StemCell Therapy

WASHINGTON People infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, must take anti-retroviral drugs for the rest of their lives in order to control their disease.

Otherwise, reservoirs of dormant virus hiding within the immune system can become active, and the infection can reemerge. Now, researchers have discovered that a cancer drug can dislodge these latent copies of the AIDS virus. They view the development as a critical step toward curing HIV-infected people.

HIV has evolved a way to survive inside the human body by integrating itself into the genetic architecture of immune-system T-cells, the specialized white blood cells targeted by the AIDS virus. Anti-retroviral drugs can suppress HIV to near undetectable levels, giving the immune system a chance to repair itself. But the AIDS virus is always lurking in miniscule numbers - roughly one in every million T cells - and threatening to come back to life should an individual ever stop taking the anti-retroviral cocktail.

Now, researchers have succeeded in flushing this latent virus out of its hiding place, with a drug used to treat lymphoma, a rare and potentially deadly cancer of the lymphatic system.

David Margolis, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has been studying how HIV hides, dormant, within immune-system cells, says that in some lymphomas, the drug, vorinostat, makes cancer cells die. But Margolis adds that in HIV-infected cells, the cancer drug causes the latent virus to show itself.

Theoretically, doing this clinically would be a way to sort of unmask the hidden virus; flush the virus out of hiding," he says. "And that might then allow us to develop ways to get rid of the leftover virus in people that are on treatment so they could stop treatment and there would be nowhere for the virus to come back from.

Margolis and his colleagues studied eight HIV-infected patients who were medically stable on anti-retroviral therapy. Their levels of HIV CD4 T cells, which the virus uses to reproduce itself, were measured both before and after the men were given vorinostat.

What we saw in every single person was a tiny amount of virus detectable before the dose of the drug," he says. "And the amount of virus that was detectable went up on average about five-fold, five times, after a single exposure to the drug.

Margolis says his so-called proof of concept experiment demonstrates that HIV can be flushed out of hiding with vorinostat and then targeted for destruction by anti-AIDS drugs.

But none of the participants was cured, he adds.

Continue reading here:
Cancer Drug Unmasks HIV in Immune Cells

Following the success of antiretroviral therapy for HIV, some researchers are now focusing their attention on a loftier goal a cure. That means targeting viral reservoirs, primarily the long-lived cells of the immune system in which the virus lies dormant. Eliminating these reservoirs isnt easy, but recent research offers glimmers of hope that it may one day be possible.

The strongest proof that HIV can be cured comes from the case of Timothy Brown, who was infected with HIV until he received a stem-cell transplant in 2007 to treat leukaemia1. He has remained free of HIV since then. Browns transplant helped cure his HIV, in part, because the donor's stem cells lacked a key receptor that the virus needs to enter cells.

Particles of HIV that are invisible to the immune system must be flushed out before the disease can be said to be cured.

SCIEPRO/Getty Images

But at this week's XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington DC, Timothy Henrich, an infectious-disease physician at the Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, reported a study of two HIV-infected men who received transplants of stem cells that did have the HIV receptor. Since they received a milder dose of chemotherapy than Brown prior to their transplants, they were able to continue taking antiretrovirals throughout the procedure. The transplants did not immediately eliminate the mens infected immune cells, but roughly ten months later, the men had no evidence of HIV in their blood.

After their transplants, both men developed graft-versus-host disease, in which donor immune cells attack the transplant patients cells. Henrich and his colleagues speculate that the antiretroviral drugs protected the donor cells from infection with HIV. These healthy donor cells then destroyed the HIV-infected cells, leaving the men free of virus.

Theoretically, they could be cured because the immune system was rebuilt under the coverage of antiviral therapy, says Steven Deeks, an HIV researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who wasnt involved in the research. The ultimate test, however, will be to see whether the men remain HIV-free when they stop taking antiretroviral medicines. Henrich is working with the patients, their physicians and an ethics board to determine whether that is feasible.

But stem cell transplants are too risky to be used on people who dont have a life-threatening illness. This is not scalable or affordable or reasonable or ethical in anyone else, Deeks says.

A more palatable tactic would be to purge the virus from its main hiding spot the long-lived memory cells of the immune system, called CD4+ memory T cells. A paper published this week in Nature provides the first evidence that this may be possible in humans2 (see 'Drug brings HIV out of hiding'). David Margolis, an HIV expert at the University of North Carolinas Center for Infectious Diseases in Chapel Hill, and his colleagues administered a cancer drug called vorinostat (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid) to eight people in an attempt to coax dormant HIV out of hiding.

