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

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today the dosing of the third patient in its Phase I/II trial for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The outpatient transplantation surgery was performed successfully, and the patient is recovering uneventfully.

Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO of ACT, commented, The completion of enrollment of the first cohort of patients in our dry AMD clinical trial is a significant step forward in our RPE clinical program. The first six patients in the U.S. trials have all been treated at UCLA, and as we have recently announced, the trials should soon expand to additional sites. As we have built our clinical team, we have been fortunate to have attracted the attention of some of the highest-caliber ophthalmologists and related institutions in the U.S. and Europe and recognize the huge value that their expertise provides us as we plan for the future of our therapeutic programs. With their guidance, we have also worked with the FDA to successfully expand the criteria of eligibility for patients to participate in our dry AMD trial.

The procedures at UCLA were all conducted by the team led by Steven Schwartz, M.D., Ahmanson Professor of Ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and retina division chief at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute.

The six patients treated at UCLA to date have tolerated the surgical procedure well. commented Dr. Schwartz. There have been no complications in the procedure, nor any issues relating to the safety of the injected stem cell-derived RPE cells in any of the patients. We continue to regularly evaluate all patients in the trial, and while still preliminary, I am encouraged by the patients progress and the relative straightforwardness of the surgical procedure.

We are extremely pleased with the progress being made in all three of our clinical trials here in the U.S. and the U.K., commented Robert Lanza, M.D., ACTs chief scientific officer. The data we are reviewing seems to be pointing in the appropriate direction, With the treatment of the latest two dry AMD patients, we look forward to having more significant points of reference to understand the progress of the trial and consider the endpoint design for the next phase. Both Stargardts disease and dry AMD are progressive diseases that result vision loss and blindness due to the thinning of the layer of RPE cells in the patient's macula, the central portion of the retina responsible for central vision. We still have many patients left to treat during the course of these trials, but our team remains hopeful that stem cell-derived RPE cells may someday provide a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of many forms of macular degeneration. We hear from patients who suffer from these diseases on nearly a daily basis, and appreciate the huge responsibility we have to them.

ACT is conducting three clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe using hESC-derived RPE cells to treat forms of macular degeneration. Each trial will enroll a total of 12 patients, with cohorts of three patients each in an ascending dosage format. These trials are prospective, open-label studies, designed to determine the safety and tolerability of hESC-derived RPE cells following sub-retinal transplantation into patients with dry-AMD or Stargardt's macular dystrophy (SMD) at 12 months, the studys primary endpoint. Preliminary results relating to both early safety and biological function for the first two patients in the United States, one SMD patient and one dry AMD patient, were recently reported in The Lancet. On January 20, 2012, the first SMD patient to be enrolled in the Companys U.K. clinical trial was treated at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. The final patient of the first cohort in the companys SMD trial in the U.S. was treated on February 13, 2012.

Further information about patient eligibility for the dry AMD study and the concurrent study on SMD is also available on http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT01345006 , NCT01469832 and NCT01344993.

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.

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ACT Announces Third Dry AMD Patient Treated in Clinical Trial

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April 20, 2012

New research reported this week illustrates some very interesting results in the field of regenerative medicine. Blind mice were able to see once more and monkeys with paralyzed hands were able to flex them again.

The night-blind mice, were implanted with precursor eye cells, and in tests the mice saw well enough after the procedure to swim to a platform in dim underwater light.

The monkeys studied in the research had arms which were paralyzed with nerve blocks. These monkeys were then hooked to a computer which relayed signals from their brain to their hands. These signals enabled to monkeys to once again use their arms and hands.

These techniques and more are a part of research to provide alternatives to patients who have bodies damaged by trauma or disabled by bad genes. The subsequent report has been published in the journal Nature.

Speaking to Bloomberg News, Robin Ali, an author in the blind mice study, said, Cells in a dish is one challenge and, five to 10 years ago, that was exciting.

Whats interesting about these three papers is that were really starting to move into regenerative medicine. What these have in common is looking at repairing systems in vivo, or in living organisms.

Ali is a molecular genetics professor at University College London and gave the night blind mice precursors of rod cells. These rod cells function best in times of low light and are almost entirely responsible for night vision. Once the cells were transported, synapses were formed, improving night vision in the mice. To test this improvement, the mice were placed in a dimly lit water maze, wherein the mice had to swim to a platform.

With this research, Ali hopes to repair all vision disorders, including color blindness.

Most causes of blindness are due to the loss of photoreceptors, Ali said. What I have in mind is approaching unrealistic I want to restore normal vision. But if were aiming to provide useful function, that may be achievable.

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Blind Mice, Paralyzed Monkeys, And Regenerative Medicine

Recommendation and review posted by sam

London, Apr 19 : Researchers including one of Indian origin have declared a research breakthrough in mice that shows promise to restore hearts damaged by heart attacks-by converting scar-forming cardiac cells into beating heart muscle.

Gladstone Institutes scientists previously transformed such cells into cardiac muscle-like cells in petri dishes.

But Gladstone postdoctoral scholar Li Qian, PhD, along with researchers in the laboratory of Deepak Srivastava, MD, has now accomplished this transformation in living animals-and with even greater success.

The results may have broad human-health implications.

"The damage from a heart attack is typically permanent because heart-muscle cells-deprived of oxygen during the attack-die and scar tissue forms," said Dr. Srivastava, who directs cardiovascular and stem cell research at Gladstone, an independent and nonprofit biomedical-research institution.

"But our experiments in mice are a proof of concept that we can reprogram non-beating cells directly into fully functional, beating heart cells-offering an innovative and less invasive way to restore heart function after a heart attack."

In laboratory experiments with mice that had experienced a heart attack, Drs. Qian and Srivastava delivered three genes that normally guide embryonic heart development-together known as GMT-directly into the damaged region.

