StemCell Therapy

NEW YORK (AP) For the first time, scientists have improved hearing in deaf animals by using human embryonic stem cells, an encouraging step for someday treating people with certain hearing disorders.

"It's a dynamite study (and) a significant leap forward," said one expert familiar with the work, Dr. Lawrence Lustig of the University of California, San Francisco.

The experiment involved an uncommon form of deafness, one that affects fewer than 1 percent to perhaps 15 percent of hearing-impaired people. And the treatment wouldn't necessarily apply to all cases of that disorder. Scientists hope the approach can be expanded to help with more common forms of deafness. But in any case, it will be years before human patients might benefit.

Results of the work, done in gerbils, were reported online Wednesday in the journal Nature by a team led by Dr. Marcelo Rivolta of the University of Sheffield in England.

To make the gerbils deaf in one ear, scientists killed nerve cells that transmit information from the ear to the brain. The experiment was aimed at replacing those cells.

Human embryonic stem cells can be manipulated to produce any type of cell. Using them is controversial because they are initially obtained by destroying embryos. Once recovered, stem cells can be grown and maintained in a lab and the experiment used cells from lab cultures.

The stem cells were used to make immature nerve cells. Those were then transplanted into the deaf ears of 18 gerbils.

Ten weeks later, the rodents' hearing ability had improved by an average of 46 percent, with recovery ranging from modest to almost complete, the researchers reported.

And how did they know the gerbils could hear in their deafened ears? They measured hearing ability by recording the response of the brain stem to sound.

The gerbils were kept on medication to avoid rejecting the human cells, much like people who get transplants of human organs, Rivolta said. But that might not be necessary if the procedure proceeds to people, he said. Scientists may be able to work with stem cells that closely match a patient, or even use a different technology to make the transplanted cells from a patient's own tissue, he said.

More:
Human stem cells restore hearing in gerbil study

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cytomedix, Inc. (CMXI), a fully integrated regenerative medicine company commercializing and developing innovative platelet and adult stem cell technologies, today announced that its common shares are now trading on the highest OTC marketplace, OTCQX, under the ticker symbol "CMXI."

Cytomedix upgraded from OTCQB today to trade on the OTC market's prestigious marketplace, OTCQX. Investors can find current financial disclosure and real-time Level 2 quotes for the Company's common shares at http://www.otcmarkets.com.

"We believe investors will appreciate the quality-controlled admission process, the transparent trading and easy access to company information that are hallmarks of the OTCQX," said Martin P. Rosendale, Chief Executive Officer of Cytomedix.

C. K. Cooper & Company will serve as Cytomedix's Designated Advisor for Disclosure ("DAD") on OTCQX, and will be responsible for providing guidance on OTCQX requirements.

About Cytomedix, Inc. Cytomedix, Inc. is a fully integrated regenerative medicine company commercializing and developing innovative platelet and adult stem cell separation products that enhance the body's natural healing processes. The Company's advanced autologous technologies offer clinicians a new treatment paradigm for wound and tissue repair. The Company's patient-derived PRP systems are marketed by Cytomedix in the U.S. and distributed internationally. The Company's commercial products include the AutoloGel System, cleared by the FDA for wound care and the Angel Whole Blood Separation System. The Company is developing novel regenerative therapies using the proprietary ALDH Bright Cell ("ALDHbr") technology to isolate a unique, biologically active population of a patient's own stem cells. A Phase 2 trial evaluating the use of ALDHbr for the treatment of ischemic stroke is underway. For additional information please visit http://www.cytomedix.com.

About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCM) operates Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces for investors to easily trade almost 10,000 equity and debt securities through the broker of their choice. Our OTC Link ATS directly links a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services for a wide spectrum of securities. We organize these securities into tiered marketplaces to inform investors of opportunities and risks including OTCQX - The Intelligent Marketplace for the Best OTC Companies; OTCQB - The Venture Marketplace; and OTC Pink - The Open Marketplace. Our data-driven platform enables efficient trading through any broker at the best possible price and empowers a broad range of companies to improve the quality and availability of information for their investors. To learn more about how we create smarter financial marketplaces, visit http://www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC registered ATS.

