Creating a job description
Paul describes the process of creating a job description that works for you.

By: Spinal Cord Injury BC

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Creating a job description - Video

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Regenerative Medicine at Healthpointe
http://jointreliefclinic.com http://healthpointemd.net/regenerative_medicine.shtml (714) 367-5046 Using the cells found in the human body that naturally restore tissue, regenerative medicine...

By: HealthPointeMD

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Regenerative Medicine at Healthpointe - Video

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A temporary drop-in clinic could be set up in Dundee for people to register as bone marrow donors.

Annie Irving, president of the Marrow Dundee student society, has offered to organise the clinic after more than 100 Tele readers registered to help those suffering from blood cancers.

The fantastic response is the result of an overflow of compassion towards baby Faith Cushnie, who, at nine months old, is losing her battle with leukaemia after her donor backed out.

A total of 142 people in Tayside have registered with Anthony Nolan since the article and 873 have visited the charitys website.

Annie, who studies medicine at Dundee University, said: A personal story reaches people more than numbers and statistics and the fact that the little girls chance has been taken away from her because there arent enough people on the register is very sad. Peoples responses have been brilliant though.

The society is affiliated to charity Anthony Nolan, which maintains a register of potential bone marrow donors. Stem cells from bone marrow are used to treat cancers like leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma and blood disorders such as sickle cell disease.

Drop-in clinics allow people to take a spit test to determine whether they are suitable to be a donor. They also have the opportunity to speak to a trained counsellor.

Annie explained: When we counsel people we tell them about the likelihood of being called up and the process of donating.

Annie hopes to be able to organise a clinic as soon as possible and is in the process of contacting venues to find somewhere to host the drop-in.

She said: I want to have a clinic soon and encourage more people to join the register. Donating bone marrow is a chance to save a life.

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Bid for Dundee bone marrow clinic to meet donor demand

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Newswise Buffalo, NY BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York today has redesignated Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) as a Blue Distinction Center for delivering quality transplant care as part of the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program. Approximately 100 Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants have been designated in the United States, with only four located in New York State.

Blue Distinction Centers are medical facilities shown to deliver quality specialty care based on objective, transparent measures for patient safety and health outcomes that were developed with input from the medical community. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants designation, medical facilities must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety criteria as well as transplant-specific quality measures (including survival metrics). RPCI received the same Blue Distinction Center designation in 2011.

Blood and marrow hematopoietic stem-cell transplants, also known as bone-marrow transplants, are a common approach for treating many types of hematologic cancers, including forms of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. They involve the transplant of blood or bone marrow stem cells from a donor or from the patients themselves as a way of sparing the patient the toxic effects of intensive chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Because blood and marrow transplant is such a highly complex procedure, a patients medical needs before, during and after a transplant procedure are extensive and labor-intensive, said Philip McCarthy, MD, Director of RPCIs Blood & Marrow Transplant Program. Given that context, were especially proud to once again earn Blue Distinction for our transplant program from BlueCross BlueShield.

More Research shows that Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients with higher survival rates compared with their peers.

We are pleased that RPCI has been recognized for their quality transplant care, said Dr. Thomas Schenk, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. As part of the BCBS network they are a valued and once again nationally recognized provider of quality care.

Although rare, the number of transplants including heart, lung, liver, pancreas and bone marrow/blood stem cell in the nation have increased in recent years. There were 28,954 transplant procedures performed in 2013 compared to 28,052 in 2012. Today, more than 123,000 people are awaiting organ donations for transplants, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

In 2006, the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program was developed to help patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver.

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Roswell Park Recognized for Quality in Bone Marrow Transplant Care

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jul-2014

Contact: Tom Oswald tom.oswald@cabs.msu.edu 517-432-0920 Michigan State University

Not unlike looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, a team of Michigan State University researchers have found a gene that could be key to the development of stem cells cells that can potentially save millions of lives by morphing into practically any cell in the body.

The gene, known as ASF1A, was not discovered by the team. However, it is at least one of the genes responsible for the mechanism of cellular reprogramming, a phenomenon that can turn one cell type into another, which is key to the making of stem cells.

