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Breast Milk Contains Stem Cells

Adult Stem Cells Found to Cure Blindness – Three Patients Apparently Cured

Destruction of Human Embryos for Stem Cell Research with Tax Dollars Poised to Begin: Comment Period / Comments Requested on Obama's New Human Embryo-Destructive Stem Cell Policy
 
Scientists in Japan Claim Breakthroughs in Growing Human Organs in Animals

Adult Stem Cells from Fat Tissue Offer Hope for MS Treatment

Limb-Saving Adult Stem Cell Trial Shows Promise

Multiple Route Bone Marrow Stem Cell Injections Help Spinal Cord Patients

For Patients Seeking Cures, Adult Stem Cell Research Industry is Blossoming

Patients in Wheelchairs Able to Walk Again Because Adult Stem Cells Can Heal Broken Bones

Stem Cell Transplantation Helps Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Achieve Long-Term Insulin Independence

Adult Stem Cells Used Successfully to Cure Diabetics, Heal Broken Jaw Bone /  Update

Spinal Cord Injury Treatments: Adult Stem Cells v. Embyronic Stem Cells / Related Journal Articles

Scientists Use Adult Stem Cell Research to Repair Damaged Corneas, Helping Blind to See

Stem Cell Research Bytes… 

Breast Milk Contains Stem Cells
The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for

conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting

revelations about the potency of breast milk.

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.

He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled.

“It is setting the baby up for the perfect development,” he says. “We already know that babies who are breast fed have an IQ advantage and that there’s a raft of other health benefits. Researchers also believe

that the protective effects of being breast fed continue well into adult life.

“The point is that many mothers see milks as identical – formula milk and breast milk look the same so they must be the same. But we know now that they are quite different and a lot of the effects of breast milk versus formula don’t become apparent for decades. Formula companies have focussed on matching breast milk’s nutritional qualities but formula can never provide the developmental guidance.”

It was Dr Cregan’s interest in infant health that led him to investigate the complex cellular components of human milk. “I was looking at this vast complexity of cells and I thought, ‘No one knows anything about

them’.”

His hunch was that if breast milk contains all these cells, surely it has their precursors, too?

His team cultured cells from human breast milk and found a population that tested positive for the stem cell marker, nestin.

Further analysis showed that a side population of the stem cells were of multiple lineages with the potential to differentiate into multiple cell types. This means the cells could potentially be “reprogrammed” to form many types of human tissue.

He presented his research at the end of January to 200 of the world’s leading experts in the field at the International Conference of the Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation in Perth.

“We have shown these cells have all the physical characteristics of stem cells. What we will do next is to see if they behave like stem cells,” he says.

If so, they promise to provide researchers with an entirely ethical means of harvesting stem cells for research without the debate that has dogged the harvesting of cells from embryos.

Further research on immune cells, which have also been found in breast milk and have already been shown to survive the baby’s digestive process, could provide a pathway to developing targets to beat certain viruses or bacteria.  
[ 10Feb2008, ScienceNetwork WA,

Catherine Madden,
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/2

0081102-16879.html
Sunday, 10 February 2008
ScienceNetwork WA By Catherine Madden]

 

 

 

Adult Stem Cells Found to Cure Blindness – Three Patients Apparently Cured
Researchers hopeful the procedure could be applied to other organs
 Medical researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have used simple contact lenses cultured with stem cells from a patient’s own eye to return sight to sufferers of corneal disease.

The researchers worked with three patients who were each blind in one eye. The procedure involved scraping less than a millimeter of tissue from the sides of the cornea of each patient’s good eye, culturing the contact lens with the stem cells in that tissue for ten days, and then having the patient wear the contact. Within two weeks the stem cells had begun attaching themselves to the patients’ corneas and replenishing the damaged cells.

Within that short a span, the reported results were remarkable. Two of the patients were legally blind before the procedure, but can now read the big letters on the top of the eye chart. The other patient could read the top few rows of an eye chart, but can now pass the vision test for a driver’s license.

After eighteen months, the improvement in the patients’ vision has remained. “We're quietly

excited,” said team leader Nick Di Girolamo, as reported in The Australian. “We don't know yet if [the correction] will remain stable, but if it does it's a wonderful technique.”

“The procedure is totally simple and cheap,” says Dr. Di Girolamo on the UNSW website. “Unlike other techniques, it requires no foreign human or animal products, only the patient’s own serum, and is completely non-invasive.”

Dr. Stephanie Watson, who conducted the procedure, commented further.  “The operation is relatively non-invasive. The patient merely comes into the hospital for a couple of hours to have their eye prepared and the lens put in place, and then they're able to go home,” she said.

Dr. Di Girolamo is hopeful that this procedure could be used to repair other parts of the eye, or even other organs. “We’re very excited about this technique because we think it might be applicable to other major organs of the human body such as the skin, because after all, the skin behaves in a very similar manner to the cornea,” says Dr. Di Girolamo in a video put out on UNSW TV.

This research is another example of the remarkable success of adult stem cells, which have yielded a host of treatments for numerous diseases. Embryonic stem cell research, on the other hand, which tends to grab most of the headlines due to controversy over its ethicality, has yet to produce a viable treatment for a single condition.

Related:  Success Stories with Adult Stem Cells Coming in Almost Too Fast to Track http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jan/05012007.htmlLifeSiteNews.com’s Stem Cell Feature http://www.lifesitenews.com/features/stemcellembryo/index.html

[4June09, By Patrick Craine SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, LifeSiteNews.com]

 

 

 

Destruction of Human Embryos for Stem Cell Research with Tax Dollars Poised to Begin: Comment Period
AAPLOG believes that life begins at fertilization (does anyone NOT believe this?) and that the sanctity of life begins then, and that life deserves recognition and protection from that point onward (lots of people don't believe that!).

This is why we fundamentally object to embryonic stem cell research (not to mention that NON-embryonic stem cells have established success rates (embryonic have no appreciable success rates), can be made from skin cells (cost effective), have endless cheap availability, can be made from your own skin cells( or marrow, or nasal, etc), eliminating the rejection problem and [seems to eliminate the tumor problem], and so forth.

Here is your 30 day window to comment on the new administration's new policy of open season on embryos. See below, from FRC to give EASY online comment:

As you may know, President Bush's policy was to allow funding for research that involved embryonic stem cells taken from human embryos so long as the cells were obtained on or prior to August 9, 2001. Since then, the government has funded research on over 22 stem cell lines. President Bush's policy erected a wall and did not encourage the further killing of human embryos for their cells.

However, on March 9, 2009, Obama issued an executive order that overturned President Bush's policy and opened the floodgates for funding more embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) that creates an incentive to create and destroy human embryos.