A single dose of the medicine produced a 4.8-fold increase in HIV RNA expression. The hope is that this results in HIV particles being made and released, so that they are visible to the patient's immune system again. However, it is still unclear to scientists whether this increased expression will lead to the destruction of HIV-infected cells and shrink the viral reservoir. But it's a positive signal, says Nicolas Chomont, an HIV researcher at the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida in Port St Lucie.

Go here to see the original:
Dormant HIV gets rude awakening

Award to Fund IND-Enabling Activities for the Company's HuCNS-SC(R) Neural Stem Cells in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Decision on Funding Alzheimer's Program Deferred to CIRM's September Board Meeting

NEWARK, Calif., July 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (STEM) today announced that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has approved an award to the Company and its collaborators for up to $20 million under CIRM's Disease Team Therapy Development Award program (RFA 10-05). The award is to fund preclinical development of StemCells' proprietary HuCNS-SC(R) product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) as a potential treatment for cervical spinal cord injury. The award will provide funding over a maximum four-year period, with the goal of filing an investigational new drug (IND) application to begin clinical testing in that time. CIRM deferred a decision on the Alzheimer's disease application submitted by StemCells and referred the application back to CIRM's Grants Working Group for further consideration. CIRM is expected to review the application again at the next meeting of its governing board currently scheduled for September 6th.

"We understand that this was a very competitive process and we are extremely grateful to CIRM for its support," commented Martin McGlynn, President and CEO of StemCells, Inc. "We view this decision by CIRM as a strong vote of confidence in our neural stem cell technology and the world class team of scientists and clinicians who will be collaborating to translate this exciting research into potential treatments and cures for patients with spinal cord injury. We are currently conducting a Phase I/II trial in thoracic spinal cord injury. This funding now allows us the opportunity to expand testing of our cells for cervical spinal cord injury, the most common form of spinal cord injury."

StemCells will evaluate its HuCNS-SC cells as a potential treatment for cervical spinal cord injury in collaboration with a team led by Aileen Anderson, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Anatomy and Neurobiology at University of California, Irvine. Dr. Anderson's laboratory has a long history of collaboration with StemCells in spinal cord injury, including the studies which led to the world's first clinical trial for a neural stem cell therapeutic in chronic spinal cord injury. This Phase I/II clinical trial, currently underway in Zurich, Switzerland, recently reported positive safety data from the first cohort of treated patients, and continues to enroll patients from Europe, the United States and Canada.

About Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury affects approximately 1.3 million people in the United States, for which there are no effective treatment options. Moreover, spinal cord injuries are a significant financial drain on the public health system. Cervical spinal cord injuries represent approximately half of all spinal cord injuries, for which lifetime healthcare costs range from $1.8 to $3.3 million per patient, depending upon severity of the injury.

About CIRM

CIRM was established in November 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities. A list of grants and loans awarded to date may be seen here: http://www.cirm.ca.gov/for-researchers/researchfunding.

The two applications submitted by StemCells, Inc. under CIRM's RFA 10-05 for cervical spinal cord injury and for Alzheimer's disease, as well as the feedback on each application from CIRMS's grants working group, can be viewed on the CIRM website at http://www.cirm.ca.gov/research-summaries-rfa-10-05-cirm-disease-team-therapy-development-awards.

Read the original:
StemCells, Inc. Awarded $20 Million From the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Thirteen-year-old Ciaran Finn-Lynch, the teenager who made medical history in 2010 by having his throat rebuilt with his own stem cells, is making a successful recovery according to his doctors, BBC News reported.

Finn-Lynch, from Castleblayney in North Ireland,was hailed as the first child to undergo the novel tracheal transplant.

Born with a condition known as long-segment tracheal stenosis when more than two-thirds of the tracheas cartilage are misshapen and do not grow Finn-Lynch had a very difficult time breathing. He underwent the surgery in a desperate attempt to save his life, BBC News said.

Since undergoing the operation at Londons Great Ormond Street Hospital, Finn-Lynch has grown more than four inches and has returned to school, according to his doctors. Since the stem cells used to build the trachea were his own, he is able to live a normal life without having to take medication to prevent rejection of his transplant.

A follow-up report in the Lancet detailed the procedure and explained how the new organ had strengthened over the years.