About Cytomedix, Inc.Cytomedix, Inc. is a fully integrated regenerative medicine company commercializing and developing innovative platelet and adult stem cell separation products that enhance the body's natural healing processes. The Company's advanced autologous technologies offer clinicians a new treatment paradigm for wound and tissue repair. The Company's patient-derived PRP systems are marketed by Cytomedix in the U.S. and distributed internationally. Our commercial products include the AutoloGel System, cleared by the FDA for wound care and the Angel Whole Blood Separation System. The Company is developing novel regenerative therapies using our proprietary ALDH Bright Cell ("ALDHbr") technology to isolate a unique, biologically active population of a patient's own stem cells. A Phase 2 trial evaluating the use of ALDHbr for the treatment of ischemic stroke is underway. For additional information please visit http://www.cytomedix.com.

Safe Harbor Statement Statements contained in this press release not relating to historical facts are forward-looking statements that are intended to fall within the safe harbor rule for such statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information contained in the forward-looking statements is inherently uncertain, and Cytomedix' actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond Cytomedix' ability to predict or control, including among many others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company's reimbursement related efforts, the Company's ability to capitalize on the benefits of the above-referenced CMS determination, the Company's ability to successfully and favorably conclude the negotiations and related discussions with the above-referenced global pharmaceutical company, the Company's ability to successfully integrate the Aldagen acquisition, to successfully manage contemplated clinical trials, to manage and address the capital needs, human resource, management, compliance and other challenges of a larger, more complex and integrated business enterprise, viability and effectiveness of the Company's sales approach and overall marketing strategies, commercial success or acceptance by the medical community, competitive responses, the Company's ability to raise additional capital and to continue as a going concern, and Cytomedix's ability to execute on its strategy to market the AutoloGel System as contemplated. To the extent that any statements made here are not historical, these statements are essentially forward-looking. The Company uses words and phrases such as "believes", "forecasted," "projects," "is expected," "remain confident," "will" and/or similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements in this press release. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ from the forward-looking statements. More information about some of these risks and uncertainties may be found in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Cytomedix, Inc. Cytomedix operates in a highly competitive and rapidly changing business and regulatory environment, thus new or unforeseen risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Except as is expressly required by the federal securities laws, Cytomedix undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future events or for any other reason. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and other subsequent filings. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov.

Contacts:

Read more:
Cytomedix Shares Now Trading on OTCQX

September 16, 2012

Image Caption: NanoEngineering Professor Shaochen Chen has demonstrated the capability of printing three-dimensional blood vessels in mere seconds out of soft, biocompatible hydrogels. Being able to print blood vessels is essential to achieving the promise of regenerative medicine because it is how the body distributes oxygen and nutrients. Image Credit: Biomedical Nanotechnology Laboratory, Chen Research Group, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have created a new technology that has far-reaching implications for regenerative medicine. The results of the project have been reported in Advanced Materials.

The team has been able to fabricate, in seconds, microscale three-dimensional (3D) structures out of soft biocompatible hydrogels. This could lead to better systems for growing and studying cells, including stem cells, in the laboratory. In the long-term, the goal is to be able to print biological tissues for regenerative medicine. For example, repairing the damage caused by a heart attack by replacing it with tissue from a printer.

Professor Shaochen Chen developed this new biofabrication technology, called dynamic optical projection stereolithography (DOPsL). Current fabrication techniques, such as photolithography and micro-contact printing, are limited to generating simple geometries or 2D patterns. Stereolithography is best known for its ability to print large objects such as tools and car parts.

