StemCell Therapy

Even with the success of the Human Genome Project, there still isn't a genetic test for every disease. A disease may run in a family and clearly be inherited, but the gene responsible may not be identified yet. Our team will see if there is a genetic test available for the condition running in your family.

If a test exists, we will find the best laboratory to use. Some laboratories offer clinical testing and must follow federal quality control standards. Clinical laboratories typically quote a fixed price and a standard return time for results.

Other laboratories offer research testing and are usually linked to academic centers and universities. They do testing at no cost in most cases. Often research laboratories do not provide results. If they do, it may take months or years to deliver results. Research test results should be confirmed in a clinical laboratory if medical management is based on the result.

Testing costs and turnaround times vary. Genetic test results are usually ready in three to four weeks. Though genetic testing costs are often paid for by insurance carriers, patients may be required to pay some or all of the cost when the test is ordered. When indicated we can write a letter of medical necessity explaining the benefits genetic testing might have for you. This can often increase the likelihood that your insurance company will pay for the testing.

Not everyone who has a genetic disease will have a mutation or a biochemical abnormality that shows up in testing. Because of this limitation, in a family it makes sense to first test someone who has had the disease in question.

If a genetic risk factor is found, ways of managing or preventing the disease due to that genetic risk can be discussed. Additionally, at-risk relatives can check their own status by testing for that specific risk factor. If that specific genetic risk factor is not found in an at-risk relative (i.e., they have a normal test result), he or she can be reassured. If the at-risk relative has a positive genetic test result, he or she has a greater chance of getting the condition. Relatives whose risk has been confirmed can start screening and prevention practices targeted for their genetic risk.

Sometimes testing a family member who has the disease isn't possible. (The person may be dead, unavailable or unwilling to be tested.) Then, an unaffected person can take the test. Finding a genetic risk factor will certainly give useful information. But a normal test result doesn't always mean there's no risk. Many genes responsible for an inherited susceptibility are not yet known. In other words, a normal test result can exclude the genetic risk factors that have been tested but not the possibility of an inherited susceptibility. It may be valuable to test other family members.

If you were to have genetic testing it would be important to interpret your test results in light of your personal and family medical history. We will also identify family members who might benefit from genetic consultation and genetic testing. If necessary, we can provide referrals for relatives outside the Denver area.

If you test positive for a genetic condition, you can better understand how this condition arose in you and your relatives. If you do not yet have symptoms, you can start to plan for the future, such as planning for a family, career, and retirement. You might want to start seeing specialists to help manage the condition. Preventive actions may be useful as well. Drugs, diet and lifestyle changes may help prevent the disease improve treatment.

Close relatives might value having this information. They can go through testing themselves to determine their disease risks and the best treatment approach.

If you test negative for a genetic risk factor that is known to run in your family you may be relieved that a major risk factor has been excluded.

Diagnosing a genetic condition does not tell us how or when the disease will develop. Although DNA-based genetic testing is very accurate, there is a chance that an inherited mutation will be missed. If a mutation is not found, the test results cannot exclude the possibility of an inherited risk since there may be a mutation in another gene for which testing was not done. If you still have symptoms of a genetic condition, a normal test result might not get you 'off the hook'. An inherited disease risk can only be excluded if a known mutation in the family has been excluded.

Family relationships may be affected by this information. If you have a genetic condition, other family members might benefit by also knowing. In the process of sharing your genetic risk information, family members may learn things about you that you do not want known. In addition, you may learn things about relatives that you did not want to know. For example, it may be revealed that a family member is adopted.

Some people find it hard to learn that they carry a gene that makes their risk of developing a disease greater. They may feel many emotions, including anger, fear about the future, anxiety about their health or guilt about passing a mutation on to their children. They may be shocked by the news. They may go through denial or a change in their self-esteem.

Knowing that you have a higher risk of getting a particular disease (when you don't currently show symptoms) may affect your ability to be insured (health, life and disability). Several state and federal laws prohibit use of genetic information by health insurance companies. In general, health insurers cannot use this information as a pre-existing condition that could disqualify you when applying for new insurance. Genetic information cannot be used to raise premium payments or to deny coverage. However, these laws are not fully comprehensive and may not entirely prevent discrimination. You may want to contact your insurance company to see what effect, if any, genetic testing may have on your coverage.

Sometimes genetic test results are uninformative or ambiguous, making it difficult or impossible to say if a person has a higher risk. These ambiguous results can be the most difficult as they don't provide a clear-cut answer.

For people with normal test results, where the genetic risk in the family has been excluded, a variety of emotions might occur. Most people feel tremendous relief. Others may feel survivor guilt, wondering why they were spared the risk. This can sometimes lead to changes in relationships between family members.

In some cases, an inherited risk for disease seems likely but the gene responsible has not yet been identified. The Adult Medical Genetics Program can help link families with researchers studying that disease. We can contact researchers for you and help you become part of the gene discovery studies. Although being part of research studies doesn't always give you answers, it does allow you to contribute to science.

Continued here:
Information about Genetic Testing | School of Medicine ...

At the Center for Personalized Medicine we specialize in customized treatment plans for each patient. We are dedicated to help you achieve your wellness objectives.

We understand the importance of your wellness. To achieve your wellness objectives, you have come to expect the highest levels of service and patient care. As a result, we continuously commit ourselves to meeting and exceeding your expectations. To us, providing a total healthcare experience means dedicated and friendly staff, flexible and convenient hours, and the highest quality care available.

Services Offered

At the Center for Personalized Medicine we specialize in prescription natural hormone replacement for both women and men. We can also customize a vitamin program for you. Your nutritional needs are as unique to you as your fingerprint.

At the Center for Personalized Medicine we can also help your memory stay sharp, help your skin stay more youthful, and show you safe and simple ways to increase your growth hormone level. We also have nurses and nutritionists who will meet with you to develop your own individualized weight management program to help you achieve maximum weight loss and keep the weight off.

Have our doctors show you how to lower cholesterol without a prescription. We help cancer patients with nutritional support. If you have diabetes, let us show you new treatment options. In short, at the Center for Personalized Medicine we will take a functional medicine approach to your health care needs.

Whether you want to maintain your current good health, or if you have a disease, we will look at how your body works and design a treatment plan for you and you only. We do not mask your symptoms with medications, we instead try to fix the cause of the problem and use medications only when necessary.

Read more from the original source:
Center for Personalized Medicine | Founder & Director ...

Integrative medicine pairs traditional medicine with other treatments to care for your mind, body, and spirit. For example, your doctor may suggest chemotherapy to fight cancer as well as acupuncture to help manage its side effects.