The original procedure involved seeding stem cells taken from Finn-Lynchs bone marrow into a collagen skeleton of windpipe from a donor, BBC news reported. These stem cells formed a brand new trachea that was then implanted into his body, allowing its cells to grow and mature naturally.

Click for more from BBC News.

Originally posted here:
First ever child recipient of novel stem cell trachea 'doing well'

The first child in history to receive a trachea fashioned by his own stem cells has shown remarkable progress since the initial transplant two years ago, marking a new record for the novel procedure.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, the now 13-year-old boy from the UK who the world's first child to receive the stem cell trachea transplant, is breathing normally and no longer needs anti-rejection medication, researchers reported in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Lancet.

The organ itself is strong, has not shown signs of rejection, and has even grown 11 centimeters since it had been transplanted, according to the researchers.

Ciaran was born with a rare condition known as Long Segment Tracheal Stenosis, marked by a small windpipe that does not grow and can restrict breathing. He underwent the stem cell transplant in March 2010 after a standard trachea transplant did not work.

Researchers at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the University College London, stripped cells from a donor trachea and then used Ciaran's own bone marrow stem cells to rebuild the airways in the body. They also infused growth proteins to generate the tissue lining.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity

Using a patient's own stem cells not only could help to rebuild the fragile tissue, but also potentially could bypass the risk of having the organ rejected. A trachea is considered a difficult tissue to grow and transplant since it has a limited blood supply, according to Dr. Bill Putnam, professor and chair of the department of thoracic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who was not involved in the research.

"I don't think there's anything standard about a tracheal transplant," said Putnam. "The fact that this single patient has survived for two years is worthy of notice."

Once the trachea was transplanted, the researchers continued to infuse growth proteins into the organ to continue stem cell generation. This technique allowed for researchers to transplant the organ faster instead of having to wait for the organ to grow outside of the body.

"Because the protocol used in this study was devised in an emergency, we applied empirically a new combination of technologies on the basis of previous clinical successes in non-airway settings," the researchers wrote, citing bioengineering techniques previously used to regenerate bone, nerves, and skin.

Continue reading here:
Stunning Recovery for First Child to Get Stem Cell Trachea

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Researchers from San Diego State University's Heart Institute rejuvenated damaged cardiac tissue removed from older heart-failure patients, using modified stem cells, the university announced Thursday.

University officials said the research could eventually lead to new treatments for heart-failure patients.

"Since patients with heart failure are normally elderly, their cardiac stem cells aren't very healthy," said Sadia Mohsin, a post-doctoral research scholar and one of the study's authors. "We modified these biopsied stem cells and made them healthier. It's like turning back the clock so these cells can thrive again."

Researchers used stem cells modified with a protein called PIM-1 to increase the activity of the enzyme telomerase, which can lengthen telomeres.

Telomeres --- DNA sequences on the ends of chromosomes -- keep the chromosomes from losing DNA base pairs during cellular replication but lose base pairs themselves during the process. If telomeres become too short, the chromosome can't replicate.

According to Moshin, modifying aged cardiac cells added to the cells' ability to regenerate damaged heart muscle.

"This is an especially exciting finding for heart failure patients," Moshin said in a statement. "Right now we can only offer medication, heart transplantation or stem cell therapies with modest regenerative potential. But PIM-1 modification offers a significant advance for clinical treatment."

While the research involved human cells, the work was limited to the laboratory.

"Researchers have tested the technique in mice and pigs and found that telomere lengthening leads to new heart tissue growth in just four weeks," according to a university statement.

The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, was presented this week at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

See the article here:
SDSU researchers use stem cells to repair damaged heart tissue

By Jason Napodano, CFA

Last month we published a NOTE outlining the pioneering efforts of Neuralstem (NYSE MKT:CUR) in the use ofhuman neural stem cells ("hNSC") for the treatment of central nervous system diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.Neuralstems lead development program is for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigs disease, named after the famous New York Yankee first baseman who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939, and passed in 1941 at the age of only 37.

The hippocampus is critically important to the control of memory and is severely impacted by the pathology of AD.Specifically, hippocampal synaptic density is reduced in AD and correlates with memory loss.Cam/Tet-DT mice mimic the substantial loss of hippocampal neurons that occur in advanced AD. StemCells Inc's data shows that one month after transplantation, HcCNS-SC engraft, migrate locally, and have begun to differentiate into neuronal and glial lineages in both models.

