StemCell Therapy

In Early Study, Procedure Helps Teens Halt Insulin Injections

June 11, 2012 (Philadelphia) -- In an early study, an experimental stem cell procedure helped 15 teens with type 1 diabetes stay off of insulin injections for about 1.5 years, on average.

The study was very small, and the procedure is not ready for widespread use. "We now have a unique approach with some positive findings, but it's still early. We need to better understand the biology behind the treatment and follow patients for long-term side effects," Robert E. Ratner, MD, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association, tells WebMD.

This is the latest of several stem cell studies to show promising results for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, Ratner notes.

In the new study, 15 of 28 teens with type 1 diabetes who got an experimental treatment using their own stem cells went into remission and did not need insulin injections for an average of about 1.5 years.

The "cocktail treatment" combines stem cell therapy with drugs that suppress the body's immune system. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells within the pancreas.

The experimental treatment is called autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). It aims to kill the destructive immune system cells and replace them with immature stem cells not programmed to destroy insulin-producing cells.

First, patients are given drugs to stimulate production of blood stem cells. The blood stem cells are then removed from the body and frozen. Then, patients are hospitalized and given drugs to kill the destructive immune system cells. The harvested blood stem cells are then put back into the patient.

Eight teens who took part in the study have remained insulin-free for two years, on average. One patient has gone without insulin injections for 3.5 years.

"All our patients considered the [treatment] to be worthwhile and beneficial, though some patients experienced side effects," study head Weiqiong Gu, MD, of Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, tells WebMD.

Read this article:
Experimental Stem Cell Treatment Tested for Type 1 Diabetes

The $3 billion California stem cell
agency, which hopes to generate income for the state through the sale
of stem cell therapies, is moving to make its profit-sharing rules
more friendly to business.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

California biotech companies chalked up
a zero in the latest funding round by the state's $3 billion stem
cell agency, although 14 tried to run a gauntlet that industry has
complained about for years.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Two directors of the $3 billion
California stem cell agency have popped up in the battle over the
anti-tobacco initiative on tomorrow's ballot in the Golden State.

"The...problem with Proposition 29
is its pigeonholing of the money for cancer research rather than for
immediate needs here in California that are absolutely dire. It’s
all well and good to say that cancer research benefits everyone, but
the real question is whether it should be the absolute top priority
for a state that can’t afford to keep its children fed or offer
them medical care in the here and now. 

"Lansing and Vuori say the fact
that Prop. 29 'fails to provide funding for schools, roads or
affordable housing' is irrelevant, because it was 'was never intended
to solve these problems.'

"In the context of the state’s
needs, this is a rather callous approach to take. Let’s spell out
why, so Lansing and Vuori won’t be so inclined to dismiss these
necessities of life so casually."

"That’s just the beginning of
what might be cut because the state needs money—and won’t be able
to lay its hands on the hundreds of millions of dollars that Lansing,
Vuori, and their research colleagues are angling for. They don’t
want voters to be reminded that there are competing demands for the
tobacco money, and they do so by failing to mention that they exist,
and also by presenting the spending on cancer research as the voters’
only choice. 

"It’s the only choice because
the promoters of Proposition 29 designed it that way. Advocates of
programs like this love to pass them in via voter initiatives because
they leave no room to measure them against alternative needs."

"Organizers argued that the tax would have
less chance of passing if voters thought it would go into the state
coffers, and said that their only goal here was cutting down on
smoking."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The Proposition 71 campaign of 2004,
which has filled the coffers of more than 500 researchers and
institutions with $1.4 billion, was the subject today of a discussion
about miracles.

"Joan Samuelson, a leading
Parkinson's patient advocate, is shown in another ad asserting,
'There are more Americans than I think we can count who are sick
now, or are going to be sick in the future, whose lives will be saved
by Prop. 71.' Shortly after the measure passed, Samuelson was
appointed to the stem cell program's board. 

"Do these ads amount to promising
'miracles'? Given that the essence of scientific research is that no
one can predict the outcome, to assert as fact that 'lives will
be saved by Prop. 71' is plainly to promise something downright
extraordinary, if not outright miraculous. 

"Yes, this is the language of
advertising, not research, but for Trounson and Thomas to pretend
that the ad campaign somehow promised merely 'good science' and not
specific outcomes, as their letter suggested, is (at least)
miraculously disingenuous."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The top two leaders of the California
stem cell agency today took strong issue with a column in the Los
Angeles Times that spoke less than favorably about the history and
efforts of the state research enterprise.

