ScienceDaily (June 28, 2012) An international consortium of Huntington's disease experts, including several from the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UC Irvine, has generated a human model of the deadly inherited disorder directly from the skin cells of affected patients.

The re-created neurons, which live in a petri dish, will help researchers better understand what disables and kills brain cells in people with HD and let them gauge the effects of potential drug therapies on cells that are otherwise locked deep in the brain.

UCI scientists were part of a consortium that in 1993 identified the autosomal dominant gene mutation responsible for HD, but there is still no cure, and no treatments are available to even slow its onset or progression. The research, published online June 28 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is the work of the Huntington's Disease iPSC Consortium. Participants examined several other cell lines and control cell lines to ensure that their results were consistent and reproducible in different labs.

"Our discovery will enable us for the first time to test therapies on human Huntington's disease neurons," said Leslie Thompson, UCI professor of psychiatry & human behavior and neurobiology & behavior, one of the world's leading HD experts and a senior author of the study. "This has been a remarkable time in HD research, with the advent of stem cell technologies that have allowed these scientific advancements. Also, having a team of scientists working together as a consortium has benefited the research tremendously and accelerated its pace."

Leslie Lock, a UCI assistant professor of developmental & cell biology and biological chemistry whose lab helped develop the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), added: "It's exciting to be carrying out work that provides hope for HD patients and their families."

Thompson said that UCI scientists will use the new model to study the specific gene expression changes in human brain cells that trigger the onset of HD, helping them understand how these changes happen and how to correct them.

Huntington's disease afflicts about 30,000 people in the U.S. -- typically striking in midlife -- and another 75,000 carry the gene that will eventually lead to it. Caused by a mutation in the gene for a protein called huntingtin, the disease damages brain cells so that individuals with HD progressively lose their ability to walk, talk and reason. It invariably culminates in death. While rare, HD is the most common inherited neurodegenerative disease.

Alvin King, Malcolm Casale, Sara Winokur, Gayani Batugedara, Marquis Vawter and Peter Donovan of UCI contributed to the study.

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Human model of Huntington's disease created from skin's stem cells

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Newswise LOS ANGELES (EMBARGOED UNTIL NOON EDT ON JUNE 28, 2012) Cedars-Sinai scientists have joined with expert colleagues around the globe in using stem cells to develop a laboratory model for Huntingtons disease, allowing researchers for the first time to test directly on human cells potential treatments for this fatal, inherited disorder.

As explained in a paper published June 28 on the Cell Stem Cell website and scheduled for print in the journals Aug. 3 issue, scientists at Cedars-Sinais Regenerative Medicine Institute and the University of Wisconsin took skin cells from patients with Huntingtons disease and reprogrammed them into powerful stem cells; these were then made into the nervous system cells affected by the disease. Seven laboratories around the world collaborated to demonstrate the cells had hallmarks of Huntingtons.

This Huntingtons disease in a dish will enable us for the first time to test therapies on human Huntingtons disease neurons, said Clive Svendsen, PhD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute and a senior author of the study. In addition to increasing our understanding of this disorder and offering a new pathway to identifying treatments, this study is remarkable because of the extensive interactions between a large group of scientists focused on developing this model. Its a new way of doing trailblazing science.

The Huntingtons Disease iPSC Consortium united some of the worlds top scientists working on this disease. Cedars-Sinai researchers took skin cells from a several Huntingtons patients, including a six-year-old with a severe juvenile form of the disease. They genetically reprogrammed these tissues into induced pluripotent stem cells, which can be made into any type of cell in the body. The cells lines were banked by scientists at Cedars-Sinai and scrutinized by all consortium members for differences that may have led to the disease. These cell lines are now an important resource for Huntingtons researchers and have been made available via a National Institutes of Health-funded repository at Coriell Institute for Medical Research in New Jersey.

Huntingtons, known to the public, for example, as the cause of folksinger Woody Guthries death, typically strikes patients in midlife. It causes jerky, twitching motions, loss of muscle control, psychiatric disorders and dementia; the disease ultimately is fatal. In rare, severe cases, the disorder appears in childhood.

Researchers believe that Huntingtons results from a mutation in the huntintin gene, leading to production of an abnormal protein and ultimately cell death in specific areas of the brain that control movement and cognition. There is no cure for Huntingtons, nor therapies to slow its progression.

The consortium showed Huntingtons cell deficits or how they differ from normal cells, including that they were less likely to survive cultivation in the petri dish. Scientists tried depriving them of a growth factor present around normal cells, or stressing them, and found that Huntingtons neurons died even faster.

It was great that these characteristics were seen not only in our laboratory, but by all of the consortium members using different techniques, said Virginia Mattis, a post-doctoral scientist at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute and one of the lead authors of the study. It was very reassuring and significantly strengthens the value of this study.

This new model will provide the foundation for a new round of experiments by the consortium funded by a new grant from the NIH and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The Cedars-Sinais Regenerative Medicine Institute has made a major commitment to projects like this Huntingtons study in which stem cell research helps to advance understanding of human disease and open new and innovative methods to identify treatments and cures. The institute has developed an induced pluripotent stem cell core facility and recruited faculty to work in this emerging area of regenerative medicine research.

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Cedars-Sinai Researchers, with Stem Cells and Global Colleagues, Develop Huntington's Research Tool

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Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Stephanie Desmon sdesmon1@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

By creating "HD in a dish," the researchers say they have taken a major step forward in efforts to better understand what disables and kills the cells in people with HD, and to test the effects of potential drug therapies on cells that are otherwise locked deep in the brain.

Although the autosomal dominant gene mutation responsible for HD was identified in 1993, there is no cure. No treatments are available even to slow its progression.

The research, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is the work of a Huntington's Disease iPSC Consortium, including scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the University of California, Irvine, as well as six other groups. The consortium studied several other HD cell lines and control cell lines in order to make sure results were consistent and reproducible in different labs.

The general midlife onset and progressive brain damage of HD are especially cruel, slowly causing jerky, twitch-like movements, lack of muscle control, psychiatric disorders and dementia, and eventually death. In some cases (as in the patient who donated the material for the cells made at Johns Hopkins), the disease can strike earlier, even in childhood.