It isnt just medicine. Your care team may also design a plan to help you build healthy behaviors and skills -- like smart eating habits and stress-busting activities. These things can keep you healthy for the long term.

Integrative medicine uses complementary treatments, but they have to be backed by good science. Always tell your doctor before you try a nontraditional treatment. That way, youll know if its safe and likely to work.

There are a lot of new terms to learn when you go outside regular medical care:

Conventional medicine. This is what you get from medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, and similar health care professionals. You might hear it called:

Alternative medicine. True to its definition, this type of care is used instead of (an alternative to) standard medical care. For example, you might go on a special diet that claims to cure cancer instead of taking drugs your doctor prescribes. This isnt common, but it does happen. Talk to your doctor before you decide to skip traditional treatment.

Complementary medicine. Its often used along with traditional medicine. It can help you manage the side effects of cancer treatment.

Integrative medicine. This approach takes the most effective treatments from different disciplines, including standard medicine and complementary approaches. The result is a personalized health plan for your unique physical and emotional needs.

Its a medical specialty. That means you can find a doctor who is board-certified in integrative medicine and trust that your treatments will be safe and proven to work. What you can expect from this kind of medical care?

You might hear it called integrative oncology. No matter what the name, the idea is the same: Treat the whole patient, not just the disease. For cancer patients especially, that includes ways to ease stress and worry and boost your sense of well-being. You might try:

Evidence is what makes the big difference between the complementary treatments that are considered part of integrative medicine and all the other complementary and alternative treatments out there (you may hear your doctor lump them together into one term: CAM). With integrative medicine, you get science-backed therapies that your doctor has chosen to treat your condition. If you try CAM on your own, you may not know whether a product or treatment is safe.

For example, the label all natural doesnt mean a product is safe. Some natural ingredients can be toxic. Others might keep your cancer treatments from working like they should.

What might CAM treatments do for you?

Acupuncture:

Hypnotherapy (hypnosis):

Massage therapy:

Meditation:

Physical activity:

Nutrition counseling:

Excerpt from:
Can Integrative Medicine Help Fight Cancer? - webmd.com

Overview

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that first targets the lining of joints (synovium).

Uric acid crystals, infections or underlying disease, such as psoriasis or lupus, can cause other types of arthritis.

Treatments vary depending on the type of arthritis. The main goals of arthritis treatments are to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.

The most common signs and symptoms of arthritis involve the joints. Depending on the type of arthritis you have, your signs and symptoms may include:

The two main types of arthritis osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis damage joints in different ways.

The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to your joint's cartilage the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones. Enough damage can result in bone grinding directly on bone, which causes pain and restricted movement. This wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be hastened by a joint injury or infection.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts. This lining, known as the synovial membrane, becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.

Risk factors for arthritis include:

Severe arthritis, particularly if it affects your hands or arms, can make it difficult for you to do daily tasks. Arthritis of weight-bearing joints can keep you from walking comfortably or sitting up straight. In some cases, joints may become twisted and deformed.

Aug. 08, 2017

See the rest here:
Arthritis - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

A panel of experts has recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve a treatment developed by Spark Therapeutics for a rare form of blindness. Spark Therapeutics hide caption

A panel of experts has recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve a treatment developed by Spark Therapeutics for a rare form of blindness.

Gene therapy, which has had a roller-coaster history of high hopes and devastating disappointments, took an important step forward Thursday.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee endorsed the first gene therapy for an inherited disorder a rare condition that causes a progressive form of blindness that usually starts in childhood.

The recommendation came in a unanimous 16-0 vote after a daylong hearing that included emotional testimonials by doctors, parents of children blinded by the disease and from children and young adults helped by the treatment.

"Before surgery, my vision was dark. It was like sunglasses over my eyes while looking through a little tunnel," 18-year-old Misty Lovelace of Kentucky told the committee. "I can honestly say my biggest dream came true when I got my sight. I would never give it up for anything. It was truly a miracle."

Several young people described being able to ride bicycles, play baseball, see their parents' faces, read, write and venture out of their homes alone at night for the first time.

"I've been able to see things that I've never seen before, like stars, fireworks, and even the moon," Christian Guardino, 17, of Long Island, N.Y., told the committee. "I will forever be grateful for receiving gene therapy."

The FDA isn't obligated to follow the recommendations of its advisory committees, but it usually does.

If the treatment is approved, one concern is cost. Some analysts have speculated it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat each eye, meaning the cost for each patient could approach $1 million.

Spark Therapeutics of Philadelphia, which developed the treatment, hasn't said how much the company would charge. But the company has said it would help patients get access to the treatment.

Despite the likely steep price tag, the panel's endorsement was welcomed by scientists working in the field.

"It's one of the most exciting things for our field in recent memory," says Paul Yang, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Oregon Health and Science University who wasn't involved in developing or testing the treatment.

"This would be the first approved treatment of any sort for this condition and the first approved gene therapy treatment for the eye, in general," Yang says. "So, on multiple fronts, it's a first and ushers in a new era of gene therapy."

Ever since scientists began to unravel the genetic causes of diseases, doctors have dreamed of treating them by fixing defective genes or giving patients new, healthy genes. But those hopes dimmed when early attempts failed and sometimes even resulted in the deaths of volunteers in early studies.

But the field may have finally reached a turning point. The FDA recently approved the first so-called gene therapy product, which uses genetically modified cells from the immune system to treat a form of leukemia. And last week, scientists reported using gene therapy to successfully treat patients suffering from cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, a rare, fatal brain disease portrayed in the film Lorenzo's Oil. Researchers are also testing gene therapy for other causes of blindness and blood disorders such as sickle cell disease.

The gene therapy endorsed by the committee Thursday was developed for RPE65-mutation associated retinal dystrophy, which is caused by a defective gene that damages cells in the retina. About 6,000 people have the disease worldwide, including 1,000 to 2,000 people in the United States.

The treatment, which is called voretigene neparvovec, involves a genetically modified version of a harmless virus. The virus is modified to carry a healthy version of the gene into the retina. Doctors inject billions of modified viruses into both of a patient's eyes.

In a study involving 29 patients, ages 4 to 44, the treatment appeared to be safe and effective. More than 90 percent of the treated patients showed at least some improvement in their vision when tested in a specially designed obstacle course. The improvement often began within days of the treatment.

"Many went from being legally blind to not being legally blind," said Albert Maguire, a professor of ophthalmology who led the study at the University of Pennsylvania, in an interview before the hearing.