"Proposition 71(the stem cell
initiative), you may recall, was sold to a gullible public via
candy-coated images of Christopher Reeve walking again
and Michael J. Fox cured of Parkinson's. The
implication was that these miracles would happen if voters approved a
$3-billion bond issue for stem cell research."

"In his article opposing
Proposition 29, Michael Hiltzik makes a number of misleading
statements about Proposition 71, the voter-approved measure funding
stem-cell research. 

"No ads for Proposition 71
promised miraculous cures. They promised good science, and that is
what is being funded, with more than 62 promising therapies for 40
different diseases on their way to clinical trials. 

"The stem-cell agency has
conflict-of-interest rules as strict as any government agency. We
undergo state-mandated audits to ensure we follow all rules and
regulations, and the most recent one, completed just this month,
praised the agency for its performance. 

"As for being 'an unwieldy
bureaucrac just 6% of the money we get goes to pay for staff; 94%
goes to fund research here in California, creating new jobs,
generating income for the state and, most important, helping find
treatments for deadly diseases."  

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

"Commercialization has emerged as
dominant theme in both the advocacy of science and in the grant
writing process.  But is this push good for science? What damage
might the market’s invisible hand do to the scientific process?"

"There are many recent examples of
how commercialization plays out in top-down policy approaches to
science.  The UK government recently justified a £220 million
investment in stem cell research on the pledge that it will help
stimulate an economic recovery. A 2009 policy document from
Texas made the optimistic prediction that stem cell research could
produce 230,000 regional jobs and $88 billion in state economic
activity.  And President Obama’s 2011 State of the
Union address went so far as to challenge American researchers
to view this moment in time as 'our generation’s Sputnik
moment'—the opportunity to use science and innovation to drive the
economy, create new jobs, and compete with emerging economies, such
as China and India. 

"The impact of this
commercialization pressure is still unfolding, but there is a growing
body of research that highlights the potential challenges, including
the possibility that this pressure could reduce collaborative
behavior, thus undermining scientific progress, and contribute to the
premature application of technologies, as may already be
happening in the spheres of stem cells and genetic
research. For example, might the controversial new Texas stem cell
research regulations, which allow the use of experimental adult
stem cell therapies without federal approval, be, at least in part, a
result of the government’s belief in the economic potential of
the field? 

"Such pressure may also magnify
the growing tendency of research institutions and the media to hype
the potential near future benefits of research—another phenomenon
that might already be occurring in a number of domains and
could have the effect of creating a public expectation that is
impossible to satisfy. 

"Furthermore, how will this trend
conflict with the emerging emphasis on an open approach to
science? A range of national and international policy entities, such
as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
suggest 'full and open access to scientific data should be adopted as
the international norm.' Can policy makers have it both ways? 
Can we ask researchers to strive to partner with industry and
commercialize their work and share their data and results
freely and as quickly as practical?"

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

"I think that scientists have an obligation to educate the
public. I welcome visits from both stem cell proponents and
opponents, so I have a chance to clarify any misconceptions about
what it is that we really do. We have to figure out how to deal with
our opponents as well as our friends. I have a policy of welcoming
opponents so I can teach them. It works. Education wins minds."

"Governor Rick Perry left my lab
understanding far more about induced pluripotent stem cells than he
did when he arrived. If we don't engage those who don't share our
views, who will tell them the truth? How will they know that we are
ethical and working to improving human health? 

"The visit was arranged by Michael
Thorsnes, a well-known Democratic fundraiser. He is a very
impressive person who knows politicians of every stripe, and he
arranged the meeting with Perry so that I could explain our project
to make iPSCs from people with Parkinson's disease, and our work
using iPSC derivatives in multiple sclerosis. Perry is promoting
'adult' stem cell therapy in Texas, and I wanted to be sure that he
understood the difference between 'adult' stem cells and pluripotent
stem cells. He does. Educating those in positions of power is one
of our responsibilities, and I take it very seriously."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

"I'm with George Skelton(Los
Angeles Times columnist). Whatever you think about ballot box
budgeting, you could take every penny raised by this and bury it in
the ground - it would still: Reduce smoking (mostly by preventing
some kids, the most price-sensitive group of smokers from starting) .
Save lives. Hurt the lying tobacco companies. All very good things."