"Having these cells will allow us to screen for therapeutics in a way we haven't been able to before in Huntington's disease," says Christopher A. Ross, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, neurology, pharmacology and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and one of the study's lead researchers. "For the first time, we will be able to study how drugs work on human HD neurons and hopefully take those findings directly to the clinic."

Ross and his team, as well as other collaborators at Johns Hopkins and Emory University, are already testing small molecules for the ability to block HD iPSC degeneration. These small molecules have the potential to be developed into novel drugs for HD.

The ability to generate from stem cells the same neurons found in Huntington's disease may also have implications for similar research in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

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Turning skin cells into brain cells

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ScienceDaily (June 28, 2012) Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

By creating "HD in a dish," the researchers say they have taken a major step forward in efforts to better understand what disables and kills the cells in people with HD, and to test the effects of potential drug therapies on cells that are otherwise locked deep in the brain.

Although the autosomal dominant gene mutation responsible for HD was identified in 1993, there is no cure. No treatments are available even to slow its progression.

The research, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is the work of a Huntington's Disease iPSC Consortium, including scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the University of California, Irvine, as well as six other groups. The consortium studied several other HD cell lines and control cell lines in order to make sure results were consistent and reproducible in different labs.

The general midlife onset and progressive brain damage of HD are especially cruel, slowly causing jerky, twitch-like movements, lack of muscle control, psychiatric disorders and dementia, and -- eventually -- death. In some cases (as in the patient who donated the material for the cells made at Johns Hopkins), the disease can strike earlier, even in childhood.

"Having these cells will allow us to screen for therapeutics in a way we haven't been able to before in Huntington's disease," saysChristopher A. Ross, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, neurology, pharmacology and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and one of the study's lead researchers. "For the first time, we will be able to study how drugs work on human HD neurons and hopefully take those findings directly to the clinic."

Ross and his team, as well as other collaborators at Johns Hopkins and Emory University, are already testing small molecules for the ability to block HD iPSC degeneration.These small molecules have the potential to be developed into novel drugs for HD.

The ability to generate from stem cells the same neurons found in Huntington's disease may also have implications for similar research in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

To conduct their experiment, Ross took a skin biopsy from a patient with very early onset HD.When seen by Ross at the HD Center at Hopkins, the patient was just seven years old. She had a very severe form of the disease, which rarely appears in childhood, and of the mutation that causes it. Using cells from a patient with a more rapidly progressing form of the disease gave Ross' team the best tools with which to replicate HD in a way that is applicable to patients with all forms of HD.

Her skin cells were grown in culture and then reprogrammed by the lab of Hongjun Song, Ph.D., a professor at Johns Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering, into induced pluripotent stem cells. A second cell line was generated in an identical fashion in Dr. Ross's lab from someone without HD. Simultaneously, other HD and control iPS cell lines were generated as part of the NINDS funded HD iPS cell consortium.

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Turning skin cells into brain cells: Huntington's disease in a dish

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Disease fight: turning skin cells to neurons June 28th, 2012, 4:04 pm posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor

UC Irvine professor Leslie Thompson, with human brain image behind her. Photo by Daniel A. Anderson, UC Irvine.

Using stem cells derived from skin cells, scientists including a UC Irvine team say they have created human neurons that exhibit the effects of Huntingtons disease promising the possibility of testing treatments for the deadly disorder in a petri dish.

Their discovery not only sidesteps ethical issues surrounding the use of human embryonic stem cells, but offers the chance to produce far more diseased neurons, at various stages of disease progression, than ever have been available to researchers before.

This is a relatively new technique where you can reprogram an adult cell, in this case a skin cell, back to this early stem-cell stage, and then guide those into making neurons, said Leslie Thompson, a UC Irvine professor and a senior author of a study announcing the discovery that was published online Thursday.

Huntingtons disease is an inherited, neurodegenerative disorder that is always fatal. It typically strikes in middle age, gradually robbing its victims of the ability to walk and interfering with other basic brain functions.

Huntington's disease cells on their way to becoming neurons. Image courtesy Leslie Thompson, UC Irvine.

Its like Parkinsons in that its a movement disorder in this case, involuntary movements, and rigidity, Thompson said. You know what is going on, but parts of memory are being impaired; you have an impaired ability to walk, think, talk.

Victims typically die of the diseases effects falling, or choking during pneumonia and some especially severe mutations can strike young children. The disease affects about 30,000 people in the United States, and no treatments exist even to slow the onset of symptoms.

The scientists, including UCIs Leslie Lock and Peter Donovan, director of the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, as well as others from universities around the country and in Italy and Great Britain, used a variety of cell lines to reveal the genetic underpinnings of Huntingtons.

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27-06-2012 18:19 Here are the steps I take when using Ovation Cell Therapy 🙂 Feel free to ask anymore questions!

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How to Use Ovation Cell Therapy on Curly Hair - Video

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28-06-2012 09:19 Stem Cell Therapy More Info: Stem Cell Therapy -- Reduce Wrinkles,Promote Younger, Healthier Looking Skin * Increase production of new skin cells by 57% * Re-activate stem cells to stimulate fresh, new skin cell production * Increase natural collagen production by 80% * Decrease wrinkle appearance 56% in 30 days * Increase elastin synthesis by 61% Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cell Skin Cream, Stem Cell Therapy BioLogic Solutions, Wrinkle Reducer, Decrease Wrinkles,Vanish Wrinkles Feel Younger, Aging Cream, Younger Looking Skin, No More Botox,antiaging,antiaging cream,botox alternative,

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Stem Cell Therapy - Healthier Looking Skin ,Promote Younger, Reduce Wrinkles - Video

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SAN DIEGO CA--(Marketwire -06/29/12)- Medistem Inc. (MEDS) announced today notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent covering the use of fat stem cells, and cells associated with fat stem cells for treatment of diseases related to a dysfunctional immune system. Such diseases include multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The allowed patent, entitled "Stem Cell Mediated Treg Activation/Expansion for Therapeutic Immune Modulation" has the earliest priority date of December 2006.