Within a month, non-beating cells that normally form scar tissue transformed into beating heart-muscle cells. Within three months, the hearts were beating even stronger and pumping more blood.

"These findings could have a significant impact on heart-failure patients-whose damaged hearts make it difficult for them to engage in normal activities like walking up a flight of stairs," said Dr. Qian, who is also a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine postdoctoral scholar and a Roddenberry Fellow.

"This research may result in a much-needed alternative to heart transplants-for which donors are extremely limited. And because we are reprogramming cells directly in the heart, we eliminate the need to surgically implant cells that were created in a petri dish."

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Transforming scar tissue into beating heart muscle may help repair cardiac damage

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations Also Included In: Stem Cell Research;Dermatology Article Date: 20 Apr 2012 - 3:00 PDT

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Takashi Tsuji, a Professor in the Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, and Director of Organ Technologies Inc, led the team, who report their findings in an open access paper published in Nature Communications on 17 April.

The study is significant on two counts: first it used adult stem cells and not embryonic stem cells, and second, the bioengineered follicles were fully functional and integrated into surrounding tissue, something that has not been managed before.

Not only does the study raise hopes of a cure for baldness, the researchers say it also represents a significant advance toward the next generation of "organ replacement regenerative therapies" that will enable the replacement of organs damaged by disease, injury or aging.

The researchers bioengineered hair follicle germ cells, the cells that mature into cells that grow hair, from two other types of cell: adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells.

They implanted the bioengineered cells into the skin of hairless mice and showed that they went on to have normal hair cycles, where after dead hairs fell out, new ones took their place.

See more here:
Bioengineered Follicles Grow Hair On Bald Mice

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Despite decades of cancer research, cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million deaths in 2008, and breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths each year . In Singapore, more than 1,400 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 300 die as a result of breast cancer each year . The high fatality rate of cancer is partially attributed to the invasive ability of malignant tumors to spread throughout the human body, and the ineffectiveness of conventional therapies to eradicate the cancer cells.

A team of researchers led by IBN Group Leader, Dr Shu Wang, has made a landmark discovery that neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells could be used to treat breast cancer. The effectiveness of using NSCs, which originate from the central nervous system, to treat brain tumors has been investigated in previous studies. This is the first study that demonstrates that iPS cell-derived NSCs could also target tumors outside the central nervous system, to treat both primary and secondary tumors.

To test the efficiency of NSCs in targeting and treating breast cancer, the researchers injected NSCs loaded with a suicide gene (herpes simplex virus thymidine) into mice bearing breast tumors. They did this using baculoviral vectors or gene carriers engineered from an insect virus (baculovirus), which does not replicate in human cells, making the carriers less harmful for clinical use. A prodrug (ganciclovir), which would activate the suicide gene to kill the cancerous cells upon contact, was subsequently injected into the mice. A dual-colored whole body imaging technology was then used to track the distribution and migration of the iPS-NSCs.

The imaging results revealed that the iPS-NSCs homed in on the breast tumors in the mice, and also accumulated in various organs infiltrated by the cancer cells such as the lung, stomach and bone. The survival of the tumor-bearing mice was prolonged from 34 days to 39 days. This data supports and explains how engineered iPS-NSCs are able to effectively seek out and inhibit tumor growth and proliferation.

Dr Shu Wang shared, "We have demonstrated that tumor-targeting neural stem cells may be derived from human iPS cells, and that these cells may be used in combination with a therapeutic gene to cripple tumor growth. This is a significant finding for stem cell-based cancer therapy, and we will continue to improve and optimize our neural stem cell system by preventing any unwanted activation of the therapeutic gene in non-tumor regions and minimizing possible side effects."

"IBN's expertise in generating human stem cells from iPS cells and our novel use of insect virus carriers for gene delivery have paved the way for the development of innovative stem cell-based therapies. With their two-pronged attack on tumors using genetically engineered neural stem cells, our researchers have discovered a promising alternative to conventional cancer treatment," added Professor Jackie. Y. Ying, IBN Executive Director.

Compared to collecting and expanding primary cells from individual patients, IBN's approach of using iPS cells to derive NSCs is less laborious and suitable for large-scale manufacture of uniform batches of cellular products for repeated patient treatments. Importantly, this approach will help eliminate variability in the quality of the cellular products, thus facilitating reliable comparative analysis of clinical outcomes.

Additionally, these iPS cell-derived NSCs are derived from adult cells, which bypass the sensitive ethical issue surrounding the use of human embryos, and since iPS cells are developed from a patient's own cells, the likelihood of immune rejection would be reduced.

References: 1. J. Yang, D. H. Lam, S. S. Goh, E. X. L. Lee, Y. Zhao, F. Chang Tay, C. Chen, S. Du, G. Balasundaram, M. Shahbazi, C. K. Tham, W. H. Ng, H. C. Toh and S. Wang, "Tumor Tropism of Intravenously Injected Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Neural Stem Cells and their Gene Therapy Application in a Metastatic Breast Cancer Model," Stem Cells, (2012) DOI: 10.1002/stem.1051.

2. E. X. Lee, D. H. Lam, C. Wu, J. Yang, C. K. Tham and S. Wang, "Glioma Gene Therapy Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem Cells," Molecular Pharmaceutics, 8 (2011) 1515-1524.

Read more:
IBN Discovers Human Neural Stem Cells with Tumor Targeting Ability - A Promising Discovery for Breast Cancer Therapy

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

April 20, 2012 18:19 PM

IBN Discovers Human Neural Stem Cells, Promising Discovery For Breast Cancer Therapy

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

SINGAPORE, April 20 (Bernama) -- Could engineered human stem cells hold the key to cancer survival?

Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, have discovered that neural stem cells possess the innate ability to target tumor cells outside the central nervous system.

This finding, which was demonstrated successfully on breast cancer cells, was recently published in leading peer reviewed journal, Stem Cells.

Despite decades of cancer research, cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million deaths in 2008, and breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths each year.

In Singapore, more than 1,400 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 300 die as a result of breast cancer annually.

A team of researchers led by IBN group leader Dr Shu Wang, has made a landmark discovery that neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells could be used to treat breast cancer.

The effectiveness of using NSCs, which originate from the central nervous system, to treat brain tumors has been investigated in previous studies.

Read more from the original source:
IBN Discovers Human Neural Stem Cells, Promising Discovery For Breast Cancer Therapy

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2012) Could engineered human stem cells hold the key to cancer survival? Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, have discovered that neural stem cells possess the innate ability to target tumor cells outside the central nervous system.

This finding, which was demonstrated successfully on breast cancer cells, was recently published in peer reviewed journal, Stem Cells.

Despite decades of cancer research, cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million deaths in 2008, and breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths each year[1]. In Singapore, more than 1,400 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 300 die as a result of breast cancer each year[2]. The high fatality rate of cancer is partially attributed to the invasive ability of malignant tumors to spread throughout the human body, and the ineffectiveness of conventional therapies to eradicate the cancer cells.

A team of researchers led by IBN Group Leader, Dr Shu Wang, has made a landmark discovery that neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells could be used to treat breast cancer. The effectiveness of using NSCs, which originate from the central nervous system, to treat brain tumors has been investigated in previous studies. This is the first study that demonstrates that iPS cell-derived NSCs could also target tumors outside the central nervous system, to treat both primary and secondary tumors.

To test the efficiency of NSCs in targeting and treating breast cancer, the researchers injected NSCs loaded with a suicide gene (herpes simplex virus thymidine) into mice bearing breast tumors. They did this using baculoviral vectors or gene carriers engineered from an insect virus (baculovirus), which does not replicate in human cells, making the carriers less harmful for clinical use. A prodrug (ganciclovir), which would activate the suicide gene to kill the cancerous cells upon contact, was subsequently injected into the mice. A dual-colored whole body imaging technology was then used to track the distribution and migration of the iPS-NSCs.

The imaging results revealed that the iPS-NSCs homed in on the breast tumors in the mice, and also accumulated in various organs infiltrated by the cancer cells such as the lung, stomach and bone. The survival of the tumor-bearing mice was prolonged from 34 days to 39 days. This data supports and explains how engineered iPS-NSCs are able to effectively seek out and inhibit tumor growth and proliferation.

Dr Shu Wang shared, "We have demonstrated that tumor-targeting neural stem cells may be derived from human iPS cells, and that these cells may be used in combination with a therapeutic gene to cripple tumor growth. This is a significant finding for stem cell-based cancer therapy, and we will continue to improve and optimize our neural stem cell system by preventing any unwanted activation of the therapeutic gene in non-tumor regions and minimizing possible side effects."

"IBN's expertise in generating human stem cells from iPS cells and our novel use of insect virus carriers for gene delivery have paved the way for the development of innovative stem cell-based therapies. With their two-pronged attack on tumors using genetically engineered neural stem cells, our researchers have discovered a promising alternative to conventional cancer treatment," added Professor Jackie. Y. Ying, IBN Executive Director.

Compared to collecting and expanding primary cells from individual patients, IBN's approach of using iPS cells to derive NSCs is less laborious and suitable for large-scale manufacture of uniform batches of cellular products for repeated patient treatments. Importantly, this approach will help eliminate variability in the quality of the cellular products, thus facilitating reliable comparative analysis of clinical outcomes.

Additionally, these iPS cell-derived NSCs are derived from adult cells, which bypass the sensitive ethical issue surrounding the use of human embryos, and since iPS cells are developed from a patient's own cells, the likelihood of immune rejection would be reduced.

See more here:
Human neural stem cells with tumor targeting ability discovered

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

MEDIA RELEASE

IBN Discovers Human Neural Stem Cells with Tumor Targeting Ability A Promising Discovery for Breast Cancer Therapy

Singapore, April 20, 2012 Could engineered human stem cells hold the key to cancer survival? Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the worlds first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, have discovered that neural stem cells possess the innate ability to target tumor cells outside the central nervous system. This finding, which was demonstrated successfully on breast cancer cells, was recently published in leading peer reviewed journal, Stem Cells.

A team of researchers led by IBN Group Leader, Dr Shu Wang, has made a landmark discovery that neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells could be used to treat breast cancer. The effectiveness of using NSCs, which originate from the central nervous system, to treat brain tumors has been investigated in previous studies. This is the first study that demonstrates that iPS cell-derived NSCs could also target tumors outside the central nervous system, to treat both primary and secondary tumors.

To test the efficiency of NSCs in targeting and treating breast cancer, the researchers injected NSCs loaded with a suicide gene (herpes simplex virus thymidine) into mice bearing breast tumors. They did this using baculoviral vectors or gene carriers engineered from an insect virus (baculovirus), which does not replicate in human cells, making the carriers less harmful for clinical use. A prodrug (ganciclovir), which would activate the suicide gene to kill the cancerous cells upon contact, was subsequently injected into the mice. A dual-colored whole body imaging technology was then used to track the distribution and migration of the iPS-NSCs.

The imaging results revealed that the iPS-NSCs homed in on the breast tumors in the mice, and also accumulated in various organs infiltrated by the cancer cells such as the lung, stomach and bone. The survival of the tumor-bearing mice was prolonged from 34 days to 39 days. This data supports and explains how engineered iPS-NSCs are able to effectively seek out and inhibit tumor growth and proliferation.