Obama designated the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to draft guidelines for distributing funds for this research. Last week, April 23, NIH officially posted draft guidelines to open federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells. What these guidelines do is send your tax dollars to experiment on stem cells taken from human embryos that supposedly are "leftover" from in vitro fertilization. Instead of promoting the adoption of these human embryos, these draft guidelines would require their death.

The public comment period on these draft regulations is 30 days, and we ask that you submit comments to oppose these regulations on or before May 26, 2009. To submit your comment, please go to this website http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm, and fill out the form with your comment; you may wish to write your comment in Notepad first and then copy & paste in the comment box.
[1May09, http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm;
www.aaplog.org]

Comments Requested on Obama's New Embryonic Stem Cell Policy  The Family Research Council is asking pro-life advocates to submit their official comments in opposition to the new policy of the Obama administration funding embryonic stem cell research.

Obama overturned President Bush's policy that protected taxpayers from funding new embryonic stem cell research that involves the destruction of human life.

"President Bush's policy erected a wall and did not encourage the further killing of human embryos for their cells," FRC president Tony Perkins said. He said Obama's executive order "opened the floodgates for funding more embryonic stem cell research that creates an incentive to create and destroy human embryos."

Obama designated the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to draft guidelines for distributing funds for this research. Last week, April 23, NIH officially posted draft guidelines to open federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells.

"What these guidelines do is send your tax dollars to experiment on stem cells taken from human embryos that supposedly are 'leftover' from in vitro fertilization. Instead of promoting the adoption of these human embryos, these draft guidelines would require their death," Perkins explains.

"The public comment period on these draft regulations is 30 days…on or before May 26, 2009. To submit your comment, please go to http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm and fill out the form with your comment." [4May09, #4602, Washington, DC www.LifeNews.com

Scientists in Japan Claim Breakthroughs in Growing Human Organs in Animals

Scientists in Japan are claming new breakthroughs in growing human organs in animals, a process that gives credence to the notion that the scary Brave New World has arrived. The researchers are trying to grow human organs in animals as a way to combat the shortage of organs for transplants.

The scientists haven't actually grown human organs yet in animals, but their "success" in growing monkey organs in sheep using stem cells is but a step on the way.

Within a decade, they hope to move from locating a spare monkey pancreas in the wool of a sheep, to producing human organs.

The pancreas in this case was generated from monkey stem cells and researcher Yutaka Hanazono tells the London Times he believes sheep could be turned into "walking organ banks for human livers, hearts, pancreases and skin."

"We have made some very big advances here. There has historically been work on the potential of sheep as producers of human blood, but we are only slowly coming closer to

the point where we can harvest sheep for human organs," Professor Hanazono told the newspaper.

"We have shown that in vivo (in a living animal) creation of organs is more efficient than making them in vitro (in a test tube)," he added.

Wesley J. Smith, a leading American bioethicist, is monitoring the news.

He says Hanazono's research "would not be xenotransplantation in the usual sense of the term, since the procured organ would not be the sheep's own, but, as I understand it, would be a construct made from human stem cells."

"So, if this works–always a big if in early research–a patient's adult stem cells could be used to grow a new organ in a sheep, which would then be transplanted back to the human when the time was right," Smith says.

He says animal rights advocates may squawk about the process.

"So, to those animal rights types: Is it wrong to sacrifice sheep in order to literally save people?" Smith says.

Smith said the process Hanazono used apparently involves adult and not embryonic stem cells — the London Times articles doesn't say one way or the other.
[5May09, Ertelt, Tokyo, Japan, www.LifeNews.com; http://www.lifenews.com/bio2842.html]

 

 

 

 

Adult Stem Cells from Fat Tissue Offer Hope for MS Treatment
A preliminary study on the use of stem cells obtained from a patient's own adipose tissue in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has shown promising results.

The three case studies, described in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine support further clinical evaluation of what are known as stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells in MS and other autoimmune conditions.

Thomas Ichim, from Medistem Inc., and Dr. Boris Minev, from the Division of Neurosurgery, University of California San Diego, worked with a team of researchers to demonstrate the possible effectiveness of SVF cells in MS treatment.

Minev said, "All three patients in our study showed dramatic improvement in their condition after the course of SVF therapy. While obviously no conclusions in terms of therapeutic efficacy can be drawn from these reports, this first clinical use of fat stem cells for treatment of MS supports further investigations into this very simple and easily-implementable treatment methodology".

MS is an autoimmune condition, in which the body's own defences attack nerve cells, resulting in loss of their fatty myelin sheath. The first symptoms usually occur in young adults, most commonly in women. It is believed that SVF cells, and other stem cells, may be able to treat the condition by limiting the immune reaction and promoting the growth of new myelin.

According to Minev, "None of the presently available MS treatments selectively inhibit the immune attack against the nervous system, nor do they stimulate regeneration of previously damaged tissue. We've shown that SVF cells may fill this therapeutic gap."

Minev and his colleagues provided the SVF treatment to three patients with MS. The first had suffered frequent painful seizures for the previous three years; after treatment he reported that the seizures had stopped completely and that he had seen significant improvements in his cognition and a reduction of spasticity in his arms and legs. 

The second patient reported improvements in his sense of balance and coordination, as well as an improved energy level and mood. The final patient had been diagnosed with MS in 1993.

After SVF treatment in 2008, his gait, balance and coordination improved dramatically over a period of several weeks. According to Minev, "His condition continued to improve over the next few months and he is currently reporting a continuing improvement and ability to jog, run and even bicycle."
[April 24, 2009, www.LifeSiteNews.com]

 

 

 

Limb-Saving Adult Stem Cell Trial Shows Promise
In November 2007, Roper Hospital began a randomized trial for a stem-cell therapy to treat critical limb ischemia, a severe obstruction of the arteries. The disease, which chokes extremities of oxygen-rich blood, can be related to smoking, diabetes or hypertension. The treatment takes a patient's own bone marrow stem cells and injects them into the affected limb, where they build new blood vessels.

Normally, stem cells travel from the rich bone core to circulate through the body, going where they are needed to mend broken bones or heal a wound.

Fisher was among the first patients to participate in the trial. A year and five months later, the ulcer and infection on his toes were healed, and circulation in his ankle was 94 percent normal. "That was astounding," said Dr. Jeb Hallett, medical director at the Roper St. Francis Heart and Vascular Center. "The results have been amazing."  (6Apr09, ALL Pro-life Today; http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/apr/05/limb_saving_trial_shows_promise77681/
The Post and Courier]

Multiple Route Bone Marrow Stem Cell Injections Help Spinal Cord Patients
 Researchers from DaVinci Biosciences in California, in collaboration with Hospital Luis Vernaza in Ecuador, have determined that injecting a patient's own bone marrow-derived stem cells (autologous BMCs) directly into the spinal column using multiple routes can be an effective treatment for spinal cord injury.

