study – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Organ transplant rejection might eventually be preventable by giving recipients an immune-suppressing vaccine derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, according to a study led by Japanese researchers.
In mice, the treatment allowed permanent acceptance of heart grafts by selectively inhibiting the immune response to the donor graft, said the study, published April 20 in Stem Cell Reports. The work might also be applicable to autoimmune diseases, the study said.
The study can be found at j.mp/ipscden. The co-first authors were Songjie Cai, Jiangang Hou, and Masayuki Fujino. The senior author was Xiao-Kang Li. All are of the National Research Institute for Child Health and Development in Tokyo.
The IPS cells were matured into donor-type regulatory dendritic cells (DCregs) which in turn caused production of tolerance-inducing regulatory T cells, or Tregs, that allow the graft to be treated as self.
While the technology looks good, a UC San Diego stem cell researcher said it faces a number of hurdles that make practical use of it difficult, especially the difficulty in producing the donor-derived regulatory cells in time to be of use in a transplant.
Use of these Tregs and immature DCregs for transplant has been investigated for several years now. In theory, they would provide a better method of preventing rejection than immunosuppressive drugs that knock down immune functioning across the board.
However, activating Tregs must be done precisely, or other T cell types will be activated, increasing the risk of rejection.
The study found that donor-type dendritic cells reliably activated Tregs and not the other types. Peptide antigens from the graft directed naive CD4+ T cells to mature into donor-specific Tregs, providing a selective immune signal to tolerate the graft.
Use of IPS cells for producing these immune regulatory cells is quite novel, said Dan Kaufman, director of cell therapy at UC San Diego, and affiliated with the universitys Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center.
Obviously, it fits my interest in making immune cells from ES and IPS cells, Kaufman said. The ability to use these cells to suppress transplant rejection seems quite strong. I think the data is all good.
That said, the findings could be strengthened by extending the work from animals to human xenografts, he said. That would demonstrate that human IPS cells can similarly function, although it would be challenging.
Another limitation is the need to use donor-derived cells to induce immune tolerance.
How you would translate that would be unclear to me, Kaufman said.
Are you going to get a heart and then make IPS cells from that donor, which obviously you couldnt do in a reasonable time frame? Could you create a bank of these types of cells that might be suitable for certain patient populations with certain HLA types? Im not sure. I think that gets a little more speculative.
Another speculative possibility is to make the donor-derived IPS cells grow into an organ, and then also create the immune-regulating cells from these IPS cells to selectively induce tolerance.
But were still, I think, a long ways off from having IPS-derived organs, he said.
Autoimmune disease treatment with this technology is worth exploring, Kaufman said. In that case, the IPSCs would be made from the patients themselves.
More than 118,000 Americans are on the waiting list for an organ transplant, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com
(619) 293-1020
Duluth woman meets the German donor whose stem cells saved her life – WDAZ
It was Thursday afternoon, and the little girl from near Cologne, Germany, and the 40-year-old Duluth woman had known each other for less than 24 hours. But it was obvious that Edwards already had bonded with Ina and her little sister Mila.
They were together because the girls' mother had given Edwards a much greater gift: the gift of life.
"By your donation, I still get to be a mom," Edwards told Daniela Halfkann, 30. "(You're) a mom, so you completely understand how important it is to be here with your children."
Edwards, the mother of 15-year-old twin boys and the wife of Duluth Fire Chief Dennis Edwards, is alive because of the stem cell transplant she received at the Mayo Clinic on Oct. 31, 2014. As a result, she said, she is in remission from the rare and aggressive form of leukemia with which she had been diagnosed that June.
All she was told at the time of the transplant was that the donor was a woman from Germany.
Halfkann had registered as a potential stem cell or bone marrow donor at the large insurance company where she works in Cologne, she said. One day she received a call, saying her donation was needed.
After the six-hour procedure, Halfkann was told nothing more than that the recipient was a woman in the United States.
After a two-year waiting period required in Germany, the two women learned each other's identities last October and connected via Facebook.
Their meeting in Duluth was arranged by Amanda Schamper, Midwest donor recruitment coordinator for DKMS, the Germany-based organization that facilitated the donation.
Halfkann made the trip along with husband Stefan and their daughters, leaving their home at 3 a.m. on Tuesday and arriving at the Duluth International Airport at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Like Edwards, DKMS wants to raise awareness of the need for people to enter the registry, said Schamper, who also traveled to Duluth for the occasion.
She said 14,000 patients are in need of a peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow donation, but fewer than half will get one because there's no match on the registry.
"We're looking for a particular protein in our DNA," she explained.
Only in 30 percent of cases are siblings a match. Edwards' brother and sister both had been screened, she said, and neither was a match for her.
Finding a match "is equated to finding your genetic twin, or winning the genetic lottery," Schamper said.
If more people were on the registry a process that only requires taking a swab from your cheek there would be more potential matches. But only 2 percent of eligible Americans are registered, Schamper said.
When the Halfkanns arrived at the gate on Wednesday, Dennis and Merissa Edwards, along with sons Caden and Jaxon, were waiting at the gate.
It was an emotional moment.
"It was hard for me," Merissa Edwards said on Friday, speaking to Daniela Halfkann. "I was crying. I was so emotional, so happy to meet you and hug you."
She wiped away a tear. "I still am."
"It was amazing," Halfkann responded. "I cried at the gate, too."
The Halfkanns, who are staying at the Edgewater, initially focused on recovery from jet lag. But Edwards is making sure they'll get a full taste of Duluth and Minnesota before beginning their return trip to Germany next Saturday. That includes visits to the Mall of America, the Great Lakes Aquarium and a trip up the North Shore.
A "thank-you party," open to the public, is planned on Sunday afternoon. Halfkann also will be recognized on Monday during the Saints Sports Awards ceremony at the College of St. Scholastica, where Edwards is an administrative assistant in the athletics department.
