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Isolating Stem Cells from Soft Musculoskeletal Tissues – Video

August 6th, 2013 2:46 pm


Isolating Stem Cells from Soft Musculoskeletal Tissues

By: Pussyboy4life

See the original post:
Isolating Stem Cells from Soft Musculoskeletal Tissues - Video

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Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Back Pain – Video

August 6th, 2013 2:45 pm


Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Back Pain
A registered nurse describes her experience with an adult stem cell therapy procedure for back pain. More information at medrebels.org.

By: medrebels1

See the original post:
Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Back Pain - Video

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Advanced Topics – Stem Cell Therapy part 2 – Video

August 6th, 2013 2:45 pm


Advanced Topics - Stem Cell Therapy part 2

By: Jesse Matteson

See the original post:
Advanced Topics - Stem Cell Therapy part 2 - Video

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PRC: Foreign docs doing stem cell therapy in PH must get special temporary permits

August 6th, 2013 2:43 pm

By: Jet Villa, InterAksyon.com August 6, 2013 4:34 PM

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - Amid a flurry of reports about unregulated procedures that have led to serious injury or even deaths, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) is now requiring foreign doctors wishing to practice stem cell therapy in the Philippines to obtain a special temporary permit (STP).

In a position statement, the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine (PRBOM) said foreign doctors must submit proof of education, training and clinical experience and actual practice in the field of stem cell therapy, plus a current license to practice authenticated by the Philippine Embassy/Consulate in the country of origin when they apply for the special permits.

The board warned: Any foreign physician who practices the professionwithout a STP will be criminally liable for illegal practice of medicine.And, it added, those who have aided and abetted the foreign physicianspractice of the profession are also criminally liable.

The position paper was signed by PRBOM chairman Dr. Edgardo Fernando and members doctors Miguel Noche Jr., Florentino Doble, Restituto de Ocampo, Jose Cueto Jr., and Mildred Pareja.

Controversy hounds new group

The position statement on stem cell therapy was issued amid a growing rift among doctors over recent controversial cases, including several lawmakers who had procedures done, but whose conditions worsened.

One newly-founded group of doctors doing stem-cell transplant, the Philippine Society of Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM), has been pitted by the controversy against the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine Society of General Internal Medicine (PSGIM), Philippine Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (PSHBT) andPhilippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP). The latter groups all believe thatPSSCM's practices are unethical as it charges huge fees from patients for stem cell procedures that are still under clinical trial.

The PRBOM has backed the Department of Health in issuing Administrative Order 2013-0012 providing the guidelines for stem cell, cell-based therapy in the country. "The practice of stem cell therapy does not constitute standard care at the present time. The claim that it offers cure to numerous diseases and conditions has not been proven through scientific research and documentation, the PRBOM said. Right now, it said, "there is difficulty verifying claims of practitioners and institutions regarding the effectivity ofavailable treatment modalities.

The rest is here:
PRC: Foreign docs doing stem cell therapy in PH must get special temporary permits

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Umbilical Cord Stem Cells: Regeneration, Repair, Inflammation and Autoimmunity – Neil Riordan PhD P2 – Video

August 4th, 2013 5:45 am


Umbilical Cord Stem Cells: Regeneration, Repair, Inflammation and Autoimmunity - Neil Riordan PhD P2
In part 2, Dr. Riordan discusses how mesenchymal stem cells can affect tissue repair in spinal cord injury and in heart failure; benefit to heart is not the ...

By: http://www.cellmedicine.com

Original post:
Umbilical Cord Stem Cells: Regeneration, Repair, Inflammation and Autoimmunity - Neil Riordan PhD P2 - Video

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Stem Cells From Urine May Treat Human Diseases – Video

August 4th, 2013 5:45 am


Stem Cells From Urine May Treat Human Diseases
Stem Cells From Urine May Treat Human Diseases.

