Public release date: 4-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Debra Kain ddkain@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California - San Diego

A study led by researchers at the UC San Diego Stem Cell Research program and funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) looks at an important RNA binding protein called LIN28, which is implicated in pluripotency and reprogramming as well as in cancer and other diseases. According to the researchers, their study published in the September 6 online issue of Molecular Cell will change how scientists view this protein and its impact on human disease.

Studying embryonic stem cells and somatic cells stably expressing LIN28, the researchers defined discrete binding sites of LIN28 in 25 percent of human transcripts. In addition, splicing-sensitive microarrays demonstrated that LIN28 expression causes widespread downstream alternative splicing changes variations in gene products that can result in cancer or other diseases.

"Surprisingly, we discovered that LIN28 not only binds to the non-coding microRNAs, but can also bind directly to thousands of messenger RNAs," said first author Melissa Wilbert, a doctoral student in the UC San Diego Biomedical Sciences graduate program.

Messenger RNA or mRNA, are RNA molecules that encode a chemical "blueprint" for the synthesis of a protein. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short snippets of RNA that are crucial regulators of cell growth, differentiation, and death. While they don't encode for proteins, miRNAs are important for regulating protein production in the cell by repressing or "turning off" genes.

"The LIN28 protein is linked to growth and development and is important very early in human development," said principal investigator Gene Yeo, PhD, MBA, of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, the Stem Cell Research Program and the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UC San Diego. "It is usually turned off in adult tissue, but can be reactivated, for instance, in certain cancers or metabolic disorders, such as obesity."

Using genome-wide biochemical methods to look at the set of all RNA molecules across the transcriptome, the researchers found that LIN28 recognizes and binds to a known hairpin-like structure found on the let-7 family of miRNA, but surprisingly, this same structure is also found on mRNAs, allowing LIN28 to directly regulate thousands of targets.

"One of these targets actually encodes for the LIN28 protein itself. In other words, LIN28 helps to make more of itself," said Yeo. This process, known as autoregulation, helps to maintain a so-called "steady-state" system in which a protein positively regulates its own production by binding to a regulatory element of the mRNA for the gene coding it.

"Since these mRNA targets include those known to be involved in gene splicing, we also implicate LIN28 in the regulation of alternative splicing," said Wilbert, adding that abnormal variations in splicing are often implicated in cancer and other disorders.

Read more here:
Binding sites for LIN28 protein found in thousands of human genes

Recommendation and review posted by sam

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that its chief scientific officer, Robert Lanza, M.D., will be delivering the opening Keynote Speech at the 4th Annual Stem Cell Symposium 2012, being held in Singapore, September 6-7. Dr. Lanzas presentation is titled Pluripotent Stem Cells From Benchtop to Clinic.

With the theme, Stem Cell Based Therapy, the symposium will have a particular focus on clinical trials and industrial application of stem cells. Sponsored by Stem Cell Society of Singapore (SCSS), the conference will include scientific presentations from key contributors from academic, clinical, and commercial organizations who are translating basic research on stem cells into therapeutics, with a focus on applying engineering technologies to provide medical solutions.

In their opening statement, the organizers state, We are all keeping our fingers crossed for ACTs success, which will also bring a big boost to the stem cell community.

Other topics of the conference include human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), drug screening, adult and cancer stem cells, and stem cell therapies emerging from Asia, with presentations from Indian, Korean and Japanese regenerative medicine companies. There will also be a joint session with the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) covering important issues concerning the commercialization of stem cells, and addressing issues such as reimbursement, manufacturing, characterization, and clinical implementation issues unique to cell therapies.

About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. For more information, visit http://www.advancedcell.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating results, future growth in research and development programs, potential applications of our technology, opportunities for the company and any other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words will, believes, plans, anticipates, expects, estimates, and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: limited operating history, need for future capital, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, protection of our intellectual property, and economic conditions generally. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the companys periodic reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the companys management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the companys management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. There can be no assurance that the Companys clinical trials will be successful.

See the article here:
ACT’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Robert Lanza to Deliver Opening Keynote Address at 4th Annual Stem Cell Symposium ...

Recommendation and review posted by sam

GAITHERSBURG, MD--(Marketwire -09/04/12)- Cytomedix, Inc. (CMXI) (CMXI), a fully integrated regenerative medicine company commercializing and developing innovative platelet and adult stem cell technologies, today announced that the Company's AutoloGel System was highlighted in a continuing education program at the Paralyzed Veterans of America Summit 2012 held August 28 to 30 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.

The AutoloGel System is a device for the production of autologous platelet rich plasma ("PRP") gel, and is the only PRP device cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for use in wound management.

The program, titled, "Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Gel for Wounds on Persons with SCI," was delivered by Laurie Rappl, PT, DPT, CWS, Clinical Development Liaison for Cytomedix. Ms. Rappl's discussion addressed the underlying mechanisms of action that allow the Company's physiologically relevant concentration of PRP in the AutoloGel System to accelerate healing in recalcitrant wounds in patients with Spinal Cord Injuries ("SCI"), and highlighted the clinical data demonstrating rapid reduction in wound area and volume, as well as reduction of undermining and sinus tracts/tunnels in non-healing wounds in patients with SCI.

"The physiology of SCI -- such as decreased blood flow, blood pressure and blood supply -- causes impairment at every step of the wound healing process. A physiologically relevant concentration of PRP has been shown to improve healing in even the hardest to treat chronic wounds in SCI patients," noted Ms. Rappl.

"It is especially rewarding for Cytomedix to have a continuing education program highlighting the benefits of the AutoloGel System for the treatment of chronic wounds in SCI patients. Pressure ulcers and other chronic wounds are persistent medical challenges that compromise the health and quality-of-life for these paralyzed patients," stated Martin P. Rosendale, Chief Executive Officer of Cytomedix. "Our clinical data demonstrates how the AutoloGel System's physiologically relevant concentration of PRP can rapidly restart the healing process in complex and chronic wounds, including wounds that were recalcitrant to other treatments."

About The Paralyzed Veterans of America SummitParalyzed Veterans' Summit 2012 + EXPO brings together more than 700 healthcare professionals in SCI and multiple sclerosis (MS) care. Doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapist, social workers and researchers convene to explore and implement holistic strategies to strengthen the continuum of care for SCI and MS patients.