The difference between earlier stereolithography and DOPsL, Chen says, is in the micro- and nanoscale resolution required to print tissues that mimic natures fine-grained details, including blood vessels, which are essential for distributing nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Without the ability to print vasculature, an engineered liver or kidney, for example, is useless in regenerative medicine. With DOPsL, Chens team was able to achieve more complex geometries common in nature such as flowers, spirals and hemispheres. Other current 3D fabrication techniques, such as two-photon photopolymerization, can take hours to fabricate a 3D part.

The system uses a computer projection system and precisely controlled micromirrors to shine light on a selected area of a solution containing photo-sensitive biopolymers and cells. This begins the solidification process, which forms one layer of solid structure at a time, but in a continuous fashion. The Obama administration in March launched a $1 billion investment in advanced manufacturing technologies, including creating the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute with $30 million in federal funding to focus on 3D printing. The term additive manufacturing refers to the way 3D structures are built layering very thin materials.

The development of this new technology is part of a grant that Chen received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Chens research group focuses on fabrication of nanostructured biomaterials and nanophotonics for biomedical engineering.

Source: April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

Originally posted here:
Regenerative Medicine Gets A Boost With Quick Printing Of 3D Microstructures

I always read WIRED magazine.  Aside from GEN it's the only magazine I read.  Just reading something outside of cell therapy or biotech often infuses me with an idea that otherwise would have never occurred to me like the need for a cell therapy X Prize or cellular aggregates as microcarriers or tissue-engineered memory and processing devices or even just the conviction to better represent cell therapy to the broader world out there of scientists, engineers, journalists, policy-makers, or perhaps people with too much money looking to be inspired and wanting to make a difference.

http://www.celltherapyblog.com hosted by http://www.celltherapygroup.com

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CellTherapyBlog

Looking for a good job at an
enterprise that is on the cutting edge of biotechnology?

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

StemCells, Inc., said yesterday that it
will come up with the $40 million needed to match loans from the California
stem cell agency through “existing infrastructure and overhead”
and will not be issuing stocks or warrants to the agency.

“We have incurred significant
operating losses since inception. We expect to incur additional
operating losses over the foreseeable future. We have very limited
liquidity and capital resources and must obtain significant
additional capital and other resources in order to provide funding
for our product development efforts....”

Martin McGlynn StemCells, Inc., Photo

“To be clear, we do not interpret the
diligence requirement as an obligation to raise a specific amount of
money in a particular period of time, and we wish to correct the
misstatements made by some uninformed third parties that the ICOC is
requiring us to raise $20 million in matching funds. In
point of fact, we expect that a substantial amount of our
contribution towards these projects will come from existing
infrastructure and overhead, salaries for our existing personnel, and
other contributions in kind. Furthermore, we will soon be
reviewing the budgets for both projects in detail with CIRM
staff. Because each disease team budget was prepared on a
stand-alone basis, we expect to see significant economies and
efficiencies now that the company has in fact been awarded funding
for both.”

"Under this particular CIRM
program (RFA 10-05), funding for companies will be in the form of
unsecured, non-recourse, interest-bearing, term loans, which will be
forgivable in the event the funded research fails to result in a
commercialized product. On the other hand, should the product be
successfully commercialized, CIRM would earn milestone payments
depending on how successful the product becomes. Because CIRM
shares the downside risk, and could participate handsomely on the
upside, the structure makes the loan about as close to 'equity' as one could, without having to dilute existing shareholders in order
to gain access to significant amounts of capital.  The company
will not issue stock, warrants or other equity to CIRM in connection
with these awards. 

"Of course, we realize that CIRM
prefers that applicants from industry provide evidence of their
ability to secure whatever additional funds may be needed to complete
any CIRM-funded project, in this case the filing of an IND for each
indication. This is stated in the text of RFA 10-05 itself and
was repeated in various comments by CIRM staff during the application
process. When making the second award on September 5, the
ICOC naturally recognized the sizeable commitment it was making
to StemCells, so it instructed CIRM staff to satisfy themselves
of the company's ability to access the capital needed to fund the
project, namely the Alzheimer's program through to the filing of the
IND.”

