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Source: Research by Tim Friend and Dan Vergano, USA TODAY By Frank Pompa and Julie Snider, USA TODAY

Although the general public considers stem cell therapy an innovative, cutting-edge treatment, the fact is that this kind of therapy already has a lengthy history. In the past, however, stem cells were difficult and very expensive to obtain. Luckily, the advent of improved equipment and techniques has meant that stem cells can now be acquired through a simple procedure.

Stem cells can be characterized as the bodys repairmen. The most common type is the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC-CD 34+). The old thinking was that the hematopoietic stem cells were not that important. We now know that these are the cells that are the true drivers of tissue regeneration. The good news about these cells is that their numbers do not diminish with age. The other type of stem cell associated with tissue healing is the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC), which usually travels to injured areas of the body via the bloodstream. The mesenchymal stem cell is still a very important stem cell but not as important as it once was. It prepares the area for the other stem cells to do their work.

If the area in question has an insufficient blood supply, this is termed an area of hypoxia, otherwise known as low oxygen content. Hypoxia areas can include the rotator cuff, the joints, meniscus tissue, and other spots with tendon injuries. Typically, these areas are unable to heal properly without help, as the body does not send enough repair cells to the afflicted areas. The inadequate supply of blood in these areas means that the body fails to sense the injury. Fortunately, we are generally able to treat the area, if the injury isnt severe, with platelet-rich plasma. This works by effectively mimicking a blood supply, allowing the platelets to sense the injury and release growth factors, which then prompt the body to send various stem cells to the area.

Stem cells are gathered by aspirating (removing through suction) bone marrow from the back of a patients pelvis. This bloody substance is removed from the patients pelvis with a tiny needle. Since the patient is given a local anesthetic, only minimal discomfort results from the procedure.

In most cases, 2 oz. (60 cc) of bone marrow aspirate is required. The aspirate includes platelets, mesenchymal stem cells, and other kinds of stem cells used in adult stem cell therapy. After aspiration, the bone marrow is placed inside a special container, which in turn is placed into a machine known as a centrifuge. The centrifuge spins the material at a high rate of speed, and this process separates the platelets and stem cells from the remainder of the blood products. It is this concentration of bone marrowcalled BMAC, or bone marrow aspiration concentratethat is reintroduced to the injured area during stem cell therapy.

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Stem Cell Therapy | South Florida Orthopedic Surgery

Ten years ago today the lives of a Fulton county family were changed forever. Nathaniel Albring nearly drowned in the family pool. His parents were told he might not make it through the night. But he did make it. Now his parents are hoping the same treatment that helped hockey legend Gordie Howe can help their son.

Nathaniel was just approved for stem cell treatment but the family will have to travel nearly five thousand miles to get that treatment. That's because the FDA still considers it an experimental treatment. They're heading to Moscow next month but they need help getting there.

The treatment alone will cost tens of thousands of dollars and none of the cost is covered by insurance. Jeff Albring is Nathaniel's dad,"There's no guarantee as to what it will do but we are hoping to get some part of our son back that we lost."

Two year old Nathaniel was pulled from the family pool that June day in 2005 not breathing. His mother Jill found him,"It's been quite a journey. we try not to look too far ahead."

Nathaniel suffered a traumatic brain injury. He can't speak or voluntarily move his arms or legs. Jill says with the help of three other sons as well as caregivers and therapists they work to do what is best for Nathaniel every day, "Hopefully the stem cells will help him rejuvenate his brain tissue so he can lead a more productive life. The treatment is all we have left to do to help him."

Jeff says they will travel to Moscow next month and he will undergo a two day treatment with a Russian neurologist, "The first night he will have stem cells injected in his spinal fluid and then he will stay overnight for observation. The next day he will have IV fusion meaning the rest of the stem cells will be in an IV drip."

The treatment will cost about $40,000, the travel expenses including flights, hotel, and passports another $10,000, "It's overwhelming because that is a lot of money to raise to get this accomplished. Our emotions are very different. Jeff is excited. His bags are packed. I am overwhelmed with all the other stuff like the money and traveling so far with a special needs child."

Even with those worries, the Albrings say they know they are doing the right thing for their son, "As parents you have to fight for your kids. You can't give up even when others have given up. We've decided to go for it and hope for the best."

There are several ways you can help the Albring family. There will be a spaghetti diner at Little Flower Catholic Church on Dorr Street in Toledo, Sunday June 28th. It runs from 3-8 pm. There will be auctions and raffles as well as dinner.

The family has also set up Go Fund Me and You Caring sites for donations.

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Local boy will travel to Russia for stem cell treatment

There is currently only one scientifically-demonstrated & confirmed treatment for Multiple Sclerosis with enduring curative efficacy:HematopoieticStem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). This is not a new medical procedure; it has been performed millions of times all around the world since the 1960s for treatment of cancer(now approximately 50,000 times per year)and has been used successfully to cure several types ofhematologically-rooted autoimmune disorders since the early 1990s (such as MS,scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, CIDP and others). It involves chemotherapy so the treatment is both uncomfortable and expensive (most medical insurance will not yet cover it for treatment of an autoimmune disorder until the phase III clinical trial is completed).

It is not an impossible procedure to endure, as many people do it and make it through just fine. But this procedure is currently the ONLY treatment that has been scientifically verified to stop the underlying MS disease process, restore normal immune self-tolerance and produce lasting curative symptomatic improvement for the majority of MS patients, as it has for me and others. And definitely worth mentioning. . . . probably one of the biggest intangible benefits to stopping the MS disease progression is that this treatment restores a degree of certainty to the future of a persons life that MS often robs us of.

How & why doesHSCTcure multiple sclerosis?

As a curative treatmentHSCTworks by partially or completely erasing the bodys immune system memory. This effects a beneficial change of the bodys overall B- and T-lymphocyteepitope(antigen binding)repertoire, inactivating autoimmunity (making the bodys immune cells antigen naive) which results in restoration of immune self tolerance. This is often referred to as resetting the immune system which stops the underlying MS disease activity & progression. Onceachieved, the body then has a chance to repair (or compensate for) existing neural damage that is not undermined by further MS disease progression, often resulting in substantial and lasting symptomatic improvement.

The interesting fact here is that it is the chemotherapy which is effecting the curative aspect of the treatment by wiping out long-lived T- and B-lymphocytes of the body that carry the faultyautoreactivememory so they may be replaced by naive,unprogrammedand self-tolerant non-autoreactivelymphocytes generated by the bone marrow.The takeaway concept here is no chemotherapy = no cure. This is why simply injecting stem cells into the body does not render the bodys immune system self-tolerant as is required to stop the underlying MS disease activity.

STEPS:

Mobilization

For approximately four days (twice a day), I will be given injections to stimulate my stem cell growth. The process of causing greater numbers of stem cells to be present in the blood stream in order for collection,is known asmobilization.The most common side effect of the mobilization process is mild-to-moderate bone pain or fever, which can often be controlled with Tylenol.

Apheresis (Collection of Stem Cells)

Apheresis isnormally apainless procedure, however, back and hip pain have been reported. The collection of stem cells takes approximatelytwo tofour hoursfor the procedure. My blood will be withdrawn through a catheter and circulated through a cell-separating machine. This machine separates and collects white blood cells, including the stem cells, along with a few red blood cells and platelets. The remaining blood cells will be returned tomy body. There is only a small amount (several cups) of your blood in the separator machine at any one time. Your blood is returned to you at the same rate it is removed. After the cells are collected, they are frozen and stored under special conditions until they are needed for my transplant.

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Stem Cell Transplants | From Russia with Lisa...

I am often asked: What kind of medical doctor are you, or what is your specialty? And, what kinds of conditions do you treat? How is it possible that this type of medicine can treat a variety of symptoms and conditions so vast and diverse as to include diabetes, psychiatric problems, angina, headaches, pain, digestive dysfunction, immunosuppressive disorders, arthritis, thyroid and hormonal conditions, fatigue, autism, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the list goes on and on. And how does it differ from the traditional medical approach?