"We have previously published that giving multiple sclerosis patients cells extracted from their own fat tissue, which contains stem cells, appears to confer clinical benefit in a pilot study," said Thomas Ichim, CEO of Medistem. "The current patent that has been allowed, in the broadest interpretation of the claims, gives us exclusive rights to the use of specific types of fat stem cell therapy for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis."

Subsequent to the filing of the patent application, Medistem together with collaborators at the Lawson Health Sciences Research Institute, Canada, reported data that fat tissue contains high numbers of T regulatory cells, a type of immune cell that is capable of controlling autoimmunity.

This finding was independently confirmed by Dr. Diane Mathis' laboratory at Harvard University, who published a paper in the prestigious journal, Nature Medicine, in which detailed experimental evidence was provided supporting the initial finding that adipose tissue contains high numbers of T regulatory cells. A video describing the paper can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJfGu29Rg8.

The current patent discloses the use of T regulatory cells from fat, combinations with stem cells, and use of fat-derived mononuclear cells. Given that there are currently several groups utilizing this technology in the USA in treating patients, Medistem believes revenue can be generated through enforcement of patent rights.

"Our corporate philosophy has been to remain highly focused on our ongoing clinical stage programs using Medistem's universal donor stem cell, the Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC), in the treatment of critical limb ischemia and congestive heart failure," said Dr. Vladimir Bogin, Chairman and President of Medistem. "However, due to the ease of implementation of our fat stem cell technology, combined with the major burden that autoimmune diseases have on our health care system, we are highly incentivized to explore partnering, co-development and licensing opportunities."

Autoimmune conditions occur as a result of the body's immune system "turning on itself" and attacking its own organs or cells. Current treatments for autoimmune conditions are based on "globally" suppressing the immune system by administration of immunosuppressive drugs. This is associated with an increased predisposition to infections and significant side effects. The utilization of stem cells and T regulatory cells offers the potential to selectively suppress pathological immunity while preserving the ability of the body to fight bacteria and viruses. According to the NIH there are approximately 23 million victims of autoimmune conditions.

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Link to peer-reviewed publication: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-7-29.pdf

Link: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/medistem-files-patent-application-on-therapeutic-cell-population-found-in-fat-tissue-frankfurt-s2u-812298.htm

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Medistem Receives Notice of Patent Allowance Covering Fat Stem Cell Therapy of Autoimmune Diseases

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There's a reason people crowd the tomato stands at the farmers market. Its diverse and vibrant tomatoes seem to taste better than the perfectly red ones at the supermarket, even if parts of the fruit aren't as ripe as others.

A study in today's issue of Science lends credence to what your taste buds have been telling you.

Researchers from UC Davis, Cornell University and other institutions have pinpointed the genetic change that makes many commercial tomatoes ripen uniformly. But they also discovered that the same genetic change makes a tomato produce less sugar so it is less sweet and flavorful.

"What this paper shows is that a pretty tomato comes at a cost in flavor," said Harry Klee, a University of Florida horticulturalist not involved in the study.

Some tomato varieties, when unripe, have dark green "shoulders" topping an otherwise light green tomato. This makes the top of the tomato redden more slowly than the rest as it ripens.

For some consumers, a partially red tomato is less appealing. Salsa companies, for example, don't want green chunks of tomato in their glass jars. And uneven ripening makes commercial and mechanical harvesting of tomatoes more difficult.

So for 70 years, since breeders discovered a naturally occurring variety of tomato that ripened uniformly, lots of tomatoes have been bred that way. These tomatoes are some of the most flawlessly red supermarket ones, and are in nearly all pizza sauces, tomato soups and ketchups.

Breeders knew they were selecting tomatoes to have a particular version of some gene. But they didn't know which one, or what it did. James Giovannoni, an author of the study at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell, likened it to having a Google map zoomed in only as far as California. Now, he said, "we're at your house in Sacramento."

The researchers discovered the gene, GLK2, and the version of it with a DNA difference that makes a tomato ripen uniformly.

By turning other genes on and off, it controls a tomato's chloroplasts, the factories that convert the sun's energy into sugar and make plants green.

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Study: Gene change that ripens tomatoes uniformly also makes them less flavorful

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Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tara Womersley tara.womersley@ed.ac.uk 44-131-650-9836 University of Edinburgh

Scientists have discovered a new gene in the influenza virus that helps the virus control the body's response to infection.

Although this control is exerted by the virus, surprisingly it reduces the impact of the infection.

The findings will help researchers better understand how flu can cause severe infections, as well as inform research into new treatments.

Researchers found when the virus gene called PA-X was active, mice infected with flu subsequently recovered.

When the PA-X gene did not work properly, the immune system was found to overreact. This made the infection worse, and did not help destroy the virus any quicker.

The study looked at how the gene affected the behaviour of "Spanish flu", a virulent strain of influenza that caused a pandemic in 1918.

It was carried out by the Universities of Cambridge, Cork, Edinburgh and Utah, the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle and the United States National Institutes of Health.

Scientists discovered the PA-X gene some 30 years after flu genome was first decoded.

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Gene discovery helps explain how flu can cause severe infections

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Photographs by Mark Ostow

George Church is an imposing figureover six feet tall, with a large, rectangular face bordered by a brown and silver nest of beard and topped by a thick mop of hair. Since the mid-1980s Church has played a pioneering role in the development of DNA sequencing, helpingamong his other achievementsto organize the Human Genome Project. To reach his office at Harvard Medical School, one enters a laboratory humming with many of the more than 50 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows over whom Church rules as director of the school's Center for Computational Genetics. Passing through an anteroom of assistants, I find Church at his desk, his back to me, hunched over a notebook computer that makes him look even larger than he is.

Church looms especially large these days because of his role as one of the most influential figures in synthetic biology, an ambitious and radical approach to genetic engineering that attempts to create novel biological entitieseverything from enzymes to cells and microbesby combining the expertise of biology and engineering. He and his lab are credited with many of the advances in harnessing and synthesizing DNA that now help other researchers modify microrganisms to create new fuels and medical treatments. When I ask Church to describe what tangible impact synthetic biology will have on everyday life, he leans back in his chair, clasps his hands behind his head, and says, "It will change everything. People are going to live healthier a lot longer because of synthetic biology. You can count on it."