This resulted in observed increased synaptic density and improved memory post transplantation. Importantly, these results did not require reduction in beta amyloid or tau that accumulate in the brains of patients with AD and account for the pathological hallmarks of the disease, suggesting a new mechanism of action for the treatment of AD.

We think the data above presented by StemCells Inc. is interesting, and bodes well for Neuralstem's similar efforts focusing on hippocampal atrophy inneurodegenerativediseases. The different between StemCells Inc. and Neuralstem is that management at Neuralstem is attempting to recreate these highly encouraging results, only with a small molecule, NS-189, that the company discovered while testing preclinical candidates onstable neural stem cells lines derived from the human hippocampus.

A new hypothesis on major depressive disorder, implicates brain physiology ratherthan brain chemistry alone on disease progression. For example, research shows that depressed patients havereduced hippocampal volume. Accordingly, shrunken hippocampal volume observed in depressed patients could beattributable to a reduction in normal new neuronal generation and/or atrophying hippocampal neural stem cells.

The trial, which is designed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of BrainStorm's proprietary NurOwn cell therapy (bone marrow-derived, autologous, differentiated mesenchymal stromal cells) is being conducted at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel. The company submitted the positive interim safety report to the Israeli Ministry of Health. NurOwn has been granted Orphan-Drug designation by the U.S. FDA.

View original post here:
CUR - Hope In Neurodegenerative Diseases

Liposuction may yield more than just a leaner figure it can potentially produce stem cells for tissue reconstruction.

Researchers from the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Okla., have successfully extracted adult stem cells during liposuction and used them to generate healthy blood vessels.

These newly formed blood vessels can be used in heart bypass surgery and other complicated procedures requiring healthy vessels, according to the researchers, who presented their findings at the American Heart Associations Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions.

While stem cells are typically derived from other sources in the body, the researchers said liposuction-derived stem cells could be useful for an elderly demographic.

For doing coronary artery bypass graft surgery, people who get that are typically elderly, frequently diabetic and usually pretty sick, Matthias Nollert, associate professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and the studys lead author, told FoxNews.com. The more typical way for getting stem cells from adults for transplantation is to extract cells from the bone marrow.

However, you cant extract bone marrow very easily, Nollert explained. Its a very invasive procedure and patients dont tolerate it well, so we were looking for alternate source of adult stem cells for older, sicker patients.

Extracting adipose-derived stem cells or stem cells derived from fat tissue would be less invasive and also gets rid of unnecessary body fat in the process. According to Nollert, creating tissues from fat stem cells is a fairly new science, having only been experimented with in the past decade. Nollert and his team are the first to create a vascular graft out of fat stem cells with muscle cells making up the blood vessels wall.

To create the vascular graft, the researchers turned the stem cells into smooth muscle cells in the lab and seeded them onto a thin collagen membrane. They then rolled them into tubes with the same diameter as small blood vessels, and three to four weeks later, usable blood vessels were formed.

According to Nollert, utilizing liposuction-derived blood vessels could eliminate complications surrounding heart bypass operations when a healthy blood vessel is necessary for the procedure.

In normal cases, [doctors] would take a vein from your leg or arm to use as a bypass around the blockage, Nollert said. Well it turns out that of allthe people who are considered candidates for bypass, a third of them would like to do a bypass graft, but they have lousy vessels. So theyll do a different procedure that will last only four to five years, and then theyll be back here with same problems.

Go here to see the original:
Fat stem cells from liposuction used to form functioning blood vessels

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that it has been issued a patent in Australia, patent number 2005325753, Improved modalities for the treatment of degenerative diseases of the retina. The patent broadly covers the use of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells generated from pluripotent stem cells in the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations of RPE cells, and the use of those preparations to treat patients with degenerative diseases of the retina such as Age-related Macular Degeneration. The patent covers the pharmaceutical formulation of human RPE cells made from a range of pluripotent stem cells, including both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

We continue to make great progress with our patent estate covering RPE therapies, said Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO of ACT. Our ongoing success in securing broad patent protection around the world, including this newly-issued Australian patent, is a testament to our innovative chief scientific officer, Dr. Robert Lanza, and the rest of our scientific team.

The efficient production of highly pure RPE cell preparations represents a critical step in the creation of renewable sources of transplantable cells that can be used to target degenerative diseases of the eye such as Stargardts Macular Dystrophy (SMD) and dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (dry AMD).