CIRM has not taken a position on the measure.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The $3 billion California stem cell
agency, which hopes to generate income for the state through the sale
of stem cell therapies, is moving to make its profit-sharing rules
more friendly to business.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

California biotech companies chalked up
a zero in the latest funding round by the state's $3 billion stem
cell agency, although 14 tried to run a gauntlet that industry has
complained about for years.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Two directors of the $3 billion
California stem cell agency have popped up in the battle over the
anti-tobacco initiative on tomorrow's ballot in the Golden State.

"The...problem with Proposition 29
is its pigeonholing of the money for cancer research rather than for
immediate needs here in California that are absolutely dire. It’s
all well and good to say that cancer research benefits everyone, but
the real question is whether it should be the absolute top priority
for a state that can’t afford to keep its children fed or offer
them medical care in the here and now. 

"Lansing and Vuori say the fact
that Prop. 29 'fails to provide funding for schools, roads or
affordable housing' is irrelevant, because it was 'was never intended
to solve these problems.'

"In the context of the state’s
needs, this is a rather callous approach to take. Let’s spell out
why, so Lansing and Vuori won’t be so inclined to dismiss these
necessities of life so casually."

"That’s just the beginning of
what might be cut because the state needs money—and won’t be able
to lay its hands on the hundreds of millions of dollars that Lansing,
Vuori, and their research colleagues are angling for. They don’t
want voters to be reminded that there are competing demands for the
tobacco money, and they do so by failing to mention that they exist,
and also by presenting the spending on cancer research as the voters’
only choice. 

"It’s the only choice because
the promoters of Proposition 29 designed it that way. Advocates of
programs like this love to pass them in via voter initiatives because
they leave no room to measure them against alternative needs."

"Organizers argued that the tax would have
less chance of passing if voters thought it would go into the state
coffers, and said that their only goal here was cutting down on
smoking."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The Proposition 71 campaign of 2004,
which has filled the coffers of more than 500 researchers and
institutions with $1.4 billion, was the subject today of a discussion
about miracles.

"Joan Samuelson, a leading
Parkinson's patient advocate, is shown in another ad asserting,
'There are more Americans than I think we can count who are sick
now, or are going to be sick in the future, whose lives will be saved
by Prop. 71.' Shortly after the measure passed, Samuelson was
appointed to the stem cell program's board. 

"Do these ads amount to promising
'miracles'? Given that the essence of scientific research is that no
one can predict the outcome, to assert as fact that 'lives will
be saved by Prop. 71' is plainly to promise something downright
extraordinary, if not outright miraculous. 

"Yes, this is the language of
advertising, not research, but for Trounson and Thomas to pretend
that the ad campaign somehow promised merely 'good science' and not
specific outcomes, as their letter suggested, is (at least)
miraculously disingenuous."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

The top two leaders of the California
stem cell agency today took strong issue with a column in the Los
Angeles Times that spoke less than favorably about the history and
efforts of the state research enterprise.

"Proposition 71(the stem cell
initiative), you may recall, was sold to a gullible public via
candy-coated images of Christopher Reeve walking again
and Michael J. Fox cured of Parkinson's. The
implication was that these miracles would happen if voters approved a
$3-billion bond issue for stem cell research."

"In his article opposing
Proposition 29, Michael Hiltzik makes a number of misleading
statements about Proposition 71, the voter-approved measure funding
stem-cell research. 

"No ads for Proposition 71
promised miraculous cures. They promised good science, and that is
what is being funded, with more than 62 promising therapies for 40
different diseases on their way to clinical trials. 

"The stem-cell agency has
conflict-of-interest rules as strict as any government agency. We
undergo state-mandated audits to ensure we follow all rules and
regulations, and the most recent one, completed just this month,
praised the agency for its performance. 

"As for being 'an unwieldy
bureaucrac just 6% of the money we get goes to pay for staff; 94%
goes to fund research here in California, creating new jobs,
generating income for the state and, most important, helping find
treatments for deadly diseases."  

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

"Commercialization has emerged as
dominant theme in both the advocacy of science and in the grant
writing process.  But is this push good for science? What damage
might the market’s invisible hand do to the scientific process?"