Dr Shu Wang shared, We have demonstrated that tumor-targeting neural stem cells may be derived from human iPS cells, and that these cells may be used in combination with a therapeutic gene to cripple tumor growth. This is a significant finding for stem cell-based cancer therapy, and we will continue to improve and optimize our neural stem cell system by preventing any unwanted activation of the therapeutic gene in non-tumor regions and minimizing possible side effects.

IBNs expertise in generating human stem cells from iPS cells and our novel use of insect virus carriers for gene delivery have paved the way for the development of innovative stem cell-based therapies. With their two-pronged attack on tumors using genetically engineered neural stem cells, our researchers have discovered a promising alternative to conventional cancer treatment, added Professor Jackie. Y. Ying, IBN Executive Director.

Compared to collecting and expanding primary cells from individual patients, IBNs approach of using iPS cells to derive NSCs is less laborious and suitable for large-scale manufacture of uniform batches of cellular products for repeated patient treatments. Importantly, this approach will help eliminate variability in the quality of the cellular products, thus facilitating reliable comparative analysis of clinical outcomes.

Additionally, these iPS cell-derived NSCs are derived from adult cells, which bypass the sensitive ethical issue surrounding the use of human embryos, and since iPS cells are developed from a patients own cells, the likelihood of immune rejection would be reduced.

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:: 20, Apr 2012 :: IBN DISCOVERS HUMAN NEURAL STEM CELLS WITH TUMOR TARGETING ABILITY – A PROMISING DISCOVERY FOR ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

St. Louis /PRNewswire/ -- Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (Nasdaq: SIAL) today announced that Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs, an initiative of Sigma Life Science, extended CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology to achieve the first tissue-specific conditional knockout of an endogenous gene in rats. For two decades this approach for generating sophisticated disease models could be performed only in mice. Rats, however, are preferred by drug discovery and basic researchers because the animal's physiology, neurobiology and other features are more predictive of human conditions. Rats engineered to contain tissue-specific conditional gene knockouts are available exclusively through the SAGEspeed Custom Model Development Service. Details are available at http://www.sageresearchmodels.com/conditional-KO.

Conventional gene knockout eliminates a gene throughout an entire animal. In contrast, conditional gene knockout can eliminate a gene solely in the relevant tissue or organ, leading to a more accurate understanding of the gene's function. Conditional gene knockout can also knock out genes at certain points in development, enabling studies of genes whose absence in embryos is lethal, but whose loss of function in adulthood is critical to investigate for many human diseases.

"Almost 89% of drug candidates fail to achieve approval," said Edward Weinstein, Director of SAGE Labs. "Basic and drug discovery researchers need access to more predictive animal models whose physiology, biology, and genetics more closely reflect specific human conditions. SAGE Labs is applying ZFN technology to achieve previously impossible genetic manipulations, such as tissue-specific gene deletion in rats."

Using the conditional knockout methodology, scientists at SAGE Labs have generated a pair of rat lines in which two important neuronal genes, Crhr1 and Grin1, were removed in specific neuronal populations. Crhr1 and Grin1 have been implicated as playing a role in depression and schizophrenia, respectively. The rat lines were developed through the SAGEspeed model creation process, which uses Sigma's CompoZr ZFN technology to create sophisticated genetic modifications in rats, mice, rabbits, and other organisms. CompoZr ZFN technology is the first to enable highly efficient, targeted editing of the genome of any species.

For more information and to request pricing, visit http://www.sageresearchmodels.com.

Cautionary Statement: The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "enable," "enabling," "leading to," "achieve," "predictive" or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues from products derived there from. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that iPS cells, iPS-cell derived primary cell lines, novel assays, or related custom services will assist the Company to achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding products associated iPS cells, iPS-cell derived primary cell lines, novel assays, or related custom services could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Company's assets and liabilities as recorded in its consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Sigma-Aldrich's current Form 10-K on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Sigma-Aldrich is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Sigma Life Science: Sigma Life Science is a Sigma-Aldrich business that represents the Company's leadership in innovative biological products and services for the global life science market and offers an array of biologically-rich products and reagents that researchers use in scientific investigation. Product areas include biomolecules, genomics and functional genomics, cells and cell-based assays, transgenics, protein assays, stem cell research, epigenetics and custom services/oligonucleotides. Sigma Life Science also provides an extensive range critical bioessentials like biochemicals, antibiotics, buffers, carbohydrates, enzymes, forensic tools, hematology and histology, nucleotides, amino acids and their derivatives, and cell culture media.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company whose biochemical, organic chemical products, kits and services are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostics and high technology manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich customers include more than 1.3 million scientists and technologists in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and industry. The Company operates in 40 countries and has nearly 9,000 employees whose objective is to provide excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to accelerating customer success through innovation and leadership in Life Science and High Technology. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its website at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com.

Sigma-Aldrich and Sigma are trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co, LLC registered in the US and other countries. SAGE and CompoZr are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC. SAGEspeed is a trademark of Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC.

SOURCE: Sigma-Aldrich Corporation

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SAGE® Labs Creates The First Tissue-Specific Gene Deletion In Rats

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Researchers have created artificial genetic material known as Xenonucleic acids, or XNAs, that can store information and evolve over generations in a comparable way to DNA.

The research, reported Friday in the journal Science, has implications for the fields of molecular medicine and biotechnology, and sheds new light on how molecules first replicated and assembled into life billions of years ago.

Living systems owe their existence to the information-carrying molecules DNA and RNA. These fundamental chemical forms have two features essential for life: they display heredity, meaning they can encode and pass on genetic information, and they can adapt over time.

Whether these traits could be performed by molecules other than DNA and RNA has been a long-debated issue.