They found that the treatment returns some quality of life for spinal cord patients without serious adverse events. Publishing in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 17 No.12), the researchers reported on eight patients with spinal cord injuries to whom they administered BMCs directly into the spinal column. "Our objective in this study was to demonstrate that multiple route administration of BMCs for SCI is safe and feasible," said corresponding author Dr. Francisco Silva.

"To date, we have administered BMCs into 52 patients with SCI and have had no tumor formations, no cases of infection or increased pain, and few instances of minor adverse events. We also found that patient quality of life improved." In eight patients who received BMC transplants through various routes and followed for two years, the scientists reported several functional improvements, perhaps the most important of which was improved bladder control. Embryonic stem cells have never helped human patients and still show multiple problems in animals.
[16Mar09, Costa Mesa, CA www.LifeNews.com]

For Patients Seeking Cures, Adult Stem Cell Research Industry is Blossoming
The adult stem cell marketplace is one of the most dynamic areas in life
science today. There are an incredible number of scientific advancements,
especially since 2008 as a heated pace of research discoveries and collaborations are underway among commercial companies, institutions and even a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary network initiative led by an executive department of the U.S. federal government.

Also, big pharma are beginning to invest heavily into regenerative medicine, and at least one state in the U.S. is proposing a bill that would create a special research consortium to maximize the benefits of adult stem c

ell research for its citizens.

Non-controversial adult stem cells hold great hope for successful treatments
and potential cures. In recent years these cells have provided therapeutic
benefits to human patients for 70+ diseases and conditions. Adult stem
cells exist within the body and have untapped potential to rescue and heal
tissue and organs that have been injured or diseased. They can be extracted from many types of tissues such as umbilical cord at birth, peripheral, bone marrow, adipose (fat) tissue, menstrual-derived blood, dental pulp, liver, skeletal muscle, placentas, and more.

A service of the National Institutes of Health called ClinicalTrials.gov
(http://www.clinicaltrials.gov), a registry of federally and privately
supported clinical trials conducted in the U.S. and around the world, showed
at the end of March 2009 there were more than 2,300 adult stem cell clinical
trials in various stages (completed, active, recruiting volunteers, and not
yet recruiting) investigating these cells use as potential breakthrough
therapies for a myriad of diseases.

“We estimate there are up to 300 firms worldwide engaged in some aspect of stem cell research and commercialization and the vast majority of stem cell companies are focused on adult stem cells: allogenic (taken from a different individual); autulogous (taken from an individual and transferred back to original donor); or cultured.

And it is becoming increasingly clear that these stem cells can address up to 70 different clinical indications. Much of what is motivating these early pioneer patients is an existing
deep-seated demand for these therapies,” according to Robin Young, CFA, CEO of RRY Publications LLC, a market analysis firm in Wayne, Pa. His analysis and market forecasts (2009 – 2019) were presented at the 4th Annual Stem Cell Summit on February 17, 2009 in New York. (“Stem Cell Summit Executive Summary”; http://www.ryortho.com; click-on Bookstore)

“All three types of stem cells are now firmly in the marketplace. Over the
course of the last four years, approximately 30,000 patients have been
treated with allogenic stem cell products in the U.S.; 2,000 – 3,000 with
autologous stem cell products; and more than 1,000 with cultured stem cell products,” stated the market report.

Stem cells as commercial products have demonstrable therapeutic value in 15 medical markets, according to Young’s analysis, such as heart muscle repair, nerve regeneration and diabetes treatment. “In 2008 in the U.S., there were 35 million patients available for eventual stem cell therapeutic treatment in the 15 markets analyzed.

By 2018, we forecast stem cells will be used therapeutically in as many as 2 million annual procedures for an aggregate market penetration of approximately 6%. These products will be generating, we estimate, well over $8 billion in revenue.”
Cord Blood Fastest Growing Therapy Group

Dallas Hextell is living proof of the healing power of adult stem cells
there. He was diagnosed at eight months with cerebral palsy, which has no
known cure. Fortunately, Dallas’ parents had his umbilical cord blood stored
when he was born. He was accepted in a clinical trial at Duke University in
July 2007 and was among the first in the country to be intravenously infused
with his own cord blood stem cells to induce healing in his brain. Soon
after his procedure Dallas’ parents began noticing improvements. Today, with the help of therapists, Dallas is doing things no one thought possible. He runs, he laughs, and he’s beginning to talk.

“When babies are born, the umbilical cord is generally discarded. This is
partly because pregnant women and many of their doctors are unaware that
life science has demonstrated cord blood cells have immense therapeutic
value. Increasingly families are educating themselves about cryogenic
storage of their child’s cord blood because they understand recent progress
has revealed it is a safe and ethical source of stem cells for therapeutic
use and the technology is evolving rapidly. These cells can be
cryogenically stored for more than 30 years. It’s a one-time opportunity,”
said David Koos, Chairman and CEO of San Diego-based Bio-Matrix Scientific Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BMSN; http://www.BMSN.us).

BMSN, an emerging research and development biotechnology company, opened its commercial cryogenic stem cell banking and processing facility in 2008. As of January 2009 BMSN has entered into contractual agreements with private stem cell preservation companies and other entities for the cryogenic banking and processing of stem cells from cord blood and peripheral blood of those companies’ donors’ specimens. BMSN does not have any contact with donor clients.

The Association of Family Cord Blood Banks estimated that about 750,000 cord blood collections are stored in private/family banks in the U.S., as of June 2008. The average cost of private cord blood banking in the U.S. for an individual is approximately $2,000 for the collection and about $125 per
year for storage, according to industry figures. There are often other fees
involved.

“Stem cell treatments from umbilical cord blood are one of the fastest
growing therapy groups, and proven clinically effective for conditions
including cancers, leukemia, and sickle cell anemia. In fact, stem cell
transplantation recently has overtaken bone marrow cell transplantation in
total number of treatments,” Young reported.

“As these therapies become more publicized, more effective, and more wide-reaching, the demand for stem cells will grow from two primary factors: increasing numbers of transplant patients, and increasing numbers of parents banking cord blood as a sort of ‘biological insurance.’”

Young also noted integral in the growth of the cord blood banking industry is BioE Inc.’s PrepaCyte-CB product line, a new standard for cord blood processing, (http://www.bioe.com), which is positioned to become the dominant and default cord blood stem cellprocessing technology.
Research Validates New Direction for Storage

An important discovery announced on March 25, 2009 by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH; http://www.nih.gov), which has
implications for Leukemia treatment and artificially culturing blood cells,
validates a new direction for cryogenic stem cell storage facilities that
meet rigid state and federal regulatory requirements. The researchers
deciphered a key sequence of events governing whether the stem cells that
produce red and white blood cells remain anchored to the bone marrow, or
migrate into the circulatory system – a key discovery that will advance
understanding of how blood cells and immune cells are generated.