The improvement varied from patient to patient, and none of the patients regained normal vision. But some had a significant increase in their ability to see, especially at night or in dim light, which is a major problem for patients with this condition.

"What I saw in the clinic was remarkable," Maguire told the committee. "Most patients became sure of themselves and pushed aside their guides. Rarely did I see a cane after treatment."

That was the case of Allison Corona, who's now 25 and lives in Glen Head, N.Y. She underwent the treatment five years ago as part of the study.

"My light perception has improved tremendously," Corona said during an interview before the hearing. "It's been life-changing. I am able to see so much better. I am so much more independent than what I was. It is so much better."

The patients have been followed for more than three years, and the effects appear to be lasting. "We have yet to see deterioration," Maguire says. "So far the improvement is sustained."

The injections themselves did cause complications in a few patients, such as a serious infection that resulted in permanent damage, and a dangerous increase in pressure in the eye. But there were no adverse reactions or any signs of problems associated with the gene therapy itself, the researchers reported.

While this disease is rare, the same approach could work for similar forms of genetic eye disease, Maguire says."There are a lot of retinal diseases like this, and if you added them together it's a big thing because they are all incurable."

If approved, the treatment would be marketed under the name Luxturna.

View original post here:
First Gene Therapy For An Inherited Disorder Gets Expert ...

How can you tell if you have diabetes? Most early symptoms are from higher-than-normal levels of glucose, a kind of sugar, in your blood.

The warning signs can be so mild that you don't notice them. That's especially true of type 2 diabetes. Some people don't find out they have it until they get problems from long-term damage caused by the disease.

With type 1 diabetes, the symptoms usually happen quickly, in a matter of days or a few weeks. They're much more severe, too.

Both types of diabetes have some of the same telltale warning signs.

Hunger and fatigue. Your body converts the food you eat into glucose that your cells use for energy. But your cells need insulin to bring the glucose in.

If your body doesn't make enough or any insulin, or if your cells resist the insulin your body makes, the glucose can't get into them and you have no energy. This can make you more hungry and tired than usual.

Peeing more often and being thirstier. The average person usually has to pee between four and seven times in 24 hours, but people with diabetes may go a lot more.

Why? Normally your body reabsorbs glucose as it passes through your kidneys. But when diabetes pushes yourblood sugarup, your kidneys may not be able to bring it all back in. This causes the body to make more urine, and that takes fluids.

You'll have to go more often. You might pee out more, too. Because you're peeing so much, you can get very thirsty. When you drink more, you'll also pee more.

Dry mouth and itchy skin. Because your body is using fluids to make pee, there's less moisture for other things. You could get dehydrated, and your mouth may feel dry. Dry skin can make you itchy.

Blurred vision. Changing fluid levels in your body could make the lenses in your eyes swell up. They change shape and lose their ability to focus.

These tend to show up after your glucose has been high for a long time.

Yeast infections. Both men and women with diabetes can get these. Yeast feeds on glucose, so having plenty around makes it thrive. Infections can grow in any warm, moist fold of skin, including:

Slow-healing sores or cuts. Over time, high blood sugar can affect your blood flow and cause nerve damage that makes it hard for your body to heal wounds.

Pain or numbness in your feet or legs. This is another result of nerve damage.

Unplanned weight loss. If your body can't get energy from your food, it will start burning muscle and fat for energy instead. You may lose weight even though you haven't changed how you eat.

Nausea and vomiting. When your body resorts to burning fat, it makes ketones. These can build up in your blood to dangerous levels, a possibly life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can make you feel sick to your stomach.

If you're older than 45 or have other risks for diabetes, it's important to get tested. When you spot the condition early, you can avoid nerve damage, heart trouble, and other complications.

As a general rule, call your doctor if you:

SOURCES:

Cleveland Clinic: "Diabetes: Frequently Asked Questions" and "What Is Diabetes?"

University of Michigan Health System: "Type 1 Diabetes."

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: "Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? Taking Steps to Lower Your Risk of Getting Diabetes."

Baylor Scott & White Healthcare: "Urinary Frequency" and "Diabetes and Diabetic Neuropathy Hard-to-Heal Wounds."

Sutter Health: "Question & Answer: Is Sudden Weight Loss a Sign of Diabetes? If So, Why?"

Neithercott, T. Diabetes Forecast, August 2013.

University of Rochester Medical Center: "Diabetic Skin Troubles."

Joslin Diabetes Center: "Diseases of the Eye" and "Diabetic Neuropathy: What You Need to Know."

The Nemours Foundation: "When Blood Sugar Is Too High."

Virginia Mason Medical Center: "Complications."

Carolinas Health System: "Diabetes: Yeast Infections and Diabetes: What You Should Know."

Continue reading here:
Diabetes Symptoms - webmd.com

Resource page

For the purposes of the information provided on this page we have adopted the definition of the term regenerative medicine that was used in the House of Lords Regenerative Medicine Report (see below). This was:

regenerative medicine is used to refer to methods to replace or regenerate human cells, tissues or organs in order to restore or establish normal function. This includes cell therapies, tissue engineering, gene therapy and biomedical engineering techniques, as well as more traditional treatments involving pharmaceuticals, biologics and devices.

Each regulator has a clear remit and regulates distinct areas of the regenerative medicine process. However, we work closely together to provide effective advice and guidance to support establishments through the regulatory requirements. Each regulator has a core set of standards that apply depending on where you are in the process, from cell derivation to treatment. We are all focused on ensuring that the standards that are applied at one stage of the process do not act as a barrier at another.

The role of each of the regulators in regenerative medicine is set out below:

Health Research Authority (HRA) has a remit to provide an ethics opinion on clinical trials. Those involving gene therapy regenerative medicines are reviewed through the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC). Other regenerative medicine studies may be reviewed by other appropriately flagged RECs. It also provides the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) through which applications and approvals from GTAC/RECs and MHRA for clinical trials involving regenerative medicines can be made.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)[external link] regulates the use of human embryos or human admixed (human-animal) embryos to derive stem cells for use in the treatment of patients.

Human Tissue Authority (HTA) [external link] remit includes regulation of organisations that remove, store and use of human tissue or cells; this includes where they are used as starting materials for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). Under the European Union Tissues and Cells Directives (EUTCD), it licenses establishments that remove, test, process, store, and distribute tissues or cells that will (or may) be used to treat patients.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)[external link] remit includes responsibility for granting the appropriate authorisation for the manufacturing site of ATMPs, which are prepared and used under the hospital exemption, and for ATMPs made and supplied under the specials scheme under the relevant provisions in medicines legislation. In the area of clinical trials, the MHRAs remit includes assessment of applications for clinical trial authorisation and the associated manufacturers licence for investigational ATMPs. The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) [external link], which houses the UK National Stem Cell bank, is part of the MHRA.