"Finally, I can confirm that in
June of this year the Company applied for up to $10
million under CIRM's Strategic Partnership I program
(RFA 12-05). Unlike the disease team awards under RFA
10-05, if companies are approved for funding under RFA 12-05, they
may elect to take such funding in the form of a grant, not a
loan. Our application under RFA 12-05 is for a controlled Phase
II clinical trial of HuCNS-SC cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
(PMD), a rare myelination disorder. StemCells completed a Phase
I study in PMD in February 2012 and in April announced that
all of the patients from that study showed evidence of cell-derived
myelination and three of the four patients in the study showed
measurable gains in motor and/or cognitive function.”

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

During the last few months, the $3 billion California stem cell
agency, which is approaching its eight-year anniversary, has chalked up a
number of important firsts.

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

I always read WIRED magazine.  Aside from GEN it's the only magazine I read.  Just reading something outside of cell therapy or biotech often infuses me with an idea that otherwise would have never occurred to me like the need for a cell therapy X Prize or cellular aggregates as microcarriers or tissue-engineered memory and processing devices or even just the conviction to better represent cell therapy to the broader world out there of scientists, engineers, journalists, policy-makers, or perhaps people with too much money looking to be inspired and wanting to make a difference.

http://www.celltherapyblog.com hosted by http://www.celltherapygroup.com

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CellTherapyBlog

Looking for a good job at an
enterprise that is on the cutting edge of biotechnology?

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

StemCells, Inc., said yesterday that it
will come up with the $40 million needed to match loans from the California
stem cell agency through “existing infrastructure and overhead”
and will not be issuing stocks or warrants to the agency.

“We have incurred significant
operating losses since inception. We expect to incur additional
operating losses over the foreseeable future. We have very limited
liquidity and capital resources and must obtain significant
additional capital and other resources in order to provide funding
for our product development efforts....”

Martin McGlynn StemCells, Inc., Photo

“To be clear, we do not interpret the
diligence requirement as an obligation to raise a specific amount of
money in a particular period of time, and we wish to correct the
misstatements made by some uninformed third parties that the ICOC is
requiring us to raise $20 million in matching funds. In
point of fact, we expect that a substantial amount of our
contribution towards these projects will come from existing
infrastructure and overhead, salaries for our existing personnel, and
other contributions in kind. Furthermore, we will soon be
reviewing the budgets for both projects in detail with CIRM
staff. Because each disease team budget was prepared on a
stand-alone basis, we expect to see significant economies and
efficiencies now that the company has in fact been awarded funding
for both.”

"Under this particular CIRM
program (RFA 10-05), funding for companies will be in the form of
unsecured, non-recourse, interest-bearing, term loans, which will be
forgivable in the event the funded research fails to result in a
commercialized product. On the other hand, should the product be
successfully commercialized, CIRM would earn milestone payments
depending on how successful the product becomes. Because CIRM
shares the downside risk, and could participate handsomely on the
upside, the structure makes the loan about as close to 'equity' as one could, without having to dilute existing shareholders in order
to gain access to significant amounts of capital.  The company
will not issue stock, warrants or other equity to CIRM in connection
with these awards. 

"Of course, we realize that CIRM
prefers that applicants from industry provide evidence of their
ability to secure whatever additional funds may be needed to complete
any CIRM-funded project, in this case the filing of an IND for each
indication. This is stated in the text of RFA 10-05 itself and
was repeated in various comments by CIRM staff during the application
process. When making the second award on September 5, the
ICOC naturally recognized the sizeable commitment it was making
to StemCells, so it instructed CIRM staff to satisfy themselves
of the company's ability to access the capital needed to fund the
project, namely the Alzheimer's program through to the filing of the
IND.”

