StemCell Therapy

Qatar Conference Center

If our readers in the Middle East are looking for a first-hand assessment of the state of stem cell research, they might want to take in the four-day conference this week in Qatar, which features the president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.

Alan Trounson is one of a number of international stem cell notables at the session at the new Qatar Conference Center in the tiny nation in the Persian Gulf. The country is putting on the conference as a means of developing its own stem cell research capabilities.

Qatar had a gross national product of $129 billion in 2010, with a per capita income of $138,000, according to the U.S. State Department. The population is about 1.7 million, more than 75 percent of whom are foreigners with temporary residence status.

In addition to Trounson, other California and CIRM-connected researchers are speaking at the conference in the Qatar center, which just opened in December.  They include David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate and a former director of the stem cell agency. A company Baltimore co-founded, Calimmune, of Tucson, Az., is sharing in a $20 million CIRM grant. Other CIRM grant recipients or representatives of recipient companies appearing at the conference are Irv Weissman of Stanford; Deepak Srivastava of the Gladstone Institute, and Ann Tsukamoto Weissman of Stem Cells Inc. of Newark, Ca.

Social activities at the conference include sand dune "bashing" in off-road vehicles, camel tracking along with a look at their "robot jockeys" and a visit to the original Arabic Oryx farm.

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

The state of California plans to sell $2 billion in bonds next Thursday, but the California stem cell agency, which is entirely dependent on state borrowing, will have to wait until later this spring to see more cash.

J.T. Thomas, chairman of the stem cell agency, said he expected to see CIRM benefit from the next bond sale in April. The agency currently has sufficient funds to operate until about June, plus an arrangement with the state for continued funding if a timely bond sale is not completed.

The $3 billion stem cell agency was created in 2004 through a ballot initiative that authorized its funding through the sale of state bonds over a 10-year period. The interest on the bonds raises the total cost of the agency to taxpayers to about $6 billion. Likewise, the cost of a $20 million grant is actually more like $40 million.

Financially beleaguered California's interest costs have sharply increased in recent years as the state has borrowed $53.8 billion from 2007 to 2010. This year, interest costs will come to about $5.4 billion, nearly 6 percent of the state budget. Nine years ago, it was $2.1 billion or 2.9 percent, according a piece by Randall Jensen (no relation to this writer) of the Bond Buyer newspaper.

The expense of borrowing shrinks the amount of state money available for public schools, helping the medically indigent and other state purposes.

Next Thursday's bond sale will go to refinance debt at lower rates. This year, Gov. Jerry Brown and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer plan to sell only $5.2 billion in general obligation bonds, roughly one-fourth of what the state issued in 2009.

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

The California stem cell agency today released its letter to leaders of the California legislature concerning the conflict of interest violation by the scientist who was then chairman of the panel that makes the de facto decisions on hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants.

The agency also posted the review summary of the application involved in the conflict of interest, which had been missing from its web site.

The incident occurred last April, but was not publicly disclosed by the $3 billion research enterprise until questions were raised this month by the California Stem Cell Report. The case involved John Sladek of the University of Colorado in Denver, then chairman of the CIRM grant review group, which makes decisions on the hundreds of grant applications. The CIRM board of directors has final approval but it almost never overturns a favorable recommendation from the grant panel.

Sladek resigned from the review group after CIRM staff discovered the conflict following the March 17 review session. CIRM called it a "technical violation."

The information provided today by CIRM added some details to the matter, including Sladek's statement that the conflict was inadvertent on his part.

The June 15 letter to the speaker of the state Assembly and the leader of the state Senate was labelled "confidential disclosure." Signed by then CIRM Chairman Robert Klein, it said,

"While preparing the public summary for Basic Biology III Awards Application No. RB3-02119, CIRM staff discovered that Dr. Sladek had co-authored two papers in the last three years with a researcher on the application. Although the researcher’s name was included on the CIRM conflict of interest form, Dr. Sladek did not disclose these publications to CIRM."

As reported earlier, Sladek's participation did not affect the outcome on the application, which was not recommended for funding.

As is CIRM's practice, the review summary of the grant application did not identify the scientist seeking funding. The summary listed one reviewer with an unspecified conflict, Ali Brivanlou of Rockefeller University.

The letter was provided by CIRM at the request of the California Stem Cell Report, which also asked for the review summary of the grant application after discovering it was missing. James Harrison, outside counsel to the agency, said in an email that the summary was not posted because of a "programming error."

The summary can be found here. Here is the letter.Sladek/CIRM Conflict of Interest Letter to California Legislative Leadership

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

A conflict of interest on a grant application before the $3 billion California stem cell agency last year led to the resignation of the grant review committee's longstanding chairman, John Sladek of the University of Colorado.

The incident occurred last April but was not publicly disclosed by CIRM until the California Stem Cell Report (CSCR) raised a question earlier this month.

Sladek is professor of neurology, pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Denver and a former president of Cal Lutheran University in the Los Angeles area. He had served on the stem cell agency's grant review group since 2005 and as its chairman from 2009 until April of last year.

Responding to an email from CSCR, James Harrison of Remcho, Johansen and Purcell of San Leandro, Ca., outside counsel to the stem cell agency, said that CIRM's staff uncovered the conflict in April after the grant review session was concluded on March 17. Harrison described it as a "technical violation."