By: asdcde

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Stem Cells From Urine May Treat Human Diseases - Video

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Macular Degeneration And Acupuncture: Gene Therapy and Stem Cell for AMD Safe? – Video

August 4th, 2013 5:43 am


Macular Degeneration And Acupuncture: Gene Therapy and Stem Cell for AMD Safe?
http://www.MacularDegenerationSupport.com or (908) 264-5484 Download the FULL webinar for free by clicking the link. Dr. Andy Rosenfarb conducted an hour lon...

By: Dr. Andy Rosenfarb

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Macular Degeneration And Acupuncture: Gene Therapy and Stem Cell for AMD Safe? - Video

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NewsLife: PCP pushes for more studies on stem cell therapy – Video

August 4th, 2013 5:42 am


NewsLife: PCP pushes for more studies on stem cell therapy
NewsLife - PCP pushes for more studies on stem cell therapy (Reported By: Dina Paguibitan) - [July 30, 2013] For more news, visit: #9659;http://www.ptvnews.ph Dow...

By: PTV PH

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NewsLife: PCP pushes for more studies on stem cell therapy - Video

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Advanced Topics – Stem Cell Therapy part 1 – Video

August 4th, 2013 5:42 am


Advanced Topics - Stem Cell Therapy part 1

By: Jesse Matteson

Read more from the original source:
Advanced Topics - Stem Cell Therapy part 1 - Video

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Pay-for-Eggs Legislation: A Comment on Risk

August 4th, 2013 3:04 am
The author of the Forbes piece cited in
the eggs legislation item today has responded to a comment filed
by two persons opposed to the measure that would remove the ban in
California on paying women for their eggs for scientific research.
Here is the text filed by Jon Entine,
executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project.

“Diane and Nancy, I'm shocked that
you are either unaware or do not acknowledge that there are studies
of oocyte retrieval surgeries that show very persuasively that the
potential harm from this procedure is manageable. While you refer to 'stories' of women being harmed--that's called anecdotal
evidence and is the antithesis of science--you ignore the established
research in this area, which makes it clear that you are reacting
hysterically rather than responding to empirical evidence. I would
suggest that you read the National Academies Press workshop report:
Assessing the Medical Risks of Human Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell
Research (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11832).
It cites numerous studies, including a German study that examined the
outcome of approximately 380,000 oocyte retrieval surgeries during
2000-2004. For the procedures for which there was information, the
rate of complications was very low: only 0.002 percent—2 in every
100,000—had complications that required surgery to correct.

“Studies have also examined the
potential risks of retrieval for a woman's future fertility.
“According to one large study, the
rate of infection after oocyte retrieval was about 1 in every 200 IVF
cycles, and surgery is needed to treat pelvic abscesses in less than
1 in 1,000 IVF cycles. 

“About five hundred egg donations
take place in Canada each year, according to the Canadian Fertility
and Andrology Society.The CFAS told me that, between 2001 and 2010,
only two donors in Canada, out of a total of 4,177 donations,
suffered from “severe” OHSS, which usually involves
hospitalization. Fourteen others had “moderate” OHSS. These
numbers are collected in a database called the Canadian Assisted
Reproductive Technologies Registry.

“So sure, you can find your 'stories' but they do not represent a scientific review of the available
data--you are trying to legislate based on fear. That's not science;
that's the dark ages, and it's exactly the tactics used by
anti-abortionists (and indeed by organizations like the Center for
Genetics and Society which opposes such beneficial advances as
mitochondrial replacement surgery).

“Furthermore, because women have a
set of two ovaries and two fallopian tubes, they can remain fertile
even if one set is damaged, and there is no evidence that both might
be threatened simultaneously by the side effects of retrieval
surgery. 

“Today doctors have had two decades
of experience with the use of hormone treatments to maximize the
number of eggs that can be harvested from a woman, and they have
become quite proficient in the production of oocytes. During that
time they have also worked to improve the safety of the procedure and
decrease the potential risks. Despite these improvements some risk
will remain, because hormones have a powerful effect on the body—they
could not increase egg production so dramatically if this were not
true—and anything with a powerful effect on the body has the
potential for harmful side effects as well. 