For the current study, an international team of researchers developed chemical procedures to convert DNA and RNA into six genetic polymers known as XNAs. The process switches the deoxyribose and ribose (the d and r in DNA and RNA) for other molecules.

The researchers demonstrated for the first time that all six XNAs could form a double helix with DNA, and were more stable than natural genetic material. Moreover, one of these XNAs, a molecule known as anhydrohexitol nucleic acid, or HNA, was capable of undergoing directed evolution and folding into biologically useful forms.

Philipp Holliger of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, the studys senior author, said the work demonstrated that heredity and evolution were possible using alternatives to natural genetic material.

There is nothing Goldilocks about DNA and RNA, he told Science.

There is no overwhelming functional imperative for genetic systems or biology to be based on these two nucleic acids.

Both RNA and DNA embed data in their sequences of four nucleotides. This information is vital for conferring hereditary traits and for supplying the coded recipe essential for building proteins from the 20 naturally occurring amino acids. However, precisely how and when this system began remains one of the most perplexing and hotly contested areas of biology.

The rest is here:
Researchers Create Synthetic DNA/RNA That Can Evolve

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --To celebrate DNA Day, Khan Academy, the world's online classroom, and 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, are working together to promote the importance of genetics education. 23andMe's Genetics 101 and Human Prehistory 101 video series are now available on KhanAcademy.org.

DNA Day commemorates the day in 1953 when James Watson, Francis Crick, and colleagues published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA. Additionally, on the same date in 2003 it was declared that the Human Genome Project was very close to complete.

"The paper publications in the Nature journal and the Human Genome Projects are both landmark achievements, and more people should know about them. These events helped launch the field of genetics, and this field is a critical force that will shape our society in the future," said Sal Khan, Founder of Khan Academy.

Khan Academy is changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. 23andMe is dedicated to helping individuals understand their own genetic information through DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools. The company's Personal Genome Service enables individuals to gain deeper insights into their ancestry and inherited traits. Together, the two organizations are celebrating DNA Day by focusing on genetics and what individuals can learn from exploring their own DNA.

"A solid foundation in genetics is increasingly important for everyone," said Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe. "Our understanding of how DNA informs our health and development is advancing at an incredible pace.This research is critical for adopting a preventative and personalized approach to healthcare. It's also fascinating to better understand what causes the incredible human diversity."

23andMe also partners with high schools, colleges, and universities to improve understanding of genetic information and to foster a dialogue about personalized medicine. For academic classes with a focus on genetics, medicine, human biology, anthropology, or bioethics, 23andMe offers several resources, including its Personal Genome Service at a significantly reduced rate. You can learn more about 23andMe's Academic program at: http://www.23andme.com/academic.

Khan Academy currently offers several lessons on genetics that are typically seen in high school or first-year college curriculums, including: An introduction to DNA, Introduction to Heredity, the Hardy-Weinberg Principle, and Punnett Square Fun. All Khan Academy content is available for free at: http://www.khanacademy.org

About Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. The organization believes that students of all ages should have free access to top-notch educational content and be able to learn and master the content at their own pace. Khan Academy has delivered over 140 million lessons, and users have completed over 500 million exercises on http://www.khanacademy.org.

About 23andMe

Link:
Khan Academy and 23andMe Partner to Promote Genetics Education on DNA Day

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

A gathering of scientists might not seem very glamorous, but the cancer researchers who came together at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich Thursday evening were celebrities at a gala marking the 10th anniversary of a local nonprofit that has provided more than $22.5 million to help investigate innovative therapies.

The Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy celebrated its founding 10 years ago by Greenwich residents Barbara and Edward Netter, who decided to raise money for research into gene therapy after losing their daughter-in-law to breast cancer.

The event Thursday served as a tribute to Edward, who died last February. It also allowed the scientists to gather and discuss the cutting-edge research they are doing, and how the Alliance can help along the often painstakingly slow process of bringing new therapies to the market.

A few years ago, during the event celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Alliance, the scientists' discussion led to the eventual awarding of grants that recently paid off with a major breakthrough.

The nonprofit had already been funding so-called young investigators conducting exploratory research.

"We also envisioned there was a lack of science and clinical development," said Dr. Savio Woo, chairman of the Alliance's scientific advisory council. "You need to test patients."

Since then, the Alliance has begun giving out its Fund for Advancement awards, which provide up to $1 million to scientists conducting research that will move cell and gene therapies from the laboratory toward clinical trials.

Last year, an Alliance-funded gene therapy trial at the University of Pennsylvania caused two patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia to go into complete remission, and significantly reduced the cancer in a third patient.

Dr. Carl June, who headed the small trial, which genetically modified the patients' own T-cells to target and kill the tumors, called the gathering Thursday a "celebration" of the work the Alliance has been supporting.

"After a decade, it's clear there are going to be FDA-approved products in cell and gene therapy that there weren't 10 years ago," June said.

Read more:
Greenwich gala celebrates cancer therapy breakthrough

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18-04-2012 06:57 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web: or mail to us: Name: Sonia Tahiliani Gender: Female Nationality: United Kingdom Age: 10 Start of treatment: 2007-08-02 Diagnosis: Cerebral palsy quadriplegic with epilepsy Treatment: Stem cell treatment Days admitted to the hospital: 120 Reason for coming to treatment: Sonia was a ten-year old girl, and she was born with Cerebral Palsy. She is quadriplegic, suffers from epilepsy and delayed physical and cognitive development. She cannot walk or speak; she can make a few simple sounds and can minimally respond to commands. She has great difficulty remembering and learning new things. Her parents were hoping their girl to be as healthy as a normal kid, so they took her here out of trust in our medical technology.