"There are many recent examples of
how commercialization plays out in top-down policy approaches to
science.  The UK government recently justified a £220 million
investment in stem cell research on the pledge that it will help
stimulate an economic recovery. A 2009 policy document from
Texas made the optimistic prediction that stem cell research could
produce 230,000 regional jobs and $88 billion in state economic
activity.  And President Obama’s 2011 State of the
Union address went so far as to challenge American researchers
to view this moment in time as 'our generation’s Sputnik
moment'—the opportunity to use science and innovation to drive the
economy, create new jobs, and compete with emerging economies, such
as China and India. 

"The impact of this
commercialization pressure is still unfolding, but there is a growing
body of research that highlights the potential challenges, including
the possibility that this pressure could reduce collaborative
behavior, thus undermining scientific progress, and contribute to the
premature application of technologies, as may already be
happening in the spheres of stem cells and genetic
research. For example, might the controversial new Texas stem cell
research regulations, which allow the use of experimental adult
stem cell therapies without federal approval, be, at least in part, a
result of the government’s belief in the economic potential of
the field? 

"Such pressure may also magnify
the growing tendency of research institutions and the media to hype
the potential near future benefits of research—another phenomenon
that might already be occurring in a number of domains and
could have the effect of creating a public expectation that is
impossible to satisfy. 

"Furthermore, how will this trend
conflict with the emerging emphasis on an open approach to
science? A range of national and international policy entities, such
as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
suggest 'full and open access to scientific data should be adopted as
the international norm.' Can policy makers have it both ways? 
Can we ask researchers to strive to partner with industry and
commercialize their work and share their data and results
freely and as quickly as practical?"

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

"I think that scientists have an obligation to educate the
public. I welcome visits from both stem cell proponents and
opponents, so I have a chance to clarify any misconceptions about
what it is that we really do. We have to figure out how to deal with
our opponents as well as our friends. I have a policy of welcoming
opponents so I can teach them. It works. Education wins minds."

"Governor Rick Perry left my lab
understanding far more about induced pluripotent stem cells than he
did when he arrived. If we don't engage those who don't share our
views, who will tell them the truth? How will they know that we are
ethical and working to improving human health? 

"The visit was arranged by Michael
Thorsnes, a well-known Democratic fundraiser. He is a very
impressive person who knows politicians of every stripe, and he
arranged the meeting with Perry so that I could explain our project
to make iPSCs from people with Parkinson's disease, and our work
using iPSC derivatives in multiple sclerosis. Perry is promoting
'adult' stem cell therapy in Texas, and I wanted to be sure that he
understood the difference between 'adult' stem cells and pluripotent
stem cells. He does. Educating those in positions of power is one
of our responsibilities, and I take it very seriously."

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

"I'm with George Skelton(Los
Angeles Times columnist). Whatever you think about ballot box
budgeting, you could take every penny raised by this and bury it in
the ground - it would still: Reduce smoking (mostly by preventing
some kids, the most price-sensitive group of smokers from starting) .
Save lives. Hurt the lying tobacco companies. All very good things."

CIRM has not taken a position on the measure.