In a paper published in the journal Science, the researchers describe how they analyzed more than 5,000 genes from a human egg, or oocyte, before determining that the ASF1A, along with another gene known as OCT4 and a helper soluble molecule, were the ones responsible for the reprogramming.

"This has the potential to be a major breakthrough in the way we look at how stem cells are developed," said Elena Gonzalez-Munoz, a former MSU post-doctoral researcher and first author of the paper. "Researchers are just now figuring out how adult somatic cells such as skin cells can be turned into embryonic stem cells. Hopefully this will be the way to understand more about how that mechanism works."

In 2006, an MSU team identified the thousands of genes that reside in the oocyte. It was from those, they concluded, that they could identify the genes responsible for cellular reprogramming.

In 2007, a team of Japanese researchers found that by introducing four other genes into cells, stem cells could be created without the use of a human egg. These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs.

"This is important because the iPSCs are derived directly from adult tissue and can be a perfect genetic match for a patient," said Jose Cibelli, an MSU professor of animal science and a member of the team.

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Discovery may make it easier to develop life-saving stem cells

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UNDATED (WJRT) - (07/17/14) - Would you poke your skin with pins if it meant you'd look years younger?

Last year, Americans underwent more than 11 million cosmetic procedures, and they spent nearly $12 billion on skin rejuvenation. Everyone wants their skin to look younger, healthier and better, but some are taking it to an extreme.

Cheri Kovacsev's face is dripping with blood - and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm hoping to achieve smaller pores, the fine lines around my lips to improve over this process," she said.

Licensed paramedical aesthetician, Amaris Centofanti, is performing rejuvapen micro-needling.

"After you are done with the treatment, collagen elastin kicks in to heal the skin, so in a few days, your skin starts to look more flawless," she said.

Some, like professor of dermatology James Spencer, aren't sold on micro-needling - which costs about $350 a pop.

"There was just a study in the journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology, Jama Dermatology, last month, of three cases of allergy to the medication to the serum that was put on after micro-needling," he said.

Some other extreme beauty treatments:

- The bee venom facial. The theory is the venom tightens skin by pumping up collagen. It costs about $130.

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Bizarre beauty trends: are they safe?

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Genes for swatting tiger mosquitoes, defanging brown tree snakes, and deporting Asian carp, all nasty invasive species, sound like a swell idea. But the latest idea in eradicationgenetic engineeringposes its own risks, warn biotechnology experts.

Invasive species wreak havoc worldwide, disrupting native ecosystems and inflicting more than $120 billion in damages annually in the U.S. alone. Many economicallyand environmentallydamaging species, such as those mosquitoes, snakes, and carp, defy removal with existing technology.

But there is good news. "Gene drives"which could trigger a precipitous decline in invasive species by tinkering with their genetic machineryhave arrived as a fast-maturing technology, an international team of scientists announced on Thursday.

"Once an invasive species arrives in a new habitat and is driving native species extinct, we don't necessarily have a lot of solutions to that. Gene drive technology could potentially cause local extinction [of the invasive species] and restore the original ecosystem," says Kevin Esvelt, a genetic engineer at Harvard University and an author of tandem papers published this week in Science and eLife.

But he and his colleagues warn that we should tread cautiously; otherwise, the new technology may blow up in our face. "We want to make sure this technology is used responsibly to solve problems facing humanity and the natural world," Esvelt says. (See "Why the 67 Giant Snails Seized in L.A. Are Harmful.")

How It Works

The technology starts by identifying a genetic alteration that could reduce pesticide resistance, hinder a population's ability to reproduce, or have some other desirable impact on the target species.

Scientists could then insert that alteration into the genome of an invasive species, but there is no guarantee that it will propagate.

This is where the gene drives come in. Essentially, they act as chauffeurs that can "drive" a genetic alteration through a population, says Esvelt.

In most animals, there are two versions of a gene and each one has a 50-50 chance of being passed on to the next generation.