The Paralyzed Veterans of America Summit serves as an educational venue bringing together professionals representing the full spectrum of SCI and MS healthcare and to support clinicians in their pursuit of maintaining their specialty certification and/or license to practice. The objectives are to enhance multi-specialty care across the lifespan of individuals with SCI and MS; to assess advances in the delivery of healthcare services; to present innovative models of care management; to improve practice skills of clinicians, surgeons, researchers and administrators; to discuss evidence-based medicine; to increase the body of knowledge on spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, their medical complications and consequences; to promote educational opportunities; to identify research priorities; and to present data on new developments in assessment and treatment.

About Cytomedix, Inc. Cytomedix, Inc. is a fully integrated regenerative medicine company commercializing and developing innovative platelet and adult stem cell separation products that enhance the body's natural healing processes. The Company's advanced autologous technologies offer clinicians a new treatment paradigm for wound and tissue repair. The Company's patient-derived PRP systems are marketed by Cytomedix in the U.S. and distributed internationally. Our commercial products include the AutoloGel System, cleared by the FDA for wound care and the Angel Whole Blood Separation System. The Company is developing novel regenerative therapies using our proprietary ALDH Bright Cell ("ALDHbr") technology to isolate a unique, biologically active population of a patient's own stem cells. A Phase 2 trial evaluating the use of ALDHbr for the treatment of ischemic stroke is underway. For additional information please visit http://www.cytomedix.com.

Safe Harbor StatementStatements contained in this press release not relating to historical facts are forward-looking statements that are intended to fall within the safe harbor rule for such statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information contained in the forward-looking statements is inherently uncertain, and Cytomedix' actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond Cytomedix' ability to predict or control, including among many others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company's reimbursement related efforts, the Company's ability to capitalize on the benefits of the above-referenced CMS determination, the Company's ability to successfully and favorably conclude the negotiations and related discussions with the above-referenced global pharmaceutical company, the Company's ability to successfully integrate the Aldagen acquisition, to successfully manage contemplated clinical trials, to manage and address the capital needs, human resource, management, compliance and other challenges of a larger, more complex and integrated business enterprise, viability and effectiveness of the Company's sales approach and overall marketing strategies, commercial success or acceptance by the medical community, competitive responses, the Company's ability to raise additional capital and to continue as a going concern, and Cytomedix's ability to execute on its strategy to market the AutoloGel System as contemplated. To the extent that any statements made here are not historical, these statements are essentially forward-looking. The Company uses words and phrases such as "believes", "forecasted," "projects," "is expected," "remain confident," "will" and/or similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements in this press release. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ from the forward-looking statements. More information about some of these risks and uncertainties may be found in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Cytomedix, Inc. Cytomedix operates in a highly competitive and rapidly changing business and regulatory environment, thus new or unforeseen risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Except as is expressly required by the federal securities laws, Cytomedix undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future events or for any other reason. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and other subsequent filings. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov.

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Cytomedix's AutoloGel System Featured in Continuing Education Program at the Paralyzed Veterans of America Summit 2012

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Editor's Choice Main Category: Ear, Nose and Throat Also Included In: Genetics Article Date: 03 Sep 2012 - 11:00 PDT

Current ratings for: New Discovery Offers Hope For People Who Can't Smell

3.33 (3 votes)

4 (1 votes)

The experts believe that fixing congenital anosmia, which is medical language for not being able to smell anything, may eventually lead to curing similar medical issues which also come from the cilia or small hair-like pieces which reside on the outside of cells and are present in diseases involving the kidneys, eyes, and other parts of the body.

According to the report, it may take a while for the evidence to be able to help humans and it will eventually be extremely significant for individuals who have lost the ability to smell because of some type of medical problem, and not so much for people who can't smell because of trauma to the nose, or simply old age. However, the new findings help researchers to understand anosmia on the cellular level, which gives hope to anyone who does not have a sense of smell that someday their ability to smell may be restored.

Jeffery Martens, Ph.D., senior author of the study commented:

The rodents involved in the study possessed some genetic defect that affected a protein named IFT88. This defect made the individuals have less- than-normal amounts of cilia in their bodies. When this problem occurs in mice, it results in early death and poor feeding habits, while for humans it can be fatal.

IFT88 genes were implanted into the cells in the mice when the researchers gave them a common cold virus which had plenty of normal DNA. This made it easy for the virus to infect them, and therefore, the researchers could insert the virus into the cells of the mice.

After this, the experts were able to analyze the feeding habits of the mice, as well as how they were growing, and the neuron signals which assist in the smelling process.

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New Discovery Offers Hope For People Who Can't Smell

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

(CBS News) There may be hope for people who are unable to smell. Using gene therapy, scientists have successfully restored the sense of smell in mice that had a genetic mutation that took away their olfactory senses.

Smell disorders or olfactory dysfunction affect one to two percent of people living in North America, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). They partially funded the study along with the National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Eye Institute (NEI).

However, smell problems increase with age. A study showed that about 25 percent of men between the ages of 60 to 69 and 11 percent of women in that age group had developed a problem with their sense of smell, NIDCD said.

Scientist hypothesize that olfactory dysfunction may be due to a group of genetic disorders called ciliopathies, which include diseases such as polycystic kidney disease and retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment and blindness. Problems with cilia, antenna-like projections on cells that help sense what's around, are the root of these distorders. The cilia are found on olfactory sensory neurons where are located in tissue high up in the nasal cavity in the olfactory system.

In order to see if they could reintroduce the sense of smell, researchers from the University of Michigan tested mice that had a mutated version of the IFT88 gene. When working normally, the gene creates the IFT88 protein which is necessary for the in the development of cilia. Without it, cilia function decreases especially in the olfactory system. The same genetic problem in humans causes congenital anosmia, the inability to smell from birth.

They injected the subjects with an adenovirus - in this case, a version of the common cold virus - with the missing normal IFT88 sequence. Theoretically, it would "infect" the mice's DNA and insert the correct gene into the cells. The mice were given the therapy for three days via the nose and then given 10 days to allow the IFT88 protein to grow.