Our current embryonic stem cell trials pave the way for other pluripotent stem cell therapies, commented Dr. Lanza. ACTs cellular reprogramming technologies using iPS cells are in an advanced stage of development, and we hope to be in a position to move toward clinical translation in the not-too-distant future. Since iPS cells can be made from the patients own cells such as skin or blood cells they may allow us to expand our cell therapies beyond immune-privileged sites such as the eye without the risk of immune rejection.

Mr. Rabin concluded, We are aggressively pursuing patent protection for a variety of aspects of our programs. Our intellectual property strategy includes both vigilance in pursuing comprehensive coverage from our initial patent filings, such as this new Australian patent, and filing for protection around our scientific teams various innovations. At the same time we are paying close attention to including within our patent coverage those ways others may wish to adapt our technology for commercial use, such as through the choice of stem cell source, or the use of solid supports or cell suspensions for delivery. Following this strategy, we are establishing both formidable barriers-to-entry for potential competitors, as well as strong potential licensing opportunities for others, translating into solid revenue generation possibilities for the company.

About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. For more information, visit http://www.advancedcell.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating results, future growth in research and development programs, potential applications of our technology, opportunities for the company and any other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words will, believes, plans, anticipates, expects, estimates, and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: limited operating history, need for future capital, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, protection of our intellectual property, and economic conditions generally. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the companys periodic reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the companys management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the companys management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. There can be no assurance that the Companys clinical trials will be successful.

See the original post:
ACT Issued Broad Patent for Human RPE Cells Derived From All Types of Pluripotent Stem Cells

Editor's Choice Main Category: Crohn's / IBD Article Date: 26 Jul 2012 - 9:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Replacing Diseased Immune System With A Healthy One To Cure Chrohn's Disease

3 (1 votes)

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract with symptoms of pain, fever, diarrhea and weight loss, which usually occurs in adolescents and young adults, but which can also occur during early childhood and older age. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America estimates that more than 700,000 Americans are affected by the disease, although incident rates vary in different parts of the world, with incidence rates of 4 to 9 people per 100,000 in North America. 10% of Crohn's disease sufferers are affected by the most severe form for which there is no completely effective treatment.

Researchers have made substantial progress in the medical treatment of Crohn's disease over the past decade and a half, although even with the best immunosuppressive therapy, fewer than 50% of patients with a moderate to severe form of the disease achieve long-term relief. When Crohn's patients cease taking their medicines, their intestinal inflammation returns and patients who took prolonged courses of medicines that suppress the immune system were noted to have some severe infections.

The initial aim of the Crohn's Allogeneic Transplant Study (CATS) is to treat a small sample of patients with treatment-resistant Crohn's disease by transplanting matched bone marrow cells from a sibling or unrelated donor, which replaces a diseased or abnormal immune system with a healthy one.

The researchers hypothesized that an exchange of the immune system may be successful based on evidence that Crohn's is linked to abnormal immune responses to intestinal bacteria and to a loss of immune tolerance. CATS leading investigator George McDonald, M.D., a transplant researcher and gastroenterologist in the Hutchinson Center's Clinical Research Division says that there is solid evidence that genetic abnormalities in the immune regulatory system are related to Crohn's disease.

Even though the CATS clinical trial is a new direction for bone marrow transplantation, the procedure has already been used by Hutchinson Center researchers, who pioneered bone marrow and hematopoietic cell transplantation to treat blood cancers, and who have used allogeneic transplants to cure patients suffering from both leukemia and Crohn's disease with the result that the signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease subsequently disappeared. German studies have reported similar experiences.

Researchers have previously used autologous stem cell transplants in Crohn's disease patients, whereby the patient's own hematopoietic cells are removed and returned after high-dose chemotherapy to suppress the immune system. However, the benefits have only been partially permanent, which may be because the risk genes for Crohn's are still in the patient's body.

McDonald said:

See original here:
Replacing Diseased Immune System With A Healthy One To Cure Chrohn's Disease

Public release date: 26-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, July 26, 2012 Administering high-doses of interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been the preferred treatment for patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma. An article published in the current issue of Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com), explores whether or not this regimen is still the most effective. The article is available free online at the Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals website (http://www.liebertpub.com/cbr).

In the article "Should High-Dose Interleukin-2 Still Be the Preferred Treatment for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma?" (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/cbr.2012.1220) Robert Dillman and colleagues at the Hoag Institute for Research and Education and Hoag Family Cancer Institute, Newport Beach, CA concluded that until long-term survival data for some of the newer drugs are available, patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma who are well enough to be given intensive IL-2 therapy should receive it initially, either alone or in combination with one of the newer therapeutic agents.