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Genetic Engineering to the Rescue Against Invasive Species?

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Researcher Frdric Choulet explains why mapping the bread genome is so important and discusses sequencing wheat chromosome 3B. (INRA)

Scientists announced Thursday that they are approaching a milestone in humanitys ability to improve bread wheat.

One of the most common and most versatile crops on the planet the main food staple for a third of the world population wheat is remarkably good at adapting to change. But efforts to grow higher-yielding, more nutritious and more resilient wheat in response to population growth and climate change have been slow for one simple reason. Its genes are a big, complicated mess.

Many scientists thought that it would be impossible to map the genome of wheat to figure out how its genes are ordered so that specific traits can be more quickly identified. But a group made up of scientists, breeders and growers say that theyre more than halfway there and that an entire sequence is on the horizon.

Genome sequencing has revolutionized the process of breeding corn and rice, experts said, and is especially important given the stress that climate change will put on the food supply as the worlds population booms.

Human civilization rests on a small handful of crops, all of which were developed with much more stable weather conditions than we see now, said Patrick Schnable, an Iowa State University professor who worked on the genome sequencing of corn. In a world with climate change, we need to help those crops adapt quickly. And to do that, he said, one needs the genome sequence.

I was told by a breeder that it was the single most valuable thing the government has ever done for them, Schnable said. The genetic information has been used to increase crop yields and make crops more resilient to stresses such as pests and weather change.

The same has been true for rice. Its accelerated the discovery of the genes involved in many traits, including those for higher yield and disease resistance, said Jan E. Leach, a Colorado State University professor who is not involved in the study. Its always boggled my mind how ridiculous it is to not have [a complete genome] for wheat, she said, so this is great news.

Thursdays announcement reported that about half of bread wheats genome has been sequenced, which might not sound impressive. But until recently, scientists had something like 5 percent of the information, said Kellye Eversole, executive director of the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), which organized the research.

She compared the sequencing thus far to a partially completed map. After starting with an empty map and a list of roads, she said, the researchers now have about half the highways in place. Its not very well ordered, she said. You might know theres a Route 1, and that its in Virginia, but you dont know exactly where it is. But its a guide, and its accelerating us towards that complete map.

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Scientists unlock the genetic secrets of bread wheat

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

Splice-Switching Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Is Promising New Method for Editing Gene Transcripts

New Rochelle, NY, July 17, 2014In splice-switching, an innovative therapeutic approach, targeted oligonucleotide drugs alter the editing of a gene transcript to produce the desired form of a protein. Developments in this rapidly advancing field have already led to promising treatments for such diseases as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, as described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Human Gene Therapy website.

In "Development of Therapeutic Splice-Switching Oligonucleotides," Petra Disterer and coauthors from University College London, University of London, and Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, present an overview of the many possible therapeutic applications for splice-switching oligonucleotides. The authors discuss the design and chemical modification of these novel compounds to increase their stability and effectiveness, and emphasize the need to develop efficient solutions on a case by case basis.

"This is an emerging therapeutic area with promising clinical results," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

###

About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.

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Splice-switching oligonucleotide therapeutics is new method for editing gene transcript

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jul-2014

Contact: Jeannette Spalding jeannette.spalding@case.edu 216-368-3004 Case Western Reserve University

The mysterious condition once known as "water on the brain" became just a bit less murky this week thanks to a global research group led in part by a Case Western Reserve researcher. Professor Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD, is the co-principal investigator on a study that illustrates how the domino effect of one genetic error can contribute to excessive cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brains of mice a disorder known as hydrocephalus. The findings appear online July 17 in the journal Neuron.

Cerebrospinal fluid provides a cushion between the organ and the skull, eliminating waste and performing other functions essential to neurological health. Within the brain there are four spaces or ventricles where cerebrospinal fluid flows. Hydrocephalus can be damaging when excessive cerebrospinal fluid widens spaces between ventricles and creates pressure to brain tissue. In humans, hydrocephalus can cause a host of neurological ailments: impairment of balance and coordination, memory loss, headaches and blurred vision, and even damage to the brain.