Two weeks after the three-day treatment, the mice had gained 60 percent of their body weight meaning they were eating more. Often, mice missing the protein are underweight because their lack of smell gives them less motivation to eat. Other tests showed that the neurons connected to smell were working correctly when the mice were exposed to amyl acetate, a strong-smelling chemical also called banana oil.

"Using gene therapy in a mouse model of cilia dysfunction, we were able to rescue and restore olfactory function, or sense of smell," says senior author Jeffrey Martens, an associate professor of pharmacology at University of Michigan, said in a press release. "Essentially, we induced the neurons that transmit the sense of smell to regrow the cilia they'd lost."

The authors said they hope to continue their research on mice who are completely lacking the IFT88 protein and see if there is a way to use the therapy to restore the sense of smell to people who were born with anosmia.

"These results could lead to one of the first therapeutic options for treating people with congenital anosmia," Dr. James F. Battey, Jr., director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD), said in a press release. "They also set the stage for therapeutic approaches to treating diseases that involve cilia dysfunction in other organ systems, many of which can be fatal if left untreated."

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Scientists restore sense of smell to mice who were born with genetic abnormality

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

For the first time, people with broken spines have recovered feeling in previously paralysed areas after receiving injections of neural stem cells.

Three people with paralysis received injections of 20 million neural stem cells directly into the injured region of their spinal cord. The cells, acquired from donated fetal brain tissue, were injected between four and eight months after the injuries happened. The patients also received a temporary course of immunosuppressive drugs to limit rejection of the cells.

None of the three felt any sensation below their nipples before the treatment. Six months after therapy, two of them had sensations of touch and heat between their chest and belly button. The third patient has not seen any change.

"The fact we've seen responses to light touch, heat and electrical impulses so far down in two of the patients is very unexpected," says Stephen Huhn of StemCells, the company in Newark, California, developing and testing the treatment. "They're really close to normal in those areas now in their sensitivity," he adds.

"We are very intrigued to see that patients have gained considerable sensory function," says Armin Curt of Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, where the patients were treated, and principal investigator in the trial.

The data are preliminary, but "these sensory changes suggest that the cells may be positively impacting recovery", says Curt, who presented the results today in London at the annual meeting of the International Spinal Cord Society.

The patients are the first three of 12 who will eventually receive the therapy. The remaining recipients will have less extensive paralysis.

"The sensory gains, first detected at three months post-transplant, have now persisted and evolved at six months after transplantation," says Huhn. "We clearly need to collect much more data to demonstrate efficacy, but our results so far provide a strong rationale to persevere with the clinical development of our stem cells for spinal injury," he says.

"We need to keep monitoring these patients to see if feeling continues to affect lower segments of their bodies," says Huhn. "These are results after only six months, and we will follow these patients for many years."

Huhn says that the company has "compelling data" from animal studies that the donated cells can repair nerves within broken spines (Neurological Research, DOI: 10.1179/016164106X115116).

Read more:
Stem cells bring back feeling for paralysed patients

Recommendation and review posted by sam

With the Paralympics in full swing in London this week, it's interesting to see the extraordinary advances being made in prosthetic limb technology.

Today, An Do at the Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California and a few pals say they've built and tested a prosthetic lower limb that can be controlled in real time by EEG (electroencephalogram) signals fed into a computer.

Do and co have been tackling this problem for some time. In previous work, they developed a way of using EEG signals to control the walking motion of an avatar in a virtual environment.

The system works well both for able-bodied subjects and those with spinal cord injury who are unable to walk.

Now they've taken the obvious next step and connected their mind-computer interface to a robotic leg.

Do and co tested the system using an able-bodied subject who mastered the system in just 10 minutes (although he previously had 5 hours of practice with the virtual avatar system).

An important measure of success is the number of false positive signals the system generates, since unintended steps are potentially life threatening for the user. (Imagine waiting for a train or to cross a road.)

Do and co say the system had 100 per cent response rate with no unintended steps. "By the end of the experiment, the subject had no false alarms," they say.

That's a significant development. The team points out that individuals with paraplegia due to spinal cord injury are unable to walk and most are wheelchair bound. This inactivity causes untold health problems, such as metabolic disfunction, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Clearly, brain-controlled prostheses could make a significant difference.

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First Mind-Controlled Robotic Leg Put Through Its Paces

Recommendation and review posted by sam

(RTTNews.com) - StemCells Inc. (STEM) announced that interim six-month data from the first patient cohort in the company's Phase I/II clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) for chronic spinal cord injury continues to demonstrate a favorable safety profile, and shows considerable gains in sensory function in two of the three patients compared to pre-transplant baselines. The third patient remains stable.

The trial represents the first time that neural stem cells have been transplanted as a potential therapeutic agent for spinal cord injury.

The company stated that Patients in the study's first cohort all suffered a complete injury to the thoracic (chest-level) spinal cord. In a complete injury, there is no neurological function below the level of injury. All three patients were transplanted four to nine months after injury with a dose of 20 million cells at the site of injury. The surgery, immunosuppression and the cell transplants have been well tolerated by all the patients.

There were no abnormal clinical, electrophysiological or radiological responses to the cells, and all the patients were neurologically stable through the first six months following transplantation. Changes in sensitivity to touch, heat and electrical stimuli were observed in well-defined and consistent areas below the level of injury in two of the patients, while no changes were observed in the third patient, the company said.

Importantly, tests of perception of different sensory stimuli as well as measures of electrical impulse transmission across the site of injury correlate with the clinical examination, providing independent and objective confirmation of the changes in sensory function.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

http://www.rttnews.com

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StemCells Announces Positive Interim Data From Spinal Cord Injury Trial

Recommendation and review posted by sam

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/h4vsbr/spinal_cord_injury) has announced the addition of Global Markets Direct's new report "Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H2 2012" to their offering.

Global Markets Direct's, 'Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H2 2012', provides an overview of the Spinal Cord Injury therapeutic pipeline. This report provides information on the therapeutic development for Spinal Cord Injury, complete with latest updates, and special features on late-stage and discontinued projects. It also reviews key players involved in the therapeutic development for Spinal Cord Injury. 'Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H2 2012' is built using data and information sourced from Global Markets Direct's proprietary databases, Company/University websites, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases from company/university sites and industry-specific third party sources, put together by Global Markets Direct's team.

Scope

- A snapshot of the global therapeutic scenario for Spinal Cord Injury.