Such grandiosity is not uncommon among the practitioners of synthetic biology. Ever since Church and a few other researchers began to combine biology and engineering a dozen years ago, they have promised it would "change everything." And no wonder. The very idea of synthetic biology is to purposefully engineer the DNA of living things so that they can accomplish tasks they don't carry out in nature. Although genetic engineering has been going on since the 1970s, a rapid drop in the cost of decoding and synthesizing DNA, combined with a vast increase in computer power and an influx into biology labs of engineers and computer scientists, has led to a fundamental change in how thoroughly and swiftly an organism's genetics can be modified. Church says the technology will eventually lead to all manner of breakthroughs: we will be able to replace diseased tissues and organs by reprogramming cells to make new ones, create novel microbes that efficiently secrete fuels and other chemicals, and fashion DNA switches that turn on the right genes inside a patient's cells to prevent arteries from getting clogged.

Even though some of these applications are years from reality, Church has a way of tossing off such predictions matter-of-factly. And it's easy to see why he's optimistic. The cost of both decoding DNA and synthesizing new DNA strands, he has calculated, is falling about five times as fast as computing power is increasing under Moore's Law, which has accurately predicted that chip performance will double roughly every two years. Those involved in synthetic biology, who often favor computer analogies, might say it's becoming exponentially easier to read from, and write into, the source code of life. These underlying technology trends, says Church, are leading to an explosion in experimentation of a sort that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago.

Up to now, it's proved stubbornly difficult to turn synthetic biology into a practical technology that can create products like cheap biofuels. Scientists have found that the "code of life" is far more complex and difficult to crack than anyone might have imagined a decade ago. What's more, while rewriting the code is easier than ever, getting it right isn't. Researchers and entrepreneurs have found ways to coax bacteria or yeast to make many useful compounds, but it has been difficult to optimize such processes so that the microbes produce significant quantities efficiently enough to compete with existing commercial products.

Church is characteristically undeterred. At 57, he has survived cancer and a heart attack, and he suffers from both dyslexia and narcolepsy; before I visited him, one of his colleagues warned that I shouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep on me. But he has founded or taken an advisory role in more than 50 startup companiesand he stayed awake throughout our time together, apparently excited to describe how his lab has found ways to take advantage of ultrafast sequencing and other tools to greatly speed up synthetic biology. Among its many projects, Church's lab has invented a technique for rapidly synthesizing multiple novel strings of DNA and introducing them simultaneously into a bacterial genome. In one experiment, researchers created four billion variants of E. coli in a single day. After three days, they found variants of the bacteria in which production of a desired chemical was increased fivefold.

The idea, Church explains, is to sort through the variations to find "an occasional hopeful monster, just as evolution has done for millions of years." By mimicking in lab experiments what takes eons in nature, he says, he is radically improving the odds of finding ways to make microbes not just do new things but do them efficiently.

A DNA Turn-On

In some ways, the difficulties researchers have faced making new, more useful life forms shouldn't come as a surprise. Indeed, a lesson of genome research over the last few decades is that no matter how elegantly compact the DNA code is, the biology it gives rise to is consistently more complex than anyone anticipated. When I began reporting the early days of gene discovery 30 years ago, biologists, as they often do, thought reductively. When they found a gene involved in disease, the discovery made headlines. Scientists said they believed that potent new medicines could soon deactivate malfunctioning versions of genes, or that gene therapy could be used to replace them with healthy versions in the body.

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Biology's Master Programmers

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Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, June 28, 2012Games that promote health can improve the well-being of employees, saving employers direct and indirect health care costs. Employers can more readily reap these benefits by offering game-based services that educate their employees about health and wellness and improve physical and psychological fitness, according to an Editorial in Games for Health Journal a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The Editorial is available free on the Games for Health Journal website.

"Wellness programs using health games have the potential to significantly impact human well-being and the costs, pain, and suffering of preventable illnesses and conditions," says Games for Health Journal Editor-in-Chief Bill Ferguson, PhD, in the Editorial entitled "Games for WellnessImpacting the Lives of Employees and the Profits of Employers."

Dr. Ferguson highlights the key factors that will drive increased market acceptance of health games and wellness initiatives among employers. The Editorial describes the characteristics of health games for improving wellness and how videogaming can help engage people in their own health, supplement traditional forms of exercise, promote healthy living, and improve patient care.

"The most successful wellness programs incorporate videogames that present themselves as in the service of the player," states Dr. Ferguson. "These activities enable individuals to engage in things they have personally desired, but were unable to prioritize and accomplish before wellness games. The result is healthier, happier, and more productive employees - a win-win for employers and their people"

###

About the Journal

Games for Health Journal breaks new ground as the first journal to address this emerging and increasingly important area of health care. The Journal provides a bimonthly forum in print and online for academic and clinical researchers, game designers and developers, health care providers, insurers, and information technology leaders. Articles explore the use of game technology in a variety of clinical applications. These include disease prevention and monitoring, nutrition, weight management, and medication adherence. Gaming can play an important role in the care of patients with diabetes, post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive, mental, emotional, and behavioral health disorders.

About the Publisher

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Games improve employee health and well-being, may reduce health insurance premiums for employers

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28-06-2012 02:51 Luke is an eighteen-year-old medical marijuana patient in California. He has been suffering from a rare genetic skin disorder his whole life that causes his skin can to blister and tear with just slight contact. He is required to have hand and throat surgery every few years in order to live more comfortably. At age sixteen, Luke first tried medical marijuana to help aid his symptoms. These symptoms include pain, night terrors, loss of appetite, insomnia, and isolation. Since then, Luke has seen improvements in all areas. Because of their higher potency, Luke has found that medical marijuana concentrates help him sleep better. He discovered the G-Pen personal vaporizer for it's ease of use compared to traditional methods of ingestion. Luke has now taken his crusade for the legalization of medical marijuana to new heights as he visits with the WeedMaps team to get the message out. Please take a moment and listen to Luke tell you his story of bravery and achievement over all odds. His story will inspire you. The G Pen - Vaporizer Pen

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My Life. My Medicine. - Luke's Story - Video

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Latest Prevention & Wellness News

Doctors May One Day Harness the Immune System to Help People Quit Smoking

By Brenda Goodman, MA WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

June 27, 2012 -- Scientists say they've developed a vaccine that may one day protect people against the addictive effects of nicotine -- but for now they have to settle for some success in mice.