This kind of medicine we do in this office is referred to by so many different names, each representing a slightly different aspect of the work:

My preference is probably the last, functional, which reflects the fact that this approach has at its core a goal of eliminating poor function and establishing, creating, or allowing good or even excellent function; both diagnosis and treatment are guided by this philosophy. A most wonderful and lucid explanation of this approach was offered by Sidney MacDonald Baker, M.D., grand master of functional medicine, in his book Detoxification and Healing: The Key to Optimal Health. It is excerpted here by gracious permission of the author: In explaining to my patients how I go about the detective work involved in unraveling their problems, I sometimes recite the "Tacks Rules to make my point.

Lets look at the first rule. You could substitute the word aspirin with psychotherapy, meditation, organic foods, or vitamins and the rule still applies: the proper treatment for tack sitting is tack removal. Get at the root of the matter and fix it. In particular, dont take medicine to cover up a symptom instead of looking for the cause. Chronic illness has two common causes, one of which is illustrated by the first rule: the body may be irritated by an unwanted substance. If not a tack, it could be a disagreeable substance such as a food that causes an allergy; it could be a germ or a naturally occurring or manufactured toxin. The presence of some unwanted substance is a common root of illness.

The second rule helps explain what I mean by a root. Becoming chronically ill usually results from a combination of factors. It is unrealistic to think in terms of a single cause when several factors inevitably contribute to a problem. It is especially unrealistic to recommend a single treatment to remedy a complex chronic illness when several factors deserve attention. The factors may have to do with the presence of an unwanted substance or the lack of a needed substance.

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A Better Alternative Medical Center in NJ | Integrative ...

The immune system, which is made up of special cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, defends people against germs and microorganisms every day. In most cases, the immune system does a great job of keeping people healthy and preventing infections. But sometimes problems with the immune system can lead to illness and infection.

The immune system is the body's defense against infectious organisms and other invaders. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system attacks organisms and substances that invade body systems and cause disease.

The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body. The cells involved are white blood cells, or leukocytes, which come in two basic types that combine to seek out and destroy disease-causing organisms or substances.

Leukocytes are produced or stored in many locations in the body, including the thymus, spleen, and bone marrow. For this reason, they're called the lymphoid organs. There are also clumps of lymphoid tissue throughout the body, primarily as lymph nodes, that house the leukocytes.

The leukocytes circulate through the body between the organs and nodes via lymphatic vessels and blood vessels. In this way, the immune system works in a coordinated manner to monitor the body for germs or substances that might cause problems.

The two basic types of leukocytes are:

A number of different cells are considered phagocytes. The most common type is the neutrophil, which primarily fights bacteria. If doctors are worried about a bacterial infection, they might order a blood test to see if a patient has an increased number of neutrophils triggered by the infection. Other types of phagocytes have their own jobs to make sure that the body responds appropriately to a specific type of invader.

The two kinds of lymphocytes are B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes. Lymphocytes start out in the bone marrow and either stay there and mature into B cells, or they leave for the thymus gland, where they mature into T cells. B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes have separate functions: B lymphocytes are like the body's military intelligence system, seeking out their targets and sending defenses to lock onto them. T cells are like the soldiers, destroying the invaders that the intelligence system has identified.

Here's how it works:

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Immune System - KidsHealth

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 September 30; 105(39): 1503415039.

Medical Sciences

*Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute and

Program in Computational Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109;

BioMaPS Institute for Quantitative Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901;

Departments of Therapeutic Radiology, Genetics, and Dermatology and Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520; and

Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Edited by Stanley M. Gartler, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and approved July 24, 2008

Author contributions: D.L.C., J.T.E., D.E.B., C.C.M., and E.G.L. designed research; D.L.C. and D.E.B. performed research; D.L.C. and J.T.E. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; D.L.C. and E.G.L. analyzed data; and D.L.C., D.E.B., C.C.M., and E.G.L. wrote the paper.

Clonal expansion of premalignant lesions is an important step in the progression to cancer. This process is commonly considered to be a consequence of sustaining a proliferative mutation. Here, we investigate whether the growth trajectory of clones can be better described by a model in which clone growth does not depend on a proliferative advantage. We developed a simple computer model of clonal expansion in an epithelium in which mutant clones can only colonize space left unoccupied by the death of adjacent normal stem cells. In this model, competition for space occurs along the frontier between mutant and normal territories, and both the shapes and the growth rates of lesions are governed by the differences between mutant and normal cells' replication or apoptosis rates. The behavior of this model of clonal expansion along a mutant clone's frontier, when apoptosis of both normal and mutant cells is included, matches the growth of UVB-induced p53-mutant clones in mouse dorsal epidermis better than a standard exponential growth model that does not include tissue architecture. The model predicts precancer cell mutation and death rates that agree with biological observations. These results support the hypothesis that clonal expansion of premalignant lesions can be driven by agents, such as ionizing or nonionizing radiation, that cause cell killing but do not directly stimulate cell replication.

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Preneoplastic lesion growth driven by the death of ...

In this article, we will look at why the Orthodox Church has taken such a stand, how the Church has always stood uncompromisingly for the personhood of the human embryo, and what moral alternatives exist for stem cell research.

Destructive Embryonic Stem Cell Research

By Father Mark Hodges

THE STEM CELL DEBATE IS about the value of human life at its beginning. Stem cells are blank cells which can become all 210 different kinds of human tissue. Researchers hope that someday these cells could provide cures for all kinds of serious diseases, even repairing vital organs. We have stem cells throughout our bodies, but they are most abundant in human embryos. Retrieving embryonic stem cells, however, requires killing those human beings. A raging debate is going on in our nation now, over whether or not taxes should support killing human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells for experimentation.

Many influential groups have taken sides in the debate. You can guess where the pro-abortion groups stand. Drug and research companies also defend destructive embryonic stem cell research. Pro-life groups, of course, are against it. The Vatican condemned research using human embryos as gravely immoral, because removing cells kills an unborn child. U.S. Senator Sam Brownback debated on the floor of the senate: For the first time in our history, it is accept-able for medical researchers to kill one human being to help save another. Ultimately, what lies at the heart of this debate is our view of the human embryo. The central question in this debate is simple: Is the human embryo a person or a piece of property? If unborn persons are living beings, they have dignity and worth, and they deserve protection under the law from harm and destruction. If, however, unborn per-sons are a piece of property, then they can be destroyed with the con-sent of their owner.

The one, holy, catholic and apostolic Orthodox Church has spoken, too. The position of the Orthodox Church on embryonic stem cell research is, In light of the fact that Orthodox Christianity accepts the fact that human life begins at conception, the extraction of stem cells from embryos, which involves the willful taking of human life the embryo is human life and not just a clump of cells is considered morally and ethically wrong in every instance.

In this article, we will look at why the Orthodox Church has taken such a stand, how the Church has always stood uncompromisingly for the personhood of the human embryo, and what moral alternatives exist for stem cell research.

Legally, research on human embryos is allowed because of a faulty Supreme Court definition of personhood at viability (when a baby can lie out-side his/her mother) as worthy of state interest for legal protection. In fact, the whole pro-abortion argument hinges on the lie that there is such a thing as human life which is less than a person, hence unworthy of legal protection. Conversely, Orthodox Christians affirm the image of God from the beginning of human life, and we do not say at any time of development that one human being is of less value or less of a person than another human being.

Stem cells can be harvested from human embryos only by killing them, while the Church has always denounced any such killing and championed the sanctity of human life. The earliest extra-biblical document we have, The Didache, commands, Do not murder a child by abortion, and warns that the Way of Death is filled with people who are murderers of children and abortionists of Gods creatures (5:1-2). The Epistle of Barnabas, another very early document, was equally clear: You shall not destroy your conceptions before they are brought forth. Both call the embryo a child. St. Clement of Alexandria, in the third century, used Luke 1:41 (where John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeths womb) to prove that an embryo is a living person. He calls the earliest conceived embryos human beings who are given birth by Divine Providence, and he condemns those who use abortifacient medicines , causing the outright destruction, together with the fetus, of the whole human race.