- A review of the Spinal Cord Injury products under development by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources.

- Coverage of products based on various stages of development ranging from discovery till registration stages.

- A feature on pipeline projects on the basis of monotherapy and combined therapeutics.

- Coverage of the Spinal Cord Injury pipeline on the basis of route of administration and molecule type.

- Profiles of late-stage pipeline products featuring sections on product description, mechanism of action and research & development progress.

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Research and Markets: Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H2 2012

Recommendation and review posted by sam

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/55tpk9/cardiovascular_dru) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "Cardiovascular Drug Delivery - Technologies, Markets and Companies" to their offering.

Drug delivery to the cardiovascular system is different from delivery to other systems because of the anatomy and physiology of the vascular system; it supplies blood and nutrients to all organs of the body. Drugs can be introduced into the vascular system for systemic effects or targeted to an organ via the regional blood supply. In addition to the usual formulations of drugs such as controlled release, devices are used as well. This report starts with an introduction to molecular cardiology and discusses its relationship to biotechnology and drug delivery systems.

Drug delivery to the cardiovascular system is approached at three levels: (1) routes of drug delivery; (2) formulations; and finally (3) applications to various diseases. Formulations for drug delivery to the cardiovascular system range from controlled release preparations to delivery of proteins and peptides. Cell and gene therapies, including antisense and RNA interference, are described in full chapters as they are the most innovative methods of delivery of therapeutics. Various methods of improving systemic administration of drugs for cardiovascular disorders are described including use of nanotechnology.

Cell-selective targeted drug delivery has emerged as one of the most significant areas of biomedical engineering research, to optimize the therapeutic efficacy of a drug by strictly localizing its pharmacological activity to a pathophysiologically relevant tissue system. These concepts have been applied to targeted drug delivery to the cardiovascular system. Devices for drug delivery to the cardiovascular system are also described.

Role of drug delivery in various cardiovascular disorders such as myocardial ischemia, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia is discussed. Cardioprotection is also discussed. Some of the preparations and technologies are also applicable to peripheral arterial diseases. Controlled release systems are based on chronopharmacology, which deals with the effects of circadian biological rhythms on drug actions.A full chapter is devoted to drug-eluting stents as treatment for restenosis following stenting of coronary arteries.Fifteen companies are involved in drug-eluting stents.

New cell-based therapeutic strategies are being developed in response to the shortcomings of available treatments for heart disease. Potential repair by cell grafting or mobilizing endogenous cells holds particular attraction in heart disease, where the meager capacity for cardiomyocyte proliferation likely contributes to the irreversibility of heart failure. Cell therapy approaches include attempts to reinitiate cardiomyocyte proliferation in the adult, conversion of fibroblasts to contractile myocytes, conversion of bone marrow stem cells into cardiomyocytes, and transplantation of myocytes or other cells into injured myocardium.

Advances in molecular pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases have brought gene therapy within the realm of possibility as a novel approach to treatment of these diseases. It is hoped that gene therapy will be less expensive and affordable because the techniques involved are simpler than those involved in cardiac bypass surgery, heart transplantation and stent implantation. Gene therapy would be a more physiologic approach to deliver vasoprotective molecules to the site of vascular lesion. Gene therapy is not only a sophisticated method of drug delivery; it may at time need drug delivery devices such as catheters for transfer of genes to various parts of the cardiovascular system.

The cardiovascular drug delivery markets are estimated for the years 2011 to 2021 on the basis of epidemiology and total markets for cardiovascular therapeutics. The estimates take into consideration the anticipated advances and availability of various technologies, particularly drug delivery devices in the future. Markets for drug-eluting stents are calculated separately. Role of drug delivery in developing cardiovascular markets is defined and unmet needs in cardiovascular drug delivery technologies are identified.

Selected 80 companies that either develop technologies for drug delivery to the cardiovascular system or products using these technologies are profiled and 77 collaborations between companies are tabulated. The bibliography includes 200 selected references from recent literature on this topic. The report is supplemented with 27 tables and 7 figures.

Original post:
Research and Markets: Cardiovascular Drug Delivery - Technologies, Markets and Companies - Updated 2012 Report

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

LONDON (ShareCast) - Tuesday has a bit of an agricultural feel to it, with animal genetics company Genus (Xetra: 762548 - news) and veterinary health-care company Dechra Pharmaceuticals set to update the market.

Peel Hunt says emerging markets growth should be offsetting higher feed prices at Genus. It is forecasting a 15% improvement in profits, with strong growth across a number of emerging markets.

The key issue currently is the rise in feed prices, Peel Hunt believes. "This will have a direct impact on Genus's feed costs of around 1m, but it will also affect its customers. Some customers may well struggle in the short term, but generally higher feed prices are good news for Genus as it accelerates the trend to industrialisation of the industry and reinforces the benefits of genetics in improving feed conversion," the broker predicts.

"We expect to hear more about plans in China, particularly with the announcement of the major JV [joint venture] with Besun, which will deliver genetics to 10m slaughter pigs when in full operation," the broker added.

As for Dechra, the market is expecting profit before tax of 31.1m on revenue of 420.2m. Earnings per share are tipped to rise 19% to 37.03p, paving the way for the full-year dividend to be upped to around 12.16p from 10.97p last year.

US health-care software developer Craneware (Other OTC: CRWRF.PK - news) issued a profit warning in July which does not seem to have done the share price any long term harm, possibly because the group said that the lowering of earnings guidance was because of deal slippage. Analysts will be looking to see if there has been any more signs since then of customers delaying putting pen to paper on new deals.

Abbot ale brewer Greene King (Other OTC: GRKGF.PK - news) issues an interim management statement, and Panmure Gordon thinks the pubs group will have made a robust start to the new financial year, despite the wettest summer since 1912 in the UK.

"We forecast 3.5% LFL [like-for-like] sales growth in managed pubs and 2.5% growth in average EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] in its tenanted pubs," the broker revealed.

"Core (Berlin: LJ1.BE - news) brand brewing volumes should be broadly flat," Panmure Gordon added.

Sticking with the boozy theme, pubs group Spirit Pub Company issues a pre-close interim management statement and Panmure Gordon expects the group to reiterate it is comfortable with market expectations of full-year profit before tax of 51.5m.