Recovery from the ravages of leukemia has been a long process, Edwards said, but she remains in remission. She gets a PET scan every six months to make sure that's still the case; the next one takes place next week.
Edwards shares her story, she said, not to call attention to herself but to highlight the need for people to take the simple step of registering as a potential donor.
"It's so important for us to help other people keep their families together and save a mother or father or son or daughter," she said. "The more people we can encourage to cheek-swab and get on the registry, the more lives we can help save and help families stay together."
TO LEARN MORE
For more information and to learn how to get on the bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell registry, visit dkms.org.
IF YOU GO
The thank-you party for Daniela Halfkann will be from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at The Other Place Bar and Grill, 3930 E. Calvary Road.
See the original post here:
Duluth woman meets the German donor whose stem cells saved her life - WDAZ
Stem cells and the art of giving – Zee News (blog)
Madhu Srivastava/IANS
Our health scenario has undergone drastic changes over the past few decades. Is it not fair to say that given today`s lifestyles, finding someone who is completely fit and healthy is quite rare?
In an attempt to take precautions, people are doing their best such as exercising, controlling their diet, taking health supplements, undergoing periodic health check-ups and what not. However, these are only precautionary or preventive measures. How can you protect yourself or your family in the worst case of being diagnosed by a disorder that could take you by surprise?
The good news is that while more new diseases are being discovered, medical science is also growing at a matching pace with treatment solutions for such conditions. Here comes the role of stem cells. Stem cell treatment has been found to be a solution for many ailments that are not treatable by conventional methods of surgery or medication. Diseases such as leukemia ans thalassemia can now be treated by stem cells with a hope of survival, which was not possible even a decade or so ago.
As stem cell medicine keeps advancing with more conditions being researched, the future sounds quite promising as more and more disorders that were once considered as permanent or terminal will soon become treatable.
But, the question is, where does one find these stem cells? Well, the answer is, within you; in your bone marrow.
Unfortunately in more than 80 per cent of these disorders, your own stem cells cannot be used and you would need to seek them from someone else. Here comes the challenge of finding a matching donor and someone who is willing to donate his stem cells. Alternatively, you can source stem cells from a public bank which preserves umbilical cord stem cells of donors. Here, in addition to the rarity of finding a matching stem cell of Indian ethnicity, the problem gets compounded with the need of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for stem cell treatment. Seven out of 10 patients who require a matching stem cell do not find a match in their family.
Can this scenario change? Is there a hope for treating such dreaded conditions? The answer is yes. If you are expecting a baby in your family, then you are blessed.
We say a child is a blessing from God, which is true in real terms. While as parents we bless our children, now the baby can bless us to stay protected against such medical conditions.
The baby`s umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells. These can be collected and preserved at the time of birth for future use so that it can come to the rescue when required. With the new concept of community stem cell banking by one of the leading stem cell banks in the country which preserves a baby`s stem cells by making him/her a member of the community of parents who have also preserved their baby`s stem cells. The stem cell of all the babies within the community forms a collective pool to be accessed by all members.
Hence, at any given time, one can access donor stem cells from this collective pool for treatment, protecting not just your baby but your family too from such ailments. There is only the initial cost of preserving your baby`s stem cells which is much lower than sourcing stem cells from a public stem cell bank. More importantly, the probability of finding a match of Indian ethnicity is higher and stem cells are readily available for treatment when required.
If you are worried about the uncertainties over the health of your family, you can now rest assured that your baby`s birth will now bless your family with the protection of good health.
Underlying cause of a form of macular degeneration characterized – Science Daily
Underlying cause of a form of macular degeneration characterized Science Daily The new information sets the team up for testing a gene therapy to treat the disease, as the researchers will be able to observe whether or not these structural and biochemical abnormalities have been corrected. "Now that we understand what we're ... |
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Underlying cause of a form of macular degeneration characterized - Science Daily
Longevity Clinic BioIdentical Hormone Therapies – Bellevue …
Do You Have A Hormone Deficiency?
Thierry Hertoghe M.D. developed this symptom questionnaire and self-test to help you determine if your levels of hormones are below normal (read his book). Your doctor will help you understand these hormones better your first visit. We believe in the principle of doctor as teacher and we want you to understand how your body works and how the treatments will help you.
Your physician at Femme Clinique can help you simultaneously balance your hormones and help you determine the most beneficial supplements to support your therapy using a combination of prescription medications and nutritional and lifestyle coaching. We strongly believe in prevention and will help you determine the most effective and safest approach to enhancing your life and delaying the effects of aging.
The more symptoms you have in a category the more likely you have a deficiency of that hormone. Keep in mind that hormone excess can inhibit other hormones so you need an experienced physician to provide your with the correct lab testing and treatment protocols. We feel the safest approach to hormone replacement is balancing multiple hormones instead of just trying to balance one hormone as is done in traditional hormone replacement with horse hormones (estrogen only).
Using 24 hour urine hormone testing we can diagnose deficiencies of these hormones in a very holistic way (see hormone chart). In regular blood and saliva tests we only see snapshots. With a 24 hour urine collection we can check over 30 different hormones and help optimize hormone related cancer and bone health markers.
Over 20 estrogens are known and three are used clinically. These three estrogens are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). Estradiol is the most potent estrogen produced by the ovaries.
Estrogens are also made from testosterone and other male hormones produced in the adrenal glands. Obese women tend to convert more of their testosterone to estrogen. This can lead to a poor testosterone to estrogen ratio in women and related symptoms of decreased libido and increased risk of osteoporosis.
Most of your estrogens are bound to proteins, preventing them from being active in your body. Using 24 hour hormone testing, we can measure the active hormones which are the most important because they tell us about the hormones activity in your body.