Please refer to the Research Community area of the website for information about the approvals for research studies and how to apply to individual review bodies. Further information about GTAC is also provided on this site. Additionally the Stem Cell Toolkit [external link] provides regulatory routemaps that are specific to individual stem cell projects.

Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) [external link] has an Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) [external link], which advises government on requests for permission to release genetically modified organisms (GMO) into the environment. In 2013, this committee published advice on gene therapy clinical trial for heart disease.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) [external link] has the Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) SACGM (CU) [external link]. This committee provides technical and scientific advice to the UK Competent Authorities on all aspects of the human and environmental risks, and is responsible for maintaining guidance on the contained use of GMOs.

From 13 October 2014, the MHRAs Innovation Office is the portal for all regulatory queries concerning regenerative medicines. A one stop shop service provides a single point of access from the four regulators in the field, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), Health Research Authority (HRA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), who will provide a co-ordinated single response service for free regulatory advice.

Any query relating to the regulation of regenerative medicines, including Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMPs) can be submitted to the MHRAs Innovation Office and will be answered by the relevant experts from the four regulatory bodies.

Individuals or companies who have regulatory questions concerning regenerative medicines and who are unsure which agency to direct their inquiry to, or have a query that impacts several regulators, should use the Innovation Office advice form.

The HRA and others work closely together and will continue to engage with those involved in regenerative medicine, including researchers, the British Society for Gene and Stem Cell Therapy [external link], and the Cell Therapy Catapult [external link] to help clarify the regulatory requirements that apply.

The HRA recently held a regenerative medicine event hosted by the Cell Therapy Catapult to look at changes and discuss issues with the sector, regulators and representative bodies. Additionally in 2012, the MHRA hosted an event on the regulation of regenerative medicine [external link].

As set out in the Government Response to the House of Lords Inquiry [external link] a Regenerative Medicine Expert Group (RMEG) is being established to develop an NHS regenerative medicine delivery readiness strategy and action plan. This group will build on existing initiatives so that the NHS is fully prepared to deliver these innovative treatments. The group will be supported by the Department of Health; members will be drawn from a number of groups and organisations, including the HRA. The remit of the Regenerative Medicine Expert Group will include a role to monitor the effect of regulation on the development of regenerative medicines in the UK.

More generally, the HRA is working in partnership with a range of organisations to improve the environment for research in the UK. Please refer to our projects and plans pages for more information.

During 2012-13, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee held an inquiry into regenerative medicine in the UK. For more information about the inquiry, the resulting report and the HRAs responses please use the links below:

UK Stem Cell Toolkit [external link]This toolkit is intended to be a reference tool for those who wish to develop a programme of human stem cell research and manufacture, including clinical applications. It applies only to the regulation of human stem cells and their use in the laboratory and clinical settings. The toolkit provides regulatory routemaps that are specific to individual stem cell projects. It does this by using your responses to questions when you start using the toolkit.

Clinical Trials Toolkit [external link]This toolkit provides practical advice to researchers in designing and conducting publicly funded clinical trials in the UK. It provides information on best practice and outlines the current legal and practical requirements for conducting clinical trials. The toolkit is primarily focused on Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) and the regulatory environment and requirements associated with these. However researchers and R&D staff working on trials in other areas will also find useful information and guidance of relevance to the wider trials environment.

Cell Therapy Catapult [external link]The Cell Therapy Catapult was established in 2012 to grow the UK cell therapy industry. It was set up to help businesses take innovative ideas through to commercialisation. The website has specific regulatory resource pages, which include an overview of the relevant regulations for cell therapy.

MHRA Innovation Office [external link]The MHRA Innovation Office helps organisations that are developing innovative medicines, medical devices or using novel manufacturing processes to navigate the regulatory processes in order to be able to progress their products or technologies. Examples of innovative products include Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), nanotechnology, stratified medicines, novel drug/device combinations, and advanced manufacturing.

UK Regenerative Medicine Platform (UKRMP) [external link]The Medical Research Council (MRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) have established the UKRMP to address the challenges associated with translating scientific discoveries towards clinical impact.

UK Stem Cell Bank [external link]The UK Stem Cell Bank was established to provide a repository of human embryonic, foetal and adult stem cell lines as part of the UK governance for the use of human embryos for research. Its role is to provide quality controlled stocks of these cells that researchers worldwide can rely on to facilitate high quality and standardised research. It also prepares stocks of EUTCD-Grade cell lines for use as starting materials for the development of cellular therapies. The UK Stem Cell Bank is hosted by NIBSC [external link], which is part of the MHRA.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Life Science Investment Organisation (LSIO) [external link]This dedicated unit within UKTI is intended to support overseas companies to invest and expand in the UK from the earliest research and development collaborations through to clinical trials, commercial operations and partnerships.

Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) Regenerative Medicine Priority Area [external link]This is an official group within the Healthtechnologies and Medicine Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). Knowledge Transfer Networks have been set up by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to facilitate collaboration and stimulate innovation by bringing together people from a range of organisations with a variety of expertise.

DEFRA Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) [external link]

HSE Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (SACGM (CU) [external link].

MHRAs Clinical Trials, Biologicals and Vaccines Expert Advisory Group[external link]

Regenerative Medicine Expert Group [external link]

Read more from the original source:
Regenerative Medicine - Health Research Authority

By Dr. Mercola

Kristin Comella,1 named No. 1 on the Academy of Regenerative Practices list of Top 10 stem cell innovators, has been a stem cell researcher for nearly two decades. In this interview, she discusses the enormous regenerative potential of stem cell therapy.

Comella, who holds degrees in chemical and biomedical engineering, began working with stem cells in graduate school, using a technique called magnetic cell sorting, which involves tagging nanoparticle magnets onto cells and then separating the cells based on the proteins they express.

"What we've learned over the years is that stem cells express different proteins than other kinds of cells in your body," she explains. "That began my career in the field of stem cells."

Over the years, she's worked for several different companies. At a start-up in Maryland, she used stem cells from bone marrow (culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cells) for meniscus regeneration. By placing these cells directly into the knee joint, you can repair or even grow back a damaged meniscus.