He said,

"While preparing the public summary for Basic Biology III (grant round)applications, CIRM staff discovered that Dr. John Sladek was one of several co-authors on scientific publications with a researcher who was listed as a consultant on a CIRM grant application."

Harrison said,

"This is a technical violation of CIRM's conflict of interest rules, which prohibit a member of the Grants Working Group ("GWG") from participating in the review of an application if the member has co-authored papers with a salaried investigator listed on a CIRM application within a three year window."

Harrison said Sladek's conflict did not violate the state's political reform act nor did he have a financial interest in the application.

Harrison continued,

"Nonetheless, in the spirit of setting an example of strict compliance, Dr. Sladek tendered his resignation from the GWG."

Asked for comment, Sladek said that Harrison's account was accurate and that he had nothing to add. (Both Harrison's and Sladek's verbatim comments can be found here.)

In December, the CIRM board of directors approved, on a unanimous voice vote of the 21 directors present out of 29, a resolution commending Sladek for serving in "exemplary fashion."

The stem cell agency disclosed specifics of the conflict of interest violation after the California Stem Cell Report discovered a vague reference to it in the transcript of the January meeting of the Citizens Financial Oversight and Accountability Committee, the only state entity specifically charged with oversight of the agency and its directors.

Members of the committee had raised questions about conflicts of interests at CIRM. At one point, Harrison said,

"We have also had occasion where we have had a conflict of a very technical nature on the grants working group which we addressed pursuant to our procedure and reported to the legislature."

It was that remark that triggered the request for more details.

Asked about the report to the legislature, Harrison said CIRM wrote a letter to the legislative leadership about the incident. We have asked for a copy of the letter, which we will carry when we receive it.

As of this writing, the review summary for the grant application (RB3-02119) in question was not available on the CIRM web. Normally all the summaries are posted. We have queried the agency concerning its absence.

Harrison also said that in the seven-year history of CIRM no other instances exist of grant review committee members having been determined to be in a conflict of interest after participation in a review.

Our comment: CIRM is to be commended for taking care of this situation quickly last April. Sladek correctly resigned promptly. However, failure to disclose the incident at the time does not reflect well on the California stem cell agency nor does it inspire confidence in the agency's now improving openness and transparency.

CIRM is an enterprise that has substantial built-in conflicts of interests – all legal courtesy of Prop. 71, the ballot initiative that created CIRM. Institutions linked to CIRM directors have received $1.1 billion of the $1.2 billion the agency has given away. A display of reticence in this conflict-of-interest case does little to quell the suspicions of those who have criticized the agency for "cronyism," including the journal Nature and some in the biotech business community and elsewhere. As for the description of the incident as a "very technical" violation, that amounts to a bit of PR. Either it is a violation or it isn't.

Sladek's violation is the sort of thing not well understood by the public. Most public attention is focused on financial conflicts of interest in science. However, professional conflicts of interest involving scientists are among the most invidious. The California Stem Cell Report regularly hears complaints and suspicions about such dealings at CIRM: Big-name scientists receiving favored treatment, academic researchers unfairly evaluating applications from business researchers, younger researchers being shunted to background and more. All this as a billion dollars worth of applications have been evaluated behind closed doors with no public disclosure of the economic or professional interests of the reviewers. The stem cell agency would do well to improve its openness and transparency, particularly as it moves into ticklish and expensive relationships with industry. The first step would be to post on its web site the disclosure forms filed by its grant reviewers but withheld from the public by CIRM.

Source:
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Here are the verbatim statements from James Harrison, outside counsel to the California stem cell agency, and John Sladek concerning Sladek's conflict of interest and resignation as chair of the agency's grant review group.

Harrison made these initial remarks first and provided a few other details later.

"While preparing the public summary for Basic Biology III (grant round)applications, CIRM staff discovered that Dr. John Sladek was one of several co-authors on scientific publications with a researcher who was listed as a consultant on a CIRM grant application.
"This is a technical violation of CIRM's conflict of interest rules, which prohibit a member of the Grants Working Group ("GWG") from participating in the review of an application if the member has co-authored papers with a salaried investigator listed on a CIRM application within a three year window.

"It should be noted, however, that Dr. Sladek's participation in the review of the application would not have constituted a conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act's conflict of interest standards because Dr. Sladek did not have a financial interest in the application. In addition, the amount of funding involved - approximately $3,000 of salary per year for three years, less than one percent of the total award - was not material, and Dr. Sladek did not stand to receive any financial benefit from the application. Finally, Dr. Sladek's participation in the review did not affect the outcome because the application was not recommended, or approved, for funding.

"Nonetheless, in the spirit of setting an example of strict compliance, Dr. Sladek tendered his resignation from the GWG."

Sladek's response to a question for comment:

"Mr. Harrison’s account  is accurate and there really isn’t anything to add other than I was pleased to serve CIRM and California  for several years and wish them well as they pursue such an important mission with respect to the potential for therapeutic applications to human disease and disorders. Thank you for your inquiry."

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

Qatar Conference Center

If our readers in the Middle East are looking for a first-hand assessment of the state of stem cell research, they might want to take in the four-day conference this week in Qatar, which features the president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency.