It is important to balance the different estrogen levels because this has been shown to reduce cancer risk. One of the products of estrogen breakdown (metabolism) is 2-methoxy-estradiol, a methylated estrogen. 2-methoxy-estradiol has been shown to have anti-cancer benefits.
In addition, it is important to balance estrogen with other hormones like testosterone. In a retrospective, observational study that included 508 women in 2005, researchers found that the addition of testosterone to conventional hormone therapy for postmenopausal women does not increase and may indeed reduce the hormone therapy-associated breast cancer risk-thereby returning the incidence to the normal rates observed in the general, untreated population.
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Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), growth hormone, and insulinlike growth factor 1 have potent effects on brain function, their levels decrease with advancing age, and they likely play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is produced in your anterior pituitary gland in pulses throughout the day. The largest of these GH pulses is about an hour after you fall asleep.
HGH production can be stimulated by other hormones. The main signal for HGH production in your body is growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH).
The effects of GHRH on cognitive (brain) function in adults with mild brain impairment and healthy older adults were studied in 2012. The results of this controlled trial were published in the journal Neurology and showed that brain function could be improved even in normal healthy adults with benefits including increased acuity and memory. We use this similar approach with our patients using secretagogues. Secretagogues help balance hormone levels by stimulating the production of other hormones. HCG has a similar effect on progesterone and estrogen levels in women. Sermorelin in a peptide that stimulates growth hormone production similar to GHRH.
Growth hormone has many effects on your body:
There are some concerns about HGH and cancer risk.Our growth hormone levels are highest when we are younger and then decline with age. Our cancer risks increase as we age. Since growth hormone levels decline as we age and cancer risks increase it would make sense that growth hormone deficiency may increase cancer risk. Despite these theoretical risks and benefits, we feel that it is all about balance.
For example, in brain function, balance is very important:
Data suggest that not only absolute levels of sex hormones but also the balance between estrogen and testosterone and their metabolites may be important for cognitive function in women.
Despite the potential risks and benefits of growth hormone therapies, there is evidence that maintaining optimal growth hormone levels (IGF-1) can decrease your overall healthcare costs (and overall mortality risks):
Subjects with low in contrast to intermediate IGF-I exhibited 30.6% higher annual total costs 5 years after baseline examination, corresponding to a difference in adjusted costs of EUR436.61.
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Progesterone had no effect on undisturbed sleep but restored normal sleep when sleep was disturbed (while currently available hypnotics tend to inhibit deep sleep), acting as a physiologic regulator rather than as a hypnotic drug.
A 2011 study on the use of progesterone in post-menopausal women found that progesterone can help improve sleep only if your body needs it. Progesterone deficiency can cause anxiety and anger, which can be exacerbated by anemia from extended periods in younger women.
During ovulation, progesterone is secreted from the ovary and during the second 2 weeks of the cycle. During menopause women make less progesterone than ovulating women. It is a myth that progesterone is not needed for women who have had a hysterectomy because progesterone effects the entire body. The bone, nerves, brain, white blood cells, lungs, uterus, breast and colon all have progesterone receptors.
Progesterone can improve sleep, mood, and many other aspects of your life. It is all about balance.
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Over 50% of women are believed to be affected by female sexual dysfunction (FSD).
Testosterone therapy for women has been in use for over 80 years. Uses was have included treatments sexual dysfunction, abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, menopausal symptoms, chronic mastitis and lactation, and breast, uterine, and ovarian tumors.
Testosterone replacement for menopausal women, whether from surgery or aging, can improve sexual desire and libido. Most research shows that testosterone therapy is safe, when done correctly.
The North American Menopause Society position on testosterone therapy in postmenopausal women with decreased sexual desire may benefit for testosterone therapy. They recommend testosterone therapy with estrogen therapy at the same time.
Testosterone therapy improves arousability, sexual desire and fantasy, frequency of sexual activity and orgasm, and satisfaction and pleasure from the sexual act.
Over 16 million women aged 50 and older have low sexual desire. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is common and symptoms include decreased sexual desire that causes relationship or personal problems. HSDD is common in women who have had their ovaries removed. Women receiving testosterone therapy typically notice great improvement in sexual satisfaction.
A 2009 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, with 637 women using testosterone over 18 years, found that testosterone therapy had no impact on breast cancer risk.
Testosterone (T) improves the ability of estrogen to improve bone health. A 2008 study on post-menopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy found that women receiving testosterone saw greater improvement in bone density than with estrogen (E) replacement alone. The favourable estrogenic effects on lipids were preserved in women treated with T, in association with beneficial changes in body composition. They also noted that the, addition of testosterone resulted in a significantly greater improvement compared to E for sexual activity (P < 0.03), satisfaction (P < 0.03), pleasure (P < 0.01), orgasm (P < 0.035) and relevancy (P < 0.05). In the statistical world, those are some nice looking P values. The smaller the P value, in this case, the more likely it is you will see the same benefit.
Testosterone therapy improves heart function, blood sugar regulation, and muscle strength in women with advanced chronic heart failure. The heart is a muscle and all the blood vessels are lined with smooth muscle. Testosterone has been shown to be a effective and safe therapy for elderly women with chronic heart failure.
Inadequate response to antidepressant monotherapy in women with major depressive disorder is common.
Low doses of testosterone in women have been used with good success in the treatment of depression. Remember, depression is not a symptom of a Prozac deficiency but rather the symptom of an imbalance.
With our approach to balancing hormone levels, side effects of testosterone therapy are uncommon. With excessive testosterone levels you may notice acne or increased body hair. This is why we always start with a very low dose and increase as needed.
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DHEA, also known dyhdroepiandrosterone, is very abundant in our bodies at younger ages but as you age your levels decline. DHEA is converted into pheromones by our bodies so one symptom of deficiency is lack of special scent during sexual arousal. The best way to take DHEA is transdermally in order to bypass the liver. DHEA is one of the most plentiful hormones in our bodies when we are younger. Its decline in your body can have a significant impact on libido and youthful appearance.