The vaccine uses the shell of a harmless virus that, much like the Trojan horse, carries into cells genetic instructions for making an antibody against nicotine. When cells are "infected" by the virus, they get tricked into churning out a protein that blocks nicotine's biological effects.

"It's sort of like having Pac-Man floating around in the blood. [The antibodies] bind to the nicotine and prevent it from reaching its receptors in the brain," says Ronald G. Crystal, MD, chairman and professor of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

Researchers have tried to vaccinate people against nicotine before -- by directly injecting antibodies into the blood. The problem is that the antibodies disappear after only a few weeks, and the studies ultimately had disappointing results.

This time, researchers say they may have found a way to get the body to keep making more.

In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Crystal and colleagues at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., described how they were able to successfully vaccinate mice against nicotine.

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Vaccine May Block the Effect of Nicotine

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SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Millennium Laboratories, the leading research-based clinical diagnostic company dedicated to improving the lives of people suffering from pain, announced today the introduction of Millennium Pharmacogenetic Testing (PGT). Millennium PGT is saliva-based testing to detect genetic variations in enzymes associated with the metabolism of medications commonly prescribed to patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain and pain-related effects. This testing will help clinicians identify patients who may benefit from modifying the drug selection or dosing of certain prescribed opioids including methadone, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120516/LA07836LOGO)

"This novel testing provides insight into whether or not a patient will experience the anticipated effect of a prescribed medication or be at increased risk for additional side effects," said Howard Appel, President of Millennium Laboratories.

Medication metabolism differs greatly among individuals and may partly be the result of genetic variations in metabolizing enzymes. These genetic variations can result in clinically significant differences in response to prescribed medications. By identifying genetic variations in drug-metabolizing enzymes, clinicians can more effectively personalize each patient's treatment. Incorporating pharmacogenetic testing into clinical practice has significant potential to improve the efficacy of drug treatment and reduce adverse effects by providing information that allows clinicians to better predict and understand patient responses to medications(1-3).

"Millennium's proprietary pharmacogenetic testing is an objective tool to individualize therapy and potentially improve patient outcomes," said Appel. "Identifying genetic characteristicsthat affect how commonly prescribed medications are metabolized is an example of how personalized medicine may improve the lives of those suffering from pain. Millennium is proud to introduce this best-in-classpharmacogenetic testing to the market."

"Pharmacogenetics is an emerging technology across many areas of clinical medicine that has already started to affect certain clinical decisions and likely will play an increasingly important role in pain medicine, especially in the area of safe prescribing," said Michael Brennan, M.D., a nationally recognized pain specialist practicing in Fairfield, Connecticut. "In select chronic pain patients, the combineduse ofurine drug testing and pharmacogenetic testing can help answer important clinical questions."

Appel called today's announcement "a major milestone" for people suffering from pain. "Since our founding in 2007, Millennium has quickly become the leader in the field of medication monitoring and drug detection," he said. "As that leader, it is incumbent upon us to continue to advance the science of pain management by introducing the newest technologies and advanced clinical tools. Today's announcement represents the culmination of a more than two-year effort."

All testing and analysis are performed at Millennium's state-of-the-art pharmacogenetics laboratory in San Diego. Millennium PGT is currently available upon request to healthcare professionals in select regions across the United States. The company anticipates nationwide availability later this year.

About Millennium Laboratories

Millennium Laboratories (http://millenniumlabs.com/) is the leading research-based, clinical diagnostic company dedicated to improving the lives of people with chronic pain. The company provides healthcare professionals with medication monitoring, drug detection and pharmacogenetic testing services to personalize treatment plans to improve clinical outcomes and patient safety.

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Millennium Laboratories Launches Innovative Pharmacogenetic Test, Paving the Way for Personalized Medicine in the ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sara Hrera media@gruberprizes.org 203-432-6231 Yale University

Douglas C. Wallace, PhD, a pioneering genetics researcher who founded the field of mitochondrial genetics in humans, will receive the 2012 Genetics Prize of The Gruber Foundation. Wallace is being honored with this prestigious international award for his groundbreaking achievements in helping science understand the role of mitochondriathe "power plants" of cellsin the development of disease and as markers for human evolution.

He will receive the award November 9 in San Francisco at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, where he will also deliver a lecture titled "A Bioenergetic Perspective on Origins, Health, and Disease".

"Douglas Wallace's contributions to our understanding of mitochondrial genetics have changed the way human and medical geneticists think about the role of mitochondria in human health and disease," said Elizabeth Blackburn, chair of the Selection Advisory Board to the Prize. Blackburn is the 2006 Gruber Genetics Prize laureate and shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.

Wallace began his research on mitochondrial biology 40 years ago, at a time when few people thought the study of mitochondria and its DNA (mtDNA) would have any significant applications for clinical medicine. In the early 1970s, Wallace and associates demonstrated that the mtDNA coded for heritable traits by developing the cybrid transfer technique and showing that chloramphenicol resistance was cytoplasmically inherited. This system permitted them to delineate the characteristics of cytoplasmic genetics. Then in the late 1970s, Wallace demonstrated that the human mtDNA is inherited solely through the mother. Using maternal inheritance as a guide, Wallace identified the first inherited mtDNA disease, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), and subsequently linked mtDNA mutations to a wide range of clinical symptoms, including deafness, neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiac and muscle problems, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Wallace also showed that mtDNA mutations accumulate in human tissue with age, and thus may play a role in age-related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. In addition, he found that the levels of these age-related mtDNA mutations are higher in the brains of people with certain neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and Huntington disease.

Wallace's research has also made a major contribution to the field of molecular anthropology. Using mtDNA variation, he has reconstructed the origins and ancient migrations of women, tracing all mtDNA lineages back some 200,000 years to a single African originthe so-called mitochondrial Eve.