Alan Trounson is one of a number of international stem cell notables at the session at the new Qatar Conference Center in the tiny nation in the Persian Gulf. The country is putting on the conference as a means of developing its own stem cell research capabilities.

Qatar had a gross national product of $129 billion in 2010, with a per capita income of $138,000, according to the U.S. State Department. The population is about 1.7 million, more than 75 percent of whom are foreigners with temporary residence status.

In addition to Trounson, other California and CIRM-connected researchers are speaking at the conference in the Qatar center, which just opened in December.  They include David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate and a former director of the stem cell agency. A company Baltimore co-founded, Calimmune, of Tucson, Az., is sharing in a $20 million CIRM grant. Other CIRM grant recipients or representatives of recipient companies appearing at the conference are Irv Weissman of Stanford; Deepak Srivastava of the Gladstone Institute, and Ann Tsukamoto Weissman of Stem Cells Inc. of Newark, Ca.

Social activities at the conference include sand dune "bashing" in off-road vehicles, camel tracking along with a look at their "robot jockeys" and a visit to the original Arabic Oryx farm.

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

The state of California plans to sell $2 billion in bonds next Thursday, but the California stem cell agency, which is entirely dependent on state borrowing, will have to wait until later this spring to see more cash.

J.T. Thomas, chairman of the stem cell agency, said he expected to see CIRM benefit from the next bond sale in April. The agency currently has sufficient funds to operate until about June, plus an arrangement with the state for continued funding if a timely bond sale is not completed.

The $3 billion stem cell agency was created in 2004 through a ballot initiative that authorized its funding through the sale of state bonds over a 10-year period. The interest on the bonds raises the total cost of the agency to taxpayers to about $6 billion. Likewise, the cost of a $20 million grant is actually more like $40 million.

Financially beleaguered California's interest costs have sharply increased in recent years as the state has borrowed $53.8 billion from 2007 to 2010. This year, interest costs will come to about $5.4 billion, nearly 6 percent of the state budget. Nine years ago, it was $2.1 billion or 2.9 percent, according a piece by Randall Jensen (no relation to this writer) of the Bond Buyer newspaper.

The expense of borrowing shrinks the amount of state money available for public schools, helping the medically indigent and other state purposes.

Next Thursday's bond sale will go to refinance debt at lower rates. This year, Gov. Jerry Brown and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer plan to sell only $5.2 billion in general obligation bonds, roughly one-fourth of what the state issued in 2009.

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

Jason Bell

BONITA SPRINGS Jimmy and Jennifer Bell were scrambling to save their 5-year-old-son, Jason, last fall.

Shell-shocked with a diagnosis that their youngest child had primary pulmonary hypertension, a rare lung disorder, they decided to take a chance. If not, a heart-lung transplant would be their son's only chance.

They put their trust in a Southwest Florida cardiologist, Dr. Zannos Grekos, more than 1,000 miles from their Texas home. They learned Grekos performs an experimental stem cell therapy that possibly could help. That's despite a lack of clinical studies and scientific papers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved stem cell therapy despite a buzz of optimism of its potential for repairing damaged tissue.

"I was willing to do anything to give my son a fighting chance," said Jimmy Bell, 43, who owns a landscaping company in Keller, a suburb of Fort Worth. "When you are given no other option, you've got to try something."

The treatment would involve a trip to Bonita Springs where Grekos has his practice, Regenocyte; a trip to the Dominican Republic where the treatment would be done, and an up-front payment of $57,000.

"They looked at his medical records first. They didn't know if they could treat him," Bell said. "Once they agreed to treat him, I talked to Grekos. It was the greatest news in my life. I broke down. I just knew this was going to be the miracle to save his life."

* * * * *

The family wired the money in late October 2011 to a Regenocyte account in the Dominican Republic, according to a copy of the paid invoice furnished to the Daily News.

Read more here:
Texas family turned to Bonita stem cell doctor, but 5-year-old died before 'miracle'

Cardiac cellular therapies are undergoing global clinical trials with "encouraging early results" and these economical options will soon be available in India which could bring relief to patients who cannot afford the currently available expensive surgical treatments, says Indian American cardiac surgeon Dr Mukesh Hariawala.

Delivering a special invited plenary lecture on the "Novel Cellular Therapies for Heart Disease" at the recently concluded Healthcare India 2012 convention in New Delhi, the renowned cardiac surgeon asserted that the new developments in cardiac cellular therapies would bring down the alarming healthcare costs globally.

Dr Hariawala is internationally acclaimed as a pioneer of cardiovascular surgical techniques using Therapeutic Angiogenesis. He said Therapeutic Angiogenesis is a fast emerging science of stimulating growth of new blood vessels in the heart which acts as natural bypasses to areas lacking in blood supply.

Dr Hariawala demonstrated angiogenesis along with bypass surgery, lasers and stem cell injections as a novel "Combo Therapy."

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The laser energy acts by creating channels in the diseased heart muscle which also triggers Angiogenesis. Stem cells are then injected directly into coronary arteries feeding the diseased territory or in the stimulated lasered muscle during the open heart surgery. This option could be very helpful in Indian patients with diffused distal small caliber coronary arteries and diabetes, who are not amicable to routinely offered current interventions, he said.