"Finally, I can confirm that in
June of this year the Company applied for up to $10
million under CIRM's Strategic Partnership I program
(RFA 12-05). Unlike the disease team awards under RFA
10-05, if companies are approved for funding under RFA 12-05, they
may elect to take such funding in the form of a grant, not a
loan. Our application under RFA 12-05 is for a controlled Phase
II clinical trial of HuCNS-SC cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
(PMD), a rare myelination disorder. StemCells completed a Phase
I study in PMD in February 2012 and in April announced that
all of the patients from that study showed evidence of cell-derived
myelination and three of the four patients in the study showed
measurable gains in motor and/or cognitive function.”

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

During the last few months, the $3 billion California stem cell
agency, which is approaching its eight-year anniversary, has chalked up a
number of important firsts.

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

Researchers have found a way to use human embryonic stem cells to restore hearing to gerbils. Specifically, they were able to repair damage to the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain, as they reported in Naturethis week. This type of hearing loss, which affects many people, is currently untreatable; it isnt helped by hearing aids or cochlear implants, both of which depend on the auditory nerve to send the final signals to the brain. Applied to humans, this research could perhaps help a group that are currently without treatment for hearing loss.

By bathing human embryonic stem cells in certain chemicals, the researchers turned the cells into the precursors of auditory nerve cells, something they already knew how to do. They then transplanted these precursor cells into gerbils whose auditory nerves had been disabled by a poison. After 10 weeks, the transplanted stem cells had repaired the broken connection between the ear and the brain, and the gerbils hearing improved by nearly 50 percent.

It could take 15 years for such research to translate to treatments for humans, Stefan Heller, a stem cell researcher not involved in the study but also working on treatments for hearing loss, told Nature Newsif the research makes that leap. Theres no guarantee that the technique will work as well in humans as it does in gerbils. Keep your ears pricked up for further progress on this front.

Gerbil photo courtesy of Eschold/Wikimedia Commons

Go here to see the original:
Human Stem Cells Repair Hearing Loss in Gerbils | 80beats

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

This week in the journal Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), scientists from Allele Biotechnology describe an important advance in the generation of stem cells capable of producing all the different tissues of the human body. In an article entitled Feeder-Free Derivation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with Messenger RNA, Alleles scientists present the fastest and safest method yet for converting ordinary human skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

The scientific efforts were led by Dr. Luigi Warren, whose pioneering work on footprint-free reprogramming using messenger RNA was the foundation for Alleles breakthrough. Through the united efforts of Dr. Warren and the scientists at Allele Biotechnology, his technique was re-engineered to increase cell conversion efficiency and eliminate any use of potentially unsafe reagents, while substantially reducing the time and effort needed to make stem cells. Dr. Warren believes that because of its advantages this technology should become the method of choice for iPSC cell banking.

According to Dr. Jiwu Wang, corresponding author on the paper and CEO of Allele Biotechnology, This advance in stem cell derivation will enable both fundamental scientific research and clinical applications which has been the mission of Allele Biotechnology from its inception.

Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a San Diego-based biotechnology company that was established in 1999 by Dr. Jiwu Wang and colleagues. A research based company specializing in the fields of RNAi, stem cells, viral expression, camelid antibodies and fluorescent proteins; Allele Biotechnology has always striven to offer products and services at the cutting edge of research.

Continue reading here:
Allele Biotechnology Announces New Advance in Production of Human Stem Cells

By Jenifer Goodwin HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Using nerve cells grown from human embryonic stem cells, researchers report that they restored hearing in deaf gerbils.

About 80 percent to 90 percent of deafness is due to problems with the cells in the inner ear, explained senior study author Marcelo Rivolta, a reader in sensory stem cell biology at the University of Sheffield, in England. In the inner ear, two types of cells are key to hearing. One type are tiny projections called hair cells, which convert sound vibrations into electrical signals, which then travel along the auditory nerve to the brain.

When hair cells are damaged, cochlear implants can help overcome that by converting sound vibrations into electrical signals, bypassing the hair cells and directing stimulating the auditory nerve, experts explained. But when the cause of deafness is damage to the neurons that make up the auditory nerve, much less can be done about it, Rivolta said.