"This is an important article that puts into perspective the reasons why IL-2 should continue to be the initial therapy in patients with metastatic melanoma," says Editor Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD, Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

###

About the Journal

Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals (http://www.liebertpub.com/cbr), published 10 times a year in print and online, is under the editorial leadership of Editors Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD and Robert K. Oldham, MD, Lower Keys Cancer Center, Key West, FL. Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals is the only journal with a specific focus on cancer biotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies, cytokine therapy, cancer gene therapy, cell-based therapies, and other forms of immunotherapy. The Journal includes extensive reporting on advancements in radioimmunotherapy and the use of radiopharmaceuticals and radiolabeled peptides for the development of new cancer treatments. Topics include antibody drug conjugates, fusion toxins and immunotoxins, nanoparticle therapy, vascular therapy, and inhibitors of proliferation signaling pathways.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, Human Gene Therapy and Human Gene Therapy Methods, and Stem Cells and Development. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com)

Continue reading here:
Should high-dose interleukin-2 continue to be the treatment of choice for metastatic melanoma?

by KING 5 News

KING5.com

Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:27 PM

University of Washington researchers may have found a key to helping people with degenerative blindness restore their sight.

UW Medicine researchers, working with researchers at the University of California and the University of Munich, say they have discovered a chemical that temporarily restores some vision to blind mice.

Theyre now working on an improved version that may someday work on people with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease that is the most common inherited form of blindness, as well as age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of acquired blindness in the developed world.

Researchers say because the chemical eventually wears off, it may offer a safer alternative to other experimental approaches for restoring sight, such as gene or stem cell therapies, which permanently change the retina. It is also less invasive than implanting light-sensitive chips in the eye.

The findings appear in the July 26th issue of the journal Neuron.

Information compiled by KING5's Travis Pittman

Go here to read the rest:
UW discovery could be cure for some blindness

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo might undergo stem cell therapy to improve her health, according to the alternative medicine facility in Tagaytay City that the Pampanga lawmaker visited Thursday.

Arroyo came to the facility complaining of difficulty in swallowing because of a bulge in her throat, according to a statement from the Green 8 Young Health & Wellness Center.

Her voice has also changed and she is losing weight because she can't swallow solid food. She also has angina, the center said.

Arroyo also complained of continuing neck and back pain.

"Our center is accepting her for possible stem cell therapy," the alternative medicine facility said. "The stem cell therapy is... strongly considered."

It said the Arroyo can undergo such therapy in the Tagaytay center while her physical therapy will continue at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center 4 times a week.

The Pampanga lawmaker is seeking treatment at the center through her sister, Cielo Macapagal-Salgado.

The center said Salgado was previously diagnosed with a cancerous lump in her breast.

"She consulted several doctors and was subsequently subjected to a myrad of treatment procedures. These, however, did not produce the desired results. When she came to our center she was cured of her cancer," it claimed.

Arroyo heads to Pampanga

Here is the original post:
Arroyo might undergo stem cell therapy

Details Published on Friday, 27 July 2012 00:00

STEM cell therapy is being eyed to cure the neck and back pains and other illnesses of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, alternative medicine doctor Antonia Park said yesterday.

Arroyo went to Parks Green and Young Health and Wellness Center in Tagaytay City yesterday morning for cleansing and alternative healing.

A guard at the La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City, who requested anonymity, said Arroyo left the subdivision at around 7:30 a.m., accompanied by a few staff and a personal nurse. She rode a white Nissan Patrol and her convoy included a gray Toyota Land Cruiser and a police escort.

Arroyo was granted bail Wednesday by a Pasay City court after finding that the electoral sabotage case against her was weak. She posted a P1-million cash bond.

Stem cell treatment involves the introduction of new adult stem cells into the damaged tissue in order to treat a disease or injury. The ability of new cells to regenerate is seen as having significant potential to replace diseased areas of the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects.

Park, in a statement distributed to the media, said Arroyo complained of difficulty in swallowing with choking due to her bulge along the posterior pharyngeal wall, together with a change of her voice and losing weight due to her difficulties of swallowing the food (solid) and angina as well as continuous neck and back pain.

Thats why our center is accepting her for possible stem cell therapy and another treatment of pain management and giving natural food by means of fresh fruit and vegetable juices for which management is warranted and which the stem cell therapy is contemplated and strongly considered, she said.