“The findings of NIH researchers have implications for culturing
infection-fighting immune cells outside the body, where they could be
temporarily held in storage during chemotherapy and other treatments which suppress the immune system.

This discovery confirms a new trend for commercial cryogenic storage facilities for research and treatment of diseases, and their important role in public and private stem cell research efforts now and in

to the future,” said BMSN’s Koos.

Describing BMSN as a“conservative player in the stem cell industry,” he pointed out that the company is developing a unique niche within the stem cell industry as a place for stem cell companies to store blood specimens for research and treatment of diseases.

While the concept of private cord blood banking started in the U.S. about 20 years ago, there has been tremendous growth worldwide in recent years.

A useful global educational web site dedicated to informing expectant parents with unbiased and current information about how to choose a bank, and all the issues involved, is Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood (http://www.parentsguidecordblood.org), based in Brookville, MD.

The site includes listings and snap-shot histories of each U.S. private and public cord blood bank. There are also descriptions of 150 cord blood banks located worldwide.

According to Young’s forecast: “Worldwide estimates show the market for cord blood processing and banking will grow by 25% over the next five years (approaching $450 million annually for cord blood processing), driven by surging demand in the U.S. and Western Europe (where an estimated
one-quarter of all newborns will have banked cord blood) and exploding
demand in India, China and Latin America – where processing is just
beginning to take off.”

Department of Defense Creates AFIRM

Research is well underway among participating institutions since the U.S.
Department of Defense announced in April 2008 the creation of a new $250 million institution focused on research called the Armed Forces Institute ofRegenerative Medicine (AFIRM).

The virtual organization is amulti-institutional, interdisciplinary network working to develop advanced
treatment options over the next five years for severely wounded service men and women.

AFIRM is managed and funded through the U.S. Army MedicalResearch and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), with additional funding from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the National Institutes of Health, the VeteransAdministration and local public and private matching funding.

AFIRM has been designed to speed the delivery of regenerative medicine
therapies to treat the most critically injured service members from around
the world, but in particular those coming from theaters of operation in Iraq
and Afghanistan. There are five major programs: Limb Repair, Craniofacial
Repair, Burn Repair, Scarless Wound Repair and Compartment Syndrome Repair.

AFIRM is made up of two civilian research consortia working with the U.S.
Army Institute for Surgical Research (USAISR) in Fort Sam, Houston, Texas.

One consortium is lead by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and the Cleveland Clinic and the other is led by Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine and The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

Each of these civilian consortia is itself a multi-institutional network. There are atotal of 28 civilian institutions involved.

"Our researchers are continuing to pursue promising avenues, such as tissue regeneration of fingertips," said AFIRM Investigator William Wagner, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

"We are also testing in animal models materials that could replace damaged abdominal wall muscles, and we might soon embark on a novel strategy that uses muscle-derived stem cells to heal severely injured tissue."
(http://www.mirm.pitt.edu)

Dozens of commercial interests are expressing a willingness to work with the AFIRM consortia as commercialization partners. The medical device industry has taken a keen interest in speeding these important new therapies to market, not just for injured service members, but for civilian patients as well.

AFIRM believes this participation ultimately will lead to betterhealthcare options for all Americans.

All of the research now being funded will use adult-derived stem cells taken from the patient or from another consenting adult. AFIRM has stated adult stem cells and progenitor cells are an integral part of normal wound healing and the formation of all new tissues.

Many of the strategies being developed by AFIRM seek to improve wound healing and tissue repair by increasing the number or improving the function of adult stem cells.

A patient’s own cells, or in some cases, cells from another adult, are used in conjunction with special drugs called bioactive factors, or with advanced bio-materials that serve as scaffold for growth of new tissues.“

"The vision of the future is that before soldiers go off on operations they will have their own stem cells harvested through liposuction and stored for
use if they get wounded. That way while a casualty is being stabilized
overseas, we will be in the U.S. growing them muscle, skin or bone ready for surgery,”
Sgt. Glen Rossman of USAISR told Soldier magazine (March 2009 issue).

Project Director Col. Bob Vandre also commented: “AFIRM’s research is very exciting news and should be very reassuring to soldiers. Some day we will be able to fix a lot of things. We currently have 12 clinical trials ready to roll and that is a sign that AFIRM has arrived and is very much for real.”


Big Pharma Enter Arena
In what represents a major shift in the field, Pfizer announced in November
2008 it would spend $100 million over five years to develop therapies from
stem cells with the launch of Pfizer Regenerative Medicine
(http://www.pfizer-regenerativemedicine.com), a global unit based in
Cambridge, MA and Cambridge, the UK.

The U.S. unit is focusing on using stem cells to develop therapies for
cardiac disorders and cancer through in-house research and a vast array of alliances and collaborations, and will grow its team to 20 scientists.

The U.K. arm will grow to 60 scientists over the next two years with a focuspredominately on age-related and degenerative disorders with particularinterest in common cellular mechanisms and disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system.

Pfizer Regenerative Medicine is operating as an independent research unitand is basing its stem cell research and drug discovery efforts on a full
set of drug discovery capabilities.

Earlier in 2008, Pfizer invested $3 million with La Jolla, CA-based startup
EyeCyte, Inc. (http://www.eyecyte.com) to develo

p treatments for
diabetes-induced retinal damage, a leading cause of blindness, using patient blood and bone marrow-derived progenitor cells.

In addition, Epistem Plc (http://www.epistem.co.uk), the UK-based
biotechnology and research services company, announced in March 2009 that it had signed a research and development collaboration with Novartis to identify new drug targets and therapeutics across a variety of disease areas. Epistem, which is focused on the regulation of adult stem cells located in epithelial tissue, is commercializing its expertise in the areas
of oncology, gastrointestinal and dermatological diseases.

Texas Bill Would Create Research Consortium

To further adult stem cell research on the state level, Texas Senator Jane
Nelson (R-Lewisville) and Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services
Committee, has authored Senate Bill 73 that would create the Adult Stem Cell Research Consortium, which would encourage collaboration between researchers at Texas universities and cord blood banks. This body would oversee funding for adult stem cell research received from both public and private sectors.

If passed, the bill would move Texas beyond the debate about whether it is appropriate or inappropriate to destroy human embryos into the realm of adult stem cell research and treatments without ethical concerns. It is estimated that more than 1.2 million Texans are afflicted with chronic
degenerative conditions and can benefit from this research that could lead
to the discovery of successful treatments and potential cures.