More here:
Tuesday preview: Genus, Dechra, Greene King

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Scientists restored sense of smell to mice bred to have human genetic disorder Has potential to help patients with dementia, which has been linked to loss of smell

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 03:52 EST, 3 September 2012 | UPDATED: 06:01 EST, 3 September 2012

People born without a sense of smell could enjoy their first aromas, after a scientific breakthrough.

Researchers managed to reverse the problem in mice bred to have the human genetic disorder called congenital anosmia.

They may be able to adapt the procedure to reverse loss of smell caused by ageing or disease.

Floral scent: A new technique could restore the sense of smell

The technique regrows parts of cells known as cilia that are essential for olfactory function, according to a study published online in Mature Medicine.

Dr James Battey, director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD) in the US, said: 'These results could lead to one of the first therapeutic options for treating people with congenital anosmia.

'They also set the stage for therapeutic approaches to treating diseases that involve cilia dysfunction in other organ systems, many of which can be fatal if left untreated.'

Go here to read the rest:
Anosmia: Gene therapy offers new hope after restoring sense in mice

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2012) UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.

The studies were done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during postnatal life.

"We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse bone marrow," said study senior author Dr. Gay Crooks, co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and a co-director of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology program at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "The few studies with human tissue have mostly used umbilical cord blood, which does not reflect the immune system of postnatal life."

The research team was "intrigued to find this particular bone marrow cell because it opens up a lot of new possibilities in terms of understanding how human immunity is produced from stem cells throughout life," said Crooks, a professor of pathology and pediatrics.

Understanding the process of normal blood formation in human adults is a crucial step in shedding light on what goes wrong during the process that results in leukemias, or cancers of the blood.

The study appears Sept. 2 in the early online edition of Nature Immunology.

Before this study, researchers had a fairly good idea of how to find and study the blood stem cells of the bone marrow. The stem cells live forever, reproduce themselves and give rise to all the cells of the blood. In the process, the stem cells divide and produce intermediate stages of development called progenitors, which make various blood lineages like red blood cells or platelets. Crooks was most interested in the creation of the progenitors that form the entire immune system, which consists of many different cells called lymphocytes, each with a specialized function to fight infection.

"Like the stem cells, the progenitor cells are also very rare, so before we can study them we needed to find the needle in the haystack." said Lisa Kohn, a member of the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program and first author in the paper.

Previous work had found a fairly mature type of lymphocyte progenitor with a limited ability to differentiate, but the new work describes a more primitive type of progenitor primed to produce the entire immune system, Kohn said

Once the lymphoid primed progenitor had been identified, Crooks and her team studied how gene expression changed during the earliest stages of its production from stem cells.

Originally posted here:
'Missing link' between stem cells and the immune system

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Public release date: 2-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.

The studies were done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during postnatal life.

"We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse bone marrow," said study senior author Dr. Gay Crooks, co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and a co-director of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology program at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "The few studies with human tissue have mostly used umbilical cord blood, which does not reflect the immune system of postnatal life."

The research team was "intrigued to find this particular bone marrow cell because it opens up a lot of new possibilities in terms of understanding how human immunity is produced from stem cells throughout life," said Crooks, a professor of pathology and pediatrics.

Understanding the process of normal blood formation in human adults is a crucial step in shedding light on what goes wrong during the process that results in leukemias, or cancers of the blood.

The study appears Sept. 2 in the early online edition of Nature Immunology.

Before this study, researchers had a fairly good idea of how to find and study the blood stem cells of the bone marrow. The stem cells live forever, reproduce themselves and give rise to all the cells of the blood. In the process, the stem cells divide and produce intermediate stages of development called progenitors, which make various blood lineages like red blood cells or platelets. Crooks was most interested in the creation of the progenitors that form the entire immune system, which consists of many different cells called lymphocytes, each with a specialized function to fight infection.

"Like the stem cells, the progenitor cells are also very rare, so before we can study them we needed to find the needle in the haystack." said Lisa Kohn, a member of the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program and first author in the paper.

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UCLA researchers discover missing link between stem cells and immune system

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Contact: Emmanouil Dermitzakis emmanouil.dermitzakis@unige.ch 41-223-795-483 Universit de Genve

Genetic disease risk differences between one individual and another are based on complex aetiology. Indeed, they may reflect differences in the genes themselves, or else differences at the heart of the regions involved in the regulation of these same genes.

By gene regulation we mean the decision that the cell makes as to when, where and at what level to activate or suppress the expression of a gene. In theory, two people could thus share a gene that is perfectly identical and yet show differences in their predisposition to a disease due to genetic differences concerning the regulation (overexpression or underexpression) of this same gene.

Numerous teams are currently trying to draw up a map of regions involved in gene regulation. Not an easy task, but invaluable since it allows us to understand all the genetic causes that can explain the predisposition to certain diseases.

Working with twins

Emmanouil Dermitzakis, Louis-Jeantet Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and member of the NCCR Frontiers in Genetics and the Institute of Genetics and Genomics of Geneva (IGE3), is a specialist in what is called the genetics of complex traits. With an international team co-led by Professor Tim Spector (Kings College), Professor Mark McCarthy (Oxford University) and Dr. Panos Deloukas (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute), he publishes a study highlighting thousands of these genetic variants that seem to explain individual differences in gene expression.

For this work, the researchers used samples of three different tissue types (adipose tissue, skin and blood cells) collected from more than 800 homozygotic (identical) and dizygotic twins.

"Identifying variants which control the activity of many genes is a greater challenge than we anticipated but we are developing appropriate tools to uncover them and understand their contribution to disease," comments Panos Deloukas. "Modern human genetics combined with samples donated by the participants in studies such as TwinsUK is making great strides towards finding the genetic culprits behind human disease."

The method researchers followed allowed them to uncover nearly 358 variants apparently involved in the predisposition to certain diseases including quantifying the contribution of rare regulatory variants that was previously not possible to identify by conventional analysis methods.

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A new light shed on genetic regulation's role in the predisposition to common diseases

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Public release date: 2-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robin Latham lathamr@nidcd.nih.gov 301-496-7243 NIH/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have restored the ability to smell in a mouse model of a human genetic disorder that causes congenital anosmiathe inability to smell from birth. The approach uses gene therapy to regrow cilia, cell structures that are essential for olfactory function. The study was funded by four parts of NIH: the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Eye Institute (NEI). It was published online in the September 2, 2012, issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

"These results could lead to one of the first therapeutic options for treating people with congenital anosmia," said James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of NIDCD. "They also set the stage for therapeutic approaches to treating diseases that involve cilia dysfunction in other organ systems, many of which can be fatal if left untreated."