Dr Hariawala acknowledged that only a combination of these four therapies could give it the "Therapeutic Threshold Power" and bring about optimum results and relief of patients symptoms. Standalone, each of these therapies is weak to treat a large muscular pumping organ like the heart.

Stem cells have a therapeutic role and hold enormous promise for the future as they are harvested from the patient's own tissues. Currently, adult stem cell extraction is done from one's own hip bone and patients do not have to worry about rejection phenomenon occurring as they are native cells unlike transplanted from another donor. In the future, stem cell banks could proliferate allowing donors to freeze and store cells for family members who could be treated for many diseases, he added.

Harvard-trained Dr Hariawala's studies have been published in several scientific surgical journals and medical text books.

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Angiogenesis and Stem Cell Therapy Key to Treating Heart Patients: Dr Mukesh Hariawala

Stem cell therapy is poised to become the next big thing in the treatment of major diseases. Even those extracted from dental pulp can be preserved for future use

Watching his five-year-old pull at his loose tooth, dad Shekar remembered something he had read in a dental clinic. Stem cells from teeth, called dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) could be preserved and retrieved to treat his son if he had a major ailment in future. Stemade, a private company, would arrange to collect DPSCs through its Smile Clinics and store them in state-of-the-art labs in several cities across the country. His thought: Stem cell technology is the next big step in medical treatment. Banking SCs is medical bio-insurance for his kid.

Stem cell therapy didn't jump out of a box yesterday. We've heard of it being used in treating leukaemia. Patients with spinal cord injury have spent huge sums on it hoping to get up and walk. Some ask: If a house lizard can grow back its tail, why can't we get our systems to re-start with a million multiplying stem cells?

Kinds of cells

The best cells for banking are embryonic cells which are programmed to develop and grow. But harvesting these is banned. Ethical issues, you know. Adult SCs beyond the embryonic stage are classified as haematopoietic (from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow) and mesenchymal (tissues and organs). While haematopoietic cells are used in the treatment of blood-related diseases such as haemophilia, blood cancer and skin troubles, tissue cells are tried on all problems other than these. HSCs are collected only from the umbilical cord and bone marrow. Tissue cells are taken from many body sources such as bone marrow, placenta, menstrual blood, cornea, outer layer of the heart, liposuction waste and teeth pulp.

Among these DPSCs are perhaps the best option, says Shailesh Gadre, MD, Stemade Biotech. We all lose our milk teeth and cell extraction here is almost painless. As for the permanent teeth, we can harvest the pulp when people have to lose them for orthodontic (cosmetic) reasons, as when braces are fixed or teeth are extracted because of poor positioning. Of course, they need to be free of caries and other dental infections.

But as we age, our cells age too, so DPSCs are best extracted and preserved when we're very young, when the cells are virile and robust. DPSCs have extraordinary doubling properties that give them a huge advantage over other stem cells, says Dr. Julian Deepak, Medical Advisor, Stemade. They are derived from the same source as nerve cells, with the same capacity as neuron cells, making them a better option for treating Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and muscular dystrophy. Work is on to see their effectiveness in curing diabetes.

Back to the kid's tooth. After the dad's call, a dentist from Stemade will check if Milan's tooth is free of disease. At a Smile Clinic he will extract it and take a blood sample. The dentist will then place the tooth in a specially-designed vial of antibiotic solution. The vial will be packed in ice-gel to keep the temperature low during transport. At their lab (which I visited) in suburban Chennai, a visual inspection is done, the tooth is flooded with anti-bacterial solution and broken open. The pulp is extracted, divided into parts for quality control and sterility (aerobic/anaerobic) tests. The processing is done in zero-contamination conditions and the cells are put in 5 different vials and placed in the vapour phase of liquid nitrogen for cryo-preservation. It is complete, patented technology. The cells are stored in raw format and can be retrieved when needed. Shekar gets a certificate and a CR Management number which will be part of his son's medical records.

These are your own (autologous) cells and will need no matching should you need them for treatment of tissue-and-organ-related diseases such as spinal cord/bone/liver/cartilage regeneration, diabetes, eye-care, etc., says Shailesh. Adds Dr. Julian, Now for most diseases we just do maintenance therapy. With their regenerative property, stem cells will cure diseases in the future.

Fine, but for a few details. One, is the banking fee? Yes, you have to pay for the banking facility, but we can help you with EMIs, says Shailesh. Subsidies are given to the poor as part of CSR. We want to reach as many households as possible. Others are the right to will it and fool-proof identification of the cells. We may store DPSCs at six and may need them at sixty.

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It's not pulp fiction

Pat receive a life altering Stem Cell Treatment with the help of World Stem Cells, LLC. Pat went from couch bound to walking 1.5 miles on country dirt road, climbing stairs, gardening and playing piano all thanks to a stem cell treatment.