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Destructive Embryonic Stem Cell Research | Antiochian ...

This is an update on Beverly after only 10 days in Panama for Stem Cell Treatment. She is feeling so much better and you can see it just by the look on her face. She has Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and is healing right now after her first round of Stem Cell Therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City Panama. This treatment is available to all and we strongly suggest you check out their website at cellmedicine dot com. We are not paid or sponsored in any way by this clinic. We are just telling our story. Hope this will help for you or your loved one.

We are in Panama City to get Stem Cell Treatment for my wife. She has Multiple Sclerosis and lost her sight 10 years ago. My wife has surrfered all of the ailments associated with MS. We have tried everything Canada has to offer for MS and nothing has really helped. My wife took Chemo therapy for 2 years as it was our doctors last resort. This brought back maybe 10-20% of her vision but nothing more. My wife is strong beyond most and will never complain but she is in pain every day. She has difficulty walking and has recently experienced what she calls drop hands. Thinking she has a grip on an object she will then just loose touch with her hand and drop the object. The Canadian doctors upgraded her condition from relapsing remitting to secondary progressive. We could not wait for things to get worse and found Stem Cell Treatment here in Panama at the Stem Cell Institute. My wife starts treatment on Monday and we are hopeful some of the damage will be repaired. Many patients experience a full turn around and end up going of their standard meds after a few months. I believe this will work for her and many others. The clinic has treated over 2000 people and had great success. We are making this YouTube channel and videos for anyone who may consider this treatment. For more info on the clinic and testimonial videos go to www dot cellmedicine dot com. More videos to come showing the treatment and her progress in the coming months. Love and hope to all that are dealing with this condition. I hope we can give some info and a light at the end of this dark tunnel.

This channel documents a lifes journey to healing. True love and positive intention were a huge part of our trip to Panama City Panama. The Stem Cell Treatment at Cellmedicine dot com turned our lives around. My wife is continuing to see results after the treatment and is going to do updated videos each day documenting her healing using the right diet and juicing. My wife lost her sight due to Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and Optic Neuritis. Her sight is going to heal and we are seeing the changes after only 3 weeks. Positive intention, Green Juice Diet and Stem Cell Therapy are the key.

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Stem Cell Treatment In Panama Working Wonders - YouTube

Abstract Introduction

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous group of tumours in which chemotherapy, the current mainstay of systemic treatment, is often initially beneficial but with a high risk of relapse and metastasis. There is currently no means of predicting which TNBC will relapse. We tested the hypothesis that the biological properties of normal stem cells are re-activated in tumour metastasis and that, therefore, the activation of normal mammary stem cell-associated gene sets in primary TNBC would be highly prognostic for relapse and metastasis.

Mammary basal stem and myoepithelial cells were isolated by flow cytometry and tested in low-dose transplant assays. Gene expression microarrays were used to establish expression profiles of the stem and myoepithelial populations; these were compared to each other and to our previously established mammary epithelial gene expression profiles. Stem cell genes were classified by Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and the expression of a subset analysed in the stem cell population at single cell resolution. Activation of stem cell genes was interrogated across different breast cancer cohorts and within specific subtypes and tested for clinical prognostic power.

A set of 323 genes was identified that was expressed significantly more highly in the purified basal stem cells compared to all other cells of the mammary epithelium. A total of 109 out of 323 genes had been associated with stem cell features in at least one other study in addition to our own, providing further support for their involvement in the biology of this cell type. GO analysis demonstrated an enrichment of these genes for an association with cell migration, cytoskeletal regulation and tissue morphogenesis, consistent with a role in invasion and metastasis. Single cell resolution analysis showed that individual cells co-expressed both epithelial- and mesenchymal-associated genes/proteins. Most strikingly, we demonstrated that strong activity of this stem cell gene set in TNBCs identified those tumours most likely to rapidly progress to metastasis.

Our findings support the hypothesis that the biological properties of normal stem cells are drivers of metastasis and that these properties can be used to stratify patients with a highly heterogeneous disease such as TNBC.

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease broadly classified on the basis of clinical parameters such as size, grade and node status, as well as histopathological criteria, primarily expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) [1]. While defined targeted therapeutic strategies have been developed for patients with ER+/PR+ and HER2+ diseases, chemotherapy is currently the mainstay of systemic treatment for triple-negative (ER/PR/HER2) breast cancer (TNBC) patients, which represents approximately 20% of all breast cancers [2]. Clinically, TNBC encompasses a heterogeneous group of aggressive tumours with poor prognosis [1],[3]-[7], partly due to high recurrence within the first years and limited targeted therapy options. Although chemotherapy is often initially beneficial in these tumours, especially in the neoadjuvant setting, many TNBCs have a high risk of relapse [8]. Since there is currently no means of predicting which TNBC will relapse, identification of subpopulations of TNBC that are most at risk is vital for the clinical management of these breast cancer patients.

Strong evidence is emerging supporting the hypothesis that cancer stem cells with similar features to normal tissue stem cells are resistant to standard chemotherapy and drive tumour regrowth after therapy finishes [9]. We hypothesised that biological properties of normal stem cells are reactivated in tumour cells to facilitate metastasis. Genes expressed in stem cells of the normal mammary gland might therefore carry prognostic information for relapse and metastasis in breast cancer. However, the development of such gene sets depends on the ability to isolate highly pure stem cells for analysis.

The mammary epithelium consists of two main layers, the luminal and basal layers. The luminal layer consists of ER- cells (mainly proliferative progenitors) and ER+ cells (mainly non-proliferative differentiated cells). The basal layer consists of myoepithelial cells (MYOs) and mammary stem cells (MaSCs), the latter characterised by their robust outgrowth activity in the cleared fat pad transplant assay. The relationship between these populations is summarised in Additional file 1A. Previous studies have analysed total basal breast epithelial cells, without further purification of the minority stem cell fraction [10] or used a dye label-retention strategy to identify asymmetrically dividing cells (putative stem cells) in non-adherent mammosphere cultures [11]. Only one previous study has attempted to freshly purify basal stem cells and compare their gene expression profile to MYOs [12]; however, that study identified only four genes expressed >2-fold more highly in stem cells compared to MYOs, and none of these achieved statistical significance. Here, we have defined the first gene signature specific for highly purified, freshly isolated MaSCs and further enriched the stem cell specificity by excluding basal-associated genes common to both the stem and myoepithelial populations. Pathway analysis revealed that this signature was enriched in genes associated with cell migration, adhesion and tissue morphogenesis. Single cell resolution gene expression analysis showed that the stem cell population included cells that expressed both epithelial- and mesenchymal-associated genes. Strikingly, when the expression of the stem cell gene signature was interrogated in two large independent TNBC cohorts, tumours with an activated stem cell signature showed a higher propensity to relapse in the first years after diagnosis in comparison to TNBC with lower activation scores for the stem cell gene signature. In contrast, in three large independent ER+ breast cancer data sets, an activated stem cell signature identified tumours least likely to metastasise. The prognostic power of the stem cell gene signature when applied to expression profiling of total tumour material implies that in poor prognosis TNBC the cancer stem cell-like genetic programme is not restricted to a minority cell population but rather is driving the behaviour of the bulk of tumour cells.

Our findings show that the biology of normal MaSCs, as reflected in their gene expression profiles, is highly relevant for understanding the drivers of aggressive disease in TNBC.

All animal work was carried out under UK Home Office project and personal licences following local ethical approval by the Institute of Cancer Research Animal Ethics Committee and in accordance with local and national guidelines. Single cells were prepared from fourth mammary fat pads of 8- to 10-week-old virgin female FVB mice as described [13] and stained with anti-CD24-FITC, anti-Sca-1-APC, anti-CD45-PE-Cy7, anti-CD49f-PE-Cy5 and anti-c-Kit-PE. Mammary epithelial cell subpopulations were defined as shown in Figure1 and Additional file 1.

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Mouse mammary stem cells express prognostic markers for ...