“Egg donations are done for a reason.
There are risks and benefits. For you to exaggerate the risks based
on 'stories' and ignore the evidence is unconscionable.
It's exactly what anti-abortion groups do and what opponents of
genetically modified foods do--you promote fear around manageable (or
in the case of GMOs, negligible) risk. 

“Your call for 'further studies' is the age old technique of reactionaries trying to control other
people and impose their values on other people. You know darned well,
because of your fundamental ideological opposition to this procedure,
no study results could ever meet your standard of acceptability. 

“You are trying to control other
women's bodies, claiming you have superior knowledge and
wisdom--those are pro-life talking points. Your views, and that of
the organizations that you represent, are illiberal.”

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/ib44Z4ZI-j0/pay-for-eggs-legislation-comment-on-risk.html

Read More...

Comment re Pay-for-Eggs Item and Forbes Article

August 4th, 2013 3:04 am
One of the authors of an op-ed piece in The
Sacramento Bee
has filed a comment in connection with an item today on the California Stem Cell Report. The item dealt with the California pay-for-eggs bill, which was also the subject of an op-ed piece in The Sacramento Bee as well as an article yesterday on the Forbes
magazine website that discussed the op-ed piece critically.
A quotation from the article was contained in this item earlier
today.
Here is the text of the comment from
Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a professor of anthropology at UC Berkeley and
director of Organs Watch.  Diane Tober, associate executive director of the Center for
Genetics and Society
of Berkeley, was the other author.

“Dr. Diane Tober and Prof. Nancy
Scheper-Hughes  are 'pro choice'  social scientists who are
concerned about the absence of any evidence-based medicine on the
long term effects of hyper-stimulation for oocyte (egg) production in
young women research subjects. We are not concerned about abortion,
right to life, or obstructing  needed and valuable research on
stem cells. We are concerned about the safety for potential research
subjects who are being actively recruited to participate in
 invasive medical procedures without any medical research
studies on the possible risks and consequences of egg multiplication
and extraction. We are on record that we  fully support stem
cell research but not at the expense of unprotected egg donors.”  

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/CdOjDrBctTE/comment-re-pay-for-eggs-item-and-forbes.html

Read More...

Pay-for-Eggs Legislation Now Before California Gov. Jerry Brown

August 4th, 2013 3:04 am
California's pay-for-eggs bill is now
officially on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, awaiting his signature or
veto.
The measure, AB926 by Assemblywoman
Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, was sent to the governor at 4:45 p.m. PDT
yesterday. On July 1, it easily won legislative approval and
has been held in legislative processing since then. The governor has
12 days to act on the measure or it becomes law without his
signature.
The legislation would remove the state
ban on payment to women for their eggs for scientific purposes.
Currently women who provide their eggs for fertility purposes can be
compensated. Fees run as high as $50,000 in some cases, depending on
the characteristics of the woman providing the eggs, but generally
are in the $10,000 range or less. The bill does not affect the ban on
the use of funds from the California stem cell agency to compensate
egg providers.
Bonilla's bill is sponsored by the $5
billion-a-year fertility industry, which is backing it on motherhood
and sexual equity grounds. Supporters say women should receive
payment for their eggs just as men are paid for their sperm. They
also argue that more eggs are needed for research into fertility
problems. In the stem cell field, scientists have also said it is
nearly impossible to find women who will provide eggs unless they are
paid.
Opponents contend that the process of
stimulating production of eggs can be risky or dangerous. They say
that the longterm effects of the process have not been studied well.
They also argue that it will lead to exploitation of low income and
minority women to produce eggs that then can become a profitable
commodity for the largely unregulated fertility industry. (For more
informationon on the bill, see here, here and here.)
In one op-ed piece in The Sacramento
Bee
, opponents cited the late philosopher Ivan Illich, who was much admired by Jerry Brown, who considered him a friend. Illich was quoted as warning "against the processes of medical
industries which 'create new needs and control their satisfaction and
turn human beings and their creativity into objects.'"
The industry group says, however, that Brown is
committed to signing the bill.
The measure surfaced in the news
yesterday in an article on the Forbes magazine website by Jon Entine.
He wrote,

“Should activist groups, working
through legislators, exercise their control over women’s
reproduction? Do we really 'own' our own bodies? Or does that tenet
only hold when nanny groups say it’s okay?”