"We have concentrated on trying to fix the problem at the neuronal level. The cochlear implant is a device that functionally replaces the hair cell -- it takes sound and transforms it into an electrical signal," Rivolta said. "But for the cochlear implant to work, you have to have a good connection to the brain."

In the study, which is published online in the Sept. 12 issue of Nature, researchers coaxed human embryonic stem cells -- which have the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body -- into differentiating into otic (ear) progenitor cells. They did this by placing the stem cells into a test tube that contained certain molecules known to be present during fetal development when the ear forms.

Progenitors are immature cells that haven't fully differentiated into their specific role, but have certain characteristics that have started them down that path. Researchers then further coaxed the progenitors into becoming hair cells or auditory neurons.

"We have a system in vitro [in a test tube] that we can use to produce these important cell types, a little factory of hair cells and neurons whenever we need them," Rivolta said.

Researchers then transplanted the progenitor cells into about a dozen gerbils that had auditory nerve damage. Ten weeks after transplantation, brain wave measurements showed the gerbils could hear again.

"What we have seen is the progenitors engraft, survive and connect to the other cells that are there, and more important, they produce a functional recovery," Rivolta said.

More:
Human Stem Cells Restore Hearing to Deaf Gerbils in Study

Published: Sept. 13, 2012 at 5:41 PM

SHEFFIELD, England, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- British scientists said human embryonic stem cells were used to treat a common form of hearing loss and could be helpful in treating deafness.

Dr. Marcelo Rivolta of the University of Sheffield transplanted human embryonic stem cells into deaf gerbils and obtained a functional recovery of, on average, around 46 percent.

The improvement was evident about four weeks after administering the cells, Rivolta said.

"We believe this an important step forward. We have now a method to produce human cochlear sensory cells that we could use to develop new drugs and treatments, and to study the function of genes," Rivolta said in a statement. "And more importantly, we have the proof-of-concept that human stem cells could be used to repair the damaged ear."

The model of hearing loss successfully treated by the scientists was similar to a human condition known as auditory neuropathy -- a form of deafness in which the damage occurs at the level of the cochlear nerve -- involving 15 percent of the population worldwide with profound hearing loss.

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

View post:
Stem cells could help treat deafness

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that its neural stem cells were part of a study, "Long-Distance Growth and Connectivity of Neural Stem Cells After Severe Spinal Cord Injury: Cell-Intrinsic Mechanisms Overcome Spinal Inhibition," published online today in a leading scientific journal CELL (http://www.cell.com/current). In the study, rats with surgically transected spinal cords, which rendered them permanently and completely paraplegic, were transplanted with Neuralstem's spinal cord stem cells (NSI-566). The study reports that the animals recovered significant locomotor function, regaining movement in all lower extremity joints, and that the transplanted neural stem cells turned into neurons which grew a "remarkable" number of axons that extended for "very long distances" over 17 spinal segments, making connections both above and below the point of severance. These axons reached up to the cervical region (C4) and down to the lumbar region (L1). They also appeared to make reciprocal synaptic connectivity with the host rat spinal cord neurons in the gray matter for several segments below the injury.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO )

Further study showed that re-transecting the spinal cord immediately above the graft abolished the functional gain, indicating that the regeneration of host axons into the human stem cell graft was responsible for the functional recovery. The cells that Neuralstem contributed to the study, NSI-566, are the same cells used in the recently completed Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). Neuralstem has also submitted an application to the FDA for a trial to treat chronic spinal cord injury with these cells.

"This study demonstrates that our neural stem cells can induce regeneration of injured spinal cord axons into the graft and serve as a bridge to reconnect to gray matter motor neurons for many spinal cord segments below the injury," said Karl Johe, PhD, Chairman of Neuralstem's Board of Directors and Chief Scientific Officer. "This is important in spinal cord injury because the nerve connections below the point of injury die, causing paralysis. Our cells built a bridge that received inputs from regenerating rat axons above the injury. They also sent out new human axons which made new synaptic connections with the host motor neurons in the gray matter below the injury. The fact that these cells induce regeneration of axons and partial recovery of motor function makes them relevant for testing for the treatment of human spinal cord injury."