Olfactory dysfunction can be a symptom of a newly recognized class of genetic disorders, known as ciliopathies, which include diseases as diverse as polycystic kidney disease and retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited, degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment and blindness. The disorders are caused by defects in cilia, antenna-like projections on cells that help them sense their environment. Scientists believe that nearly every cell in the body has the capacity to grow one or more cilia. In the olfactory system, multiple cilia project from olfactory sensory neurons, sensory cells that are found in the olfactory epithelium, tissue high up in the nasal cavity. Receptors that bind odorants are localized on the cilia, which is why a loss of cilia results in a loss in the ability to smell.

The team of researchers, led by Jeffrey R. Martens, Ph.D., at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Jeremy C. McIntyre, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in Martens' laboratory, worked with a mouse model carrying a mutation in the IFT88 gene. The mutation causes a decrease in the IFT88 protein, which leads to a dramatic reduction in cilia function in several different organ systems, including the olfactory system.

The researchers used an adenovirus to introduce a healthy copy of the gene as a way to restore IFT88 protein levels in the mice. They wanted to see if the reintroduction of the lost protein could restore cilia to the olfactory sensory neurons and return the ability to smell. For three consecutive days, the mice received intranasal gene delivery therapy and then were allowed 10 days for the infected sensory neurons to express the viral-encoded IFT88 protein. After that time, the mice were tested with increasing concentrations of an odorant (amyl acetate). Their responses were measured at the cellular, tissue, and synaptic levels, which all indicated that the mice had regained olfactory function.

"By restoring the protein back into the olfactory neurons, we could give the cell the ability to regrow and extend cilia off the dendrite knob, which is what the olfactory neuron needs to detect odorants," said McIntyre.

The change in olfactory function also has implications in the feeding behavior of the mice. The mouse model the scientists used is born underweight and its anosmia interferes with the motivation to eat, which in many mammals, including humans, is driven by smell. Treatment with adenovirus therapy increased bodyweight by 60 percent in treated compared to untreated mice, indicating that the restored olfactory function was motivating feeding.

The researchers plan to continue their work by developing another mouse model to look at the impact on olfactory function and the potential for restoring function when the IFT88 gene is completely missing, rather than just mutated. Future studies could begin to plot a way to bring this therapeutic tactic to human study volunteers, which could eventually restore the sense of smell, and a better quality of life, to people who are born with anosmia. Further research could also advance the treatments for other ciliopathies, as these findings show that gene therapy is a viable option for the functional rescue of cilia in established, already differentiated cells.

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NIH-funded researchers restore sense of smell in mice using genetic technique

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2012) Scientists have restored the sense of smell in mice through gene therapy for the first time -- a hopeful sign for people who can't smell anything from birth or lose it due to disease.

The achievement in curing congenital anosmia -- the medical term for lifelong inability to detect odors -- may also aid research on other conditions that also stem from problems with the cilia. Those tiny hair-shaped structures on the surfaces of cells throughout the body are involved in many diseases, from the kidneys to the eyes.

The new findings, published online in Nature Medicine, come from a team at the University of Michigan Medical School and their colleagues at several other institutions.

The researchers caution that it will take time for their work to affect human treatment, and that it will be most important for people who have lost their sense of smell due to a genetic disorder, rather than those who lose it due to aging, head trauma, or chronic sinus problems. But their work paves the way for a better understanding of anosmia at the cellular level.

"Using gene therapy in a mouse model of cilia dysfunction, we were able to rescue and restore olfactory function, or sense of smell," says senior author Jeffrey Martens, Ph.D., an associate professor of pharmacology at U-M. "Essentially, we induced the neurons that transmit the sense of smell to regrow the cilia they'd lost."

The mice in the study all had a severe genetic defect that affected a protein called IFT88, causing a lack of cilia throughout their bodies. Such mice are prone to poor feeding and to early death as a result. In humans, the same genetic defect is fatal.

The researchers were able to insert normal IFT88 genes into the cells of the mice by giving them a common cold virus loaded with the normal DNA sequence, and allowing the virus to infect them and insert the DNA into the mouse's own cells. They then monitored cilia growth, feeding habits, and well as signals within and between the nerve cells, called neurons, that are involved in the sense of smell.

Only 14 days after the three-day treatment, the mice had a 60 percent increase in their body weight, an indication they were likely eating more. Cell-level indicators showed that neurons involved in smelling were firing correctly when the mice were exposed to amyl acetate, a strong-smelling chemical also called banana oil.

"At the molecular level, function that had been absent was restored," says Martens.

"By restoring the protein back into the olfactory neurons, we could give the cell the ability to regrow and extend cilia off the dendrite knob, which is what the olfactory neuron needs to detect odorants," says postdoctoral fellow and first author Jeremy McIntyre, Ph.D.

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Can’t smell anything? Discovery may give you hope

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2 September 2012 Last updated at 21:22 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Gene therapy has been used to give mice born without a sense of smell the ability to sniff their surroundings, an international team of researchers say.

The mice had a genetic disease which affected microscopic hairs in their body - called cilia - which can detect chemicals in the air.

Researchers hope their findings will lead to treatments for diseased cilia, which can cause blindness, deafness and kidney disease in people.

The study is in Nature Medicine.

Microscopic cilia stick out from many cells in the body. A range of genetic disorders called ciliopathies result in damaged cilia which can be fatal or severely debilitating. One symptom can be a lifetime without a sense of smell, called congenital anosmia.

A groups of researchers, lead by the University of Michigan, looked at mice with a mutation in their Ift88 gene, which meant they struggled to produce cilia and could not smell.

The group created a virus which was capable of infecting cells with a working version of the Ift88 gene. This was injected into the nose on three consecutive days. This was able to restore the cilia and a sense of smell.

Prof Philip Beales from University College London was involved in the study. He told the BBC: "It is a proof of concept that has shown we can get that gene back into these cells, produce the right protein, produce cilia and function as expected.