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China medical tourism Cerebral Palsy stem cells therapy 10 - Video

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18-04-2012 09:35 Video update that includes Holly Catalano crawling after her second stem cell treatment at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama. At the end of the video is additional footage showing Holly walking along furniture after her third treatment. Holly suffers from periventricular leukomalacia, a disorder which is similar to CP.

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Stem Cell Treatment for Cerebral Palsy - 3rd Treatment Update Holly Catalano - Video

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BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Inform Genomics, Inc., a private company focused on developing novel platforms of personalized medicine products for cancer supportive care and inflammatory diseases, today announced the completion of the first phase of product development to predict a patients risk of developing oral mucositis after receiving high dose chemotherapy prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The results of this single center, 153-patient study demonstrated the products ability to discriminate which patients develop oral mucositis with 99.3% accuracy and an area under the Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve of 99.7%. Further development will include validation of these initial results in a multicenter study. In addition, Inform Genomics announced that it entered into a collaboration agreement with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) to further develop and commercialize the product. Sobi is a leading integrated biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing innovative therapies and services to improve the health of rare disease patients and their families.

We are very pleased with the exciting results of this study, said Ed Rubenstein, M.D., President & CEO of Inform Genomics, and our agreement with Sobi demonstrates the value our technology can bring to biopharma partners while expanding the market opportunity for both companies products. When commercialized, this product will be available for the hematology oncology stem cell transplant market and will complement the target market of our lead product, OnPART for patients with solid tumors.

The principal investigator for the study, Stephen T. Sonis, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., Chief Scientific Officer of Biomodels, LLC, who also serves as the Chief of the Division of Oral Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Oral Medicine at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, will present the results of the study at the upcoming 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, as part of the educational session titled Mucosal Injury in Patients with Cancer: Targeting the Biology, taking place from 11:30 am to 12:45 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012 in Chicago, IL.

About OnPART

OnPART, Oncology Preferences And Risk of Toxicity, will be Inform Genomics first platform molecular diagnostic test for personalizing treatment decisions for patients undergoing chemotherapy for colorectal, breast, lung or ovarian cancer. Based upon response rates and survival, more than one chemotherapy regimen may be considered appropriate care for patients with these common solid tumors, yet the regimens vary widely in their toxicity profiles, including nausea & vomiting, diarrhea, oral mucositis, cognitive dysfunction, fatigue and peripheral neuropathy. OnPART is being developed to assess genomic risk for these side effects, and to provide valuable information for patients and medical oncologists to help clarify clinical choices.

About Inform Genomics

Inform Genomics, Inc. is a private company focused on developing novel platforms of personalized medicine products for cancer supportive care and inflammatory diseases, including its lead product, OnPART, designed to predict an individuals risk of six common toxicities of commonly used chemotherapy regimens based on his or her individual genomic profile. The Companys business model leverages existing technology in conjunction with proprietary analytic methods for conducting genome-wide association studies. Product development programs will lead to commercial, single source laboratory tests consisting of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) clusters that determine the likelihood of individual patient clinical outcomes to drug therapies. The U.S. market opportunity for these differentiated products exceeds $2 billion annually. Inform Genomics is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit http://www.informgenomics.com.

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Inform Genomics Announces Results of Study Predicting Risk of Oral Mucositis in Patients Undergoing High Dose ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Link to the study here:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035577

About the Neuronal Survival Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University

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New Stem Cell Found in the Brain

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SEATTLE and SINGAPORE, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc.("CTI") (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) and S*BIO Pte Ltd announced today that the companies have entered into an asset purchase agreement pursuant to which CTI would acquire world-wide rights to S*BIO's pacritinib, a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor. Pacritinib is an oral JAK2 (Janus Associated Kinase 2) selective inhibitor that has demonstrated encouraging clinical benefit in phase 1 and 2 clinical studies in patients with primary myelofibrosis (MF) or MF secondary to other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Pacritinib has orphan drug designation in the U.S. and Europe for myelofibrosis.

"JAK2 dysregulation is associated with a broad range of difficult-to-treat illnesses, including cancers and autoimmune diseases, and is one of the most exciting potential new targets in cancer therapy today," said James A. Bianco, M.D., CEO of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. "We believe a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor that also inhibits the JAK2 clonal mutation (JAK2V617F) offers a distinct biological and clinical advantage over marketed or development stage compounds which are non-selective inhibitors of the JAK pathway. We believe that the lack of suppression of red blood cell and platelet formation seen with pacritinib has the potential to satisfy a medical need not currently addressed with existing non-selective JAK1/JAK2 inhibitors."

"The acquisition of pacritinib is aligned with our strategy of becoming a leader in the treatment of blood related cancers and disorders. We are looking forward to build on the progress made by S*BIO," Bianco continued. "With Pixuvri approaching approval and launch in the EU, and tosedostat and pacritinib entering phase 3 our late stage portfolio addresses a full complement of blood related cancers ranging from MPN to MDS, leukemia and lymphoma."

"JAK inhibitors are a very exciting new class of targeted agents that provide effective treatment in a previously difficult to treat disease called myelofibrosis," stated Srdan Verstovsek, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas and Executive Committee Member, International Working Group for Myelofibrosis. "Pacritinib is a highly specific JAK2 inhibitor that does not appear to cause suppression of platelets or red blood cells as seen with other treatments, while reducing enlarged spleen and improving disease related debilitating symptoms in patients with myelofibrosis. I am looking forward to working with Cell Therapeutics in developing this agent for patients with myelofibrosis who present with low blood counts or develop them on therapy."

"We are most impressed with CTI's experienced team and believe that they are the ideal company to further develop pacritinib, S*BIO's most advanced program," commented Ms. Tamar Howson, S*BIO's CEO. S*BIO is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the research and clinical development of novel targeted small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer with leading programs around kinases and histone deacetylases (HDAC). S*BIO has strong links with a network of medical oncologists in Asia Pacific and its investors include Bio*One Capital a subsidiary of EDBI, Aravis Ventures, Mitsui Ventures and other international funds.

Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, CTI will make an upfront payment of $15 million and issue $15 million shares of unregistered preferred stock convertible into common stock in CTI. The agreement also includes regulatory success- and sales-based milestone payments, as well as single digit royalties on net sales. CTI will be solely responsible for development and commercialization activities of pacritinib worldwide. The agreement will be subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions. The terms of the agreement will be provided in more detail in a Form 8-K to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Janus Associated Kinase (JAK)

The JAK family of enzymes are a central component in signal transduction pathways, which are critical to normal blood cell growth and development as well as inflammatory cytokine expression and immune responses. When dysregulated by activating mutations, uncontrolled blood cell growth can occur accompanied by inflammation and immune system activation contributing to disease manifestations in MPN. Autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis also have activation of this pathway and JAK inhibitors are in development for these disorders. In addition, activation of the JAK2 pathway and the related FLT3 pathway (whether by activating mutations or other causes) is frequently associated with leukemia, and lymphoma. Pacritinib inhibits both JAK2 and FLT3 suggesting potential use in treating such blood related cancers.

Myelofibrosis is a stem cell-derived clonal myeloproliferative disease frequently associated with a mutation in the JAK2 gene (JAK2V617F). Inhibition of JAK1/ JAK2 has recently been shown to lead to clinical benefit in patients with advanced MF and platelet counts of 100,000 or higher at study entry, resulting in the first JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor to be approved for patients with advanced MF. The approved JAK inhibitor is not selective for JAK2 but inhibits both JAK1 and JAK2. While effective in reducing patients symptoms associated with MF, JAK1/JAK2 inhibitors frequently cause suppression of platelets and red blood cells, often leading to a need for red blood cell transfusions. Pacritinib may offer an advantage over other JAK inhibitors by having less bone marrow suppression. Such agents may also lead to a modification of the underlying disease process by selectively affecting the malignant clone expressing JAK2V617F.

About Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)

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Cell Therapeutics Enters into Agreement to Acquire Pacritinib, a Novel Highly Selective JAK2 Inhibitor Phase 3 ...

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18-04-2012 07:24 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the or mail to us: Name: Daniel Gender: Male Nationality: USA Age: 50 Start of treatment: 2009-08-12 Diagnosis: brain stem injury Treatment: 3 injections of bone marrow stem cells and nutritious stem cell cocktail treatment Days admitted to the hospital: 40 Reason for coming to treatment: In 1986, Daniel was involved in a car accident, which left him comatose and with little chance of survival. Against the odds Daniel came out of the coma and survived. Today Daniel has limited, but manageable, ability to communicate and to move his body. Wishing to gain more improvements in his motor abilities and improve his quality of life, Daniel and his wife, LaNea, came to Guangzhou for stem cell treatment on September 2009.

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China medical tourism Brain Injury stem cell therapy 2 clip - Video

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18-04-2012 08:35 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web: or mail to us: Name: Shana Weil Gender: Feale Nationality: USA Age: 22 Start of treatment: 2008-11-24 Diagnosis: Traumatic brain injury Treatment: 4 stem cells injections via lumbar puncture and a nutritious stem cell cocktail treatment Days admitted to the hospital: 60 Reason for coming to treatment: On November 20, 2003, Shana lost control of her car and ran into a tree. The accident left her severely brain damaged. Later, Shana came out of the coma, and progressed from a vegetative state to being minimally conscious. Her parents decided to keep their daughter at home, taking care of all her daily needs and kept her on an intense physiotherapy program, but eventually realized that they had exhausted all treatment options available in the US Upon Hearing on the TV about another family that traveled to China for stem cell treatment, her parents decided to travel with their daughter to Guangzhou.

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China medical tourism Brain Injury stem cell therapy 3 clip - Video

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18-04-2012 09:47 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web: or mail to us: Name: Sammy Ashraf Gender: Female Nationality: Pakistan Age: 32 Start of treatment: 2010-11-18 Diagnosis: Hypoxic encephalopathy, secondary epilepsy Treatment: 3 injections of bone marrow stem cells and nutritious stem cell cocktail treatment Days admitted to the hospital: 30 Reason for coming to treatment: Sammy developed breathing problems and fell into a coma after taking some cough medicine on March 25, 2009, and then she received a tracheotomy, mechanical ventilation to assist her breathing and organic phosphorus detoxification treatment. On the third day, she was taken off the ventilation and continued her treatment in the ICU. She received physical rehabilitation bedside with the assistance of her family members. Three months later, Sammy could understand simple instructions given to her. She was able to swallow small amounts of liquid and move her arms and legs slightly. At the onset of the disease, Sammy was presented with paroxysmal convulsions, clenched fists, and she would grit her teeth. Sammy was put on Topamax for treatment. They looked for new therapy, so they contact us and came to our hospital for ...

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China medical tourism Brain Injury stem cell therapy 4 clip - Video

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18-04-2012 10:06 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web: or mail to us: Name: Binca Karprioru Gender: Female Nationality: Romania Age: 18 Start of treatment: 2007-11-17 Diagnosis: Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation Treatment: Stem cell treatment Days admitted to the hospital: 60 Reason for coming to treatment: Due to lack of oxygen during child birth Bianca was born with cerebral palsy characterized mainly by mental retardation. Before the treatment Bianca was very dependent on her mother in all daily activities - eating, dressing, tying her shoes, going to the bathroom and walking. Bianca could walk only with someone supporting her on one side and holding her hand. She could point to something but could not grasp small objects. She could pronounce a few words but was unable to create sentences. She could understand commands of medium difficulty. She appeared to have double vision and had difficulties focusing her sight. She was very anxious around people she didn't know and in unfamiliar environments and would express fear and uncontrolled aggression in such situations. She did not want to miss any opportunity, so she came here in Guangzhou for treatment.