About the Study

In a study of 12 rats, all 12 underwent complete spinal transections at vertebrae, T3. Six of these were subsequently transplanted with Neuralstem spinal cord stem cells (NSI-566) seven days after the injury. This group was assessed over the next seven weeks and compared to the control group, which had not received transplants. The transplanted rats exhibited significant locomotor recovery, regaining movement in all lower extremity joints. A majority of the grafted cells (57%) turned into neurons. From these, the study reported, a remarkable number of axons emerged, extending both above and below the point of spinal cord lesion. These axons expressed synaptic proteins in the host gray matter, which suggests they made synaptic contact with the host spinal neurons.

About Neuralstem

Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem has recently completed an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.

In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its NSI-566 cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia and chronic stroke. The company has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) application to the FDA for a Phase I safety trial in spinal cord injury.

Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company is in a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first neurogenic small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).Additional indications could include chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Alzheimer's disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

See the original post here:
Neuralstem Cells Induce Significant Functional Improvement In Permanent Rat Spinal Cord Injury, Cell Study Reports

A novel treatment using human embryonic stem cells has successfully restored some hearing to previously deaf gerbils, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature.

Hearing loss is generally caused by the interruption of two different types of cells: The loss of hair cells in the ear, which transform vibrations into electrical signals, and loss of the auditory nerve, which transmits the signals detected by the hair cells to the brainstem. While cochlear implants have proven effective in restoring hearing in cases of hair cell damage, no such treatment has existed for the roughly 10% cases in which the auditory nerve itself is damaged.

The new strategy, designed by Marcelo Rivolta and his team at the University of Sheffield, uses techniques the group has recently developed to coax human embryonic stem cells to differentiate into what are called "otic progenitor cells" -- cells that have the possibility to develop further into either hair cells or auditory nerve cells. The progenitor cells are then transplanted into the ears of gerbils with damaged auditory nerves, and allowed to differentiate further. Gerbils were used in the experiment because they hear a similar range of sounds as humans do.

At that point, the researchers held their breath, hoping that the cells would integrate themselves with the existing infrastructure and take their place in the chain of sensory signaling between the hair cells and the brainstem. In nearly all cases, the scientists could clearly see under the microscope that the new cells had targeted the right spots, reconnecting the hair cells to the brainstem.

But the ultimate test is hearing itself. To test this, the researchers used a standard approach called auditory-evoked responses, which are detected in the brainstem and provide a clear verdict of whether or not sound is being successfully transmitted to the brain.

Control animals with their auditory nerves knocked out did not recover during the experiment -- in order for a sound to register an auditory-evoked response in the brainstem, the control animals basically had to be at a rock concert, requiring a 76-decibel sound. But in the treated animals, that number dropped to 50 decibels on average, and in some animals approached the levels of animals whose hearing was never damaged at all. The strength of the effect was akin to suddenly being able to hear someone talking while previously not being able to hear them yell.

The researchers hope that their method will spark a new interest in using stem cells to treat hearing loss in people, though much work needs to be done before that is a real possibility. Hurdles include developing a surgical technique to access the appropriate part of the ear in people, and ensuring that the treatment sticks over long periods of time.

Nevertheless, the scientists are optimistic that the approach can be directly translated to humans with hearing loss, finally allowing people who cannot benefit from a cochlear implant to hear again.

You can read a summary of the paper here.

Return to the Science Now blog.

Originally posted here:
Stem cell treatment restores hearing in gerbils

Published: Sept. 12, 2012 at 7:52 PM

SHEFFIELD, England, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Stem cells have been used to restore hearing in animals for the first time, a huge step toward treating deafness in humans, British researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Sheffield said hearing partially improved in gerbils when nerves in the ear which pass sounds into the brain were rebuilt using stem cells, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Achieving the same amount of improvement in people could lift hearing levels from being unable to hear traffic to hearing a conversation, they said, although they caution treating humans with stem cells remains a distant prospect.