Low thyroid is more common in women than men. The test most often ordered to screen for thyroid problems is called TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone, and is practically useless in evaluating function. This is because TSH is just the signal from the brain to the thyroid. We want to know how much thyroid hormone is actually being made. To do this we measure T3 and T4 and other blood levels and often find that the levels are out of balance despite being treated with synthetic thyroid hormones.
Thyroid hormones are meant to be released slowly over several hours but more thyroid medications just give a big spike. With combination, T4 and T3, natural thyroid hormones can potentially provide more sustained levels. In addition, autoimmune thyroid is very common in women and often leads to sudden surges of thyroid hormones being released during the attack phase. Patients may notice this as sudden increases in heart rate and a feeling of anxiety.
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How new opiate treatment clinic operates in Redding – KRCRTV.COM
How new opiate treatment clinic...
REDDING, Calif. - Opiate treatment clinic Aegis has opened their Redding location for two weeks and opened its doors for a tour.
When word first came that the clinic was going to open, people were concerned that it might turn the area into a crime magnet.
However, business owners said the loitering problem has actually gotten better.
The clinic looked like any doctor's office, with a waiting room, complimentary treats and coffee.
The clients of the clinic are there to get help with their drug addiction.
ChicoClinic Manager Michelle Saldana said so far, there have been no complaints.
"We have gotten good reports from our neighbors. We still have a clinic concierge on site, and he's monitoring the parking lot, as well as helping patients get acquainted with the area," Saldana said.
However, some are skeptical about using methadone to treat opioid addiction, concerned with treating one addiction with another drug.
"Methadone doesn't drop the dopamines into the pleasure hormone system, like heroin, or even Vicodin. It doesn't give that euphoria, so the individual doesn't get that high," said assistant clinic manager Daniel Moore.
Methadone is used to help those addicted to opiates manage withdrawal symptoms.
The process at the clinic is quick. Patients are usually in and out in five minutes.
"Our patients will come in, and check in at the front desk. We do take random urine analysis. Patients would go to the dispensing window here, and they would put their fingerprint on their fingerprint reader to ensure that we're giving the right medication to the right patient. They're given their medication, our dosing nurse checks in with them, make sure they're good for the day," Saldana said.
Patients also have to travel to the Aegis clinic inChico once a week for counseling.
"Addiction isn't just the medical component, it takes a lot of counseling as well, and that's where majority of the recovery happens," Saldana said.
They are hoping to expand the clinic in Redding to include counseling services, so patients in Shasta County won't have to make that weekly trip to Chico.
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How new opiate treatment clinic operates in Redding - KRCRTV.COM
Could Be the Thyroid; Could Be Ennui. Either Way, the Drug Isn’t Helping. – New York Times
New York Times | Could Be the Thyroid; Could Be Ennui. Either Way, the Drug Isn't Helping. New York Times It's a strong signal that this is an overused medication, said Dr. Juan Brito, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic. Some people really need this medicine, but not the vast majority of people who are taking it. A primer: ... Usually, doctors order ... |
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Could Be the Thyroid; Could Be Ennui. Either Way, the Drug Isn't Helping. - New York Times
A 3D-printed patch for a ‘broken’ heart – Livemint
This week: Biomedical engineering division, University of Minnesota
Three-dimensional or 3D printing technology, which has been around for almost three decades, routinely makes headlines. Not surprising, given that the so-called Fabbers, or personal manufacturing machines3D printers come under this categorynow not only make jewellery and toothbrushes, but also football boots, racing-car parts, custom-designed cakes, guns, human organs, houses and plane parts.
3D printing can be used to save lives too. Consider this. During a heart attack, the muscle cells of the heart do not get enough blood. Hence, they die. Our bodies cant replace these dead cells, so the body leaves a scar tissue in that area of the heart. This puts the person at risk of heart failure in the future.
A team of biomedical engineering researchers, led by the University of Minnesota (Umn.edu), has created a laser 3D-bioprinted patch to address the issue and help heal the scarred heart tissue after a heart attack. Three-dimensional bioprinting is the process of creating cell patterns in a confined space using 3D printing technologies.
The researchers successfully used this technique to incorporate stem cells (cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity) derived from adult human heart cells in a dish in the lab.
When the cell patch was placed on a mouse following a simulated heart attack, the researchers saw significant increase in functional capacity after just four weeks. Since the patch was made from stem cells and structural proteins (that do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the bodys tissues and organs) belonging to the heart, it became part of the heart and was absorbed into the body, requiring no further surgeries.
The discovery, which is a major step forward in treating patients with tissue damage after a heart attack, was published on 14 April in Circulation Research, the journal published by the American Heart Association. The researchers have filed a patent for it.
The scientists insist that this research is different from previous ones in that the patch is modelled after a digital, 3D scan of the structural proteins of the heart tissue. The digital model is made into a physical structure by 3D printing, further integrating cardiac cell types derived from stem cells. Only with 3D printing of this type, explain the researchers, can we achieve the 1 micron resolution needed to mimic structures of native heart tissue.
The scientists say they are already beginning the next step to develop a larger patch that they will test on a pig heart, which is similar in size to a human heart. Of course, the real success will be known only when human trials take place.
3D printing belongs to a class of techniques known as additive manufacturing, or building objects layer by layer. The most common household 3D-printing process involves a print head, which allows for any material to be extruded or squirted through a nozzle. There are several additive processes, including selective laser sintering, direct metal-laser sintering, fused deposition modelling, stereolithography and laminated-object manufacturing. All of them differ in the way layers are deposited to create the 3D objects.
Meanwhile, the concept of 4D printing, which allows materials to self-assemble into 3D structures, and was initially proposed by Skylar Tibbits of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in April 2013, is also showing promise.