During March 2009 Texas Medical Association physician leader James T.
Willerson, MD, who is President and Medical Director of Cardiology Research, and Codirector of the Cullen Cardiovascular Research Laboratories at Texas Heart Institute in Houston, and other authorities in the state’s adult stem cell field testified before senators at the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee meeting in Austin in support of Senate Bill 73.

Cord Blood Advancements Since 1st Transplant
In cord blood technology, 2008 marked the 20th anniversary of the first cord blood transplantation in the world, carried out by Eliane Gluckman, MD,Ph.D.

The recipient of that pioneering effort, Matthew Farrow, now 26 years old, continues in good health. He was born with a rare blood disorder and was expected to die before the age of 10. When he was five his parents took part in a pioneering experiment in France to use stem cells from his sister’s umbilical cord when she was born.

Since then, cord blood stem cells have been used in more than 14,000 transplants worldwide to treat more than 70 diseases in both adults and children and are now showing great promise for regenerative medicine applications, including treatment for type 1 diabetes, brain injury,cerebral palsy and hearing loss, according to Cord Blood Registry (http://www.cordblood.com), the world’s largest stem cell bank.“

 

As a result of pioneering work and the tremendous progress over the years, for many families cord blood banking is the best option for treating and curing disease, especially as they understand the importance of umbilical cord donations for advancing the science,” said Koos of Bio-Matrix Scientific Group.

[6Apr09, Sally Robbins, http://www.lifenews.com/bio2818.html;
LifeNews.com Note: Sally Robbins is an author and freelance writer whose writing credits include Forbes, Business Week, Tribune Media Services, Market Watch, Advertising Age, and New York Daily News. She recently completed an historical novel, Rivaling Paris, and is at work on a biography about Henri Bendel.]
 

 

Patients in Wheelchairs Able to Walk Again Because Adult Stem Cells Can Heal Broken Bones. The following report comes from Dr. David Prentice, the former biology professor at Indiana State University who is now a fellow at the Family Research Council: Patients confined to wheelchairs have been able to walk or live independently again because their broken bones finally healed, thanks to a drug that stimulates their adult stem cells.

Preliminary results presented at the Orthopaedic Research Society meeting found 93% of those with an unhealed bone fracture had significant healing and pain control after treatment for only 8 to 12 weeks. Half of the 145 patients studied had non-healing fractures for 6 months or longer.

The drug, teriparatide (Forteo), was approved by the FDA in 2002 for treatment of osteoporosis.

A team led by Dr. J. Edward Puzas at the University of Rochester Medical Center discovered that this drug can also boost the body's bone adult stem cell production to the point that adults' bones appear to heal at a rate typically seen for young kids.

Australian researchers reported similar success in 2008 at treating non-healing fractures, using the patient's adult stem cells. The U.S. team's results are the initial observations from a clinical trial led by Dr. Puzas.

Out of an estimated 6 million fractures in the U.S. each year, approximately 5% show slow or incomplete healing, and a large portion of non-healing fractures occur in older adults.

Discovery of this in-the-body adult stem cell therapy that can jumpstart the body's natural bone healing process will be a boon to many patients. [16Apr09 #4590 www.LifeNews.com report]

Stem Cell Transplantation Helps Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Achieve Long-Term Insulin Independence, Improves Beta-Cell Function
Burt & Voltarelli publish another JAMA paper, followup of previous patients + 8 new diabetes patients
The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes.

Richard K. Burt, M.D., of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Clinical evidence indicates that there is an inverse association between beta-cell (a type of cell in the pancreas that secretes insulin) preservation and function and chronic complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), and the higher the C-peptide levels (a byproduct of insulin production, made up of amino acids), the lower the incidence of some types of complications of type 1 DM. A previous study found that autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 15 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 DM resulted in the majority of patients becoming insulin free during the follow-up, which averaged about 19 months. "However, it was suggested that subsequent insulin independence was a prolonged honeymoon period due to dietary and exercis

e changes associated with close posttransplant medical observation," the authors write, and it was not known if this change was because of an improvement in beta-cell preservation.

HSCT, which uses a patient's own blood stem cells, involves the removal and treatment of the stem cells, and their return to the patient by intravenous injection.

Dr. Burt and colleagues conducted a study to determine if posttransplant insulin independence was due to improved beta-cell function by monitoring the C-peptide levels of 23 patients who underwent stem cell transplantation. The patients, with type 1 DM, were ages 13-31 years.

Of the 23 patients, 20 experienced time free from insulin (12 continuously and 8 transiently). Patients remained continuously insulin free for an average time of 31 months (range, 14-52 months). One patient had more than 4 years with no exogenous (produced outside the body) insulin use, 4 patients for at least 3 years, 3 patients for at least 2 years, and 4 patients for at least 1 year. Eight patients relapsed and resumed insulin use at low doses. The majority of patients achieved good glycemic control.

In the continuously insulin-free group, average area under the curve (AUC; a type of measurement) of C-peptide levels before transplantation (225.0 ng/mL per 2 hours) showed a significant increase at 24 months after transplantation (785.4 ng/mL per 2 hours) and at 36 months after transplantation (728.1 ng/mL per 2 hours). In the transient insulin-independent group, average AUC of C-peptide levels also increased from 148.9 ng/mL per 2 hours pretransplantation to 546.8 ng/mL per 2 hours at 36 months, which was sustained at 48 months. In this group, 2 patients regained insulin independence after treatment with the antihyperglycemic drug sitagliptin, which was associated with an increase in C-peptide levels.

Two patients developed pneumonia in the hospital, 3 patients developed late endocrine dysfunction, and 9 patients developed oligospermia (sperm deficiency). There were no deaths.

"In conclusion, autologous nonmyeloablative HSCT was able to induce prolonged and significant increases of C-peptide levels associated with absence of or reduction of daily insulin doses in a small group of patients with type 1 DM," the researchers write. "At the present time, autologous nonmyeloablative HSCT remains the only treatment capable of reversing type 1 DM in humans. Randomized controlled trials and further biological studies are necessary to confirm the role of this treatment in changing the natural history of type 1 DM."
(JAMA 2009;301[15]:1573-1579.)

Media Advisory: To contact Richard K. Burt, M.D., call Marla Paul at 312-503-8928 or email [email protected].
————————–

Transplants help Type 1 diabetics skip insulin
04.14.09, 11:18 AM EDT
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/04/14/afx6288141.html

CHICAGO, April 14 (Reuters) – People with type 1 diabetes who got stem cell transplants were able to go as long as four years without needing insulin treatments, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said the process, which involves injecting people with stem cells made from their bone marrow cells, appears to have a lasting effect.