Highlights

Mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) signaling increases longevity in the nematode C.elegans

mtROS act through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway

mtROS signaling requires the alternative BH3-only protein CED-13

mtROS signaling induces a unique pattern of gene expression

The increased longevity of the C.elegans electron transport chain mutants isp-1 and nuo-6 is mediated by mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) signaling. Here weshow that the mtROS signal is relayed by theconserved, mitochondria-associated, intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathway (CED-9/Bcl2, CED-4/Apaf1, and CED-3/Casp9) triggered by CED-13, an alternative BH3-only protein. Activation of the pathway by an elevation of mtROS does not affect apoptosis but protects from the consequences of mitochondrial dysfunction by triggering a unique pattern of gene expression that modulates stress sensitivity and promotes survival. In vertebrates, mtROS induce apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway to protect from severely damaged cells. Our observations in nematodes demonstrate that sensing of mtROS by the apoptotic pathway can, independently of apoptosis, elicit protective mechanisms that keep the organism alive under stressful conditions. This results in extended longevity when mtROS generation is inappropriately elevated. These findings clarify the relationships between mitochondria, ROS, apoptosis, and aging.

The observed association of the aging process with the biology of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in particular ROS originatingfrom mitochondria (mtROS), has led to the formulation of the oxidative stress theory of aging. Recently, however, more nuanced interpretations have been proposed to explain the basic observations that led to the formulation of the theory (Lapointe and Hekimi, 2010andSena and Chandel, 2012). One possibility is that ROS damage is not causally involved in the aging process but that ROS levels are correlated with the aged phenotype because they modulate signal transduction pathways that respond to cellular stresses brought about by aging (Hekimi etal., 2011). In other words, ROS generation may be enhanced by the aging process because, in their role as signaling molecules, ROS help to alleviate the cellular stresses caused by aging. This hypothesis is supported by findings in a variety of organisms, in particular in C.elegans where changes in ROS generation or detoxification can be uncoupled from any effect on lifespan ( Doonan etal., 2008, Van Raamsdonk and Hekimi, 2009, Van Raamsdonk and Hekimi, 2010andYang etal., 2007). Most strikingly, moderate mitochondrial dysfunction ( Felkai etal., 1999, Feng etal., 2001andYang and Hekimi, 2010b), severe loss of mtROS detoxification ( Van Raamsdonk and Hekimi, 2009), and elevated mtROS generation ( Yang and Hekimi, 2010a), as well as treatments with pro-oxidants ( Heidler etal., 2010, Lee etal., 2010, Van Raamsdonk and Hekimi, 2012andYang and Hekimi, 2010a), can all lengthen rather than shorten lifespan. In addition, the pro-longevity effects of both dietary restriction ( Schulz etal., 2007), and reduced insulin signaling in C.elegans ( Zarse etal., 2012), appear to involve an increase in ROS levels. Such observations are not limited to C.elegans. For example, mtROS signaling can act to extend chronological lifespan of the yeast S.cerevisiae ( Pan etal., 2011).

The longevity phenotype of isp-1(qm150) ( Feng etal., 2001) and nuo-6(qm200) ( Yang and Hekimi, 2010b) mutants is most unequivocally connected to mtROS generation ( Yang and Hekimi, 2010a). isp-1 encodes the Rieske iron sulfur protein, one of the major catalytic subunits of mitochondrial complex III, and nuo-6 encodes the mitochondrial complex I subunit NDUFB4. The qm150 and qm200 mutations are missense mutations that do not lead to a full loss of protein function. Mitochondria isolated from both mutants show elevated superoxide generation, as measured by fluorescence sorting of purified mitochondria incubated with the dye MitoSox ( Yang and Hekimi, 2010a). This is a very specific phenotype that is not accompanied by an increase in overall mitochondrial oxidative stress, nor by a measurable increase in overall oxidative damage. The long-lived phenotype can also be phenocopied by treatment of the wild-type with a very low level (0.1mM) of the superoxide generator paraquat (PQ). In contrast, treatment of the mitochondrial mutants with PQ has no effect, suggesting that treatment with PQ extends lifespan by the same mechanisms as the mitochondrial mutations ( Yang and Hekimi, 2010a).

Increased longevity can also result from induction of the mitochondrial unfolded protein stress response (mtUPR), which can be triggered by RNA interference knockdown of mitochondrial components (Dillin etal., 2002, Durieux etal., 2011andLee etal., 2003). This response is however distinct from the response to elevated mtROS as the lifespan increases produced by the elevated mtROS in the mutants and by the activated mtUPR are fully additive (Yang and Hekimi, 2010b).

How might elevated mtROS promote longevity? ROS are well known to act as modulators in signal transduction pathways, andit is as such that they might be enhancing longevity. One candidate signaling pathway that could include potential mtROS sensors as well as a mechanism of downstream signaling is the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Apoptosis is a highly controlled process that in mammals is sensitive to mitochondrial function, including mtROS, via the intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathway (Wang and Youle, 2009). In C.elegans the intrinsic apoptotic machinery consists of the BH3-only protein EGL-1, CED-9 (Bcl2-like), CED-4 (Apaf1-like), and CED-3 (Casp9-like). CED-9 is tethered to the outer mitochondrial membrane and binds CED-4. However, in contrast to vertebrates, there is no evidence for any role for mtROS in regulating apoptosis in C.elegans.

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The Intrinsic Apoptosis Pathway Mediates the Pro-Longevity ...

Longevity claims are unsubstantiated cases of asserted human longevity. Those asserting lifespans of 110 years or more are referred to as supercentenarians. Many have either no official verification or are backed only by partial evidence. Cases where longevity has been fully verified, according to modern standards of longevity research, are reflected in an established list of supercentenarians based on the work of such international institutions as the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and/or the Guinness World Records. This article lists claims of 115 years or more.

Prior to the nineteenth century, there was insufficient evidence either to demonstrate or to refute centenarian longevity.[1] Even today, no fixed theoretical limit to human longevity is apparent.[2] Studies[1] in the biodemography of human longevity indicate a late-life mortality deceleration law: that death rates level off at advanced ages to a late-life mortality plateau. That is, there is no fixed upper limit to human longevity, or fixed maximum human lifespan.[3] This law was first quantified in 1939, when researchers found that the one-year probability of death at advanced age asymptotically approaches a limit of 44% for women and 54% for men.[4] Researchers in Denmark have found a way to determine when a person was born based on radio-carbon dating done on the lens of the eye.[5]

In 1955, Guinness World Records began maintaining a list of the verified oldest people.[6] It developed into a list of all supercentenarians whose lifespan had been verified by at least three documents, in a standardized process, according the norms of modern longevity research. Many unverified cases ("claims" or "traditions") have been controverted by reliable sources. Taking reliable demographic data into account, these unverified cases vary widely in their plausibility.

Despite demographic evidence of the known extremes of modern longevity, stories in otherwise reliable sources still surface regularly, stating that these extremes have been exceeded. Responsible, modern, scientific validation of human longevity requires investigation of records following an individual from birth to the present (or to death); purported longevity far outside the demonstrated records regularly fail such scrutiny.

Actuary Walter G. Bowerman stated that ill-founded longevity assertions originate mainly in remote, underdeveloped regions, among illiterate peoples, evidenced by nothing more than family testimony.[8]

In the transitional period of record-keeping, records tend to exist for the wealthy and upper-middle classes, but are often spotty and nonexistent for the poor. In the United States, birth registration did not begin in Mississippi until 1912 and was not universal until 1933. Hence, in many longevity cases, no actual birth record exists. This type of case is classified by gerontologists as "partially validated".[citation needed]

Since some cases were recorded in a census or in other reliable sources, obtainable evidence may complete full verification.