(One of the authors of The Sacramento Bee op-ed piece criticized in the Forbes article later filed a comment concerning their position.)

The egg legislation may have implications for
regulation of stem cell research by the state Department of Public
Health
(again not involving the California stem cell agency). Last
month the California Stem Cell Report asked Hank Greely, a Stanford
law professor and chair of the state department's Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, about the measure. He replied,

“Well, if (when?) AB 926 is signed, I
think our committee should meet to consider what recommendations we
would make to the (the department) as a result of the bill.  Those
recommendations could lead, if the committee and the department
agree, to a revision of the state guidelines.  As a matter of
law, a statute, particularly a subsequent statute, trumps a guideline
where they are in conflict, but basically I expect we'll see what the
committee thinks and what the department decides.  I don't wish
to guess at the results of either process.”

Another question that was not discussed
publicly during the debate on the legislation deals with whether human eggs provided with compensation would be subject to state sales tax at any stage in the process. A check of the tax code, however, makes it
clear that eggs are tax free. The code states that “any human body
parts held in a bank for medical purposes, shall be exempt from
taxation for any purpose." The definition of “bank”
includes research facilities, and "medical purposes" includes research.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/sZ_beYvQCX8/pay-for-eggs-legislation-now-before.html

Read More...

Skimpy Coverage of Alpha Clinic Concept Approval

August 4th, 2013 3:04 am
News coverage of approval of the
California stem cell agency's ambitious, $70 million Alpha clinic
plan has been quite light but does include one article in the Los
Angeles Times
, the state's largest circulation newspaper.
The concept proposal was ratified last
week by the agency's board with RFAs scheduled to be posted in
October. The agency is seeking to build a basis for a robust stem
cell clinic business in California that would have an international
reach and give the state dominance in the industry.
Karen Kaplan's story in the Times last
week quoted CIRM President Alan Trounson as saying in 2010 about
agency's goals.

“If we went 10 years and had no
clinical treatments, it would be a failure. We need to demonstrate
that we are starting a whole new medical revolution.”

The stem cell agency was created by
voters in 2004 and funded with $3 billion in borrowed money. It will
run out of funds for new grants in 2017.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com caught up with
the plan this week in a story that said,

“The opportunity to run trails under
the well-funded CIRM could be a boon for CROs (contract research
organizations)....But the difficulties of handling the stem cells and
gathering enough patients to enroll in a trial may prove daunting for whatever
company tries to conduct the trials.”

The article also quoted CIRM spokesman
Kevin McCormack as saying,

 “No one has reached out to us yet
because the specific details of what we are looking for in the
clinics have not yet been decided.”

That said, considerable information is
available herehereherehere and here.)
Also reporting on board approval of the
Alpha clinic plan was GenNews.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/g-INer3wY50/skimpy-coverage-of-alpha-clinic-concept.html

Read More...