She said the stem cell therapy can be given by her clinic in Tagaytay while Arroyo can continue her physical therapy at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center four times a week.

Park said Arroyo can to go her district, referring to the second district of Pampanga, over the weekend provided she takes care to wear a brace and avoid talking too much so as to protect the bulging interior of the throat, and provided she resumes physical therapy as soon as possible.

Read the rest here:
Malaya Business Insight

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo might undergo stem cell therapy to improve her health, according to the alternative medicine facility in Tagaytay City that the Pampanga lawmaker visited Thursday.

Arroyo came to the facility complaining of difficulty in swallowing because of a bulge in her throat, according to a statement from the Green 8 Young Health & Wellness Center.

Her voice has also changed and she is losing weight because she can't swallow solid food. She also has angina, the center said.

Arroyo also complained of continuing neck and back pain.

"Our center is accepting her for possible stem cell therapy," the alternative medicine facility said. "The stem cell therapy is... strongly considered."

It said the Arroyo can undergo such therapy in the Tagaytay center while her physical therapy will continue at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center 4 times a week.

The Pampanga lawmaker is seeking treatment at the center through her sister, Cielo Macapagal-Salgado.

The center said Salgado was previously diagnosed with a cancerous lump in her breast.

"She consulted several doctors and was subsequently subjected to a myrad of treatment procedures. These, however, did not produce the desired results. When she came to our center she was cured of her cancer," it claimed.

Arroyo heads to Pampanga

Originally posted here:
Arroyo might undergo stem cell therapy

26 July 2012 Last updated at 01:35 ET

Doctors say a County Monaghan teenager who made medical history by using his own stem cells to rebuild his throat is making a successful recovery.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, 13, from Castleblayney, made medical history as the first child in the world to undergo the pioneering tracheal transplant.

He was born with a condition called Long Segment Tracheal Stenosis which meant he found it difficult to breathe.

Doctors say he has grown 11 centimetres in height and returned to school.

The surgery was a desperate attempt to save his life after earlier treatment failed.

Since the operation, Ciaran has been able to live a normal life free from medication to prevent his immune system rejecting the transplant.

He underwent the procedure at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital in March 2010.

It involved seeding stem cells taken from Ciaran's bone marrow into the collagen "skeleton" of a donor windpipe stripped of its own cells.

Once the structure was implanted, the stem cells were allowed to mature in his body, rather than the usual laboratory "bioreactor".

Read this article:
Boy's windpipe transplant success

The family immediately agreed and the operation took place at Great Ormond Street Hospital in March 2010.

Since then Ciaran, from County Down in Northern Ireland, has grown almost four-and-a-half inches (11cm) and he has returned to school. He has also been able to develop his musical interest as a drummer. A medical update is published in The Lancet today.

His family has declined to be interviewed, but at the time of the operation his mother Colleen said she and her husband Paul had got our boy back.

The procedure involved taking a windpipe from a 30-year-old Italian woman who had died and stripping it of living cells down to the inert collagen scaffold.

Four weeks later, Ciarans windpipe was removed. Sections of its lining were taken off and kept and the rest discarded. Bone marrow from Ciaran was harvested and the stem cells isolated.

The same day, the donor windpipe was inserted into Ciarans neck and his stem cells sprayed on to it.

Tiny sections of lining from his original windpipe were patched on to the replacement. These prompted the stem cells to turn into the right kind of tissue and kick-started growth of the windpipe lining.

Finally, the graft was injected with proteins to stimulate cell growth and differentiation, called cytokines.

The operation was the first attempt to grow stem cells in place in the body of a child, rather than growing an organ in a laboratory bioreactor.

It came only two years after the first windpipe replacement using stem cells in an adult, although in that case, carried out in Barcelona, the organ was grown in the lab.

Follow this link:
Pioneering windpipe boy growing into healthy teenager

Peter Aldhous, San Francisco bureau chief

It's official: stem cells are drugs. At least, that's the opinion of the US district court in Washington DC, which has ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate clinics offering controversial stem cell therapies.

Treatments in which stem cells are harvested from bone marrow and injected straight back into the same patient are deemed part of routine medical practice - not regulated by the US government. But if the cells are subjected to more than "minimal manipulation", the FDA maintains that the therapy becomes a "drug", which must be specifically approved for use.