"The impact of Doug Wallace's visionary research has been remarkable," said Huda Zoghbi, a member of Selection Advisory Board and the 2011 laureate of the Gruber Neuroscience Prize. "His discovery of the first mtDNA mutations in humans opened up the field of mitochondrial genetics and demonstrated the role of mitochondria in many human diseases. It's an extraordinary legacyand he is richly deserving of this award."

###

By agreement made in the spring of 2011 The Gruber Foundation has now been established at Yale University.

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$500,000 Gruber Foundation Genetics Prize goes to Philadelphia scientist

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Response Genetics, Inc. (RGDX), a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, today announced a new anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) testing program aimed to provide clinicians a more complete picture of the ALK rearrangement status of their non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The company will include its PCR-based EML4-ALK test results for patients testing negative for the ALK Break Apart fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test at minimal cost.

Approximately 3 to 5 percent of NSCLC tumors have a rearrangement of the ALK gene. In addition to providing the ALK Break Apart FISH assay, which has been clinically validated to predict response to the targeted therapy XALKORI (crizotinib), Response Genetics has a proprietary EML4-ALK RT-PCR-based assay that detects rearrangements of the ALK gene. The Response Genetics PCR test has identified ALK variants in a subpopulation of cases that are negative by FISH, and that may respond to XALKORI treatment. Samples that test negative for ALK FISH at Response Genetics will be further tested with the Companys proprietary ALK PCR test.

The number of additional patients that may be identified by further testing could be small, yet the value a positive test result can bring to even one more patient is immeasurable. We are pleased to make our proprietary ALK PCR test available, at minimal cost, to pathologists and oncologists. Our goal is to provide them with actionable information they need to give every potential patient the chance to respond to effective treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer, said Thomas Bologna, chairman and CEO of Response Genetics. By providing both ALK FISH and ALK RT PCR testing services cost-effectively, we believe we are enabling clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions for their patients.

About Response Genetics, Inc.

Response Genetics, Inc. (RGI) is a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, located in Los Angeles, California. RGIs principal customers include oncologists, pathologists and hospitals. In addition to diagnostic testing services, RGI generates revenue from the sales of its analytical testing services of clinical-trial specimens to the pharmaceutical industry. For additional information, please visit http://www.responsegenetics.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Notice

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release and the statements of representatives of RGI related thereto contain or may contain, among other things, certain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to RGIs plans, objectives, projections, expectations and intentions, such as the ability of RGI to continue to provide clinical testing services to the medical community, to continue to expand its sales force, to continue to build its digital pathology initiative, to attract and retain qualified management, to implement operational enhancements, to strengthen marketing capabilities, to expand the suite of ResponseDX products, to continue to provide clinical trial support to pharmaceutical clients, to enter into new collaborations with pharmaceutical clients, to enter into new areas such as companion diagnostics, and to continue to execute on its business strategy and operations, to continue to analyze cancer samples, the potential for using the results of this research to develop diagnostic tests for cancer, the usefulness of genetic information to tailor treatment to patients, and other statements identified by words such as projects, may, could, would, should, believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans or similar expressions.

These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of RGIs management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in RGIs filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, including, without limitation, actual sales results, if any, or the application of funds, may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond RGIs control). RGI undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Response Genetics, Inc. to Offer Enhanced ALK Testing Program for Metastatic Lung Cancer Patients

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

SILVER SPRING, Md., June 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX), a biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions, announced today that the final Asset Purchase Agreement, as amended, has been executed and the transfer of the assets of SG Austria Pte. Ltd. to Nuvilex has begun.

Austrianova Singapore Private Limited (ASPL) and Bio Blue Bird AG (BBB) are now functioning as wholly-owned subsidiaries of Nuvilex, Inc. subject to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement between the companies. By acquiring the shares of ASPL and BBB, NVLX has acquired the former SG Austria assets which include, but are not limited to all licenses, IP, patents, personnel, capabilities, and facilities associated with the cell encapsulation technology for cancer treatment and all other applications. Completing this acquisition allows Nuvilex to move forward toward conducting the pancreatic cancer treatment trial and advancing its use for diabetes therapy and stem cells.

The Executive Chairman for SG Austria and ASPL, Professor Dr. Walter Gunzburg commented, "We are pleased to inform our combined shareholders and investors that activities we aimed to complete prior to this point have been accomplished. As a result, our management teams decided the timing was right to complete the transfer of assets."

SG Austria and ASPL's Chief Executive, Dr. Brian Salmons stated, "Together, we see this as an important step that increases our ability to move ahead with our collective operational goals. We anticipate announcing additional information about plans for the live cell encapsulation technology in the near future."

Dr. Robert F. Ryan, Nuvilex's Chief Executive added, "The management teams of both Nuvilex and ASPL have been working closely together and are very pleased to be able to make this transfer of assets happen. We will continue our effort to develop treatments for cancer and other diseases, and we hope to play a substantial role in the future of biotechnology and cell and gene therapy."

About Nuvilex

Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX) is an international biotechnology provider of live therapeutically valuable, encapsulated cells and services for research and medicine. Our company's clinical offerings will include cancer, diabetes and other treatments using the company's cell and gene therapy expertise and live-cell encapsulation technology.

The Nuvilex, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13494

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements described within the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act involving risks and uncertainties including product demand, market competition, and meeting current or future plans which may cause actual results, events, and performances, expressed or implied, to vary and/or differ from those contemplated or predicted. Investors should study and understand all risks before making an investment decision. Readers are recommended not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Nuvilex is not obliged to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statement, reflect events or circumstances afterward, or disclose unanticipated occurrences, except as required under applicable laws.

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Nuvilex Finalizes Asset Purchase Agreement and Completes Acquisition of SG Austria Assets

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines Article Date: 28 Jun 2012 - 2:00 PDT

Current ratings for: New Smoking Vaccine Using Gene Therapy Being Developed

4 (2 votes)

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In a study reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine this week, Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City show how a single dose of the vaccine protected mice, over their lifetime, against nicotine addiction.

The addictive properties of the nicotine in tobacco smoke is a huge barrier to success with current smoking cessation approaches, say the authors in their paper.