California Stem Cell Agency Looking for New Home in Two Years

August 4th, 2013 3:03 am
The California stem cell agency is located south of Market Street in San
 Francisco, close to the San Francisco Giants ballpark(upper right).  Since
 the agency has been there, the area has grown from seedy to gentrified. 
Some not-so-good news surfaced today in
San Francisco involving the $3 billion California stem cell agency.
The news has little to do with its
science efforts but everything to do with where it is located and its
overhead expenses. The agency will be forced out of its free office
space – 20,000 square feet – in two years. The free space was
provided under an $18 million recruitment package and is worth at
least $1 million a year, according to the agency's auditors.
The bad news is that the San Francisco
office-space market is sizzling hot. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and
other technology firms are scrambling for space in
Baghdad-by-the-Bay, as the city is sometimes known. According to a story this morning by James Temple in the San Francisco Chronicle,
the firms are looking for a total of about 800,000 square feet and
are prepared to pay well for it.
One nearly completed deal involving
Yahoo would cost about $48 per square foot for a 10-year lease. If
CIRM paid at that rate, it would have nearly $1 million in additional
costs annually. However, leasing rates are expected to rise substantially in the next year or so. Also involved in a move would
be the cost of parking, which could run about $360,000 a year.
The stem cell agency is already
examining its options for new offices, including some sort of special
deal with the City of San Francisco.
Former State Sen. Art Torres, onetime
chairman of the state Democratic Party and co-vice chairman of CIRM,
briefed agency directors on the matter at its meeting in May. He
said,

“I met with the mayor of San
Francisco(Ed Lee), who's a dear friend, and he encouraged us to be
aware that he's very committed to helping us find some space in San
Francisco. Whether it means tax credits or incentives to a potential
landlord, we still have to work that out. Obviously we still have to
work out what the space will be. But the fact that the mayor has
indicated very explicitly that he wants to keep us in San Francisco,
I think it will bode well for us down the road.

“The current owner of the property
(Stockbridge Capital Partners) has not been happy that for ten years
they've had to supply free rent to us. And what they didn't
anticipate was having to provide for over $755,000 in operating
costs, which they thought some donors would take are of. Those donors
-- some of whom passed away and others who chose to give money to
other institutions, UC San Francisco, in particular, to the stem cell
lab, which was very much appreciated, I know, by UCSF – but at
the end of the day, there's no room for negotiations with this
current owner.”

CIRM Director Joan Samuelson asked
Torres whether future rent would also be free. Torres, who is also
president of San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, replied,

“I would not work on that assumption.
I would work on the assumption somewhere between a dollar and more,
again, dependent upon what kind of tax incentives the City of San
Francisco would provide. We're very fortunate that my son(Joaquin
Torres
) is the deputy mayor for economic development, so we also have
him working on this as well.”

Samuelson replied,

“I'll ask more questions offline.”

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/v8usDDMWucE/california-stem-cell-agency-looking-for.html

Read More...

Pay-for-Eggs Legislation: A Comment on Risk

August 4th, 2013 3:00 am
The author of the Forbes piece cited in
the eggs legislation item today has responded to a comment filed
by two persons opposed to the measure that would remove the ban in
California on paying women for their eggs for scientific research.
Here is the text filed by Jon Entine,
executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project.

“Diane and Nancy, I'm shocked that
you are either unaware or do not acknowledge that there are studies
of oocyte retrieval surgeries that show very persuasively that the
potential harm from this procedure is manageable. While you refer to 'stories' of women being harmed--that's called anecdotal
evidence and is the antithesis of science--you ignore the established
research in this area, which makes it clear that you are reacting
hysterically rather than responding to empirical evidence. I would
suggest that you read the National Academies Press workshop report:
Assessing the Medical Risks of Human Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell
Research (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11832).
It cites numerous studies, including a German study that examined the
outcome of approximately 380,000 oocyte retrieval surgeries during
2000-2004. For the procedures for which there was information, the
rate of complications was very low: only 0.002 percent—2 in every
100,000—had complications that required surgery to correct.

“Studies have also examined the
potential risks of retrieval for a woman's future fertility.
“According to one large study, the
rate of infection after oocyte retrieval was about 1 in every 200 IVF
cycles, and surgery is needed to treat pelvic abscesses in less than
1 in 1,000 IVF cycles. 