(PRWEB) March 03, 2012

Pats neurological disorder is hereditary, and the official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is that CMT has no cure. Decades ago, Pat had gone to a neurologist for electromyography, or EMG. The purpose of the procedure was to evaluate her muscle function, and it involved painful needles and days of muscle soreness after each session. Pats neurologist had refused to tell her the results because he said that she would just give up if she knew how bad they were. At this point, Pats symptoms were so crippling and unbearable that she contacted World Stem Cells, LLC worldstemcells.com to explore stem cell treatment as an option. She knew that the procedures were still being developed and experimental, and that they came with no guarantees. She remained interested in learning more and becoming educated on the options presented. At the time, she was unable to walk without a four-leg quad cane, and air and car travel were exhausting and caused unbearable pain. Pat has a long history of surgeries and was told that further surgeries would not assist her. She decided that she was not interested in any treatment that involved surgery with incisions, which is an aggressive approach and would demand recovery time. Stem cell therapy met her requirements of being minimally uncomfortable, requiring only hours for recovery and having a high level of safety, along with a good potential for changing her health quotient for the better.

Pat arrived in Cancun, Mexico, to the treatment site of World Stem Cells, LLC contract clinics, doctors, and hospitals. The first day, she met with physicians to be evaluated, discuss her course of treatment and learn what to expect. She had been corresponding with Dr. Alan Kadish, the President of World Stem Cells, LLC. worldstemcells.com

Dr. Kadish is an unusual physician as he has training and practiced integrated primary care medicine combining conventional and naturopathic diagnostics and therapeutics for 27 years. He has been recognized as one of the leading quality physicians, in his field. Dr. Kadish is an American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine diplomat and completed numerous training programs in Achieving Clinical Excellence, or ACE, which provided opportunities to improve his practical skills in diagnosing and treating people based on their individual needs, using functional medical testing and treatment. He has been an advanced level practitioner (Autistic Research Institute) for autistic spectral disorder children and adults, since early 2000 and is certified in chelation therapy. As a naturopathic medical physician he lecturers frequently and is a host and guest on radio and internet outlets along with appearing in a number of print media publications. At World Stem Cells , LLC in addition to his management duties, he is a primary investigator engaged in research and designs of stem cell therapeutic protocols.

In Cancun, Pat met with specialists at Advanced Cellular Medicine Clinic. The clinic is headed by Dr. Sylvia Abblitt, who has the exclusive distinction of being among the few physicians who are licensed to perform autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants in Mexico. Dr. Abblitt is a board-certified hematologist and oncologist. She has 11 years of expertise as a laboratory director and head of the hematology department at the Fernando Quiroz Hospital. She is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks and the International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS). The Cancun clinic that Pat visited is a contract clinic of World Stem Cells, LLC. It houses the state-of-the-art Advanced Cellular Engineering Lab. The high-tech lab is suited for providing patients with the most up to date stem cell treatments and for conducting stem cell research to improve future opportunities for health.

After her evaluation and discussion of treatment options, Pat decided to go ahead with the stem cell therapy. The procedure involved a needle puncture to harvest her bone marrow utilizing her own stem cells. Only a local anesthesia was necessary and though she described the procedure as uncomfortable, she added that it was livable. The procedure took less than half an hour, and she experienced no side effects.

Pats improvement was remarkable and rapid. In fact, she did not feel fatigued and overwhelmed with pain, as she had in the past, when she traveled back home from Cancun by airplane and car. Within days, she had regained her ability to play piano. Playing at church concerts had always been a passion of hers, but she had been unable to play before her stem cell treatment because of a lack of coordination. She had much more energy after treatment, and was able to garden, run errands and work, without feeling exhausted. Her sleep was more restful. Her husband and friends noticed that her agility and balance were better. She could climb up and down stairs more easily and walk around the house without clutching the walls. Her speed on the treadmill was increasing gradually and she now walks a mile and a half on country roads.

Pat is extremely grateful to World Stem Cells, LLC for changing her life and giving her hope. For the first time, she has reversed many of the negative changes that she had been experiencing for years due to her CMT and lack of effective treatment. Now, Pat and her husband are experiencing a bright future and thankful that Pat was given this second opportunity, following stem cell therapy. worldstemcells.com.

###

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Pat was Diagnosed with “CMT” Disease and was Given a Second Chance with a Stem Cell Treatment

28-02-2012 12:11 Joyce Evans shows us a type of therapy that some athletes swear by. Using stem cells to heal sports and tissue related injuries. Fox 29, WTXF Reports.

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Stem Cell Therapy With Wraps - Video

20-12-2011 08:50 If you would like more information please call us Toll Free at 877-578-7908. Or visit our website at http://www.usastemcells.com Or click here to have a Free Phone Constultation with Dr. Matthew Burks usastemcells.com Real patient testimonials for USA Stem Cells. Adult stem cell therapy for COPD, Emphysema, and Pulmonary fibrosis.

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Adult Stem Cell Treatments for COPD - Real patient results, USA Stem Cells - Marian H. Testimonial - Video

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Nuffield Council on Bioethics, which examines ethical issues raised by new developments in biology and medicine, launched a consultation on Thursday on the ethics of new technologies and devices that intervene in the human brain.

The three main areas of the group's focus are brain-computer interfaces, neurostimulation and neural stem cell therapy.

Here are some details about each area of research and how it is being explored.

* Brain computer interfaces (BCIs)

BCIs measure and analyse a person's brain signals and convert them into an output such as movement.

A paralysed person, for example, could use a BCI to operate a wheelchair, or someone who has extreme difficulty speaking could use a BCI to communicate via a computer voice.