He said the mice were then able to use their sense of smell to seek out food. However, it is hoped a similar approach could be used for other symptoms of the disorders.

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Mice 'smell again' after therapy

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Public release date: 2-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kara Gavin kegavin@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Scientists have restored the sense of smell in mice through gene therapy for the first time -- a hopeful sign for people who can't smell anything from birth or lose it due to disease.

The achievement in curing congenital anosmia -- the medical term for lifelong inability to detect odors -- may also aid research on other conditions that also stem from problems with the cilia. Those tiny hair-shaped structures on the surfaces of cells throughout the body are involved in many diseases, from the kidneys to the eyes.

The new findings, published online in Nature Medicine, come from a team at the University of Michigan Medical School and their colleagues at several other institutions.

The researchers caution that it will take time for their work to affect human treatment, and that it will be most important for people who have lost their sense of smell due to a genetic disorder, rather than those who lose it due to aging, head trauma, or chronic sinus problems. But their work paves the way for a better understanding of anosmia at the cellular level.

"Using gene therapy in a mouse model of cilia dysfunction, we were able to rescue and restore olfactory function, or sense of smell," says senior author Jeffrey Martens, Ph.D., an associate professor of pharmacology at U-M. "Essentially, we induced the neurons that transmit the sense of smell to regrow the cilia they'd lost."

The mice in the study all had a severe genetic defect that affected a protein called IFT88, causing a lack of cilia throughout their bodies. Such mice are prone to poor feeding and to early death as a result. In humans, the same genetic defect is fatal.

The researchers were able to insert normal IFT88 genes into the cells of the mice by giving them a common cold virus loaded with the normal DNA sequence, and allowing the virus to infect them and insert the DNA into the mouse's own cells. They then monitored cilia growth, feeding habits, and well as signals within and between the nerve cells, called neurons, that are involved in the sense of smell.

Only 14 days after the three-day treatment, the mice had a 60 percent increase in their body weight, an indication they were likely eating more. Cell-level indicators showed that neurons involved in smelling were firing correctly when the mice were exposed to amyl acetate, a strong-smelling chemical also called banana oil.

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Can't smell anything? This discovery may give you hope

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YAHOO:

Talent manager Annabelle Rama will fly to Germany in September to undergo therapy - stem cell therapy, that is. This has been a promise made by her son Richard Gutierrez who's footing the bill. "Early this year pa lang ay napagplanuhan na 'yung pagpapa-stem cell ng nanay ko at prinomise ko sa kanya na pag-iipunan ko, prinomise ko sa kanya na ako ang magti-treat sa kanya," Richard said on the first episode of "H.O.T. TV," Aug. 5.

He noted, "'Yung mom ko hindi mahilig 'yan na pumunta sa mga doctor, hindi mahilig magpa-check-up."

Looking forward

This early, Annabelle is already excited about her trip and the upcoming treatment.

"Kaya ako excited pumunta kasi unang-una mataas ang aking sugar, mataas ang aking cholesterol, tapos me problema pa ako sa high blood, blood pressure ko. Siguro nga kailangan kong pumunta ng Germany," she said, noting that the condition of her friends, talent manager Lolit Solis and actress Lorna Tolentino, have improved tremendously after going through stem cell therapy.

"Nakita ko ang mukha ni Lolis pumuputi ang mukha niya, eh at saka mukha siyang fresh na fresh. Lalo na si LT, nakita ko rin siya. Mukhang gumanda naman siya. Basta lahat ng kaibigan kong galing doon, nakakausap ko, sabi nila ay talagang gumaling daw sila. 'Yung kanilang napi-feel na mabigat sa katawan dahil sa sakit nila ay nawawala lahat," she said.

Exorbitant fees?

Annabelle had already inquired about the fees of stem cell procedure in the country and she feels it's exorbitant.

"Kasi sa Piipinas may pinagtatanungan na ako, umabot ng mga four million pesos 'yung naitanong ko kaya parang na-discourage akong magpagamot kasi nga ganoon kamahal."

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Annabelle Rama to undergo stem cell treatment to improve health

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

YAHOO:

Talent manager Annabelle Rama will fly to Germany in September to undergo therapy - stem cell therapy, that is. This has been a promise made by her son Richard Gutierrez who's footing the bill. "Early this year pa lang ay napagplanuhan na 'yung pagpapa-stem cell ng nanay ko at prinomise ko sa kanya na pag-iipunan ko, prinomise ko sa kanya na ako ang magti-treat sa kanya," Richard said on the first episode of "H.O.T. TV," Aug. 5.

He noted, "'Yung mom ko hindi mahilig 'yan na pumunta sa mga doctor, hindi mahilig magpa-check-up."

Looking forward

This early, Annabelle is already excited about her trip and the upcoming treatment.

"Kaya ako excited pumunta kasi unang-una mataas ang aking sugar, mataas ang aking cholesterol, tapos me problema pa ako sa high blood, blood pressure ko. Siguro nga kailangan kong pumunta ng Germany," she said, noting that the condition of her friends, talent manager Lolit Solis and actress Lorna Tolentino, have improved tremendously after going through stem cell therapy.

"Nakita ko ang mukha ni Lolis pumuputi ang mukha niya, eh at saka mukha siyang fresh na fresh. Lalo na si LT, nakita ko rin siya. Mukhang gumanda naman siya. Basta lahat ng kaibigan kong galing doon, nakakausap ko, sabi nila ay talagang gumaling daw sila. 'Yung kanilang napi-feel na mabigat sa katawan dahil sa sakit nila ay nawawala lahat," she said.

Exorbitant fees?

Annabelle had already inquired about the fees of stem cell procedure in the country and she feels it's exorbitant.

"Kasi sa Piipinas may pinagtatanungan na ako, umabot ng mga four million pesos 'yung naitanong ko kaya parang na-discourage akong magpagamot kasi nga ganoon kamahal."

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Annabelle Rama to undergo stem cell treatment to improve health

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By David Farrier

Some of the world's top scientists are meeting in Rotorua to figure out how to feed future generations in a world with a booming population.

Organisers say the ABIC 2012 conference aims to promote debate about genetic engineering, and they only had to step outside to find people wanting to debate it with them.

It is the 12th International Conference for Agricultural Biotechnology.