In some people, profound hearing loss occurs when nerve cells that should pick up electrical signal produced in the ear are damaged.

The goal of the University of Sheffield researcher was to replace those nerve cells, called spiral ganglion neurons, in gerbils with new ones created with stem cells.

The researchers detected the improvement in the animals' hearing by measuring brainwaves.

On average, 45 percent of their hearing range was restored by the end of the study, researchers said.

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Stem cells restore hearing in animals

(CBS News) Scientists have restored hearing in gerbils using a stem cell therapy that may hold promise for deaf humans.

Using human embryonic stem cells, researchers at the University of Sheffield were able to implant immature nerve cells into gerbils, which then regenerated and were able to improve hearing ability in the animals. The study was published on Sept. 12 in Nature.

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According to a Nature News article on the study, more than 275 million people have moderate-to-profound hearing loss, many of whom have it caused by a disruption in communication between the inner ear and brain. Senior study author Dr. Marcelo Rivolta, a stem cell researcher at the University of Sheffield told HealthDay that about 80 to 90 percent of deafness is due to problems with cells in the inner ear.

There are two types of inner ear cells. Hair cells translate vibrations into electrical signals that are transmitted via the auditory nerve to the brain. Problems with these cells are typically fixed via cochlear implant, a small device which can bypass the hair cells and directly send signals to intact auditory nerves. Neurons make up the auditory nerve, and when these are damaged, doctors have little to no treatment options available.

It's important to note that the type of deafness that the gerbils had affected only neurons, making it very rare. The Associated Press points out that type of deafness only affects between less than 1 percent to 15 percent of patients. Furthermore, the treatment won't work in all the patients with that disorder.

But, because so many disorders have to do with inner ear cell problems, the research is promising and may have future human applications.

Researchers in the study took embryonic stem cells, which can develop into any other kind of cell in the body, and grew them into a test tube that had molecules that are available when the fetus develops ears, known as fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). Some stem cells developed characteristics similar to hair cells and others turned into cells that looked like neurons.

Then the neuron-like cells, which were called otic neural progenitors (ONPs), were transplanted into the ears of gerbils that had been given ouabain, a chemical that damages the neurons in the auditory nerves but not the hair cells.

Ten weeks later, the cells had grown and some connected to the brain stem. The gerbils on average had a 46 percent overall improvement in hearing, with many of the animals registering brain activity at much fainter sounds after the transplant.

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Gerbils regain hearing thanks to stem cell therapy

Cleveland, OH-- It's almost every woman's dream. Getting rid of unwanted fat and getting a breast enhancement at the same time.

Dr. Lu Jean Feng is one of a handful of surgeons in the country using a revolutionary procedure that separates stem cells found in fat and then redistributing it into the breasts.

Colleen DeVito is a breast cancer survivor and, after a double mastectom,y she wanted a more natural option.

"I had immediate reconstruction using my own muscles, blood vessels and tissue," Colleen says.

She also used a new procedure called Adipocyte Derived Regenerative Stem Cells or ADRCs.

Researchers are studying fat stem cells to potentially treat burns, radiation injuries and inflammatory bowel disease and, while it's been used for the past few years in cosmetic surgery, it's still considered experimental and not FDA approved.

Dr. Feng uses liposuction to remove unwanted fat and then processes the fat in a device that separates the stem cells.

"An enzyme is thrown in there to release all the fat cells and growth factors and immature vessels and stem cells then it's separated from the fat cells and concentrated," Dr. Feng says.

After it's done, what's left is injected and formed into the breast.

"This breast is more of a teardrop shape that follows the natural breast skin lines and this is a great way to fill it and make a more natural looking breast," Dr. Feng says.

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Surgeon Enhances Breast Size With Fat Stem Cells