It was on this basis that in 2008 the FDA began moves to shut downRegenerative Sciences, a clinic in Broomfield, Colorado, that treats orthopaedic problems using a stem cell therapy called Regenexx.

Regenerative Sciences challenged the FDA's authority to regulate its activities, setting the stage for a legal fight. In 2010, the FDA sought an injunction to take Regenexx off the market. This has now been granted in the court's ruling.

Christopher Centeno, medical director of Regenerative Sciences, vows to appeal. "This is really round one," he says. "Our position remains that a patient's cells are not drugs."

Regenexx consists of mesenchymal stem cells, which give rise to tissues including bone and cartilage, taken from a patient's bone marrow and grown in culture for about two weeks. Centeno has published a series of case reports describing its use to treat joint problems - but no controlled clinical trials.

"I think it's a good ruling, and I'm glad to see that that the FDA has exercised its muscle on the case," says Christopher Scott, who heads the Program on Stem Cells in Society at Stanford University in California.

Scott hopes that the FDA will now step up its efforts to regulate other clinics offering unproven stem cell therapies. These include Celltex of Sugar Land, Texas, which rose to prominence after Texas governor Rick Perry was injected with stem cells supplied by the company to aid his recovery from back surgery.

Last month, the Houston Chronicle revealed that FDA inspectors had found multiple violations of good manufacturing practice at Celltex.

Read the rest here:
Ruling frees FDA to crack down on stem cell clinics

Peter Aldhous, San Francisco bureau chief

It's official: stem cells are drugs. At least, that's the opinion of the US District Court in Washington DC, which has ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate clinics offering controversial stem cell therapies.

Treatments in which stem cells are harvested from bone marrow and injected straight back into the same patient are deemed part of routine medical practice - not regulated by the US government. But if the cells are subjected to more than "minimal manipulation", the FDA maintains that the therapy becomes a "drug", which must be specifically approved for use.

Christopher Centeno, medical director of Regenerative Sciences, vows to appeal. "This is really round one," he says. "Our position remains that a patient's cells are not drugs."

Scott hopes that the FDA will now step up its efforts to regulate other clinics offering unproven stem cell therapies. These include Celltex of Sugar Land, Texas, which rose to prominence after Texas governor Rick Perry was injected with stem cells supplied by the company to aid his recovery from back surgery.

See the original post:
Ruling frees FDA to crack down on stem cell clinics

ScienceDaily (July 25, 2012) With an eye to the future, the results will let cells be obtained in the laboratory that can be transplanted into leukemia patients with no compatible donors.

Researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) have deciphered the function executed by a protein called -catenin in generating blood tissue stem cells. These cells, also called hematopoietic, are used as a source for transplants that form part of the therapies to fight different types of leukemia. The results obtained will open the doors to produce these stem cells in the laboratory and, thus, improve the quality and quantity of these surgical procedures. This will let patients with no compatible donors be able to benefit from this discovery in the future.

The study, executed jointly with the Erasmus Medical Center Stem Cell of Rotterdam and published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, analyzed a chain of molecular reactions that are produced inside some embryonic cells and that play a role in the creation of a hematopoietic stem cells. 'Our study contributes to deciphering the code that makes a precursor cell that is only found in the embryo become a hematopoietic stem cell. In order for that to happen, the -catenin protein must be activated for a while and with a specific dosage' explains Dr Anna Bigas, head of the IMIM Stem Cells & Cancer Group and lead researcher.

This protein also plays a fundamental role in the cells that originate and maintain some types of leukemia. 'The parallelisms between normal and leukemia stem cells prove to us that the molecular pathways that regulate both populations are the same. For this reason, our work will help us understand the origin of these diseases', argues Dr Bigas.

In addition to embryonic stem cells, each of our body's organs has another type of stem cell that has the capacity to regenerate all the cells for the tissue in question. However, they are only formed in the embryonic stage and are maintained for the rest of our lives. hematopoietic stem cells are part of the blood and, when they are transplanted, they are the inception for all of this tissue's cells.

At present, transplanting these cells is dependent on the availability of compatible donors. Nonetheless, there is still a high percentage of patients with no donors and that, therefore, cannot be submitted to this procedure. The results of this article lay the foundations so that, in the future, these patients can benefit from a source of laboratory-generated hematopoietic stem cells created from compatible embryonic cells or other types of expressly transformed cells.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute).

Read the original here:
Key function of protein discovered for obtaining blood stem cells as source for transplants