These sorts of applications have been shown to be successful in a few reported cases, but the technology has not yet been developed for regular clinical use and there are questions over whether these technologies are reliable enough for use in everyday life.

Military applications, such as remote control of vehicles and machinery are not yet in wide use but are being researched and tested, mainly in the United States.

Some commercial BCI developments are already on the market in the gaming sector. Gamers can buy a wireless headset that aims to replace a joystick by controlling game play through brain signals.

The use of BCIs sometimes require surgery to implant electrodes into a person's brain, although the most successful current developments are less invasive ones That detect brain signals from the scalp.

Originally posted here:
Factbox - Neurotechnologies in spotlight of UK ethics review

SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Nuvilex, Inc. (OTCQB:NVLX), an emerging biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions, announced today Goldman Small Cap Research has reissued its buy recommendation on Nuvilex with a short term price target of $0.50 per share.

According to the research report prepared by Goldman, The current share price represents but a fraction of its true value, in our view. With recently increased interest and valuation in the pancreatic cancer treatment arena, we believe that Nuvilex is worth $0.20 just on the oncology therapies alone and that the shares will reach $0.50 in the next six months. Looking ahead, as milestone events occur, $1.00 per share is within reach over the next 12-18 months.

Goldman bases this value projection, in part, on the pending acquisition of SG Austria assets, and with it complete control over the cell encapsulation technology that forms the backbone of Nuvilexs planned biotechnology development. The report states in part the following:

Following execution of the SG Austria asset acquisition, we expect to see a flurry of events and progress on the development side which will serve as catalysts, including when management submits its protocol for the next stage pancreatic cancer trial. We would not be surprised to see the stock break through the $0.50 price on such news as well as progress on the next stage of trials for other therapies.

One reason we are so convinced of the great buying opportunity is the fact that pancreatic cancer treatments are currently at the forefront of the biotech space and are enjoying very high valuations. Although Nuvilex is a not a drug producer, but an existing therapy enhancer through the use of its live cell encapsulation enhancement platform, the timing of these milestone events could not be better for Nuvilex and a re-valuation of its offering.

The Goldman report also compares alternative oncology therapies, including Gemzar from Threshold Pharmaceuticals and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals drug encapsulation technology, noting that, contrary to these treatments, the Nuvilex live-cell encapsulation technology is not limited to one specific use, but can be adapted to use for a host of cell types. The report states, Its difficult to compare apples-to-apples in this space as Nuvilex is the only firm utilizing live-cell encapsulation therapy for cancer, while all the other treatments are based upon a particular drug usage. Contrasting the results of different Phase II clinical trials, the Goldman report comments that the pancreatic cancer therapy, based on completed Phase 1/2 data, appears to have yielded statistically greater results than competing technologies.

Commenting on The Goldman Report, Nuvilex Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Robert Ryan, stated, The report did an excellent job highlighting the value and capabilities of our cell encapsulation technology, not just for cancer therapy, but also for the vast array of treatments where live-cell encapsulation can aid multiple diseases. In the case of the completed cancer trials, it generated superior results with lower drug dosages, and reduced chemotherapeutic side effects. As we move forward with diabetes and stem cell therapy treatments, we are confident our success will, as Goldman predicts prompt leaders in multiple treatment segments to partner with Nuvilex in order to maintain their respective market shares.

Investors are recommended to study the Goldman Research Report for a detailed review and valuation methodology regarding Nuvilex.

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The $3 billion California stem cell agency, which is facing its possible demise in five years, is exploring an afterlife that dips into "venture philanthropy" on a national level as well as investment ties with Big Pharma.

The Golden State's unprecedented research program laid out those possibilities in a "transition plan" sent this week to Gov. Jerry Brown and the state legislature. The plan was required under a law passed two years ago. The agency's future direction was also aired at a meeting last month in Los Angeles.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM) will run out of funds for new grants in 2017. Its only real source of funding is cash that the state borrows (bonds). CIRM says that only $864 million remains for new research awards, and some of its recent grant rounds exceed $200 million. The current position of the agency is that it is "premature" to consider asking voters in financially strapped California to approve another multi-billion dollar bond measure.

The venture philanthropy effort involves creation of a nonprofit organization. CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas said in January that he is "test-driving (the proposal) with some high net worth donors we know to be interested in the stem cell space." Thomas was addressing the Citizens Financial Accountability and Oversight Committee, the only state entity specified charged with overseeing the agency and its directors. He said,

"We're busily putting together in conjunction with a national organization called the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine the plans for a nonprofit venture philanthropy fund."

He said it would "would accept applications for awards from researchers and companies all over the country, not just those funded by CIRM, but those funded by NIH or the New York Stem Cell Foundation or the state of Maryland or whatever."

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine is an industry-dominated lobbying group, based in Washington, D.C.  The group's executive director and co-founder is Michael Werner, a longtime pharma and health industry lobbyist, who is also a partner in the influential Washington law firm of Holland and Knight.

The "biopharma investment fund" proposed by CIRM is less well developed. CIRM said it plans to explore opportunities with companies to fund stem cell research in California. The transition document uses as an example an $85 million deal between Pfizer and UC San Francisco, which gives the company special access to biomedical research.

The transition plan also touches on other issues such as winding down grants after its new grant money runs out, along with protecting intellectual property.