"Most of the time, hydrocephalus is caused by some sort of physical blockage of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, so called obstructive hydrocephalus. We demonstrated instead that malfunction of specific genes the Dishevelleds (Dvl genes) triggered hydrocephalus in our mouse models. These genes regulate the precise placement and alignment of cilia within ependymal cells that move cerebrospinal fluid throughout the brain," said Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD, James H. Jewell MD '34 Professor of Genetics and Chair, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "This discovery paves the way for more focused research to determine if similar mechanisms can cause hydrocephalus in humans."

Scientists are still at the most nascent stages of understanding different causes and kinds of hydrocephalus. In some instances, the root sources are genetic; in others, the fluid accumulation is attributed to complications of premature birth. This project illuminates one way in which genetic influences contribute to the condition.

Wynshaw-Boris began this collaborative research while a professor in pediatrics at the Institute for Human Genetics and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) before coming to Case Western Reserve in June 2013. For this hydrocephalus project, he joined fellow principal co-investigator, Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, professor of neurological surgery, and the Heather and Melanie Muss Endowed Chair, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF, in conducting research that proved in mice that Dvl genes regulate the placement and polarity of cilia in ependymal cells that line the ventricles of the brain.

A cilium is a slender protuberance projecting from many cells. In the ependymal cells, multiple cilia protrude from each cell as a bundle or patch, which resembles a horse's tail when beating to move cerebrospinal fluid efficiently. Each cilium must be anchored, sized and shaped correctly, properly placed and aligned in relation to other cilia within the same cell, and the alignment of cilia between cells is also necessary so that the cilia beat with precision to achieve proper movement of fluid in the right direction. It is all about excellent organization: the wrong size, shape or angle of rotation of the bundle of cilia will impede the smooth and appropriate directional flow of the cerebrospinal fluid.

The work in mice by Shinya Ohata, PhD, and Jin Nakatani, PhD, co-first authors who worked in the Alvarez-Buylla and Wynshaw-Boris labs, respectively, and their colleagues demonstrated how normal versus Dvl-deficient mice fared in terms of cilia function. They examined cilia from the ependymal cells of normal mice and found the cilia to be well organized and correctly placed within and between ependymal cells. Investigators even viewed in real time through fluorescent imaging the intricacy with which well-orchestrated cilia swayed to move fluid along in a normal fashion.

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International research team discovers genetic dysfunction connected to hydrocephalus

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Simple Mendelian genetics problem
Plant Breeding as a Hobby Breeding plants to create new varieties and improve upon old ones is a hobby that nearly everyone can engage in. The crossing techniques are easy to learn and you...

By: GeneticsLessons

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Simple Mendelian genetics problem - Video

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Genetics of color blindness
Can a female get color-blindness from her father #39;s side? The quick answer is that yes, a female can get a copy of the gene that leads to colorblindness from her father. In fact, the odds...

By: GeneticsLessons

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Genetics of color blindness - Video

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Dr. Sharon Savage on the Genetics and Genomics of Bone Marrow Failure Disease
Research Themes and Highlights for Patients from the 2014 Scientific Symposium. Genetics and Genomics of Bone Marrow Failure Disease.

By: AAMDSIF

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Dr. Sharon Savage on the Genetics and Genomics of Bone Marrow Failure Disease - Video

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By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've found a way to transform ordinary pig heart muscle cells into a "biological pacemaker," a feat that might one day lead to the replacement of electronic pacemakers in humans.

"Rather than having to undergo implantation with a metallic device that needs to be replaced regularly and can fail or become infected, patients may someday be able to undergo a single gene injection and be cured of slow heart rhythm forever," said senior study author Dr. Eugenio Cingolani, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute's Cardiogenetics-Familial Arrhythmia Clinic, in Los Angeles.

Using gene therapy, the researchers altered a peppercorn-sized area in the heart muscle of pigs to create a new "sino-atrial node" -- the bundle of neurons that normally serves as the heart's natural pacemaker.

The technique kept alive a handful of pigs suffering from complete heart block, a condition in which the heart beats very slowly or not at all due to problems in the heart's electrical system.