For a time, she also headed up the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility at Tulane University, which is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) facility located at the Tulane Center for Gene Therapy. There, her work revolved around using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for spinal cord regeneration.

For the past 13 years, she's worked for U.S. Stem Cell, a company founded in 1999. The company began bringing stem cells for cardiac care to the public. Muscle-derived stem cells can be used to repair heart damage associated with heart attacks. "Our company treated our first patient in 2001. Since that time, we've treated over 7,000 patients. We began looking at other indications about a decade ago. We also began looking at stem cells from a variety of different sources," she says.

The primary purpose of stem cells is to maintain, heal and regenerate tissues wherever they reside in your body. This is a continuous process that occurs inside your body throughout your life. If you didn't have stem cells, your lifespan would be about an hour, because there would be nothing to replace exhausted cells or damaged tissue. In addition, any time your body is exposed to any sort of toxin, the inflammatory process causes stem cells to swarm the area to repair the damage.

"As an example, you might have gone to the gym this morning [and] done some squats. As a result of that, you would get tiny tears inside the muscle. The stem cells that reside beneath the muscle would come out and repair all those tears.

The reason that, if you continuously go to the gym, you would start to build new muscle, is because those stem cells, hard at work underneath your muscle, are helping to repair and build that new muscle. This would apply to all of the tissues inside your body," Comella explains.

While it's easy to think of stem cell therapy as a magic bullet, it would be wise to implement strategies that nourish and thereby help optimize the stem cells you already have in your body. As noted by Comella:

"You have to create an appropriate environment for these cells to function in. If you are putting garbage into your body and you're constantly burdening your body with toxins, your stem cells are getting too distracted trying to fight off those toxins. By creating an appropriate environment, optimizing your diet and reducing exposure to toxins, that will allow the stem cells that we're putting in to really home in and focus on the true issue that we're trying to treat.

The other thing we've discovered over the years is that [stem cell therapy] is not the type of thing where you take one dose and you're cured forever. Your tissues are constantly getting damaged You're going to have to repeat-dose and use those stem cells to your advantage.

When you think about a lizard that loses its tail, it takes two years to grow back the tail. Why would we put unrealistic expectations on the stem cells that we're trying to apply to repair or replace damaged tissue? This is a very slow process. This is something that will occur over months and may require repeat dosing."

Historically, stem cells were isolated from bone marrow, and have been used for bone marrow transplants for cancer patients since the 1930s. However, you can get stem cells from just about any tissue in your body, as every tissue contains stem cells.

Your bone marrow actually has very low amounts of mesenchymal stem cells, which are now believed to be the most important, from a therapeutic perspective. Mesenchymal stem cells help trigger an immunomodulatory response or a paracrine effect, which means they send signals out to the rest of your body, calling cells to the area to help promote healing.

"What we've discovered in more recent years is that a more plentiful source of stem cells is actually your fat tissue. [Body] fat can contain up to 500 times more cells than your bone marrow, as far as these mesenchymal type stem cells go.

One thing that's also critically important when you're talking about isolating the cells is the number of other cells that are going to be part of that population. When you're isolating a bone marrow sample, this actually is very high in white blood cells, which are pro-inflammatory."

White blood cells are part of your immune response. When an injury occurs, or a foreign body enters your system, white blood cells will attack. Unfortunately, white blood cells do not discriminate, and can create quite a bit of damage as they clean the area out.

Stem cells, in particular your mesenchymal cells, quiet down the white blood cells and then start the regeneration phase, which leads to new tissue. Bone marrow tends to be very high in white blood cells and low in the mesenchymal cells. Isolating stem cells from fat tissue is preferred not only because it's easier on the patient, but fat also contains a higher population of mesenchymal cells and fewer white blood cells.

"The benefit also of isolating [stem cells from] fat is that it's a relatively simple procedure. There's typically no shortage of fat tissue, especially in Americans," Comella says. "[Also], as you age, your bone marrow declines with regards to the number of cells in it, whereas the fat tissue maintains a pretty high number of stem cells, even in older individuals.

We can successfully harvest fat off of just about anyone, regardless of their age or how thin they are. The procedure is done under local [anesthesia], meaning that the patient stays awake. They don't have to go under general anesthesia. We can harvest as few as 15 cubic centimeters of fat, which is a very small amount of fat, and still get a very high number of stem cells."

A stem cell procedure can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000, depending on what you're having done, and rarely if ever will insurance cover it. Still, when you compare it to the cost of long-term medications or the out-of-pocket cost of getting a knee replacement, stem cell therapy may still be a less expensive alternative. Also, a single extraction will typically yield enough stem cells for 20 to 25 future treatments, should you decide to store your stem cells for future need.

"I think it's accessible for patients," Comella says. "It's an out-patient procedure. You plan to be in clinic for about two hours; no real limitations afterwards, just no submerging in water, no alcohol, no smoking for a week. But other than that, patients can resume their normal activities and go about their regular daily lives."

Interestingly, Comella notes that patients who eat a very healthy diet, focusing on organic and grass fed foods, have body fat that is very hearty and almost sticky, yielding high amounts of very healthy stem cells.

"We can grow much better and faster stem cells from that fat than [the fat from] somebody who eats a grain-based diet or is exposed to a lot of toxins in their diet," she says. "Their fat tends to be very fluffy, buttery yellow. The cells that come out of that are not necessarily as good a quality. It's just been very interesting. And of note, patients that are cigarette smokers, their fat is actually gray-tinged in color. The stem cells do not grow well at all."

What's been described above is what's called an autologous donation, meaning you're getting the stem cells from yourself. A number of companies provide non-autologous donations using cells harvested from other people, typically women, like amniotic or embryonic mesenchymal cells. This is an important distinction.

"There are now just a couple of studies that have been published comparing an autologous source, meaning cells from you own body, to an allogeneic source, meaning cells from someone else.

So far, what has been discovered is that the autologous cells, meaning your own cells, will outperform somebody else's cells inside your body. Now, this is not fully understood at this point. It may be that the environment that your cells function in, they're used to that environment. They recognize it. It's the same DNA and they can function well.

However, once you culture expand and get a pure population of these mesenchymal cells not necessarily the sample that's coming right off of the liposuction, but a sample that has been taken to the lab and grown those cells will not elicit an immune response if you use them in someone else. You could scientifically and medically use those in an unmatched person. However, there are some regulatory aspects of that with regards to the FDA."

In the U.S., there are a variety of new stem cell products available, referred to as amniotic, cord blood products or placenta products, which are prepared at a tissue bank. Such facilities must be registered with the FDA, and the products must undergo additional processing.