Lab Watch is the Lounge guide to emerging tech from around the world .
First Published: Fri, Apr 21 2017. 02 57 PM IST
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A 3D-printed patch for a 'broken' heart - Livemint
Multiple Sclerosis patient successfully treated with bone marrow transplant – Business Standard
In an autologous BMT procedure, the healthy stem cells from the patient are taken out and preserved
IANS | New Delhi April 21, 2017 Last Updated at 05:00 IST
A team of doctors in New Delhi has successfully treated a 24-year-old girl suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with bone marrow transplant (BMT).
Kanika Juneja was diagnosed with MS an autoimmune disorder where the body's immune system starts attacking the protective sheet covering the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
She went through several rounds of treatments but could not be cured. Juneja got another chance at life at Fortis Healthcare where the doctors treated her with BMT.
"In an autologous BMT procedure, the healthy stem cells from the patient are taken out and preserved. Chemotherapy is then administered to reset the body's immunity and then the stem cells are injected back to rescue the person from the side effects of chemotherapy. After the surgery, the patient is kept under isolation for a few months to ensure he/she does not contract any infection," explained Dr Rahul Bhargava, Director, Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant, Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI).
Since conventional steroid injections and immune therapy are expensive and don't promise a cure, Bhargava thought of going for a BMT for Juneja.
Juneja is now actively involved in raising awareness about MS amongst the community through social media.
"I had just completed my college education when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I was lucky because I got diagnosed within a week of my symptoms and could avail treatment options faster," Juneja said.
"In this case, we have proved that bone marrow transplant can be seen as a successful alternate treatment option for multiple sclerosis patients, giving them a fresh shot at life," added Dr Simmardeep Singh Gill, Zonal Director, FMRI, in a statement.
Currently, there are 2.3 million people living with multiple sclerosis worldwide.
A team of doctors in New Delhi has successfully treated a 24-year-old girl suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with bone marrow transplant (BMT).
Kanika Juneja was diagnosed with MS an autoimmune disorder where the body's immune system starts attacking the protective sheet covering the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
She went through several rounds of treatments but could not be cured. Juneja got another chance at life at Fortis Healthcare where the doctors treated her with BMT.
"In an autologous BMT procedure, the healthy stem cells from the patient are taken out and preserved. Chemotherapy is then administered to reset the body's immunity and then the stem cells are injected back to rescue the person from the side effects of chemotherapy. After the surgery, the patient is kept under isolation for a few months to ensure he/she does not contract any infection," explained Dr Rahul Bhargava, Director, Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant, Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI).
Since conventional steroid injections and immune therapy are expensive and don't promise a cure, Bhargava thought of going for a BMT for Juneja.
Juneja is now actively involved in raising awareness about MS amongst the community through social media.
"I had just completed my college education when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I was lucky because I got diagnosed within a week of my symptoms and could avail treatment options faster," Juneja said.
"In this case, we have proved that bone marrow transplant can be seen as a successful alternate treatment option for multiple sclerosis patients, giving them a fresh shot at life," added Dr Simmardeep Singh Gill, Zonal Director, FMRI, in a statement.
Currently, there are 2.3 million people living with multiple sclerosis worldwide.
IANS
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Multiple Sclerosis patient successfully treated with bone marrow transplant - Business Standard
Preventing Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Stem Cell Transplant Recipients – Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (press release)
An international group of scientists led by investigators at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) says it has discovered molecular mechanisms that might prevent the development ofgraft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in individuals receiving stem cell transplants.
During GVHD, transplanted stem cells become T lymphocytes, which are supposed to fight intruders such as bacteria. Instead, they start attacking the recipients already weakened body.
Researchers from TUM and theMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center published a study ("RIG-I/MAVS and STING Signaling Promote Gut Integrity during Irradiation- and Immune-Mediated Tissue Injury")in Science Translational Medicine that provides details on how to prevent the development of GVHD.
The attacks by the T cells primarily affect the skin, liver, and, in particular, the gastrointestinal tract. The intestine is believed to be the key organ where GVHD starts. The drug treatment and radiation involved in stem cell transplants damage epithelial cells, which form part of the intestinal mucosal layer. Stress signals emitted by the dying epithelial cells and the arrival of intestinal bacteria in the previously germ-free areas of the gut due to the loss of the epithelium trigger the activation of aggressive donor T cells.
"If the epithelium could be protected or quickly restored, the risk of an immune response would be much lower," says Hendrik Poeck, M.D., Ph.D., who, along with Tobias Haas, M.D., heads a research group at the third medical clinic of TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar. "Up to now, however, there have been very few treatment strategies that seek to regenerate the epithelium."
The scientists working with Dr. Poeck studied two proteins produced naturally in the body and known for their role in fighting bacteria and viruses: RIG-I (retinoic acid-inducible gene I) and STING (stimulator of interferon genes). "We were able to demonstrate for the first time that both of them can also be used to bring about a regenerative effect," notes Julius Fischer, first author of the study.
Both proteins are part of signal chains that cause type I interferon (IFN-I) to be produced. IFN-I triggers many different immune responses, but can also speed up the replacement of epithelial cells.
The RIG-I signal pathway can be deliberately stimulated using triphosphate-RNA (3pRNA). Poeck and his team were able to demonstrate in mice that 3pRNA can indeed protect the epithelial cells. Timing is critical. Measurable protection was only seen when the 3pRNA was administered exactly 1 day before the start of radiation and drug treatment.
"We assume that after just 1 day of treatment, there would no longer be enough intact epithelial cells in the gut for the RIG-I/IFN signal path to function," explains Haas. Although fewer activated T cells were generated after a treatment with 3pRNA, the positive effect of the leukemia therapy was not reduced to a measurable degree.