“About five hundred egg donations
take place in Canada each year, according to the Canadian Fertility
and Andrology Society.The CFAS told me that, between 2001 and 2010,
only two donors in Canada, out of a total of 4,177 donations,
suffered from “severe” OHSS, which usually involves
hospitalization. Fourteen others had “moderate” OHSS. These
numbers are collected in a database called the Canadian Assisted
Reproductive Technologies Registry.

“So sure, you can find your 'stories' but they do not represent a scientific review of the available
data--you are trying to legislate based on fear. That's not science;
that's the dark ages, and it's exactly the tactics used by
anti-abortionists (and indeed by organizations like the Center for
Genetics and Society which opposes such beneficial advances as
mitochondrial replacement surgery).

“Furthermore, because women have a
set of two ovaries and two fallopian tubes, they can remain fertile
even if one set is damaged, and there is no evidence that both might
be threatened simultaneously by the side effects of retrieval
surgery. 

“Today doctors have had two decades
of experience with the use of hormone treatments to maximize the
number of eggs that can be harvested from a woman, and they have
become quite proficient in the production of oocytes. During that
time they have also worked to improve the safety of the procedure and
decrease the potential risks. Despite these improvements some risk
will remain, because hormones have a powerful effect on the body—they
could not increase egg production so dramatically if this were not
true—and anything with a powerful effect on the body has the
potential for harmful side effects as well. 

“Egg donations are done for a reason.
There are risks and benefits. For you to exaggerate the risks based
on 'stories' and ignore the evidence is unconscionable.
It's exactly what anti-abortion groups do and what opponents of
genetically modified foods do--you promote fear around manageable (or
in the case of GMOs, negligible) risk. 

“Your call for 'further studies' is the age old technique of reactionaries trying to control other
people and impose their values on other people. You know darned well,
because of your fundamental ideological opposition to this procedure,
no study results could ever meet your standard of acceptability. 

“You are trying to control other
women's bodies, claiming you have superior knowledge and
wisdom--those are pro-life talking points. Your views, and that of
the organizations that you represent, are illiberal.”

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/ib44Z4ZI-j0/pay-for-eggs-legislation-comment-on-risk.html

Read More...

Comment re Pay-for-Eggs Item and Forbes Article

August 4th, 2013 3:00 am
One of the authors of an op-ed piece in The
Sacramento Bee
has filed a comment in connection with an item today on the California Stem Cell Report. The item dealt with the California pay-for-eggs bill, which was also the subject of an op-ed piece in The Sacramento Bee as well as an article yesterday on the Forbes
magazine website that discussed the op-ed piece critically.
A quotation from the article was contained in this item earlier
today.
Here is the text of the comment from
Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a professor of anthropology at UC Berkeley and
director of Organs Watch.  Diane Tober, associate executive director of the Center for
Genetics and Society
of Berkeley, was the other author.

“Dr. Diane Tober and Prof. Nancy
Scheper-Hughes  are 'pro choice'  social scientists who are
concerned about the absence of any evidence-based medicine on the
long term effects of hyper-stimulation for oocyte (egg) production in
young women research subjects. We are not concerned about abortion,
right to life, or obstructing  needed and valuable research on
stem cells. We are concerned about the safety for potential research
subjects who are being actively recruited to participate in
 invasive medical procedures without any medical research
studies on the possible risks and consequences of egg multiplication
and extraction. We are on record that we  fully support stem
cell research but not at the expense of unprotected egg donors.”  

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/CdOjDrBctTE/comment-re-pay-for-eggs-item-and-forbes.html

Read More...