Previous work using gene therapy vaccination in mice to treat certain eye disorders and tumors, gave them the idea a similar approach might work against nicotine.

The new anti-nicotine vaccine is based on an adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineered to be harmless. The virus carries two pieces of genetic information: one that causes anti-nicotine monoclonal antibodies to be created, and the other that targets its insertion into the nucleus of specific cells in the liver, the hepatocytes.

The result is the animal's liver becomes a factory continuously producing antibodies that gobble up the nicotine as soon as it enters the bloodstream, denying it the opportunity to enter the brain.

The researchers write:

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New Smoking Vaccine Using Gene Therapy Being Developed

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Last April, when doctors first suspected that Good Morning America host Robin Roberts may have contracted a rare blood disease from the chemotherapy treatments she took for breast cancer, she showed up at her mothers house with a bag full of cheek swabs.

The swabs were to test her family to see if one of them could if worse came to worst be a bone-marrow donor.

Robins oldest sister, Sally-Ann, who anchors a morning show on the CBS station in New Orleans, says she and a friend made a prayer circle around the test kit.

We prayed: Please let this be a match, Sally-Ann told The Post yesterday.

Roger Wong/INFphoto.com

MATCH: Robin Roberts sister Sally-Ann (right), a morning-show host in New Orleans, beat 1-in-4 odds to be donor.

AP

TOUGH: Robin shows off an elastic band Tuesday that covers the intravenous port where she gets medication.

And it worked.

Sally-Ann is going to be Robins sole bone-marrow donor for a series of treatments later this year.

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Sis to serve as Robin's bone-marrow donor

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Ask the Experts | Health

The When Harry Met Sally screenwriter recently succumbed to this enigmatic form of cancer, but there are new treatments in the pipeline

By Larry Greenemeier | June 28, 2012

BRAVE FACE: Nora Ephron at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. She was first diagnosed in 2006 with a type of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a category of blood diseases also referred to as "preleukemia." This later progressed to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Image: Courtesy of David Shankbone, via Wikimedia Commons

Nora Ephron's final act played out in Manhattan on June 26 where the 71-year-old writer and movie director died from pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia among adults. AML is a cancer caused when abnormal cells grow inside bone marrow and interfere with the production of healthy blood cells. The marrow eventually stops working correctly, leaving a person with an increased risk of bleeding and infections.

Ephronbest known for writing When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattlewas first diagnosed in 2006 with one of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a category of blood diseases also referred to as "preleukemia" that can progress into AML if the bone marrow continually fails to produce enough healthy platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells over time. MDS made headlines recently when ABC's Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts announced she has been diagnosed with the disease.

Some types of leukemia, including AML, develop as a result of exposure to certain chemicals (including herbicides and pesticides), chemotherapy drugs (such as etoposide and a class of drugs known as alkylating agents) and radiation. Typically, however, a doctor is unable to pinpoint the exact cause in individual cases.

Although estimates vary, there are between 10,000 and 12,000 new cases of MDS in the U.S. annually. More than 80 percent of all MDS patients are older than 60. The National Cancer Institute projects that 13,780 men and women7,350 men and 6,430 womenwill be diagnosed with AML and that 10,200 men and women will die of the malady this year.

Scientific American spoke with Bart Scott, a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of patients with MDS, about syndrome's progression to AML, who is most at risk for this cancer and whether there are any promising treatments on the horizon. Scott is also director of hematology and hematologic malignancies at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and an assistant member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's clinical research division.

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

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What Is Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, the Cancer That Struck Nora Ephron?

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SOURCE: International Stem Cell Corporation

CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 28, 2012) - International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB: ISCO) http://www.internationalstemcell.com today announced that its Research and Development team has advanced its program to create a functional and transplantable human cornea by developing a new method to derive corneal endothelium-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells.

This work represents a significant step towards the creation of complete cornea tissue that can be used for transplantation and supports prior data showing indications of corneal endothelium generated by ISCO's collaborators at Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital, India. Such cells by themselves may potentially promote wound healing and regeneration of the cornea and therefore could be used as a standalone medical treatment.

Development and commercialization of ISCO's stem cell-derived cornea tissue along with manufacturing of Lifeline Cell Technology's media and cellular products are the foundation for our expansion to the Asian markets and for clinical collaboration with Indian biomedical organizations including Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital and All-India Institute for Medical Sciences.

Asia represents a huge potential growth market for ISCO's Cornea program. For example, in India alone there are more than 4 million people suffering from corneal vision impairment with limited access to corneal tissue. ISCO's intention is to work with our clinical affiliate in India to meet this healthcare demand.

Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, Vice President of Research & Development, commented: "This new method not only brings our cornea program closer to clinical use, but it also gives us additional licensing opportunities.We have made good progress towards our goal of creating usable corneas, however the additional work, necessary to prove that these endothelium-like cells can be fully functional, will be done in conjunction with our collaborators."

About International Stem Cell Corporation

International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com). More information is available at http://www.internationalstemcell.com or follow us on Twitter @intlstemcell.

To receive ongoing corporate communications, please click on the following link: http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1468&to=ea&s=0

Forward-Looking Statements Statements pertaining to anticipated developments, the potential benefits of research programs and products, and other opportunities for the company and its subsidiaries, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates") should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential products, regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, application of capital resources among competing uses, and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the company's business, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward-looking statements.

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International Stem Cell Corporation Reports Reaching Milestone in Its Cornea Program

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SUFFERERS of spinal cord injuries are finding it difficult to cope and become heavily dependent on their families and friends as only a few of them are able to secure jobs after being discharge from the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre (SJGRC), a study has found.

The study was done by social worker Opal Minott and senior medical doctor at the SJGRC Dr Rory Dixon, and involved the analysis of the 104 patients who had been discharged from the centre since 2010. The research team looked at the health care, income level, nutrition, recreational activities, and the level of assistance received by these patients upon their release.

"What we have found is that some of them, even though they left the institution in fairly good health, when they go home, because of the challenges that they face, they come back in a very severe state and quite a few of them have died because of complications, secondary to social neglect or not being able to cope once they go out there," said Dr Minott, explaining that a number of the patients live in rural areas and find it difficult to journey to Kingston for follow-up treatment.