Both RIG-I agonists, such as 3pRNA, and STING agonists are currently in clinical development. The research points to a wide range of potential applications, especially in the treatment of tumors.
"Our study shows that regenerative processes can also be triggered through selective activation of these signal paths," adds Poeck. "It thus appears quite possible that these selective agonists will be administered in the future to patients who are candidates for allogeneic stem cell transplants. However, further studies will be needed to learn how they actually work before applications in human medicine are possible."
Using CRISPR to Reverse Retinitis Pigmentosa and Restore Visual … – Newswise (press release)
Newswise Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, with colleagues in China, have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing cellular degeneration and restoring visual function in two mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa.
The findings are published in the April 21 advance online issue of Cell Research.
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited vision disorders caused by numerous mutations in more than 60 genes. The mutations affect the eyes photoreceptors, specialized cells in the retina that sense and convert light images into electrical signals sent to the brain. There are two types: rod cells that function for night vision and peripheral vision, and cone cells that provide central vision (visual acuity) and discern color. The human retina typically contains 120 million rod cells and 6 million cone cells.
In RP, which affects approximately 100,000 Americans and 1 in 4,000 persons worldwide, rod-specific genetic mutations cause rod photoreceptor cells to dysfunction and degenerate over time. Initial symptoms are loss of peripheral and night vision, followed by diminished visual acuity and color perception as cone cells also begin to fail and die. There is no treatment for RP. The eventual result may be legal blindness.
In their published research, a team led by senior author Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, chief of ophthalmic genetics, founding director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine and co-director of biomaterials and tissue engineering at the Institute of Engineering in Medicine, both at UC San Diego School of Medicine, used CRISPR/Cas9 to deactivate a master switch gene called Nrl and a downstream transcription factor called Nr2e3.
CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, allows researchers to target specific stretches of genetic code and edit DNA at precise locations, modifying select gene functions. Deactivating either Nrl or Nr2e3 reprogrammed rod cells to become cone cells.
Cone cells are less vulnerable to the genetic mutations that cause RP, said Zhang. Our strategy was to use gene therapy to make the underlying mutations irrelevant, resulting in the preservation of tissue and vision.
The scientists tested their approach in two different mouse models of RP. In both cases, they found an abundance of reprogrammed cone cells and preserved cellular architecture in the retinas. Electroretinography testing of rod and cone receptors in live mice show improved function.
Zhang said a recent independent study led by Zhijian Wu, PhD, at National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, also reached similar conclusions.
The researchers used adeno-associated virus (AAV) to perform the gene therapy, which they said should help advance their work to human clinical trials quicker. AAV is a common cold virus and has been used in many successful gene therapy treatments with a relatively good safely profile, said Zhang. Human clinical trials could be planned soon after completion of preclinical study. There is no treatment for RP so the need is great and pressing. In addition, our approach of reprogramming mutation-sensitive cells to mutation-resistant cells may have broader application to other human diseases, including cancer.
Co-authors include: Jie Zhu and Xin Fu, Guangzhou Women and Childrens Medical Center; Chang Ming, Duc Ahn Hoang and Wenjun Xiong, City University of Hong Kong; Yaou Duan, Jeffrey Rutgard, Runze Zhang, Wenqui Wang, Daniel Zhang, Edward Zhang and Charlotte Zhang, Shiley Eye Institute, Institute for Engineering in Medicine and Institute for Genomic Medicine, UC San Diego; Rui Hou, Guangzhou KangRui Biological Pharmaceutical Technology Company; Xiaoke Hao, Fourth Military Medical University; and the Eye Gene Therapy Consortium.
Funding for this research came, in part, from the Richard Annesser Fund, the Dick and Carol Hertzberg Fund, the National Basic Research Program of China, Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China, Hon Kong General Research Fund and Early Career Scheme and Shenzhen Science and Technology Fund.
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Using CRISPR to Reverse Retinitis Pigmentosa and Restore Visual ... - Newswise (press release)
3D-printed Patch Can Help Mend a ‘Broken’ Heart – Technology Networks
Technology Networks | 3D-printed Patch Can Help Mend a 'Broken' Heart Technology Networks The digital model is made into a physical structure by 3D printing with proteins native to the heart and further integrating cardiac cell types derived from stem cells. Only with 3D printing of this type can we achieve one micron resolution needed to ... |
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3D-printed Patch Can Help Mend a 'Broken' Heart - Technology Networks
Surprise – Lungs Make Blood, Too – Newsmax
Scientists at the University of California San Francisco have discovered a new function of lungs: They make blood which leads to a new wellspring of stem cells as well.
The astonishing breakthrough comes courtesy of refinement to microscopic video imaging that allows researchers to probe individual cells within blood vessels of a living host's lungs in this case, mice lungs.
The findings have far-reaching implications for human study: Researchers were surprised to find that not only did the lungs produce more blood cells, they did so in volumes that indicated more than half of all platelets in circulation critical for clotting are produced by the lungs.
The significance for the blood stem cells also was compelling. The newly discovered pool of stem cells is capable of restoring blood production when bone marrow stem cells are depleted. This could lead to novel approaches to treating leukemia, a cancer of white blood cells that crowds out red blood cells, and bone cancer, which destroys the body's ability to manufacture red blood cells.
This finding definitely suggests a more sophisticated view of the lungs that theyre not just for respiration but also a key partner in formation of crucial aspects of the blood, said pulmonologist Mark R. Looney, a professor of medicine and of laboratory medicine at the University of California, and the research's senior author. What weve observed here in mice strongly suggests the lung may play a key role in blood formation in humans as well. The report was published online at Nature.com.
The new imaging approach allowed scientists to examine interactions between the immune system and platelets in the lungs. While following the interactions, they discovered a surprisingly large population of cells that produce platelets called megakaryocytes. Though these cells were observed in the lungs previously it was generally though that they exist primarily in bone marrow.