Pay-for-Eggs Legislation Now Before California Gov. Jerry Brown

August 4th, 2013 3:00 am
California's pay-for-eggs bill is now
officially on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, awaiting his signature or
veto.
The measure, AB926 by Assemblywoman
Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, was sent to the governor at 4:45 p.m. PDT
yesterday. On July 1, it easily won legislative approval and
has been held in legislative processing since then. The governor has
12 days to act on the measure or it becomes law without his
signature.
The legislation would remove the state
ban on payment to women for their eggs for scientific purposes.
Currently women who provide their eggs for fertility purposes can be
compensated. Fees run as high as $50,000 in some cases, depending on
the characteristics of the woman providing the eggs, but generally
are in the $10,000 range or less. The bill does not affect the ban on
the use of funds from the California stem cell agency to compensate
egg providers.
Bonilla's bill is sponsored by the $5
billion-a-year fertility industry, which is backing it on motherhood
and sexual equity grounds. Supporters say women should receive
payment for their eggs just as men are paid for their sperm. They
also argue that more eggs are needed for research into fertility
problems. In the stem cell field, scientists have also said it is
nearly impossible to find women who will provide eggs unless they are
paid.
Opponents contend that the process of
stimulating production of eggs can be risky or dangerous. They say
that the longterm effects of the process have not been studied well.
They also argue that it will lead to exploitation of low income and
minority women to produce eggs that then can become a profitable
commodity for the largely unregulated fertility industry. (For more
informationon on the bill, see here, here and here.)
In one op-ed piece in The Sacramento
Bee
, opponents cited the late philosopher Ivan Illich, who was much admired by Jerry Brown, who considered him a friend. Illich was quoted as warning "against the processes of medical
industries which 'create new needs and control their satisfaction and
turn human beings and their creativity into objects.'"
The industry group says, however, that Brown is
committed to signing the bill.
The measure surfaced in the news
yesterday in an article on the Forbes magazine website by Jon Entine.
He wrote,

“Should activist groups, working
through legislators, exercise their control over women’s
reproduction? Do we really 'own' our own bodies? Or does that tenet
only hold when nanny groups say it’s okay?”

(One of the authors of The Sacramento Bee op-ed piece criticized in the Forbes article later filed a comment concerning their position.)

The egg legislation may have implications for
regulation of stem cell research by the state Department of Public
Health
(again not involving the California stem cell agency). Last
month the California Stem Cell Report asked Hank Greely, a Stanford
law professor and chair of the state department's Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, about the measure. He replied,

“Well, if (when?) AB 926 is signed, I
think our committee should meet to consider what recommendations we
would make to the (the department) as a result of the bill.  Those
recommendations could lead, if the committee and the department
agree, to a revision of the state guidelines.  As a matter of
law, a statute, particularly a subsequent statute, trumps a guideline
where they are in conflict, but basically I expect we'll see what the
committee thinks and what the department decides.  I don't wish
to guess at the results of either process.”

Another question that was not discussed
publicly during the debate on the legislation deals with whether human eggs provided with compensation would be subject to state sales tax at any stage in the process. A check of the tax code, however, makes it
clear that eggs are tax free. The code states that “any human body
parts held in a bank for medical purposes, shall be exempt from
taxation for any purpose." The definition of “bank”
includes research facilities, and "medical purposes" includes research.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/sZ_beYvQCX8/pay-for-eggs-legislation-now-before.html

Read More...

Skimpy Coverage of Alpha Clinic Concept Approval

August 4th, 2013 3:00 am
News coverage of approval of the
California stem cell agency's ambitious, $70 million Alpha clinic
plan has been quite light but does include one article in the Los
Angeles Times
, the state's largest circulation newspaper.
The concept proposal was ratified last
week by the agency's board with RFAs scheduled to be posted in
October. The agency is seeking to build a basis for a robust stem
cell clinic business in California that would have an international
reach and give the state dominance in the industry.
Karen Kaplan's story in the Times last
week quoted CIRM President Alan Trounson as saying in 2010 about
agency's goals.

“If we went 10 years and had no
clinical treatments, it would be a failure. We need to demonstrate
that we are starting a whole new medical revolution.”