Findings of the study were presented during last Wednesday's SJGRC seventh annual symposium which was held under the theme 'The social impact of spinal cord injuries in Jamaica'. More than 90 per cent of patients seeking treatment at the centre suffer from spinal cord injuries, primarily from gunshot wounds and motor vehicle accidents.

Dr Dixon said although the free health care system exists, it is of little benefit to those who suffer from spinal cord injuries.

"What people don't know until they are actually in the situation is that most of the appliances, devices and assistance that you'll need are not covered under free health care. So let's say somebody who had a motor vehicle accident has a spinal cord injury and is paralysed from the waist down, one of the first things they are going to need is a wheelchair and a wheelchair costs anywhere between $15,000 to $20,000 depending on the specification. If the injury is much higher up, then they'll need a motorised chair which starts anywhere from US$2,000; and that's just for mobility," he explained.

Meanwhile, Chairman for the South East Regional Health Authority, Lyttleton 'Tanny' Shirley lamented the fact that many of the patients were gunshot victims who were now finding it challenging to cope in the general society.

"People with spinal cord injury are mostly dependent on others for assistance to complete many routine tasks associated with daily living, such as... bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, dieting, community access, and recreational activities. Such persons, where possible, desire to become gainfully employed," he said.

The study show that of the 104 patients, 77 were alive, 16 had died, and 11 could not be located. Of those participants who were found, only eight of them were earning an income. Recreational activities, which are crucial for rehabilitation, were kept at a minimal, as these were seen as secondary to visiting the doctor, for example.

"It is my hope that the findings of this critical survey will be used for the betterment of the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury," said Shirley.

Excerpt from:
Spinal cord injury sufferers face difficulty adjusting, securing jobs

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Harvard Bioscience's "InBreath" Bioreactors Used in World's First Successful Regenerated Laryngotracheal Transplants

First Two Transplants Performed in Government-Approved Clinical Trial in Russia

HOLLISTON, Mass., June 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (HBIO), a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of tools to advance life science research and regenerative medicine, announces that its "InBreath" bioreactors were used for the world's first and second successful laryngotracheal implants, using synthetic laryngotracheal scaffolds seeded with cells taken from the patients' bone marrow. The surgeries took place at Krasnodar Regional Hospital in Krasnodar, Russia on June 19th and June 21st. The recipients of the implants, Julia T. and Aleksander Z., are recovering well. The implants in the procedures were grown in bioreactors developed by the regenerative medicine device business of Harvard Bioscience.

The transplants, which required more than a half-year of preparation, were performed on the first two patients enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial at Krasnodar Regional Hospital. The Russian Ministry of Health has approved a clinical protocol for an unlimited number of patients in this trial, all of which will involve trachea procedures.

Each bioreactor was specifically adapted by Harvard Bioscience to the clinical requirements for each patient. Each bioreactor was loaded with a synthetic scaffold in the shape of the patient's original organ. The scaffolds were then seeded with the patient's own stem cells. Over the course of about two days, the bioreactor promoted proper cell seeding and development. Because the patients' own stem cells were used, their bodies have accepted the transplants without the use of immunosuppressive drugs.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13437

The procedures are the result of a global collaboration involving organizations in the US, Sweden, Russia, Germany, and Italy:

-- The bioreactors were developed, manufactured and prepared by teams at Hugo Sachs Elektronik, a German subsidiary of Harvard Bioscience and at Harvard Bioscience, based in Massachusetts, U.S.A.

-- The scaffolds were created by US-based Nanofiber Solutions.

-- The principal transplant surgeon and main coordinator for both procedures was Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, Professor of Regenerative Surgery at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

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Regenerative medicine pioneer continues changing lives with first successful laryngotracheal implants

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ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) Stem cells from patients with a rare form of muscular dystrophy have been successfully transplanted into mice affected by the same form of dystrophy, according to a new study published June 27 in Science Translational Medicine.

For the first time, scientists have turned muscular dystrophy patients' fibroblast cells (common cells found in connective tissue) into stem cells and then differentiated them into muscle precursor cells. The muscle cells were then genetically modified and transplanted into mice.

The new technique, which was initially developed at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute of Milan and completed at UCL, could be used in the future for treating patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (a rare form in which the shoulders and hips are primarily affected) and, possibly, other forms of muscular dystrophies.

Muscular dystrophies are genetic disorders primarily affecting skeletal muscle that result in greatly impaired mobility and, in severe cases, respiratory and cardiac dysfunction. There is no effective treatment, although several new approaches are entering clinical testing including cell therapy.

In this study, scientists focused on genetically modifying a type of cell called a mesoangioblast, which is derived from blood vessels and has been shown in previous studies to have potential in treating muscular dystrophy. However, the authors found that they could not get a sufficient number of mesoangioblasts from patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy because the muscles of the patients were depleted of these cells.

Instead, scientists in this study "reprogrammed" adult cells from patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy into stem cells and were able to induce them to differentiate into mesoangioblast-like cells. After these 'progenitor' cells were genetically corrected using a viral vector, they were injected into mice with muscular dystrophy, where they homed-in on damaged muscle fibres.

The researchers also showed that when the same muscle progenitor cells were derived from mice the transplanted cells strengthened damaged muscle and enabled the dystrophic mice to run for longer on a treadmill than dystrophic mice that did not receive the cells.

Dr Francesco Saverio Tedesco, UCL Cell & Developmental Biology, who led the study, said: "This is a major proof of concept study. We have shown that we can bypass the limited amount of patients' muscle stem cells using induced pluripotent stem cells and then produce unlimited numbers of genetically corrected progenitor cells.

"This technique may be useful in the future for treating limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and perhaps other forms of muscular dystrophy."

Professor Giulio Cossu, another UCL author, said: "This procedure is very promising, but it will need to be strenuously validated before it can be translated into a clinical setting, also considering that clinical safety for these "reprogrammed" stem cells has not yet been demonstrated for any disease."

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Successful transplant of patient-derived stem cells into mice with muscular dystrophy

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