Researchers were baffled and more detailed imaging followed. Once they zeroed in on these cells, they soon realized that they not only took up residence in the lungs, they also were producing 10 million platelets per hour there evidence that more than half of platelet production actually occurs in the lungs (in the mice models).
To be able to track blood stem cells and blood production, researchers transplanted donor lungs to mice with fluorescent-dye-tinted megakaryocytes. They followed the fluorescent cells as they traveled to the new lungs.
In another experiment, scientists wanted to determine if lungs that already had these platelet producers imbedded would spur platelet production in mice with low platelet counts, so they transplanted lungs with fluorescent-tinted megakaryocytes into mice predetermined to have low platelet counts. The transplanted lungs quickly sprung into action and restored normal platelet levels.
In yet another experiment, researchers transplanted healthy lungs with all cells fluorescently tinted into mice without bone marrow blood stem cells. The fluorescent marker cells quickly traveled to the damaged bone marrow and began production of myriad cells including T cells, which are key immune cells.
The exact mechanism behind the bone marrow-lung blood production is not yet known. Its possible that the lung is an ideal bioreactor for platelet production because of the mechanical force of the blood, or perhaps because of some molecular signaling we dont yet know about, said Guadalupe Ortiz-Muoz, a postdoctoral researcher and the researchs co-author. But more research is sure to follow.
Now medical scientists and researchers can zero in on proving in human models that blood components stem cells key among them travel more freely than previously though, which could lead ultimately to advances in treatment options for various blood disorders.
2017 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.
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David Steenblock, D.O., Uses Stem Cells and Other Therapies for Stroke Patients – GlobeNewswire (press release)
April 20, 2017 07:00 ET | Source: David Steenblock, D.O. Inc.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- David Steenblock, an osteopathic physician based in San Clemente, CA, uses stem cells and other therapies to achieve significant and improved lifestyle outcomes for many stroke patients.
Many of our cases have demonstrated improved mobility for stroke victims who received stem cell therapy, along with other therapies, including chelation and hyperbaric oxygen, says Dr. Steenblock.
One patient who suffered a stroke several years ago, came to Dr. Steenblocks clinic to undergo the full stroke program. This included EDTA chelation, a procedure that removes heavy metals from the blood, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, along with stem cells from his bone marrow to effect healing and restoration.
After having the bone marrow stem cells, the patients eyesight improved, and both of his knees, which hadnt been working well, were back to functioning almost normally. In addition, his hip joint went back to normal function and he believes his balance when walking has improved tremendously.
The EDTA Chelation Therapy, a treatment used to remove heavy metals from the blood, was used with hyperbaric oxygen, which can lead to significant neurologic improvements for stroke patients.
Dr. David Steenblock is a leading-edge physician in many fields of medicine, from stroke care, to acute brain trauma, to generative and cell-based medicine in the treatment of ALS, Cerebral Palsy and other chronic and degenerative diseases. For more information about Dr. Steenblocks work in stem cell therapies, visit http://www.stemcellmd.org
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The Go-To Gene Sequencing Machine With Very Strange Results – WIRED
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The Go-To Gene Sequencing Machine With Very Strange Results - WIRED
Doctors successfully treat 24-year-old girl MS patient with bone marrow transplant – Zee News
New Delhi: 24-year-old girl, Kanika Juneja, suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was successfully treated by a team of doctors with bone marrow transplant (BMT).
She was diagnosed with MS, an autoimmune disorder where the body's immune system starts attacking the protective sheet covering the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Juneja went through several rounds of treatments but could not be cured. She got another chance at life at Fortis Healthcare where the doctors treated her with BMT.
Dr Rahul Bhargava, Director, Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant, Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) explained, "In an autologous BMT procedure, the healthy stem cells from the patient are taken out and preserved. Chemotherapy is then administered to reset the body's immunity and then the stem cells are injected back to rescue the person from the side effects of chemotherapy. After the surgery, the patient is kept under isolation for a few months to ensure he/she does not contract any infection."
Since conventional steroid injections and immune therapy are expensive and don't promise a cure, Bhargava thought of going for a BMT for Juneja.
Juneja is now actively involved in raising awareness about MS amongst the community through social media.
Juneja said, "I had just completed my college education when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I was lucky because I got diagnosed within a week of my symptoms and could avail treatment options faster."
Dr Simmardeep Singh Gill, Zonal Director, FMRI added, "In this case, we have proved that bone marrow transplant can be seen as a successful alternate treatment option for multiple sclerosis patients, giving them a fresh shot at life".
Currently, there are 2.3 million people living with multiple sclerosis worldwide.
(With IANS inputs)
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Doctors successfully treat 24-year-old girl MS patient with bone marrow transplant - Zee News
Cellogica Launches Their Updated and More User-Friendly Website, Cellogica.com – Yahoo Finance
The New Cellogica Website Features In-Depth Information about the Skin Care Product, which Includes Stem Cell Technology
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2017 / The founders of Cellogica, a top line of skincare products that utilize stem cells and other innovative ingredients, are pleased to announce the re-launch of their website, Cellogica.com.
To check out the recently revised website, which is now easier than ever to navigate and features updated information about Cellogica, please visit http://www.cellogica.com at any time.
As a company spokesperson noted, Cellogica's "Two Secrets of Youth" involve the use of stem cell technology and also its MAC-5 Complex, which includes five ingredients that may help the skin look as young as possible. Rather than merely repairing the skin, Cellogica may actually help stop the loss of existing skin stem cells, as well as prevent premature aging.
Cellogica features a day cream, a non-greasy and light product which is designed to protect and enhance the skin and provide it with a natural barrier to the damaging UV rays of the sun and harsh weather. It also includes a night cream that works as the user sleeps by naturally repairing, restoring and regenerating the skin.