The gathering is of some of the best brains in the world when it comes to the art of growing plants. But it's also much bigger than that.

Now we see agriculture branching out, says ABIC Foundation chairman Dr Jerome Konecsni. We're looking at agriculture as a source of energy, as a source of medicines.

The conference comes as the World Bank notes global food prices soaring by 10 percent in July, with the price of maize reaching an all-time high.

It's very important because the task of feeding the world of tomorrow is probably one of the most formidable jobs we have to do, says Dr Clive James, agricultural scientist.

Outside, a protest of around 30 people rallied, unhappy with talk of genetic modification.

All we're wanting in there is for scientists to find a middle path between the control of science and respect that people want GM-free production, says protest organiser Jon Carapiet.

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GM-food conference draws critics

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September 1, 2012

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online

African-American and European men have an increased risk of prostate cancer due to changes in one of their immune system genes, claims a new study published online in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine, as well as colleagues from Northwestern University and Washington, D.C.s Howard University Hospital, isolated changes in the IL-16 gene, an immune system protein, the school reported in an August 31 statement.

Previously identified changes in the gene for IL-16 were associated with prostate cancer in men of European descent. But the same changes in the genes coded sequence called polymorphisms did not confer the same risk in African Americans, the university said.

Doubt was cast on IL-16s role in prostate cancer when researchers were unable to confirm that the IL-16 polymorphisms identified in whites were also important risk factors in African Americans, they added.

Using a new technique known as imputation, which the school describes as a form of statistical extrapolation, the research team was able to discover new patterns of association, which in turn showed them new locations within the gene where they could search for polymorphisms. With that knowledge, they were able to find changes in a different part of the IL-16 gene that were both linked to prostate cancer and unique to African-American males.

According to the UIC statement, polymorphisms occur as a result of DNA mutations and are prevalent in the ancestry of different populations. Lead researcher Rick Kittles, an associate professor of medicine in hematology/oncology at the university, explained that searching for polymorphisms associated with diseases like prostate cancer is more difficult in African-Americans than in Caucasians, as the former race is said to be far more genetically diverse than the latter.

Kittles said that the research provides us with a new potential biomarker for prostate cancer, adding that it confirms the importance of IL-16 in prostate cancer and leads us in a new direction. Very little research has been done on IL-16, so not much is known about it. We now need to explore the functional role of IL-16 to understand the role it is playing in prostate cancer.

The research was supported by grants from the US Department of Defense and the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health.

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Genetic Link To Prostate Cancer Found In Europeans, African-Americans

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Newswise UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the missing link between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.

The studies were done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during postnatal life.

We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse bone marrow, said study senior author Dr. Gay Crooks, co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and a co-director of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology program at UCLAs Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The few studies with human tissue have mostly used umbilical cord blood, which does not reflect the immune system of postnatal life.

The research team was intrigued to find this particular bone marrow cell because it opens up a lot of new possibilities in terms of understanding how human immunity is produced from stem cells throughout life, said Crooks, a professor of pathology and pediatrics.

Understanding the process of normal blood formation in human adults is a crucial step in shedding light on what goes wrong during the process that results in leukemias, or cancers of the blood.

The study appears Sept. 2 in the early online edition of Nature Immunology.

Before this study, researchers had a fairly good idea of how to find and study the blood stem cells of the bone marrow. The stem cells live forever, reproduce themselves and give rise to all the cells of the blood. In the process, the stem cells divide and produce intermediate stages of development called progenitors, which make various blood lineages like red blood cells or platelets. Crooks was most interested in the creation of the progenitors that form the entire immune system, which consists of many different cells called lymphocytes, each with a specialized function to fight infection.

Like the stem cells, the progenitor cells are also very rare, so before we can study them we needed to find the needle in the haystack. said Lisa Kohn, a member of the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program and first author in the paper.

Previous work had found a fairly mature type of lymphocyte progenitor with a limited ability to differentiate, but the new work describes a more primitive type of progenitor primed to produce the entire immune system, Kohn said

Once the lymphoid primed progenitor had been identified, Crooks and her team studied how gene expression changed during the earliest stages of its production from stem cells.

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UCLA Researchers Discover "Missing Link" Between Stem Cells and the Immune System

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vrslm2/neuroprotection) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "Neuroprotection - Drugs, Markets and Companies" to their offering.

This report describes the role of neuroprotection in acute disorders such as stroke and injuries of the nervous system as well as in chronic diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders because many of the underlying mechanisms of damage to neural tissues are similar in all these conditions and several products are used in more than one disorder. Over 500 products have been investigated for neuroprotective effects including those from the categories of free radical scavengers, anti-excitotoxic agents, apoptosis (programmed cell death) inhibitors, anti-inflammatory agents, neurotrophic factors, metal ion chelators, ion channel modulators and gene therapy. Some of the agents are old established pharmaceuticals whereas others are new biotechnology products.

Pathomechanisms of diseases are described with steps at which neuroprotective therapies are directed. Diseases covered include cerebrovascular disorders, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and ischemic optic neuropathy as well as retinal degeneration. Although anesthetics such as propofol are neuroprotective as well, neuroprotection during surgery and anesthesia is discussed with the aim of preventing and treating complications that result in CNS damage.

The report contains a profile of 133 companies that have a neuroprotective product or products along with 114 collaborations. Some of the products in development at academic institutions that do not have a commercial sponsor are also included. Although an up-to-date search of the literature was performed and selected 850 references are included, a considerable amount of information has not been published anywhere else. Clinical trials of various neuroprotective agents are described and failures of trials are analyzed with suggestions for improving the selection of drugs and design of trials. The report is supplemented with 66 tables and 11 figures.

Market analysis of currently used products that have a neuroprotective effect are analyzed for the year 2011. Some of these products are approved for other indications but are known to have a neuroprotective effect. With the approval of new products and takeover of markets for obsolete symptomatic therapies, the neuroprotection market value will rise by the year 2016 when it will constitute a major and important component of the CNS market. Forecasts are made until 2021. By that time neuroprotection will be an established part of the neurological practice and measures will be available to achieve this effectively.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction

2. Neuroprotective Agents

3. Neuroprotection in Cerebrovascular Disease

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Research and Markets: Neuroprotection - Drugs, Markets and Companies - Updated 2012 Report

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