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China medical tourism Cerebral Palsy stem cells therapy 6 clip - Video

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18-04-2012 10:54 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web: or mail to us: Name: Antilla Lawrence Gender: Male Nationality: Hungary Age: 27 Start of treatment: 2008-08-23 Diagnosis: Stem cell treatment Treatment: Weekly stem cell injections, physical therapy, cocktail medication Days admitted to the hospital: 40 Reason for coming to treatment: Antilla suffers from limited mobility and impaired balance due to limited oxygen supply to his brain during his birth. Before coming to Guangzhou Antilla suffered constantly from stiff and rigid muscles. His balance was poor; he could not get down the stairs without catching the handrail, he could not walk very fast and his walking was bumpy and uncoordinated. He could not bend his right knee while walking and used to lean forward with his upper body, a posture which worsened his sense of balance. He used to tire quickly from walking and suffered from back aches after a relatively long walk. He suffered from painful cramps in his legs, mostly during the night. In addition, Antilla's right arm and hand had very limited movement, and since he is right handed, this had a vast effect on his daily activities. He could not straighten his right arm more than ...

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China medical tourism Cerebral Palsy stem cells therapy 7 clip - Video

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18-04-2012 12:47 Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web: or mail to us: Name: Garbo Bocskai Gender: Male Nationality: Hungary Age: 20 Start of treatment: 2007-08-30 Diagnosis: Cerebral palsy Treatment: Stem cell treatment Days admitted to the hospital: 50 Reason for coming to treatment: Garbo was born as a result of a premature birth after only 7.5 months of pregnancy, and he suffered Septicemia secondary to Gastroenteritis caused by Thrush only 13 days after birth. Once the infection had been resolved, the infant appeared to have inconsistent bilateral eye movements and paralysis of the lower limbs and was eventually diagnosed with a Brain Injury at the age of 6 months. His parents heard that here in Guangzhou, Gabor would receive the advanced stem cell treatment done by a very professional medical team.

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Public release date: 18-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Eve celltransplantation@gmail.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Tampa, Fla. (April. 18, 2012) Autologous (self-donated) mononuclear cells derived from bone marrow (BMMNCs) have been found to significantly induce vascular growth when transplanted into patients with diabetes who are suffering from critical limb ischemia caused by peripheral artery disease (PAD), a complication of diabetes. The team of researchers in Seville, Spain who carried out the study published their results in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:10), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/.

"Critical limb ischemia in diabetic patients is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality; however, neovascularization induced by stem cell therapy could be a useful approach for these patients," said study corresponding author Dr. Bernat Soria of the Andaluz Center for Biologic and Molecular Regenerative Medicine in Seville, Spain. "In this study we evaluated the safety and efficacy of inter-arterial administration of autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells with 20 diabetic patents with severe below-the-knee arterial ischemia."

The researchers noted that surgical or endovascular revascularization options for patients such as those in the study are limited because of poor arterial outflow. Although optimum dose, source and route of administration were outstanding questions, proper BMMNC dose for best results was an issue that the researchers hoped to clarify. They subsequently used a dose ten times smaller than other researchers had used previously in similar studies.

According to the authors, the rationale for their study was that intra-arterial infusions of autologous BMMNCs contain endothelial progenitors that are locally profuse at severely diseased vascular beds in the lower limb. Their hope was that the BMMNCs could promote early and effective development of new vascularization.

Patients were evaluated at three months and twelve months post-transplantation.

"As previously reported, the one-year mortality rate for diabetic patients with PAD - most of which are associated with cardiac complications - has been found to be 20 percent," explained Dr. Soria. "Our study documented significant increases in neovasculogenesis for the majority of our study patients and a decrease in the number of amputations. However, overall PAD mortality for our patients was similar to that generally experienced."

The researchers concluded that BMMNC therapy for lower limb ischemia was a "safe procedure that generates a significant increase in the vascular network in ischemic areas" and promotes "remarkable clinical improvement."

"While this study did not demonstrate a significant effect on mortality, it does suggest an improvement in the quality of life based on limb retention as shown by the significant reduction in the number of amputations", said Amit N. Patel, director of cardiovascular regenerative medicine at the University of Utah and section editor for Cell Transplantation.

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Autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell transplants can reduce diabetic amputations

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There has been no shortage of baldness cures over the ages, but they all share one thing in common: none of them really work. Now, a team of scientists has used stem cell therapy to give a hairless mouse a mohawk. There is hope yet.

The researchers, from the Tokyo University of Science, have seized on the concept of using stem cells to provide regenerative medicine, and given it a twist. Actually, maybe more of a curl, because they hit on the idea of using the therapyusually reserved for restoring organs damaged by disease or illnessto regenerate hair follicles.

To do that, they created a "seed" of a hair follicle by combining adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cellstwo basic cells that are found in the skinfrom a normal mouse. Then, they inserted that seed into the skin of a hairless mouse, which are genetically engineered for just this kind of research, and... waited.

The result? Fully functional hair follicles, that grew a respectable amount of hair. Not just that, these things connected properly with the skin and nerves, went through the typical cycle of shedding hairs and then regrowing, and could even get goosebumps. These hair follicles are the real deal. The research is published in Nature Communications.

All told, it's perhaps the most promising solution to regenerating hair that we've seen. The catchthere's always a catch, right?is that, as yet, it's entirely untested in humans. And even if it was, this kind of therapy is extremely exotic, so wouldn't come cheap. [Nature Communications]

Image by Tokyo University of Science

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Can Stem Cells Finally Provide a Baldness Cure That Works? [Science]

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