For example, they must be morselized, or snap frozen or blended in some way. Such processing typically breaks the membrane, releasing growth factors, and the resulting products are called acellular, meaning there are no living cells remaining in the sample.

The amniotic products available in the U.S. are not so much stem cell products as they are growth factor products. According to Comella, they can be useful in creating an immunomodulatory response, which can help to promote healing, but that still differs from the living stem cell procedures that can be done by either isolating cells from your fat or bone marrow. As a general rule, you don't achieve the clinical benefits when using an amniotic product, primarily because they don't contain living stem cells.

"I want to contrast that to what are called embryonic stem cells," Comella adds. "The products obtained from cord blood, from women who are having babies, are not embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are when you are first bringing the egg and sperm together. Three days after that, you can isolate what is called an inner cell mass. This inner cell mass can be used to then grow cells in culture, or that inner cell mass could eventually lead to the formation of a baby.

Those are embryonic stem cells, and those are pluripotential, meaning that they have the ability to form an entire being, versus adult stem cells or stem cells that are present in amniotic tissue, [which] are multipotential, which only have the ability to form subsets of tissue.

When you're dealing with different diseases or damaged tissue or inflammation, mostly you want to repair tissue. If somebody has damage in their knee, they don't necessarily need embryonic cells because they don't need a baby in their knee. They need new cartilage in their knee."

A common question is whether stem cells can cause overgrowth, leading to cancer or tumor formation. As noted by Comella, this is a problem associated with embryonic stem cells, which tend to grow very rapidly and can form a teratoma because of the rapid cell growth. Adult stem cells the cells obtained from your own body have growth inhibitions and will not form teratomas.

"The theoretical concern that has been addressed in animal models or in petri dishes is that if you take cancer cells that are growing in a dish and apply stem cells, it may make those cancer cells grow more rapidly. But this does not translate in-vivo to humans.

If there was truly an issue with applying stem cells to a patient who has cancer, we would know about it by now, because we've been dosing cancer patients with stem cells since the '30s. The safety profile is strong and there are tens of thousands of patients documented with these treatments," Comella says.

Another useful therapy is platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Your peripheral blood contains platelets, which act as first responders when there's an injury. They come in and start the clotting mechanism, thereby preventing you from bleeding to death. They also give marching orders to other cells. For example, platelets can command stem cells to multiply and grow, or to differentiate and form new tissue.

These platelets also have many different growth factors associated with them, which can help to promote healing and stop inflammation. PRP involves taking a blood sample and then spinning the blood in a centrifuge to isolate the platelets. The platelet-rich plasma is then injected back into the area that is inflamed.

"One of the most common uses of platelet-rich plasma or PRP is in a joint. Now, platelets are going to be most successful in something that is rich in stem cells [such as] an acute or a very recent injury.

If you just hurt your knee, the first thing you should do is get PRP, because it's going to help promote healing, and those platelets will attach to the surface receptors of the stem cells that are already going to the area to promote healing. It would be like putting fertilizer on your seed, which are the stem cells.

If you have something more chronic, this tends to be a stem cell-poor environment. In other words, you have osteoarthritis or you've got knee pain that's 5 years old and it's been there for a long time; just putting PRP in it would be like putting fertilizer on dirt without planting a seed first."

The beauty of stem cell therapy is that it mimics a process that is ongoing in your body all the time. Your stem cells are continuously promoting healing, and they do not have to be manipulated in any way. The stem cells naturally know how to home in on areas of inflammation and how to repair damaged tissue.

"All we're doing is harnessing the cells from one location where they're sitting dormant and relocating them to exactly where we want them and we need them to work," Comella says. "Basically, anything inside your body that is inflamed, that is damaged in some way, that is lacking blood supply, the [stem] cells can successfully treat.

That means orthopedics, knee injections, shoulder injections, osteoarthritis, acute injuries, anterior cruciate ligament tears in your back back pain associated with degenerative disc disease or damaged tendons or ligaments, herniated and bulging discs. You can also use it in systemic issues, everything from diabetes, to cardiac, to lungs any tissue organ inside your body that's been damaged.

Autoimmune diseases [can also be treated]. The stem cells are naturally immunosuppressant, meaning they can help quiet down an over reactive immune system and help the immune system function in a more normal way. Neurological diseases, traumatic brain injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's. All of these have to do with tissue that's not functioning properly. The cells can be used to address that."

It's quite impressive, the list of different diseases that could benefit from this intervention. That said, I want to reemphasize that this is not a magic bullet. However, you can dramatically improve the benefits of this intervention by combining it with other healthy lifestyle factors that optimize mitochondrial function, such as eating a healthy whole food diet, exercising, sleeping well, avoiding toxins and detoxifying from toxic influences.

Stem cells can also be used as part of an antiaging program. Comella has used stem cells on herself for several years, and report feeling better now than she did a decade ago.

"The ability to reduce inflammation inside your body is basically making yourself live longer. Inflammation is what kills us all. It's what makes our telomeres shrink. It's what causes us pain and discomfort. It's what makes the tissues start to die. The ability to dose yourself with stem cells and bring down your inflammation, which is most likely caused by any sort of toxin that you've been exposed to breathing air is exposure to toxins this is going to lengthen your lifespan.

I typically will do a dose every six to 12 months, regardless of what's going on. If I have anything that's bothering me, if I tweak my knee at the gym, then I absolutely will come in and do an injection in my knee. I want to keep my tissue healthy for as long as possible.

I want to stay strong. I don't want to wait until something is wrong with me. I think that this is the future of medicine. This is what we're going to start to see. People will begin to get their regular doses of [their own] stem cells and it'll just be common practice."

Keep in mind there's a gradual and progressive decline in the quality and the number of stem cells as you age, so if you're considering this approach, it would be to your advantage to extract and bank your stem cells as early on as possible. U.S. Stem Cell provides a stem cell bank service, so you can store them until a later date when you might need them.

"Your stem cells are never as young as they are right now. Every minute that you live, your telomeres are shrinking. The ability to lock in the youth of your cells today can be very beneficial for you going forward, and for your health going forward. God forbid something happens. What if you have a heart attack? You're not going to get clearance to get a mini-lipo aspirate procedure.

If you have your cells waiting in the bank, ready for you, it becomes very easy to pull a dose and do an IV delivery of cells. It's almost criminal that we're not doing this for every single one of our cardiac patients. This should be standard practice. We should be having every single patient bank their stem cells at a young age and have them waiting, ready and available. The technology is there. We have it. I'm not sure why this technology is not being made available to everyone," she says.