The study involved patients with Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, which occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas needed to control blood sugar.

These patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and colleagues first reported on the short-term success of the procedure, known as autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, in 2007 but have since looked at how long it persisted.

Writing in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association they said 20 of 23 patients 'became insulin free — 12 continuously and eight transiently — for periods as long as four years.' The transient group of eight had to restart insulin at reduced levels.

The patients ranged in age from 13 to 31.

To find out if the change was lasting the research team said they measured levels of C-peptides, which show how well the body is producing insulin. They found those levels increased 'up to 24 months after transplantation and were maintained until at least 36 months,' their report said.

Even in the group which had to restart insulin there was still a significant increase in C-peptide levels that lasted at least two years, the researchers said.

They said the procedure was able to induce 'prolonged and significant increases of C-peptide levels' in the small group of patients who were taking little or no insulin.

'At the present time (it) remains the only treatment capable of reversing type 1 diabetes mellitus in humans,' the team wrote.

'Randomized controlled trials and further biological studies are necessary to confirm the role of this treatment in changing the natural history of (the disease),' they added.
[EMBARGOED FOR EARLY RELEASE: 10 A.M. (ET) TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009
http://pubs.ama-assn.org/media/2009j/0414.dtl#3;  WASHINGTON, D.C.]

 

 

 Adult Stem Cells Used Successfully to Cure Diabetics, Heal Broken Jaw Bone
A study carried out in Brazil and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, on the use of adult stems cells to treat diabetes, has found that most of the patients in the study group were partially or wholly healed of the disease after receiving injections of stem cells from their own bone marrow.

The procedure, called autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), was carried out on 15 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). The report on the study stated that most of the patients no longer needed insulin injections after the treatment and were still "insulin free with normal levels of glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) during a mean 18.8-month follow-up"

"After a mean follow-up of 29.8 months … the majority of patients achieved insulin independence with good glycemic control."

However, the astonishingly positive results of the use of adult stem cells to treat diabetes have received very little mainstream media coverage, a fact that has been strongly criticized by conservative bioethicist Wesley Smith.

"Had this been an embryonic stem cell success, the story would have reaped huge headlines and an angry lead editorial decrying President Bush for his stem cell funding policy," said Smith.

"You see, successful human treatments don't count as news if they are from adult stem cells. That doesn't fit the media narrative that ESCR [embryonic stem cell research] is the future. That is why a prospective Geron ESC human trial that might or might not work, got more coverage than these stories of an actual major success did put together," said Smith.

Smith observed that Dr. Richard K. Burt of Northwestern University's medical school and one of the study's researchers, explained why the success happened in Brazil instead of the USA, saying, "The research was done in Brazil because doctors in the United States were not interested in the approach."

In another recent report of the successful use of adult stem cells, Korean doctors have re-grown a patient's jawbone using his own adult stem cells.

An 18-year-old Korean boy, who had one side of his jawbone and most of his teeth removed due to a tumor, had stem cells take

n from his bone marrow, which were then "multiplied and specialized to form an osteoblast which is a bone-forming cell."

"It may sound complicated but the treatment itself is quite simple," one of the doctors involved told Arirang Korean News. "A bone-forming cell is injected into the impaired part and after six months to one year new bone material grows in to fill the gap."

"The advantage of this treatment is that it is very simple, because it is an injection. And also other parts of the patient's body are not involved in the treatment. So the patients, who are treated using their own adult stem cells, will not suffer from damage to other parts of their body."

The results of the trial were published in the British medical journal BMC Medicine and were also presented at the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

In relates news, the pro-life position in the debate over the immorality and the practical challenges of using human embryonic stem cells in medical research received an unexpected boost during a recent appearance by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the director of the cardiovascular institute at Columbia University, on the "Oprah" television program.

"The stem cell debate is dead, and I'll tell you why," he told Oprah and guest Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease and is an outspoken advocate of embryonic stem cell research, and a nationwide audience.

"The problem with embryonic stem cells is that embryonic stem cells come from embryos – like all of us were made from embryos – and those cells can become any cell in the body," Oz said. "But it's very hard to control them, and so they can become cancer."

Referring to a form of adult stem cell research involving taking a person's own skin cells and reprogramming them into embryonic-like stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cell research (iPS), Oz explained to Fox, "Here's what the deal is. I can take a little bit of your skin, take those cells, get them to go back in time so they're like they were when you were first made, and then they will start to make that dopamine, and I think those cells, because they won't be as prone to cancer – and because they're your genes – will be the ones that are ultimately used to cure Parkinson's."

Reinforcing Dr. Oz's statement is a report by Dr. Bernadine Healy in US News & World Report, where she comments on President Obama's campaign promise to lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

"Several events reinforced the notion that embryonic stem cells, once thought to hold the cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes, are obsolete. The most sobering: a report from Israel published in PLoS Medicine in late February that shows embryonic stem cells injected into patients can cause disabling if not deadly tumors," Dr. Healy wrote.

"The report describes a young boy with a fatal neuromuscular disease called ataxia telangiectasia, who was treated with embryonic stem cells. Within four years, he developed headaches and was found to have multiple tumors in his brain and spinal cord that genetically matched the female embryos used in his therapy."

The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics lists 73 diseases which have been successfully treated using adult stem cell therapies (see: http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm).

This list has been validated by the American Medical Association, which published a paper demonstrating the therapeutic benefits of adult stem cells, and states that, "Adult stem cells continue to show their ability to successfully treat human disease and injury, while embryonic stem cells continue to demonstrate zero benefits for humans, and only limited results in animal models." (http://www.stemcellresearch.org/press/2008-02-27_JAMA.pdf)

References:

Adult Stem Cell Treatment Has Been Developed to Form New Bones
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=89639&code=Ne2&category=2

Journal of the American Medical Association Stem Cell Transplantation abstract:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/301/15/1573

Why Embryonic Stem Cells Are Obsolete by Dr. Bernadine Healy
http://health.usnews.com/blogs/heart-to-heart/2009/3/4/why-embryonic-stem-cells-are-obsolete.html
[T.M. Baklinski, April 16, 2009, www.LifeSiteNews.com]

 

UPDATE

Adult Stem Cell Research Results in a New Jawbone for 18 Year Old Man
 
Korean doctors have apparently regrown a patient’s jawbone using the patient’s own Adult Stem Cells in yet another amazing miracle that Adult Stem Cell research has brought us.
 
An 18 year old Korean boy who had to have most of his jawbone and his teeth removed due to a tumor was the lucky recipient of this fantastic stem cell research victory.
 