The biological pacemaker also appeared to function as well as an original sino-atrial node and better than typical electronic pacemakers, said study co-author Dr. Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, in Los Angeles.

"When we exercise, our hearts go faster. When we rest, our hearts slow down," Marban said. "The pigs with the biological pacemaker faithfully reproduced these responses, which were absent in 'control' pigs that had been treated only with an electronic pacemaker."

About 300,000 electronic pacemakers are placed in humans in the United States each year, at an annual cost of $8 billion, Marban said. They work by sending electrical pulses to the heart if it is beating too slowly or if it misses a beat.

The key to the new procedure is a gene called TBX18, which converts ordinary heart cells into specialized sino-atrial node cells, Marban said.

The heart's sino-atrial node initiates the heart beat like a metronome, using electric impulses to time the contractions that send blood flowing through people's arteries and veins, the scientists explained. People with abnormal heart rhythms suffer from a defective sino-atrial node.

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Scientists Use Gene Therapy to Create 'Biological Pacemaker' in Pig Hearts

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

A pacemaker that may no longer be needed if the new gene therapy technique works. By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer for LiveScience 2014-07-17 18:15:37 -0400

Electronic pacemakers can be lifesaving for people with abnormal or slow heart rhythms, but not everyone who needs a pacemaker is able to have an electronic device implanted in their heart.

Now, in experiments in pigs, researchers have come up with a new method for making a "biological pacemaker" that might one day serve as an alternative to electronic ones, the researchers said.

Making this pacemaker involves injecting a gene into heart muscle cells, which transforms these normal heart cells into special cells that can initiate a heartbeat.

This method could be useful for certain patients, such as those who develop infections from electronic pacemakers and need to have the devices temporarily removed, or fetuses with life-threatening heart disorders who cannot have an electronic pacemaker implanted, the researchers said.

"Babies still in the womb cannot have a pacemaker," study researcher Dr. Eugenio Cingolani, director of the Cardiogenetics-Familial Arrhythmia Clinic at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, said in a statement. "It is possible that one day, we might be able to save lives by replacing [electronic] hardware with an injection of genes."

The researchers previously showed that this method worked in rodents, but pig hearts are similar to human hearts in their size and the way that they work, so there's reason to think the new findings could translate to humans. Still, more research is needed before the method could be tested in people to better understand the treatment's safety and effectiveness, the researchers said. The method relies on a virus to insert the gene into the heart cells, and although this virus cannot replicate itself or integrate into the genome, the pig experiments showed that a small amount of virus did end up in other organs in the animals besides the heart, according to the study published July 16 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

In healthy people, a small region of the heart, called the sinoatrial node, fires the electrical impulses that determine heart rate. If this region is not working properly, people can develop heart rhythm problems, and have symptoms such as fatigue, fainting or even cardiac arrest. Such patients may have electronic pacemakers put in to monitor the heart rhythm, which sends electrical pulses to keep the heart beating normally.

In the study, the researchers used pigs with a condition called complete heart block, in which the heart beats very slowly. The researchers injected a gene called TBX18 into a small area of the heart muscle. This gene converted this area of heart muscle cells into sinoatrial node cells.

"In essence, we create a new sinoatrial node in a part of the heart that ordinarily spreads the impulse, but does not originate it," study researcher Dr. Eduardo Marbn, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, said in news conference about the findings. "The newly created node then takes over as a functional pacemaker, bypassing the need for implanted electronics and hardware."

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Gene Therapy in Pigs Creates Temporary 'Biological Pacemaker'

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WASHINGTON --

The study, published Wednesday, is one step toward developing an alternative to electronic pacemakers that are implanted into 300,000 Americans a year.

"There are people who desperately need a pacemaker but can't get one safely," said Dr. Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, who led the work. "This development heralds a new era of gene therapy" that one day might offer them an option.