In another type of case, the only records that exist are late-life documents. Because age inflation often occurs in adulthood (to avoid military service or to apply for a pension early), or because the government may have begun record-keeping during an individual's lifetime, cases unverified by proximate records exist. These unverified cases are less likely to be true (because the records are written later), but are still possible. Longevity narratives were not subjected to rigorous scrutiny until the work of William Thoms in 1873. Thoms proposed the 100th-birthday test: is there evidence to support an individual's claimed age at what would be their centenary birthday?[10][11] This test does not prove a person's age, but does winnow out typical pension-claim longevity exaggerations and spontaneous claims that a certain relative is over 150.

These are standardized lists of people whose lifespans remain unverified by proximate records, including both modern (Guinness-era) and historical cases. Claims missing either (or both) a date of birth/date of death are listed separately. All cases in which an individual's supercentenarian lifespan is not (yet) backed by records sufficient to the standards of modern longevity research are listed as unverified. They may be factually true, even though records do not exist (or have not yet been found,) so such lists include these grey-area cases.

These notable living supercentenarian cases, in descending order of claimed age, with full birth and review dates, have been updated within the past two years, but have no publicly available early-life records to support them. The names and cases of people whose lifespan is documented by at least one publicly available, standardized early-life record are recorded by the Gerontology Research Group in a list of pending partially verified claims. The minimum claimed age for this list is 115 years, claims between 110 and 113, reported to be alive within the last year, may be found in the living supercentenarians article. There are included 36 cases of such people, of whom 24 are female and 12 are male.

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Longevity claims - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What can Natural Fat Transfer do for you? The signs of aging can effect every area of our face and body. Now through new cosmetic surgery techniques involving fat transfer you can smooth out lines and wrinkles, even enhance your breasts and buttocks, with Natural Fat Transfer. If youre considering a cosmetic surgery procedure to enhance your breast or buttocks, plump the skin around your lips or smooth out lines on your face, Serro Rejuvenation Center has the expertise to provide your Natural Fat Transfer.

Natural Fat Transfer is a safe, natural procedure that can be used to contour the face and hands by plumping up the skin. Breast and buttocks can be enhanced to give you that fuller and more shapely body. The overall appearance of the face and body is more youthful as a result. Scars and other deformities can also be treated with Natural Fat Transfer. This safe, cost-effective procedure can give you the "Natural Look of Subtle Perfection!"

How is Natural Fat Transfer Different from Dermal Fillers? The most popular cosmetic surgery technique for reversing the signs of aging is injection of dermal fillers.Less invasive than a full face lift, an injectable dermal filler can restore a youthful appearance by adding volume beneath the skin. There are a variety of dermal fillers such as, Restylane and Juvederm (hyaluronic acid), Radiesse (calcium hydroxylate),and Sculptra Aesthetic (poly-L-lactic acid),made for this purpose. Over time the body slowly absorbs these dermal fillers and the treatment must be repeated. On average, dermal filler treatments last six months to a year with Sculpta lasting two years or more.

Natural Fat Transfer, also known as micro-lipoinjection, uses a patients own fat as a dermal filler. Unwanted fat is removed from the body throughBody Jet and then injected into the face, hands, breast or buttocks. Some of this fat survives the transfer and becomes living tissue in the new area, so a fat transfer treatment lasts longer than a typical dermal filler treatment. Fat transfer is already being used for natural breast augmentationand natural buttocks augmentationprocedures with excellent results, and now it is gaining in popularity as a dermal filler for the delicate skin on the face and hands.

How is Natural Fat Transfer Performed? The fat transfer procedure is non-invasive and requires very little down-time for recovery. The procedure involves two separate steps. First, Dr. Serro will use liposuction to remove fat from the thighs, abdomen, waist, or hips of the patient. The fat is then prepared and injected into the areas that have been targeted for treatment. A topical anesthetic may be used to numb the injection area. Fat transfer injections are over in a manner of minutes and patients can return to their normal activities almost immediately.

Facial volumizers, such as Sculptra Aesthetic, are usually administered in two or three sessions every four to six weeks to get the maximum benefit of the product. This is also true of fat transfer. Once a series of treatments have been completed, the fat transfer results will last from one year to five years. For many patients, the benefits of fat transfer face and hand treatments are longer-lasting than for other types of dermal fillers.

Is this procedure approved or is it controversial? Many cosmetic surgeons remember the poor results that used to occur in the past when fat transfer was used. We now have improved techniques and technologies that help maintain the survival of the fat. Thus, better survival of the fat results in longer results. One such technology is the BodyJet LipoSculpture technique that harvests the fat in a more gentle fashion. Recent clinical studies have shown up to a 90% fat cell survival rate from natural fat harvesting with BodyJet Water-Liposuction technique.

Stem Cells and Fat Transfer FAQ's

Why are stem cells important? Some of the most exciting scientific research in recent years has been focused on stem cells because of their unique regenerative abilities and potential to generate, restore and maintain healthy tissue. The discovery of a rich, natural supply of stem cells within adult body fat has unlocked new potential for stem cell harvesting. In fact, harvesting stem cells from fat is vastly more effective than harvesting stem cells from other areas, such as bone marrow. Recent advances in water jet assisted liposuction (Body Jet) help to protect and sustain these beneficial stem cells during the fat harvesting process, creating a new era in natural, stem cell enriched fat transfer.

How do stem cells help improve the results of natural fat transfer? The idea for removing fat from one area of the body and using it to naturally augment volume in another area is not new. But, older methods of extracting and transferring fat often produced unsatisfactory results because up to 50% of the transferred fat would not survive. The Natural Fat Transfer Stem Cell Harvestingprocess helps ensure the survival of natural, healthy fat. Because the process for removing fat is so gentle, fat and stem cells washed from the body are kept intact and viable for transfer. The stem cells within the fat will encourage the growth of new blood vessels to nourish the transplanted fat and may also stimulate the production of new fat cells.

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Stem Cells and Fat Transfer| Dr. Serrao, Orlando Florida

Diabetes is a common group of chronic metabolic diseases that cause high blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body due to defects in insulin production and/or function. Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas when we eat food. Insulin allows sugar to go from the blood into the cells. If the cells of the body are not using insulin well, or if the body is unable to make any or enough insulin, sugar builds up in the blood.

Symptoms include excessive thirst, hunger, and urination; fatigue; slow-healing sores or cuts; and blurry vision.

If diabetes develops quickly, as happens with type 1 diabetes, people may also experience quick weight loss. If diabetes develops slowly, as in type 2 diabetes, people may not be diagnosed until symptoms of longer-term problems appear, such as a heart attack or pain, numbness, and tingling in the feet.

Long-term complications of diabetes can include kidney failure, nerve damage, and blindness.

Diabetes is categorized into categories:

This type of diabetes is categorized as an autoimmune disease and occurs when the bodys misdirected immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Although genetic or environmental triggers are suspected, the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is not completely understood. Type 1 accounts for only five to 10 percent of diabetes cases in the United States, and while it can occur at any age, most patients are diagnosed as children or young adults. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to manage their condition.

This type of diabetes most often develops gradually with age and is characterized by insulin resistance in the body. For reasons not yet totally understood, the cells of the body stop being able to use insulin effectively. Because of this resistance, the bodys fat, liver, and muscle cells are unable to take in and store glucose, which is used for energy. The glucose remains in the blood. The abnormal buildup of glucose (blood sugar), called hyperglycemia, impairs body functions. Type 2 diabetes occurs most often in people who are overweight and sedentary, two things thought to lead to insulin resistance. Family history and genetics play a major role in type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is defined as blood-sugar elevation during pregnancy; it is known to affect about three to eight percent of women. Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can lead to problems such as high birth weight and breathing problems for the baby. All pregnant women are tested for gestational diabetes at between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, as this is when this problem usually develops. Gestational diabetes usually resolves in the mother after the baby is born, but statistics show that women who have gestational diabetes have a much greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes within five to 10 years.

Although prediabetes is not technically diabetes, some experts now consider it to be the first step to type 2 diabetes. This condition is marked by blood sugar levels that are too high to be considered normal but are not yet high enough to be in the range of a typical diabetes diagnosis. Prediabetes increases not only your risk of developing diabetes but also your risk of heart disease and stroke.

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Diabetes - Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Gestational ...