"I think stem cell therapy is very different than traditional medicine. Stem cell therapy may actually make it so that you don't have to be dependent on pharmaceutical medications. You can actually repair the tissue and that's it. This is a very different way of viewing medicine."

If you're interested in having this procedure done, contact the U.S. Stem Cell Clinic on USStemCellClinic.com. You could either have the procedure done at their facility, or if there's a physician in your area providing the service, you can go there. U.S. Stem Cell can help you locate a qualified doctor.

Oftentimes, practitioners will specialize in specific procedures, such as spinal procedures, or knee procedures. There's also a veterinary division, called Vet Biologics, which offers treatment to small pets like cats and dogs, as well as horses.

"One of the things that we've been treating recently is traumatic brain injuries," Comella says. "We had a woman who fell two stories and hit her head. She spent months in a coma and was not able to talk or walk or do any activities. By the time she came to us, it was two years after her injury. The best hospitals in the world told her this was her life 'You're never going to be able to talk or walk or take care of your young children again.' That was just not good enough.

She came to us and we began applying stem cells in a way to allow the cells to cross the blood-brain barrier and to get to her brain. After her first treatment, when she walked into the clinic on her own and began telling me, in full sentences, about the day she had the head injury, tears came down my face. This is the kind of thing that traditional medicine would say is impossible.

We've had patients who were wheelchair-bound, whether it's from multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's, up and out of their chair, literally jogging around cones. This is life-changing Patients who were told they weren't going to return to sports for years are back on the field and playing. There's just many ways that you can heal your tissue to change the course of an injury or a disease."

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How Stem Cell Therapy Can Help Repair and Regenerate Your Body

Bryan Christie

Injected anti-VEGF agents can help reverse eye damage and stabilize vision.

Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina, often leaking fluid or blood into the macula and damaging central vision. Although far less common than the dry form, in which deposits destroy the macula, wet AMD is much more destructive, leading to more rapid and profound vision loss. Fortunately, a new class of drugs called anti-VEGF agents, now widely available, can halt and sometimes even reverse the damage. Injected into the eye, the medications block VEGF proteins, which normally help blood vessels form. "Before anti-VEGF agents, we had nothing to stop wet macular degeneration," says Jeffrey Heier, M.D., chair of research and therapeutics for the American Society of Retina Specialists and director of the Vitreoretinal Service at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston. "Now, in a majority of patients, we can stabilize vision and, in some patients, even restore some vision."

The shots have one big drawback: They have to be administered as often as monthly. To eliminate repeated injections, researchers are developing innovative ways to deliver medication to the eye. One approach under investigation is to implant a small reservoir that steadily releases medication over time, says Heier. Another, more dramatic possibility: using gene therapy to reprogram cells in the eye to produce their own anti-VEGF agents.

The holy grail of research to treat macular degeneration, though, is finding ways to regenerate healthy cells to replace those damaged by disease. That may not be far off. In 2014, a team at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported early success growing retinal cells in the lab and injecting them into the eyes of patients with several different forms of AMD. The scientists began with pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to become any cell. "Over a period of months, the cells are coaxed into becoming retinal pigment epithelial cells, which support the photoreceptor cells in the retina," explains Eddy Anglade, M.D., chief medical officer for Ocata Therapeutics, the Massachusetts-based company that is developing the procedure. Early results show significant improvements in vision in some patients, and clinical trials are under way to refine the procedure.

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Treating Blindness and Vision Loss - Restoring Eyesight

Article

First Online: 24 June 2008

Transplantation of bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells is increasingly being used to treat a variety of oncologic disorders. These procedures are associated with a large spectrum of neurologic complications that significantly contribute to patient morbidity and mortality. These complications may arise at any time during and after the transplantation process and are particularly common in patients requiring chronic immunosuppression. The most frequent complications are infections and cerebrovascular or metabolic events, and toxicity from radiation or chemotherapy. Because of the unique circumstances and treatments involved in each step of the transplantation process, there is a higher incidence of some neurologic complications during discrete time periods, and an awareness of the temporal relationship of the neurologic disorder to the transplantation process facilitates diagnosis. With the exception of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, in which reduced immunosuppression may be an effective therapeutic strategy, therapies are often the same as in the nontransplant patient. Complications of therapy can arise because of the presence of multiple comorbidities and medication interactions. Anticipation of common opportunistic infections and appropriate use of prophylactic medications can significantly reduce the incidence of infectious complications.

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Neurologic complications of bone marrow and stem-cell ...

Scientists were understandably wary. Disabled AIDS viruses had not been used in human gene therapy. But I dont take no for an answer, Dr. Salzman said. I probably come just shy of stalking people.

The result of her lobbying was a tiny study in France in which researchers used a disabled form of HIV to deliver a normal form of the ALD gene. The investigators reported that the treatment seemed to stop brain degeneration in two boys.

Yet the idea behind the treatment seems almost preposterous: Take bone marrow stem cells from a boy with the ALD gene mutation. Insert a good gene into those cells and then infuse them back into the bone marrow.

Wait about a year while stem cells with the good genes multiply in the bone marrow. Eventually, they drift up into the brain, where they slowly turn into glial cells support cells that surround neurons and help insulate them.

The proper gene in the glial cells takes over, stopping the brain deterioration that would otherwise occur.

That unlikely process also explains why bone marrow transplants work, said David A. Williams, chief scientific officer at Boston Childrens Hospital and a principal investigator for the study. New bone marrow cells, from a healthy donor, supply good ALD genes to cells in the recipient that eventually become glial cells.

Either therapy must be administered early, before symptoms are apparent. In the year it takes for the treatment to become effective, the brains of children who are already showing symptoms can deteriorate to the point of no return.

The success of the small pilot study was enough to inspire the founding of a company, Bluebird Bio, which sponsored the bigger study in hopes of marketing gene therapy for ALD.

The company has now expanded that study to include an additional eight boys, and in separate research is following boys who had bone marrow transplants to compare outcomes.

For Paul Rojas of Dover Plains, N.Y., whose son was in the study, gene therapy has been a lifesaver. He never heard of the disease until his son Brandon, who was 7, started drooling, losing his ability to concentrate and listing to one side when he walked.

The diagnosis was a shock. And since Brandon was showing symptoms, it was too late for a bone-marrow transplant.

Brandons doctors, Mr. Rojas said, sat across from him and his wife, Liliana, in a small conference room and gave them the bad news: This is a disease that has no cure.