The stem cell agency was created by
voters in 2004 and funded with $3 billion in borrowed money. It will
run out of funds for new grants in 2017.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com caught up with
the plan this week in a story that said,

“The opportunity to run trails under
the well-funded CIRM could be a boon for CROs (contract research
organizations)....But the difficulties of handling the stem cells and
gathering enough patients to enroll in a trial may prove daunting for whatever
company tries to conduct the trials.”

The article also quoted CIRM spokesman
Kevin McCormack as saying,

 “No one has reached out to us yet
because the specific details of what we are looking for in the
clinics have not yet been decided.”

That said, considerable information is
available herehereherehere and here.)
Also reporting on board approval of the
Alpha clinic plan was GenNews.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/g-INer3wY50/skimpy-coverage-of-alpha-clinic-concept.html

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California Stem Cell Agency Looking for New Home in Two Years

August 4th, 2013 3:00 am
The California stem cell agency is located south of Market Street in San
 Francisco, close to the San Francisco Giants ballpark(upper right).  Since
 the agency has been there, the area has grown from seedy to gentrified. 
Some not-so-good news surfaced today in
San Francisco involving the $3 billion California stem cell agency.
The news has little to do with its
science efforts but everything to do with where it is located and its
overhead expenses. The agency will be forced out of its free office
space – 20,000 square feet – in two years. The free space was
provided under an $18 million recruitment package and is worth at
least $1 million a year, according to the agency's auditors.
The bad news is that the San Francisco
office-space market is sizzling hot. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and
other technology firms are scrambling for space in
Baghdad-by-the-Bay, as the city is sometimes known. According to a story this morning by James Temple in the San Francisco Chronicle,
the firms are looking for a total of about 800,000 square feet and
are prepared to pay well for it.
One nearly completed deal involving
Yahoo would cost about $48 per square foot for a 10-year lease. If
CIRM paid at that rate, it would have nearly $1 million in additional
costs annually. However, leasing rates are expected to rise substantially in the next year or so. Also involved in a move would
be the cost of parking, which could run about $360,000 a year.
The stem cell agency is already
examining its options for new offices, including some sort of special
deal with the City of San Francisco.
Former State Sen. Art Torres, onetime
chairman of the state Democratic Party and co-vice chairman of CIRM,
briefed agency directors on the matter at its meeting in May. He
said,

“I met with the mayor of San
Francisco(Ed Lee), who's a dear friend, and he encouraged us to be
aware that he's very committed to helping us find some space in San
Francisco. Whether it means tax credits or incentives to a potential
landlord, we still have to work that out. Obviously we still have to
work out what the space will be. But the fact that the mayor has
indicated very explicitly that he wants to keep us in San Francisco,
I think it will bode well for us down the road.

“The current owner of the property
(Stockbridge Capital Partners) has not been happy that for ten years
they've had to supply free rent to us. And what they didn't
anticipate was having to provide for over $755,000 in operating
costs, which they thought some donors would take are of. Those donors
-- some of whom passed away and others who chose to give money to
other institutions, UC San Francisco, in particular, to the stem cell
lab, which was very much appreciated, I know, by UCSF – but at
the end of the day, there's no room for negotiations with this
current owner.”

CIRM Director Joan Samuelson asked
Torres whether future rent would also be free. Torres, who is also
president of San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, replied,

“I would not work on that assumption.
I would work on the assumption somewhere between a dollar and more,
again, dependent upon what kind of tax incentives the City of San
Francisco would provide. We're very fortunate that my son(Joaquin
Torres
) is the deputy mayor for economic development, so we also have
him working on this as well.”

Samuelson replied,

“I'll ask more questions offline.”

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/v8usDDMWucE/california-stem-cell-agency-looking-for.html

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3 questions about stem cells and osteoarthritis – Video

August 3rd, 2013 4:43 am


3 questions about stem cells and osteoarthritis
http://www.stemcellsarthritistreatment.com 3 Questions about stem cells and arthritis What types of stem cells are you using for osteoarthritis? Will I need ...

By: Nathan Wei

Continued here:
3 questions about stem cells and osteoarthritis - Video

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