Abstract

Stem cells are primitive cells that can differentiate and regenerate organs in different parts of the body such as heart, bones, muscles and nervous system. This has been a field of great clinical interest with immense possibilities of using the stem cells in regeneration of human organ those are damaged due to disease, developmental defects and accident. The knowledge of stem cell technology is increasing quickly in all medical specialties and in dental field too. Stem cells of dental origin appears to hold the key to various cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine, but most avenues are in experimental stages and many procedures are undergoing standardization and validation. Long-term preservation of SHED cells or DPSC is becoming a popular consideration, similar to the banking of umbilical cord blood. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are the adult multipotent cells that reside in the cell rich zone of the dental pulp. The multipotent nature of these DPSCs may be utilized in both dental and medical applications. A systematic review of the literature was performed using various internet based search engines (PubMed, Medline Plus, Cochrane, Medknow, Ebsco, Science Direct, Hinari, WebMD, IndMed, Embase) using keywords like dental pulp stem cells, regeneration, medical applications, tissue engineering. DPSCs appears to be a promising innovation for the re-growth of tissues however, long term clinical studies need to be carried out that could establish some authentic guidelines in this perspective.

KEYWORDS: Dental pulp stem cells, myocardial infarction, regenerative therapy, tissue engineering

The term stem cell was proposed for scientific use by Russian histologist Alexander Maksimov in 1909. He was the first to suggest the existence of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) with the morphological appearance of a lymphocyte, capable of migrating throughout the blood to micro ecological niches that would allow them to proliferate and differentiate.[1] Tissue engineering as a scientific discipline has shown promising results in the field of dentistry also. Tissue engineering approaches can aid in either the replacement of damaged tooth structures and/or in the repair/regeneration of pulp-dentin complex (regenerative endodontics).

The science of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has seen tremendous development, especially in the field of stem cell research. Tissue engineering approach requires the three main key elements (triad): Stem cells, scaffold (or matrix) and growth factors (morphogens).[2] These key elements can be used in three principal therapeutic strategies to obtain the desired result. Today stem cell biology is one of the most fascinating areas of science which brings in the hope for improved outcomes by replacing damaged or absent tissues with healthy regenerated tissue.[3] Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) can be found within the cell rich zone of dental pulp. Their embryonic origin, from neural crests, explains their multipotency.[4] The term stem cell was projected by Alexander Maksimov a Russian histologist, during 1908 in congress of hematologic society at Berlin.[5] Stem cells have the potential to renew themselves for long periods through cell division and under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become cells with special functions.[6] Several studies have been carried out to verify whether stem cells could become a source of stable differentiated cells. These studies have confirmed their capacity to induce tissue formation during the embryonic development and proliferation along with differentiation to generate all other tissues.[7,8,9,10]

By definition the pluripotency of biological compounds describes the ability of certain substances to produce several distinct biological responses whereas multipotency means the ability to differentiate to a limited number of cell fates or into closely related family of cells. Recent advances in the tissue engineering have drawn scientists to test the possibility of tooth engineering and regeneration. However, these biotechnologies are in its initial phase, it is expected to be used to restore missing teeth and replace artificial dental implants.

Researchers have observed that these stem cells act differently than other adult stem cells. These dentally-derived mesenchymal stem cells are capable of extensive proliferation and differentiation, which makes them an important resource of stem cells for regeneration and repair of a multitude of diseased and injured organs and tissues.[10,11] Because of their ability to produce and secrete neurotrophic factors, these stem cells may also be beneficial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and the repair of motoneurons following the injury. Research works on dental mesenchymal stem cells is expanding at an unprecedented rate. More than 1,000 research studies from institutions around the world have been published since the year 2000 that make reference to the dental stem cells. In the year 2007 alone, over 1,000 research articles were published on Dental Stem Cells.[12] Additionally, over 60 clinical investigations with animals and human volunteers have been published seeking to identify the potential new medical treatments from adult stem cells.[10] Stem cell-based therapies are being investigated for the treatment of many conditions including: Neurodegenerative conditions, liver disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, and for nerve regeneration following the brain or spinal cord injury.

Riccardo and co workers postulated two school of thoughts; one argues that these cells produce a dentin-like tissue,[7] whereas the other research group[11] has demonstrated that these cells are capable of producing bone, both in vitro and in vivo. Beyond natural capacity of response to the injury, dental pulp stem cells are attractive for their potential to differentiate, in vitro, into several cell types including odontoblasts, neural progenitors, chondrocytes, endotheliocytes, adipocytes, smooth muscle cells and osteoblasts.[12,13] The potential application of dental pulp stem cells and tissue engineering in medicine and dentistry in particularly are discussed in the present review.

At present, the mesenchymal stem cell populations having the high proliferative capacity and multi-lineage differentiation have been isolated from the dental tissues.[14,15] These are dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs), periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), dental follicle progenitor stem cells (DFPCs), and stem cells from apical papilla (SCAPs). DPSCs and SHEDs originate from the cranial neural crest and express early markers for both mesenchymal and neuroectodermal stem cells.[16,17,18] This explains their multipotency and pluripotency. Sharpe and Young were pioneered the use of stem cells in the dental tissue engineering.[19,20] Various studies have shown that these cells have unique features of stem/progenitor cells having the capacity to differentiate into dentin forming odontoblasts.[21,22] The roots of the third molar are often incomplete at the age of eighteen, therefore these teeth contains a conspicuous pool of undifferentiated cells, resident within the cell rich zone of the dental germ pulp.[23,24] In an in vitro model, Hwang et al. derived DPSCs from supernumerary mesiodens, and it has been seen that DPSCs derived at the stage of crown development are more proliferative than at later stages.[25] Apart from these, the cells obtained from loosely attached tissue at the root apex (SCAP) and periodontal ligament (PDLSC) have been used for bio-root engineering.[26,27,28] More recently, stem cells obtained from the dental tissues have been shown to develop into fat, bone cartilage and neural cells.[29,30]

In addition to their therapeutic use in dentin regeneration, regeneration of periodontal tissues and skeletal articular tissues of craniofacial region, DPSCs were also reported to be used in the treatment of neurotrauma, autoimmune diseases, myocardial infarction, muscular dystrophy and connective tissue damages.[31] This review article is an attempt to highlight main strategies as related to the use of dental pulp stem cells, their characterization, storage, tissue engineering strategies and useful clinical applications in the field of modern dentistry.

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Imperative Role of Dental Pulp Stem Cells in Regenerative ...

Agricultural Biotechnology, Poverty Reduction, and Food Security

A Working Paper May 2001

Asian Development Bank 2001 All rights reserved

FOREWORD

Recent breakthroughs in biotechnology have led to rapid progress in understanding the genetic basis of living organisms, and the ability to develop products and processes useful to human and animal health, food and agriculture, and industry. In agriculture, there is increasing use of biotechnology for genetic mapping and marker-assisted selection to aid more precise and rapid development of new strains of improved crops and livestock. Other biotechnology applications such as tissue culture and micropropagation are being used for the rapid multiplication of disease-free planting materials. New diagnostics and vaccines are being widely adopted for the diagnosis, prevention, and control of animal and fish diseases. Many of these developments have taken place mainly in the United States and other developed countries. But in recent years several developing countries in Asia including Peoples Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, and Viet Nam have begun to invest heavily in biotechnology.

Biotechnology has given us a new tool to improve food security and reduce poverty. This development is encouraging since the Green Revolution technologies, which have doubled food production and reduced poverty during the past three decades, have already run their course in much of Asia. Conventional breeding, widely used during the Green Revolution era, no longer provides needed breakthroughs in yield potentials, nor the solution to the complex problems of pests, diseases, and drought stress. That is particularly true in the rainfed areas where the poor are concentrated. The challenge is how to use new developments in biotechnology together with information technology and new ways of managing knowledge to make the complex agricultural systems of Asia more productive and sustainable.