The young man, who had been suffering confidence problems due to his appearance (missing his jawbone and teeth) is very happy now after the Adult Stem Cells worked their magic and regrew his jawbone so he looks normal in appearance now.
Process of Stem Cells
 
   1. Adult Stem Cells were taken from the man’s bone marrow
   2. They were then multiplied and “coached” into becoming an osteoblast- a cell responsible for bone formation
   3. The new Adult Stem Cells were injected into the “damaged” area around the man’s jaw
   4. 6 months-1 year the stem cells grow new bone to fill in the gap left when the jawbone and teeth were removed
   5. Man’s looks better, has more confidence, happier
 
Stem Cell Case Study Presented at Conference
 
The results of the trial were published in the British Medical Journal BMC Medicine and it was also presented at the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons annual meeting (Those silly Maxillofacial surgeons must have forgotten my invitation)

Another Case of Adult Stem Cell Research Working Magic
This is just another instance in which the patient’s own stem cells were used to help. The patient had nothing to lose (no side effects because they were his own stem cells), and everything to gain. And gain he did with this miracle.
 
This reminds me of an amazing story in Germany a few years back in which they actually used a man’s back as an incubator and grew him a new jawbone
 [Posted By: Don Margolis, 13Apr2009,
http://www.voiceofarizona.com/Stem_Cell_Research_Results_in_a_-5031-4-42346.htm]

 

 

 

SPINAL CORD INJURY TREATMENTS:
Adult Stem Cells vs. Embryonic Stem Cells
Facts and Implications about FDA Approval of Geron Safety Trial

    News reports note that the FDA has approved a Phase I Clinical Trial for safety using human embryonic stem cells—those approved under the Bush Policy—for newly-injured spinal cord patients.

    This is not a treatment, but approval to begin experiments with humans to test for safety. A 2005 paper that showed some improvement in animals and a 2006 paper that showed no harm to animals were submitted for evidence in the FDA application.

    However, this news should be met with caution because numerous s

tudies in animals have shown that embryonic stem cells tend to form tumors.

    Patients will need to be monitored for the rest of their lives for potential tumors or other negative outcomes.

    Additional caution is warranted. These experiments will require immunosuppressive drugs because the stem cells are not genetically matched to the patients. Patients may also experience increased spinal inflammation or neural pain.

    If shown to be safe in the future, this trial would demonstrate that the Bush approved embryonic stem cell lines are NOT worthless due to contamination or age.

    Even Dr. Tom Okarma, CEO of the stem cell company Geron, says: “So the stuff you hear published that all of those lines are irrevocably contaminated with mouse materials and could never be used in people – hogwash. If you know how to grow them, they're fine.” (Steven Edwards, “Scrutinizing A Stem Cell Trial,” Wired News, 3/29/06)

    Therefore, funding for new human embryonic stem cell lines are unnecessary.

Adult Stem Cells Already Improve Spinal Cord Patients

    Adult stem cell studies have already shown safety and improvement of patient function for spinal cord injuries.

    A recent study by Australian researchers showed modest improvement in a patient. “Autologous olfactory ensheathing cell transplantation in human paraplegia: a 3-year clinical trial,” Mackay-Sim A et al. Brain 131: 2376 – 2386, Sept 2008.

    Another study showed 7 patients improved after an adult stem cell transplant. “Olfactory mucosa autografts in human spinal cord injury: a pilot clinical study,” Lima C et al. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine 29, 191-203, 2006.

Additional Studies Comparing Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells:

ESCR Spinal Cord Injury Studies in Animals:

2006     California researchers showed that human embryonic stem cells in spinal cord-injured rats did not cause a decline in locomotion in the injured rats. No evidence of improvement was reported. Cloutier F et al., “Transplantation of human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitors into rat spinal cord injuries does not cause harm,” Regenerative Medicine. 1, 469-479, 2006.

2005     California researchers used human embryonic stem cells to treat rats with new but not long-term spinal cord injury. The stem cells were turned into the nerve cells that surround spinal cords, and the rats showed modest functional improvement. The experiment was not continued long enough to test for tumors. Keirstead H et al., “Human embryonic stem cell derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cell transplants remyelinate and restore locomotion after spinal cord injury,” J Neuroscience 25, 4694-4705, May 11, 2005.

2005    Researchers at Washington University, St. Louis, found that transplanting embryonic stem cells into rat spinal cord gave no improvement, and caused tumors in a number of animals.  Howard MJ et al., Transplantation of apoptosis-resistant embryonic stem cells into the injured rat spinal cord, Somatosensory and Motor Research 22, 37-44, March/June 2005.

2005    Researchers used human embryonic stem cells to remyelinate the protective sheath around injured rat spinal cords. However, there was no test for any functional recovery. Nistor GI et al., “Human embryonic stem cells differentiate into oligodendrocytes in high purity and myelinate after spinal cord transplantation,” Glia 49, 385-396, February 2005.

1999     Researchers used human embryonic stem cells in rats with spinal cord injury. The rats showed some functional improvement. McDonald JW et al., “Transplanted embryonic stem cells survive, differentiate and promote recovery in injured rat spinal cord,” Nature Medicine 12, 1410-1412, December 1999.

1999     German researchers showed that embryonic stem cells could form protective myelin sheaths around nerves in rats with spinal cord injury. There was no test for any functional recovery. Brüstle O et al., “Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Glial Precursers: A Source of Myelinating Transplants,” Science 285, 754-756, July 30, 1999.

Adult Stem Cells Treat Spinal Cord Injury in Humans and Animals:

2006    Toronto researchers found that transplanting adult neural stem cells into rats up to 8 weeks after spinal cord injury resulted in significant improvement and recovery.  Karimi-Abdolrazaee S et al., Delayed transplantation of adult neural precursor cells promotes remyelination and functional neurological recovery after spinal cord injury, J Neuroscience 26, 3377-3389, 29 March 2006.

2006    University of Louisville scientists turned nasal stem cells into specialized cells that could insulate neurons, and showed repair of spinal cord damage in rats.  Zhang X, et al., Role of transcription factors in motoneuron differentiation of adult human olfactory neuroepithelial-derived progenitors, Stem Cells 24, 434-442, March 2006.

2006     Adult stem cell studies showed safety for use in human patients with spinal injury. Callera F et al., “Delivery of autologous bone marrow precursor cells into the spinal cord
via lumbar puncture technique in patients with spinal cord injury: A preliminary safety study.” Experimental Hematology 34, 130-131, 2006. Park HY et al. “Treatment of Complete Spinal Cord Injury Patients by Autologous Bone Marrow Cell Transplantation and Administration of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor,” Tissue Engineering 11, 913-922, 2005.