As the spokesperson noted, because skin stem cells are responsible for regenerating new and healthy skin cells, the founders of Cellogica were inspired to create a skin care cream that contains stem cells.
"Our revolutionary Stem Cell Technology is derived from strains of rare Swiss apples (Malus Domestica) and the Alpine Rose (Rhododentron Ferrugineum)," the spokesperson said, adding that together, these two very powerful stem cell extracts may allow for the regeneration of new skin stem cells, prevent the loss of existing skin stem cells, and increase the skin's barrier function.
"They may protect and repair the skin and combat against chronological aging, thus leading to fresh, healthy and vibrant looking skin."
The MAC-5 Complex is the other key component to Cellogica's ability to help improve the appearance of the skin. The proprietary combination includes Syn-Coll, which is an aqueous unpreserved glycerin-based solution that was developed to reduce wrinkles, as well as stimulate collagen synthesis. The other four ingredients in the MAC-5 Complex are RonaFlair LDP, hyaluronic acid, Syn-Ake, and Kojic acid, which may help eliminate blotchy skin while evening out the skin tone.
About Cellogica:
Cellogica is a premiere skincare line utilizing newly discovered stem cells to stop and reverse the physical signs of aging. To learn more about the product, please visit their website, http://www.cellogica.com.
Contact:
Darryl Burke admin@rocketfactor.com (949) 555-2861
SOURCE: Power Americas Minerals Corp.
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Cellogica Launches Their Updated and More User-Friendly Website, Cellogica.com - Yahoo Finance
Plasticell And Kings College London To Collaborate In Trials Of … – Clinical Leader
Plasticell, a developer of cell therapies including hematopoietic cell replacement therapies, recently announced it has partnered with Kings College London to progress preclinical trials of its artificial blood platelet product, manufactured from pluripotent stem cells. The work is supported by a MedCity research grant which funds collaboration between leading SMEs and academics from London universities.
Over 10 million units of platelets are transfused worldwide each year in one of the most common procedures in clinical medicine. However, platelets derived from human donors can transmit infections and trigger serious immune reactions that eventually render the therapy ineffective (a condition known as alloimmune refractoriness). In addition, since platelet donations require pathogen testing and cannot be frozen for later use, supply shortages can occur under certain circumstances.
Plasticell has developed robust, cost-effective methods of producing functional platelets from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and has scaled these up to intermediate bioreactor level, allowing manufacture of product for pre-clinical studies. Kings College will contribute world-leading expertise and in vivo models to characterise the dynamics, lifespan, safety and efficacy of transfused platelets.
In addition to providing a more stable and safe supply of universal platelets, the use of iPS cells would allow us to create immunologically compatible matched platelets for patients suffering from alloimmune refractoriness, commented Dr Marina Tarunina, Principal Scientist leading the project at Plasticell.
The project is part of Plasticells hematopoietic cell therapy portfolio, which includes the expansion of umbilical cord- and bone- derived hematopoietic stem cells, and the manufacture of various blood cell types. Plasticell recently announced it had received Innovate UK funding for a 1.1M project to manufacture red blood cells from pluripotent stem cells, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh.
About Plasticell Plasticell is a biotechnology company leading the use of high throughput technologies to develop stem cell therapies. The Companys therapeutic focus is in hematopoietic stem cell therapy, anaemia and thrombocytopenia, cancer immunotherapy and diabetes/obesity. Plasticells Combinatorial Cell Culture (CombiCult) platform technology, allows it to test very large numbers of cell culture variables in combinations to discover optimal laboratory protocols for the manipulation of stem cells and other cell cultures and has received a number of industry awards including the Queens Award for Enterprise in Innovation and the R&D 100 Award. For more information, visit http://www.plasticell.co.uk.
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Plasticell And Kings College London To Collaborate In Trials Of ... - Clinical Leader
Cellular Dynamics International Signs Collaboration Agreement with Harvard Stem Cell Institute – Business Wire (press release)
MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a FUJIFILM company and a leading developer and manufacturer of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), today announced it has signed a collaboration agreement with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), a novel network of stem cell scientists that extends from the University to its affiliated hospitals and the biomedical industry. The objective of the new partnership is to increase the availability of iPS cells and services to the HSCI network and the research community at large.
CDI is honored and excited to partner with Harvard Stem Cell Institute, one of the worlds most prestigious research organizations, said Dr. Bruce Novich, Division President-CNBD for FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation and Executive Vice President and General Manager of Life Science Business Division for CDI. Our goal is to make iPS cells and technology more accessible so that researchers across disciplines and the various institutions of HSCI can better pursue the promise of stem cell science and regenerative medicine.
Under the terms of the agreement, CDI will collaborate with HSCIs iPS Core Facility by providing iPSC technology support to the stem cell community. In addition, CDI will offer critical iPSC technology elements which may accelerate iPSC based science, technology and applications.
About Cellular Dynamics International:
Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a FUJIFILM company, is a leading developer and supplier of human cells used in drug discovery, toxicity testing, and regenerative medicine applications. Leveraging technology that can be used to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and differentiated tissue-specific cells from any individual, CDI is committed to advancing life science research and transforming the therapeutic development process in order to fundamentally improve human health. The companys inventoried iCell products and donor-specific MyCell Products are available in the quantity, quality, purity, and reproducibility required for drug and cell therapy development. For more information please visitwww.cellulardynamics.com.
About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including: healthcare, with medical systems, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics; graphic systems; highly functional materials, such as flat panel display materials; optical devices, such as broadcast and cinema lenses; digital imaging; and document products. These are based on a vast portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic, software and production technologies. In the year ended March 31, 2016, the company had global revenues of $22.1 billion, at an exchange rate of 112.54 yen to the dollar. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit:www.fujifilmholdings.com.
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
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Cellular Dynamics International Signs Collaboration Agreement with Harvard Stem Cell Institute - Business Wire (press release)