The development of agricultural biotechnology is perceived by some as posing considerable risks to human health and the environment. Most of the debate on biotechnology has been focused on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The public debate surrounding GMOs has heightened concerns that genetic engineering may in the long run be harmful to human health and the environment unless effective regulatory frameworks are implemented. Indeed, the public and private sectors must manage the introduction and use of biotechnology to maximize benefits and minimize risks.

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Agricultural Biotechnology, Poverty Reduction, and Food ...

You can view a list of potential veterinary career paths here.

Whether they're pets, livestock or working animals, animals matter to individuals and society. Every community needs veterinary professionals to provide animal health care, but veterinarians also do many other kinds of jobs. They make sure the nation's food supply is safe. They work to control the spread of diseases. They conduct research that helps both animals and humans. Veterinarians are at the forefront of protecting the public's health and welfare.

Besides medical skills, veterinarians often take a holistic approach to human well-being and animal welfare that, combined with communications and problem-solving skills, makes veterinarians uniquely qualified to fulfill a variety of roles. Many veterinarians, of course, provide care for companion animals through private medical practices, but veterinarians are also involved in promoting the health and welfare of farm animals, exotic animals, working animals (like those in the equine industry), and those that need a healthy environment in which to thrive, whether that environment is a rain forest, a desert or even the ocean.

Outside of companion animal practice, the largest employer of veterinarians in the United States is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, but veterinarians are found throughout government in roles where they contribute to public health, the environment, and even homeland security, as well as working in research and public policy.

Many veterinarians are engaged in work at the intersection of both human and animal health. For example, veterinarians play an important role in food safety, where epidemiological research is crucial to forecasting the threat of food-borne diseases and outbreaks. They work to keep cattle and other food animals healthy by developing and testing various farm control methods that help to detect, limit, and prevent the spread of food that might be contaminated by salmonella, E coli or other pathogens. And theyre often on the front lines of surveillance where their extensive medical training can help them to detect and treat the outbreak of diseases that have the potential to make the jump from animals to humans.

Unmet needs for veterinary expertise exist in some sectors of veterinary medicine, such as public health, biomedical research, and food safety. To help address the lack of veterinarians in biomedical research, the AAVMC is a co-sponsor of the Merial Veterinary Scholars Program. The program's mission is to expose veterinary medical students in their first or second year of veterinary school to biomedical research and career opportunities in research. The program culminates in the Merial NIH National Veterinary Scholars Symposium, where veterinary students participating in the program gather from all over the United States and Canada to present their research findings and share experiences from their various programs.

Learn more about how to embark on a path that will lead to a veterinary medical career on our Students, Applicants and Advisors portal.

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Careers in Veterinary Medicine

Introduction: What are stem cells, and why are they important? What are the unique properties of all stem cells? What are embryonic stem cells? What are adult stem cells? What are the similarities and differences between embryonic and adult stem cells? What are induced pluripotent stem cells? What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the obstacles that must be overcome before these potential uses will be realized? Where can I get more information?

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.

Until recently, scientists primarily worked with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic "somatic" or "adult" stem cells. The functions and characteristics of these cells will be explained in this document. Scientists discovered ways to derive embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos more than 30 years ago, in 1981. The detailed study of the biology of mouse stem cells led to the discovery, in 1998, of a method to derive stem cells from human embryos and grow the cells in the laboratory. These cells are called human embryonic stem cells. The embryos used in these studies were created for reproductive purposes through in vitro fertilization procedures. When they were no longer needed for that purpose, they were donated for research with the informed consent of the donor. In 2006, researchers made another breakthrough by identifying conditions that would allow some specialized adult cells to be "reprogrammed" genetically to assume a stem cell-like state. This new type of stem cell, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), will be discussed in a later section of this document.

Stem cells are important for living organisms for many reasons. In the 3- to 5-day-old embryo, called a blastocyst, the inner cells give rise to the entire body of the organism, including all of the many specialized cell types and organs such as the heart, lungs, skin, sperm, eggs and other tissues. In some adult tissues, such as bone marrow, muscle, and brain, discrete populations of adult stem cells generate replacements for cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease.

Given their unique regenerative abilities, stem cells offer new potentials for treating diseases such as diabetes, and heart disease. However, much work remains to be done in the laboratory and the clinic to understand how to use these cells for cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is also referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine.

Laboratory studies of stem cells enable scientists to learn about the cells essential properties and what makes them different from specialized cell types. Scientists are already using stem cells in the laboratory to screen new drugs and to develop model systems to study normal growth and identify the causes of birth defects.

Research on stem cells continues to advance knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. Stem cell research is one of the most fascinating areas of contemporary biology, but, as with many expanding fields of scientific inquiry, research on stem cells raises scientific questions as rapidly as it generates new discoveries.

I.Introduction|Next

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Stem Cell Basics: Introduction [Stem Cell Information]

Internet sites offer help for people suffering from a dizzying array of serious conditions, including: Alzheimers, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, atherosclerosis, autism, brain damage, cancer, cerebellar ataxia, cerebral palsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Crohns, diabetes, diseases of the eye, genetic disorders, Huntingtons, kidney disease, lupus, muscular sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinsons, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal cord injury, spinal muscular atrophy, stroke, and Tay-Sachs disease.

There are clinics all around the world but especially in China, India, the Caribbean, Latin America, and nations of the former Soviet Union that will provide stem cell treatments for those long-intractable conditions. Never mind that cancer is the only disease category on that list for which there is published, scientifically valid evidence showing that stem cell therapy may help. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of desperate people are flocking to clinics that charge tens of thousands of dollars for every unproven treatment.

That stem cell tourism was the subject of a panel discussion titled Stem Cell Therapy and Medical Tourism: Of Promise and Peril? presented Wednesday by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics.

Brock Reeve, HSCI executive director, introduced the topic by pointing out to those attending the session in Harvard Law Schools Austin Hall that there is medical tourism, and then there is medical tourism. After all, Reeve noted, patients flock from all over the world to the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Dana-Farber Center Institute, and other Boston research hospitals for cutting-edge, scientifically validated treatments for a host of diseases.

But then there is the other kind of medical tourism, and every member of the panel agreed with speaker Timothy A. Caulfield, the Canada Research chair in health, law, and policy at the University of Alberta, when he said that the stem cell tourism phenomenon hurts the legitimacy of the entire field of stem cell science and medicine.

The stem cell tourism phenomenon hurts the legitimacy of the entire field of stem cell science and medicine, noted Timothy A. Caulfield of the University of Alberta.

While adult stem cells have been used for decades to treat a number of malignancies bone marrow transplants are, in fact, blood stem cell transplants those treatments, said George Q. Daley, the Samuel E. Lux IV Professor of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Childrens Hospital Boston and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, are the only stem cell treatments that are not experimental.

Daley, a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institutes executive committee and past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, added that we are seeing a growing number of legitimate clinical trials, but all such uses are experimental and there is great skepticism as to whether we have the scientific knowledge and basis even to predict that these will be effective. It may, he said, take decades before there is certainty.

But the overseas clinics selling stem cell therapy for a sweeping catalog of diseases arent offering patients places in clinical trials. They are touting what they claim are established treatments, with proven results. Caulfield and his colleagues in Alberta have conducted a number of studies on what is being offered at the overseas clinics, what claims are being made, who is seeking the treatments, and why. He said that the treatments are offered as safe, routine, and effective, but none of what is being offered matched what the scientific literature said. He accused the clinics of financial exploitation of desperate people, and said those who raise money to finance pilgrimages to them are raising money to turn over to a fraud.

While adult stem cells have been used for decades to treat a number of malignancies bone marrow transplants are, in fact, blood stem cell transplants those treatments, said Professor George Q. Daley, are the only stem cell treatments that are not experimental.