The plan could be considered a marketing tool for the agency's afterlife efforts. The document devotes a good portion of its nine pages to recounting the history of CIRM and touting its accomplishments.

Thomas used the occasion of the submission of the plan as a springboard for a piece yesterday on the CIRM research blog.He concluded his item by quoting from the plan itself. CIRM's achievements during the past seven years, he wrote, "will allow California to continue world (stem cell) leadership in the coming decades."

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

With the $700,000 Institute of Medicine inquiry into the performance of the California stem cell agency half complete – at least publicly – the blue-ribbon panel seems to be coming up short on comments from outside of the agency itself.

The major public effort by the IOM to secure comments is the passive posting of forms to be filled out on the IOM web site.

How many responses has the IOM received on those forms? The IOM has not disclosed that information despite two inquiries earlier this month by the California Stem Cell Report.

The prestigious institute is undertaking the study of $3 billion agency under contract with CIRM, which is paying the IOM $700,000. Some CIRM directors have expressed hope that the IOM findings will help build support for another multi-billion dollar state bond measure to renew financing for CIRM. It is scheduled to run out of money for new grants in five years.

So far, the IOM panel has held two public meetings, one in Washington, D.C., and one in the San Francisco area. The final California hearing is scheduled for April 10 in Irvine with the last public meetings scheduled for later this year in Washington.

So far, the panel has heard only from CIRM employees or directors as well as researchers who have received tens of millions of dollars in CIRM grants. The IOM has not heard publicly from a single independent witness.

The IOM has posted on its web site forms seeking comments from the public, grant recipients, beneficiary institutions and businesses. However, passive postings of forms are unlikely to generate more than a relative handful of responses. To produce significant numbers requires aggressive and targeted follow-up.

It is also unclear exactly what the IOM is doing to seek information from biotech businesses and unsuccessful grant applicants. Some businesses have complained publicly about the tiny share of funding that industry has received. And some CIRM directors have expressed concern for several years about the inadequacies of business funding.

On Feb. 12, the California Stem Cell Report queried the IOM about its efforts at outreach, asking for specifics on what is being done. Christine Stencel, a spokeswoman for the IOM, replied,

"The IOM has been obtaining and compiling lists of organizations and people to circulate the questionnaires as widely as possible among target groups. For example, IOM has sent a notice to some 300 stakeholder groups encouraging participation."

Other specifics were not forthcoming. (The full text of the questions and responses can be found here.)

On Feb. 15, the California Stem Cell Report followed up with these additional questions,

"Regarding the 300 stakeholder groups, how are those defined? Please give me a few examples.

"Based on your response, is it correct to say that the IOM is not sending out questionnaires directly to all CIRM grant applicants, including those who were rejected?

"Is it correct to say that no special effort -- other than that described in your response -- is being made to seek responses from stem cell businesses?

"The failure to provide numbers on the responses so far would indicate that the numbers are so small that the IOM is choosing not to disclose them. If that is not the case, please email me the numbers."

As of this writing, the IOM has not responded to those questions. We will carry its response verbatim when we receive it.

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

Here is the text of the questions submitted Feb. 12 by the California Stem Cell Report to the Institute of Medicine concerning its attempts to secure comments on the operation of the $3 billion California stem cell agency along with the IOM response.

The response from Christine Stencel, a spokeswoman for the IOM, follows these questions from the California Stem Cell Report.

"I will be writing a piece on Wednesday dealing with the online surveys that IOM has posted. For that piece, please tell me very, very  specifically what the IOM is doing to generate responses. For example, is the IOM buying ads in newspapers or online, asking the public to fill out the forms? Is it hiring a polling firm to call households for responses?  Also please tell me exactly what is being done to generate responses on all the other surveys that have been posted.

"Additionally, please tell me how many responses that the IOM has received so far in each category on the survey forms for CIRM grantees, industry partners and leadership. Thank you."

The IOM response on Feb. 15:

"The IOM has been obtaining and compiling lists of organizations and people to circulate the questionnaires as widely as possible among target groups. For example, IOM has sent a notice to some 300 stakeholder groups encouraging participation. We do not have the resources to hire a polling firm or place ads.

"The purpose of these questionnaires is to extend the committee's information gathering beyond in-person meetings and the standard listing of an email address or phone number for the study on the project website. Not all people who might have useful experiences or perspectives on CIRM may be able to attend the in-person meetings and not all may visit the project website and find the study contact information. This is a proactive effort to reach more people.

"Anyone who knows of individuals or organizations with information on CIRM that would be useful for the committee's knowledge can share the links to the questionnaires with them. This will help spread the word and get the committee insights they need.

"I don't have information on the number of responses so far. Ultimately, as noted at the top of each survey, the responses will be aggregated and de-identified and placed in the public access file in addition to being shared with the committee.

"I trust this will be useful for your readers."

The California Stem Cell Report then asked the following questions on Feb. 15.

"Thank you for your response. A few follow-up questions:
Regarding the 300 stakeholder groups, how are those defined? Please give me a few examples.

"Based on your response, is it correct to say that the IOM is not sending out questionnaires directly to all CIRM grant applicants, including those who were rejected?

"Is it correct to say that no special effort -- other than that described in your response -- is being made to seek responses from stem cell businesses?