Your heartbeat depends on a natural pacemaker, a small cluster of cells - it's about the size of a peppercorn, Marban says - that generates electrical activity. Called the sinoatrial node, it acts like a metronome to keep the heart pulsing at 60 to 100 beats a minute or so, more when you're active. If that node quits working correctly, hooking the heart to an electronic pacemaker works very well for most people.

But about 2 percent of recipients develop an infection that requires the pacemaker to be removed for weeks until antibiotics wipe out the germs, Marban said. And some fetuses are at risk of stillbirth when their heartbeat falters, a condition called congenital heart block.

For over a decade, teams of researchers have worked to create a biological alternative that might help those kinds of patients, trying such approaches as using stem cells to spur the growth of a new sinoatrial node.

Marban's newest attempt uses gene therapy to reprogram a small number of existing heart muscle cells so that they start looking and acting like natural pacemaker cells instead.

Because pigs' hearts are so similar to human hearts, Marban's team studied the approach in 12 laboratory pigs with a defective heart rhythm.

They used a gene named TBX18 that plays a role in the embryonic development of the sinoatrial node. Working through a vein, they injected the gene into some of the pigs' hearts - in a spot that doesn't normally initiate heartbeats - and tracked them for two weeks.

Two days later, treated pigs had faster heartbeats than control pigs who didn't receive the gene, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine. That heart rate automatically fluctuated, faster during the day. The treated animals also became more active, without signs of side effects.

Link:
Scientists using gene therapy to create biological pacemaker

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

........................................................................................................................................................................................

WASHINGTON No batteries required: Scientists are creating a biological pacemaker by injecting a gene into the hearts of sick pigs that changed ordinary cardiac cells into a special kind that induces a steady heartbeat.

The study, published Wednesday, is one step toward developing an alternative to electronic pacemakers that are implanted into 300,000 Americans a year.

There are people who desperately need a pacemaker but cant get one safely, said Dr. Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, who led the work. This development heralds a new era of gene therapy that one day might offer them an option.

Your heartbeat depends on a natural pacemaker, a small cluster of cells its about the size of a peppercorn, Marban says that generates electrical activity. Called the sinoatrial node, it acts like a metronome to keep the heart pulsing at 60 to 100 beats a minute or so, more when youre active. If that node quits working correctly, hooking the heart to an electronic pacemaker works very well for most people.

But about 2 percent of recipients develop an infection that requires the pacemaker to be removed for weeks until antibiotics wipe out the germs, Marban said. And some fetuses are at risk of stillbirth when their heartbeat falters, a condition called congenital heart block.

For over a decade, teams of researchers have worked to create a biological alternative that might help those kinds of patients, trying such approaches as using stem cells to spur the growth of a new sinoatrial node.

Marbans newest attempt uses gene therapy to reprogram a small number of existing heart muscle cells so that they start looking and acting like natural pacemaker cells instead.

Because pigs hearts are so similar to human hearts, Marbans team studied the approach in 12 laboratory pigs with a defective heart rhythm.

They used a gene named TBX18 that plays a role in the embryonic development of the sinoatrial node. Working through a vein, they injected the gene into some of the pigs hearts in a spot that doesnt normally initiate heartbeats and tracked them for two weeks.

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Scientists creating a biological pacemaker

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More than 100 people from Tayside have signed up for the bone marrow register since the Tele published the story of tragic tot Faith Cushnie.

The nine-month-old from Menzieshill needed a bone marrow donation to beat leukaemia, but the donor backed out and doctors have told Faiths parents that there is now nothing they can do for her.

But 109 of you were so touched by Faiths story you immediately registered to be donors at the bone marrow and stem cell charity Anthony Nolan.

Over the same period last year the charity did not have a single registration from Tayside.

Incredibly, Dundee is currently sending the second highest number of visitors to the charitys website, after London, with 658 sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Charities like Anthony Nolan typically struggle for donors, in comparison to campaigns like Give Blood.

Blood was donated in Tayside 21,000 times in the last year but only 4,000 people in the region are on the list of bone marrow donors.

Thats despite an average of around 600 people being diagnosed with leukaemia in Scotland during that time.