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Stem cell tourism growing trend | Harvard Gazette

December 21, 2014 A Role for Clinical Ethics Consultants in Stem Cell Tourism Recently Dr. Christopher Thomas Scott of Stanford University wrote a great paper titled The Case of Stem Cell Counselors inStem Cell Reportswhich draws parallels from the field of genetic counseling arguing for the need for stem cell counsellors (1). Scott outlines that due to increases in the number of stem cell trials combined with fraudulent therapies being offered around the world, the time is ripe for having counsellors help patients navigate the clinical stem cell research/therapy landscape. These experts can help patients identify and distinguish legitimate trials from unproven interventions, explain the risks, benefits and therapeutic options, and serve as a resource to provide them with educational information. On a related topic, my colleagues and I at AMBI were going to write a paper arguing that clinical ethics consultants should be involved in countering the impact of stem cell tourism and serve as a resource for patients who are contemplating undertaking an unproven stem cell based intervention (SCBI). We thought that clinical ethics consultants are in a unique position to offer advice and counselling to patients seeking unproven SCBIs for a few reasons. The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers a Master of Science in Bioethics, a Doctorate of Professional Studies in Bioethics, and Graduate Certificates in Clinical Ethics and Clinical Ethics Consultation. For more information on AMBI's online graduate programs, please visit ourwebsite. November 23, 2014 Deregulation and Free Markets for Stem Cell Products Paolo Bianco and colleague Douglas Sipp wrote a very provocative and interesting piece recently published in the journalNature(http://www.nature.com/news/regulation-sell-help-not-hope-1.15409)discussing a movement to permit stem cell medicines, among others, to be sold in the market without the requirement to show much safety and efficacy data permitting the market to determine safety and effectiveness of compounds. Here, patients would basically pay to obtain products and also be research subjects. Certain powerful groups are calling for the deregulation of clinical medicine as a business model to bring innovative products to the marketplace. But before I begin explaining what Bianco and Sipp discuss, we need to cover the current system of regulatory oversight of medical products. The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers a Master of Science in Bioethics, a Doctorate of Professional Studies in Bioethics, and Graduate Certificates in Clinical Ethics and Clinical Ethics Consultation. For more information on AMBI's online graduate programs, please visit ourwebsite. September 23, 2014 Stem Cell Tourism and Patient Education What is the role of public education and stem cell tourism? What type of education is available to patients, caregivers and the public? Can public education actually change peoples minds such that they wont undergo an unproven stem cell-based intervention (SCBI)? These are the questions I will discuss here. But first, lets just give a brief description of stem cell tourism and outline some of the proposals discussed to stop this industry. The Stem Cell Tourism Industry and Ways to Curtail the Market Briefly, stem cell tourism is a term used to describe an Internet-based, direct-to-consumer advertised industry where patients receive unproven SCBIs for a range of diseases and injuries. Many clinics offering unproven SCBIs are in countries with lax regulations and enforcement. However, these clinics are also increasingly popping up in highly regulated countries like the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The term stem cell tourism is misleading because patients may not necessarily need to travel a great distance to receive such interventions, and focuses on patient behaviors instead of others involved in this market including regulatory agencies and the providers offering them. Moreover, there are some real risks to stem cell tourism. Beyond patients being financially exploited, there are several reports of tumors, lesions, tremors, other problems, and even deaths of individuals receiving unproven SCBIs. And there seems to be a stem cell treatment for just about every disease and injury, no matter how severe or benign if the patient can pay anywhere from $8,000-$30,000. Clinics advertise for serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, MS, Parkinsons disease, ALS, and spinal cord injury among many others. You might have also heard of major NFL stars receiving SCBIs for sports injuries, movie stars receiving anti-aging stem cell treatments, and even a U.S. Governor receiving stem cells for chronic back pain. The fact that celebrities and public figures are receiving untested SCBIs is likely to make it seem that they are safe and effective and only bolsters the market. Yet there are very few bonafide stem cell treatments out there. While more clinical trials using stem cells are underway (1), it will become increasingly difficult for patients to discern between a legitimate clinical study and a fraudulent intervention. And because of all the hype, ethical issues, and misconduct scandals having to do with stem cell research, having patients become injured due to an unproven SCBI is not only bad itself of course, but also can seriously stifle the stem cell field. The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers a Master of Science in Bioethics, a Doctorate of Professional Studies in Bioethics, and Graduate Certificates in Clinical Ethics and Clinical Ethics Consultation. For more information on AMBI's online graduate programs, please visit ourwebsite. March 30, 2014 Stem Cell Tourism & Education I have written on this blog about the topic of stem cell tourism and the different strategies that have been proposed to stop the phenomenon. Just to provide a background on the topic from a previous blog: stemcell tourism is used to describe an internet-based direct-to-consumer advertised industry where clinics offer untested and unproven stem cell interventions as bonafide therapies to patients with a range of diseases and injuries including Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, blindness, cancer, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and many others. Basically there is no scientific evidence of safety of efficacy of these modalities to offer them on a for-profit basis to patients. The term was originally coined as a form of tourism because patients traveled from countries like the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia to clinics in countries with lax regulations, but this simply is not the case anymore. There are several clinics within highly regulated countries like U.S. that offer stem cell interventions. Of the several strategies people have discussed, one of the first has been on the topic of providing education to patients and the public. Here, people argue that providing education on the dangers of stem cell tourism might actually sway patients to not undertake unproven stem cell interventions. As some scholars have mentioned, education might not be as effective because it depends on a rationale actor model where we assume that patients will behave rationally and make choices based on weighing the harms and benefits of seeking unproven treatments. More so, such an argument does not sufficiently consider the hope patients have to ameliorate their disease, reduce pain or other symptoms, and increase their quality of life. While these counterarguments are certain rational and likely to be true, there is yet no solid evidence showing whether education on stem cell tourism is effective at swaying people from traveling for unproven interventions. But even if before we go into whether education might influence a patients decision to travel for unproven stem cell treatments, I think we need to assess the role of patient education in medicine. The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers a Master of Science in Bioethics, a Doctorate of Professional Studies in Bioethics, and Graduate Certificates in Clinical Ethics and Clinical Ethics Consultation. For more information on AMBI's online graduate programs, please visit ourwebsite.

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stem cell tourism | Bioethics.net

Scientific discoveries can lead to great enthusiasm about their potential medical benefits. A danger is that this enthusiasm may lead to hype and exaggerated claims of near-term benefits. In the realm of stem cell research, excitement about the benefits of this field have led to a variety of clinics opening around the world that offer therapies that are not yet proven to be safe or effective. When patients travel nationally or internationally to obtain unproven stem cell therapies it is known as "stem cell tourism". This video aims to explain this term in a brief and concise format.

If you are considering obtaining a cellular therapy, please consult the resources below to find our more information regarding the potential risks.

FURTHER INFORMATION: Stem Cell Network: Stem cell hype and the dangers of stem cell tourism - stemcellnetwork.ca/index.php?page=stem-cell-hype-and-the-dangers-of-stem-cell-tourism International Society for Stem Cell Research's "A Closer Look at Stem Cells" - closerlookatstemcells.org/

SCRIPT: In the past 50 years, stem cell research has led to some groundbreaking therapies including bone marrow transplantation and skin grafting. Today, stem cell research continues to hold the promise of new treatments for many diseases.

However most of these potential treatments are still experimental.

Any experimental therapy must first be carefully tested to make sure it is both safe and effective before it is approved for patients.

This testing process normally takes several years during which time many experimental treatments may fail because they are unsafe, ineffective or both.

Despite this, clinics throughout the world offer untested and potentially dangerous stem-cell-based treatments, usually at a high cost to the patient. As a result, these locations have become a destination for stem cell tourism - where hopeful patients travel internationally to seek unapproved stem cell therapies.

Before patients spend time and money, they should familiarize themselves with the facts and think twice about obtaining expensive treatments that have not yet been proven safe or effective.

CREDITS Narration by: Professor Timothy Caulfield Written & Directed by: Ben Paylor & Mike Long Produced by: Infoshots - infoshots.ca Animation by: David Murawsky - davidmurawsky.com/ Sound by: James Wallace - imdb.com/name/nm0908691/ Funding by: Stem Cell Network and Canadian Stem Cell Foundation

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What is stem cell tourism? Narrated by Professor Timothy ...