2005    Treating spinal cord injured rats with umbilical cord blood stem cells gave moderate recovery in mobility and function.  Kuh S-U et al., “Functional recovery after human umbilical cord blood cells transplantation with brain-derived neurotrophic factor into the spinal cord injured rat,” Acta Neurochir (Wien) 147, 985-992, 2005.

2005    Extending earlier results, Wisconsin and Swedish researchers injected neural stem cells into rats with spinal cord injury. The study shows reduction of pain, and increased recovery of function and feeling. Hofstetter CP et al., “Allodynia limits the usefulness of intraspinal neural stem cell grafts; directed differentitation improves outcome,” Nature Neuroscience 8, 346-353, March 2005.

2004    Japanese scientists found that injecting bone marrow adult stem cells into spinal cord-injured rats promoted their recovery and improved movement.  Ohta M et al., “Bone marrow stromal cells infused into the cerebrospinal fluid promote functional recovery of the injured rat spinal cord with reduced cavity formation,” Experimental Neurology 187, 266-278, 2004.

2004     Ohio State researchers transplanted bone marrow stromal cells into rats that had contusive spinal cord injuries, and found that the adult stem cells provided a protective environment that preserved spinal cord tissue and helped guide nerve regeneration. Ankeny DP et al., “Bone marrow transplants provide tissue protection and directional guidance for axons after contusive spinal cord injury in rats,” Experimental Neurology 190, 17-31, 2004.

2004     Japanese scientists tested the effects of bone marrow stromal cells on repair of injured spinal cord. The study demonstrated that the adult stem cells promoted both tissue recovery and behavioral improvements in rats. Ohta M et al., “Bone marrow stromal cells infused in

to the cerebrospinal fluid promote functional recovery of the injured rat spinal cord with reduced cavity formation,” Experimental Neurology 187, 266-278, 2004.

2003     University of South Florida and Korean researchers used human umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat rats with spinal cord injuries.  They found that the cord blood stem cells migrated to areas of injury, and the rats showed significant behavioral improvements even when treated several days after the injury. Saporta S et al., “Human umbilical cord blood stem cells infusion in spinal cord injury: Engraftment and beneficial influence on behavior,” J Hematotherapy Stem Cell Research 12, 271-278, 2003.

2002     A collaboration between researchers at Tulane and in Sweden found that adult bone marrow stromal cells promote healing of spinal cord injuries, and that the cells produced significant functional improvement. The study concluded that bone marrow stromal cells are an accessible, expandable source of cells that offer a promising future for spinal cord repair. Hofstetter CP et al., “Marrow stromal cells form guiding strands in the injured spinal cord and promote recovery,” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99, 2199-2204, February 19, 2002.
[23Jan09 email attachment, D. Prentice PhD, Family Research Council]

Related Articles:
Directed Differentiation of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Generates Active Motor Neurons
(p 806-811)
Saravanan Karumbayaram, Bennett G. Novitch, Michaela Patterson, Joy A. Umbach, Laura Richter, Anne Lindgren, Anne E. Conway, Amander T. Clark, Steve A. Goldman, Kathrin Plath, Martina Wiedau-pazos, Harley I. Kornblum, William E. Lowry
Published Online: Feb 23 2009 9:45PM
DOI: 10.1002/stem.31
Stem Cells, April 2009

Human Cord Blood CD133+ Stem Cells Transplanted to Nod-Scid Mice Provide Conditions for Regeneration of Olfactory Neuroepithelium After Permanent Damage Induced by Dichlobenil (p 825-835)
Valeria Franceschini, Simone Bettini, Simone Pifferi, Alfredo Rosellini, Anna Menini, Ricardo Saccardi, Emanuela Ognio, Rosemary Jeffery, Richard Poulsom, Roberto P. Revoltella
Published Online: Jan 15 2009 9:15PM
DOI: 10.1002/stem.11
Stem Cells, April 2009

Acceleration of Skeletal Muscle Regeneration in a Rat Skeletal Muscle Injury Model by Local Injection of Human Peripheral Blood-Derived CD133-Positive Cells (p 949-960)
Ming Shi, Masakazu Ishikawa, Naosuke Kamei, Tomoyuki Nakasa, Nobuo Adachi, Masataka Deie, Takayuki Asahara, Mitsuo Ochi
Published Online: Jan 15 2009 9:15PM
DOI: 10.1002/stem.4
Stem Cells, April 2009
   

 

 

Scientists Use Adult Stem Cell Research to Repair Damaged Corneas, Helping Blind to See
Findings by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggest that the injection of adult stem cells from human corneas can result in restored transparency to damaged eyes.

The research led by Dr. James L. Funderburgh, associate professor at the university’s Department of Ophthalmology, is being heralded as a dramatic advance in stem cell research that could apply body-wide.

The scientific team used adult stem cells found in the fibrous part of the eye.

The cells were then injected into the damaged cornea of mice. The adult stem cells activated to reorganize the fibers and produce a transparent cornea. The study, published in the Apr. 9 journal Stem Cells, states, “The results suggest that cell-based therapy can be an effective approach to treatment of human corneal blindness"…
[17Apr09, Ertelt, www.LifeNews.com, #4592]

 

STEM CELL RESEARCH BYTES

[30Apr09, LifeSiteNews.com]

http://culture11.com/diary/37847

http://news.scotsman.com/health/Fat-will-be-lifesaver-if.5202132.jp

http://townhall.com/news/health/2009/04/24/blood_vessels_made_from_patients_cells

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042308.html

Stem cells 'able to reverse symtoms of multiple sclerosis'
Scientists have been able to reverse the symptoms of multiple sclerosis using stem cells from patients' own body fat.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5207556/Stem-cells-able-to-reverse-symtoms-of-multiple-sclerosis.html

Lead Into Gold: "Protein Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells" Made Without Genetic Material
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/04/lead-into-gold-protein-induced.html

Stem Cells Help Treat Heart, Leg Blockages. The trial included 10 patients and all demonstrated significant recovery
http://acadiana.medicalnewsinc.com/news.php?viewStory=1272

Stem Cell Treatment Gives Texas Sheriff With Multiple Sclerosis His Job Back
http://donmargolis.com/blog/2009/04/stem-cell-treatment-multiple-sclerosis-ms-sheriff-texas-job/

A Human Embryo is to the Baby He or She Becomes, That a Caterpillar is to the Butterfly It Becomes – Wesley Smith
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/04/human-embryo-is-to-baby-he-or-she.html

Politicizing Science: How the UK Became Brave New Britain
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/04/politicizing-science-how-uk-became.html

Nature Decries Attempts to Redefine "Embryo"
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/04/nature-decries-attempts-to-redefine.html

The Immoral Research That Would be Required to Make "Reproductive Cloning" Safe
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/04/immoral-research-that-would-be-required.html
[all from 30Apr09, LifeSiteNews.com]