Dr David Meiklejohn, a consultant in the department of haematology in Ninewells Hospital, said nearly all donors were volunteers.

He said: Its important to raise awareness as we cant get donors otherwise.

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Tele readers rush to save lives: Faith Cushnies plight highlights importance of bone marrow donors

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Jul-2014

Contact: Jenny Eriksen Leary jenny.eriksen@bmc.org 617-638-6841 Boston University Medical Center

Using experimental models, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) showed that adenosine, a metabolite released when the body is under stress or during an inflammatory response, stops the process of adipogenesis, when adipose (fat) stem cells differentiate into adult fat cells.

Previous studies have indicated adipogenesis plays a central role in maintaining healthy fat homeostasis by properly storing fat within cells so that it does not accumulate at high levels in the bloodstream. The current findings indicate that the body's response to stress, potentially stopping the production of fat cell development, might be doing more harm than good under conditions of obesity and/or high levels of circulating blood fat.

The process is halted due to a newly identified signaling from an adenosine receptor, the A2b adenosine receptor (A2bAR) to a stem cell factor, known as KLF4, which regulates stem cell maintenance. When A2bAR is expressed, KLF4 level is augmented, leading to inhibition of differentiation of fat stem cells. The correlation between these two factors leads to an interruption of fat cell development, which could result in issues with fat storage within the cells and it getting into the bloodstream.

While the majority of the study was carried out in experimental models, the group also showed that A2bAR activation inhibits adipogenesis in a human primary preadipocyte culture system. Finally, analysis of adipose tissue of obese subjects showed a strong association between A2bAR and KLF4 expression in both subcutaneous (under the skin) and visceral (internal organ) human fat.

"It may seem counterintuitive, but our body needs fat tissue in order to function properly, and certain biochemical cellular processes are necessary for this to happen," said Katya Ravid, DSc/PhD, professor of medicine and biochemistry at BUSM and director of the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research who led the study. "Our study indicates that a dysfunction resulting from stress or inflammation can disrupt the process of fat tissue development, which could have a negative impact on processes dependent on proper fat cell homeostasis."

This study is part of ongoing research interest and investigations by researchers in Ravid's lab examining the differentiation of bone marrow and tissue stem cells and the role of adenosine receptors in this process.

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BUSM study: Obesity may be impacted by stress

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DR ANDREW J ROCHMAN: ON STEM CELL THERAPY

By: Len Promoter

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DR ANDREW J ROCHMAN: ON STEM CELL THERAPY - Video

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PCP: Stem cell therapy untested, expensive, and experimental

MANILA - The Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) defended the P70 million it received as funding from the Disbursement Acceleration Program for a stem cell research project.

LCP Executive Director Jose Luis J. Danguilan admitted receiving P105 million in total allocations from the DAP, which he said was spent wisely. He said P35 million was spent for the LCP's pediatric unit while the rest went to stem cell research.

The stem cell research program was listed as the 15th item in the Department of Budget and Management list. It was named as the LCPs Bio-Regenerative Technology Program.

The project intends to "fund the Bio-Regenerative Program aimed at harnessing stem cell research and technology to reconstruct new healthy cells, replacing cancer or dead cells."

Danguilan said the equipment bought for both the stem cell and pediatric unit programs have other uses.

"To spend the money wisely, it was decided that pieces of equipment needed for the Bioregenerative Program and the Pediatric Unit could also be used by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory, the Department of Thoracic Surgery and Surgery, the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and the Department of Radiology," he said.

He also noted the money was used to purchase equipment and supplies for the LCP Molecular Diagnostics and Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory for research "mainly on dendritic cell vaccine for use in cancer treatment, specifically lung cancer."

"To place things in perspective, the LCP is a tertiary hospital for pulmonary and other chest diseases, and as far as I know, it is the only tertiary pulmonary specialty hospital in the Philippines. As such, it should take the lead, not only in cutting edge treatment but also in advocacies," he added.

On Tuesday, members of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) said the priorities of the government when it comes to funding projects under the DAP seem to be misplaced.

See the article here:
Lung Center defends DAP-funded stem cell program

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