"The failure to provide numbers on the responses so far would indicate that the numbers are so small that the IOM is choosing not to disclose them. If that is not the case, please email me the numbers. Thank you."

The IOM had not responded to the follow-up questions as of this writing on Feb. 21.

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

With the $700,000 Institute of Medicine inquiry into the performance of the California stem cell agency half complete – at least publicly – the blue-ribbon panel seems to be coming up short on comments from outside of the agency itself.

The major public effort by the IOM to secure comments is the passive posting of forms to be filled out on the IOM web site.

How many responses has the IOM received on those forms? The IOM has not disclosed that information despite two inquiries earlier this month by the California Stem Cell Report.

The prestigious institute is undertaking the study of $3 billion agency under contract with CIRM, which is paying the IOM $700,000. Some CIRM directors have expressed hope that the IOM findings will help build support for another multi-billion dollar state bond measure to renew financing for CIRM. It is scheduled to run out of money for new grants in five years.

So far, the IOM panel has held two public meetings, one in Washington, D.C., and one in the San Francisco area. The final California hearing is scheduled for April 10 in Irvine with the last public meetings scheduled for later this year in Washington.

So far, the panel has heard only from CIRM employees or directors as well as researchers who have received tens of millions of dollars in CIRM grants. The IOM has not heard publicly from a single independent witness.

The IOM has posted on its web site forms seeking comments from the public, grant recipients, beneficiary institutions and businesses. However, passive postings of forms are unlikely to generate more than a relative handful of responses. To produce significant numbers requires aggressive and targeted follow-up.

It is also unclear exactly what the IOM is doing to seek information from biotech businesses and unsuccessful grant applicants. Some businesses have complained publicly about the tiny share of funding that industry has received. And some CIRM directors have expressed concern for several years about the inadequacies of business funding.

On Feb. 12, the California Stem Cell Report queried the IOM about its efforts at outreach, asking for specifics on what is being done. Christine Stencel, a spokeswoman for the IOM, replied,

"The IOM has been obtaining and compiling lists of organizations and people to circulate the questionnaires as widely as possible among target groups. For example, IOM has sent a notice to some 300 stakeholder groups encouraging participation."

Other specifics were not forthcoming. (The full text of the questions and responses can be found here.)

On Feb. 15, the California Stem Cell Report followed up with these additional questions,

"Regarding the 300 stakeholder groups, how are those defined? Please give me a few examples.

"Based on your response, is it correct to say that the IOM is not sending out questionnaires directly to all CIRM grant applicants, including those who were rejected?

"Is it correct to say that no special effort -- other than that described in your response -- is being made to seek responses from stem cell businesses?

"The failure to provide numbers on the responses so far would indicate that the numbers are so small that the IOM is choosing not to disclose them. If that is not the case, please email me the numbers."

As of this writing, the IOM has not responded to those questions. We will carry its response verbatim when we receive it.

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

The $3 billion California stem cell agency, which is facing its possible demise in five years, is exploring an afterlife that dips into "venture philanthropy" on a national level as well as investment ties with Big Pharma.

The Golden State's unprecedented research program laid out those possibilities in a "transition plan" sent this week to Gov. Jerry Brown and the state legislature. The plan was required under a law passed two years ago. The agency's future direction was also aired at a meeting last month in Los Angeles.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM) will run out of funds for new grants in 2017. Its only real source of funding is cash that the state borrows (bonds). CIRM says that only $864 million remains for new research awards, and some of its recent grant rounds exceed $200 million. The current position of the agency is that it is "premature" to consider asking voters in financially strapped California to approve another multi-billion dollar bond measure.

The venture philanthropy effort involves creation of a nonprofit organization. CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas said in January that he is "test-driving (the proposal) with some high net worth donors we know to be interested in the stem cell space." Thomas was addressing the Citizens Financial Accountability and Oversight Committee, the only state entity specified charged with overseeing the agency and its directors. He said,

"We're busily putting together in conjunction with a national organization called the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine the plans for a nonprofit venture philanthropy fund."

He said it would "would accept applications for awards from researchers and companies all over the country, not just those funded by CIRM, but those funded by NIH or the New York Stem Cell Foundation or the state of Maryland or whatever."

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine is an industry-dominated lobbying group, based in Washington, D.C.  The group's executive director and co-founder is Michael Werner, a longtime pharma and health industry lobbyist, who is also a partner in the influential Washington law firm of Holland and Knight.

The "biopharma investment fund" proposed by CIRM is less well developed. CIRM said it plans to explore opportunities with companies to fund stem cell research in California. The transition document uses as an example an $85 million deal between Pfizer and UC San Francisco, which gives the company special access to biomedical research.

The transition plan also touches on other issues such as winding down grants after its new grant money runs out, along with protecting intellectual property.

The plan could be considered a marketing tool for the agency's afterlife efforts. The document devotes a good portion of its nine pages to recounting the history of CIRM and touting its accomplishments.

Thomas used the occasion of the submission of the plan as a springboard for a piece yesterday on the CIRM research blog.He concluded his item by quoting from the plan itself. CIRM's achievements during the past seven years, he wrote, "will allow California to continue world (stem cell) leadership in the coming decades."

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