Source:
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Select a Publication: N E W S P A P E R S ---------------------------------------------- ---Alberta--- Airdrie - Airdrie Echo Banff - Banff Crag and Canyon Beaumont - Beaumont News Calgary - The Calgary Sun Camrose - Camrose Canadian Canmore - Canmore Leader Central Alberta - County Market Cochrane - Cochrane Times Cold Lake - Cold Lake Sun Crowsnest Pass - Crowsnest Pass Promoter Devon - Dispatch News Drayton - Drayton Valley Western Review Edmonton - Edmonton Examiner Edmonton - The Edmonton Sun Edson - Edson Leader Fairview - Fairview Post Fort McMurray - Fort McMurray Today Fort Saskatchewan - Fort Saskatchewan Record Grande Prairie - Daily Herald Tribune Hanna - Hanna Herald High River - High River Times Hinton - Hinton Parklander Lacombe - Lacombe Globe Leduc - Leduc Representative Lloydminster - Meridian Booster Mayerthorpe - Mayerthorpe Freelancer Nanton - Nanton News Peace Country - Peace Country Sun Peace River - Peace River Record Gazette Pincher Creek - Pincher Creek Echo Sherwood Park - Sherwood Park News Spruce Grove - Spruce Grove Examiner Stony Plain - Stony Plain Reporter Strathmore - Strathmore Standard Vermilion - Vermilion Standard Vulcan - Vulcan Advocate Wetaskiwin - Wetaskiwin Times Whitecourt - Whitecourt Star ---Manitoba--- Altona - Alton Red River Valley Echo Beausejour - Beausejour Review Carman - Carman Valley Leader Gimli - Interlake Spectator Lac Du Bonnet - Lac Du Bonnet Leader Morden - Morden Times Portage la Prairie - Portage Daily Graphic Selkirk - Selkirk Journal Stonewall - Stonewall Argus and Teulon Times Winkler - Winkler Times Winnipeg - The Winnipeg Sun ---Ontario--- Amherstburg - Amherstburg Echo Bancroft - Bancroft this Week Barrie - Barrie Examiner Barry's Bay - Barry's Bay this Week Belleville - Intelligencer Bradford - Bradford Times Brantford - Expositor Brockville - The Recorder & Times Chatham - Chatham Daily News Chatham - Chatham This Week Chatham - Today's Farmer Clinton - Clinton News-Record Cobourg - Northumberland Today Cochrane - Cochrane Times Post Collingwood - Enterprise Bulletin Cornwall - Standard Freeholder Delhi - Delhi News-Record Dresden - Leader Spirit Dunnville - Dunnville Chronicle Elliot Lake - Standard Espanola - Mid-North Monitor Fort Erie - Times Gananoque - Gananoque Reporter Goderich - Goderich Signal-Star Grand Bend - Lakeshore Advance Haliburton - Haliburton Echo Hanover - The Post Ingersoll - Ingersoll Times Innisfil - Innisfil Examiner Kapuskasing - Kapuskasing Northern Times Kenora - Kenora Daily Miner and News Kenora - Lake of the Woods Enterprise Kincardine - Kincardine News Kingston - Frontenac This Week Kingston - Kingston This Week Kingston - Kingston Whig Standard Kirkland Lake - Northern News Leamington - Leamington Post Lindsay - The Lindsay Post London - The London Free Press London - The Londoner Lucknow - Lucknow Sentinel Midland - Free Press Minden - Minden Times Mitchell - Mitchell Advocate Napanee - Napanee Guide Niagara-on-the-Lake - Niagara Advance Niagara Falls - Review Niagara Falls - Niagara Shopping News Niagara Falls - W. Niagara Community Newspapers North Bay - North Bay Nugget Northumberland - Northumberland Today Norwich - Norwich Gazette Orillia - Packet and Times Ottawa - The Ottawa Sun Owen Sound - Sun Times Oxford - Oxford Review Paris - Paris Star Online Pelham - Pelham News Pembroke - Daily Observer Peterborough - Peterborough Examiner Petrolia - Petrolia Topic Picton - County Weekly News Port Colborne - Inport News Port Hope - Northumberland Today Port Elgin - Shoreline Beacon Sarnia - Observer Sarnia - Sarnia This Week Sault Ste Marie - Sault Star Sault Ste Marie - Sault This Week Seaforth - Seaforth Huron Expositor Simcoe - Simcoe Reformer St. Catharines - St. Catharines Shopping News St. Catharines - Standard St. Thomas - St. Thomas Times-Journal Stirling - Community Press Stratford - The Beacon Herald Strathroy - Strathroy Age Dispatch Sudbury - Sudbury Star Thorold - Thorold News Tillsonburg - Tillsonburg News Timmins - Daily Press Timmins - Timmins Times Toronto - The Toronto Sun Trenton - Trentonian Wallaceburg - Wallaceburg Courier Press Welland - Tribune Welland - Welland News West Lorne - The Chronicle Wiarton - Wiarton Echo Woodstock - Sentinel Review ---Saskatchewan--- Meadow Lake - Meadow Lake Progress Melfort - Melfort Journal Nipawin - Nipawin Journal MAGAZINES & SPECIALTY PUBLICATIONS --------- Biz Magazine Business London Cottage Home and Property Showcase Food and Wine Show Hamilton Halton Weddings Hamilton Magazine InterVin International Wine Awards Kingston Life London Citylife Muskoka Magazine Muskoka Trails Niagara Food and Wine Expo Niagara Magazine Ontario Farmer Ontario Golf Sault Good Life Simcoe Life The Home Show Vines Magazine What's Up Muskoka

Read more:
Stem cell therapy offers new treatment options for pets -- and humans