He had his 4-year-old, Brian, tested. He had the mutated gene, too.

The Rojases could not find a compatible donor for a bone-marrow transplant. But then they learned about the gene therapy trial and got Brian enrolled. He is now 7, with no sign of the disease.

But his older brother Brandon, now 10, no longer speaks, walks or eats. He has a feeding tube.

Brian misses playing with his brother, Mr. Rojas said. Brandon was his idol.

For Dr. Salzman, the results of the new gene therapy study have come too late. She had to get treatment for her son before he developed symptoms.

He had a cord blood transplant, which was successful. Her nephew also had one, but suffered complications and must use a wheelchair.

The results of the new study also give rise to a concern that is becoming a regular feature of gene therapy work and other new biotech therapies: How much will this treatment cost?

Bluebird Bio is not saying companies generally do not announce prices until their drugs are approved.

Dr. David A. Williams, chief scientific officer at Boston Childrens Hospital and a principal investigator of the new study, expects the price to be similar to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it costs for a bone-marrow transplant.

But the new treatment is a curative therapy, he said.

Dr. Friedmann is not assuaged by such arguments. The research enabling these products to come to market often begins with studies already paid for by grants from the federal government or from private foundations.

The expected prices, he said, are absolutely crazy.

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In a First, Gene Therapy Halts a Fatal Brain Disease - The ...

Many people are also concerned that clones would be produced with a specific need and purpose in mind and such cloned individuals would be traded or sold, amounting to human trafficking which is illegal.

At the other end of spectrum are some experts who are of the opinion that the embryo does not require any particular moral consideration. They say that, at the stage when an embryo is cloned, it is just a bunch of cells that contain DNA, which are not very different from the millions of skin cells that we shed everyday. The embryonic cells at that stage cannot be considered equivalent to a human being because it does not have thoughts, self-awareness, memory, awareness of its environment, sensory organs, internal organs, legs, arms, and so on. They think that the embryo attains human identity or individuality much later during gestation, perhaps at the point when the brain develops so that it becomes aware of itself.

In view of the highly debatable aspects about cloning and weighing in on the pros and cons of this process, UNESCO passed a non-binding "United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning", in March 2005, which states: "Practices which are contrary to human dignity, such as reproductive cloning of human beings, shall not be permitted." In the United States there are no federal laws that ban cloning completely, yet 13 states have banned reproductive cloning. Although many countries have banned cloning, many countries allow therapeutic cloning, a system in which the stem cells are extracted from the pre-embryo, with the intention of generating a whole organ or tissue, so that it can be transplanted back into the person who gave the DNA.

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The Legal and Ethical Issues of Cloning That Make it ...

Working in the field of biotechnology, you have a large impact on medicine by helping to advance immunology as well as the development of diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical drugs. And because your field is ever-changing, it is important for you to be able to find biotechnology courses that keep you current. We can help.

Our database of biotechnology courses is a resource that supports your search for continuing medical education. New conferences are constantly being added, so that you can browse through a current and comprehensive list of options. Are you looking for general biotechnology courses, or specific topics like molecular diagnostics, optics, vaccine research or laser technology? We feature a wide range of conferences that have been organized by leaders in the field of biology, chemistry and physical sciences.

If you are starting a search for your next biotechnology course, take a look at our list of upcoming workshops, expos, symposiums, summits and more. For related events, check out our Immunology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics conferences.

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Biotechnology Medical Conferences 2017 | CME Biotechnology ...

Stem cells Transplant Institutein Costa Rica, under the direction of Dr. Mesn, is a pioneer in the use of Stem Cells Therapies in Costa Rica.

AtStem Cells Transplant Institute, we use adult autologous stem cells for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Stem cells therapy consists of the direct administration of the cells into the affected joint or in areas immediately surrounding the injury in order to regenerate damaged tissue, with the subsequent improvement of joint functionality.

Evidence in recent years has suggested that the bone marrow may be involved, and may even be the initiating site of the disease. Abnormalities in hemopoietic stem cells survival, proliferation and aging have been described in patients affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis and ascribed to abnormal support by the bone marrow microenvironment.

Mesenchymal stem cells and their progeny constitute important components of the bone marrow niche. Studies suggest that the onset of inflammatory arthritis is associated with altered self-renewal and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, which alters the composition of the bone marrow microenvironment.

Using stem cell therapies offered atStem Cells Transplant Institute, you can improve symptoms and signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis as:

With the urgent need for more effective treatments for Rheumatoid arthritis, particularly for those with more progressive forms of the disease,Stem Cells Transplant Institutebelieves that the potential of all types of cell therapies must be explored.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by a chronic inflammation of joints mediated by T-cells (a subtype of white blood cells that plays a central roll in cell-mediated immunity).

Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1% of world population. The disease starts with the inflammation of the synovial membrane, which frequently leads to the destruction of adjacent cartilage and bone. These provoke a moderate physical inability in 80% of the patients and an early death.

Stem Cells Transplant Institutein Costa has state-to-the-art technologies and human resource to help you get fascinating treatment possibilities for Rheumatoid Arthritis through the use of stem cells. Costa Rica ranks as one of the best healthcare systems in the World, we offer high quality stem cells treatments for just a fraction of the price you get in the USA. Dont hesitate to contact us.

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Rheumatoid Arthritis Stem Cells Treatment, Autoimmune ...

Veterinary medicine, also called veterinary science, medical specialty concerned with the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the health of domestic and wild animals and with the prevention of transmission of animal diseases to people. Veterinarians ensure a safe food supply for people by monitoring and maintaining the health of food-producing animals.

Persons serving as doctors to animals have existed since the earliest recorded times, and veterinary practice was already established as a specialty as early as 2000 bce in Babylonia and Egypt. The ancient Greeks had a class of physicians who were called horse-doctors, and the Latin term for the specialty, veterinarius (pertaining to beast of burden), came to denote the field in modern times. Today veterinarians serve worldwide in private and corporate clinical practice, academic programs, private industry, government service, public health, and military services. They often are supported in their work by other veterinary medicine professionals, such as veterinary nurses and veterinary technicians.

Veterinary medicine has made many important contributions to animal and human health. Included are dramatic reductions in animal sources of human exposure to tuberculosis and brucellosis. Safe and effective vaccines have been developed for prevention of many companion (pet) animal diseasese.g., canine distemper and feline distemper (panleukopenia). The vaccine developed for control of Mareks disease in chickens was the first anticancer vaccine. Veterinarians developed surgical techniques, such as hip-joint replacement and organ transplants, that were later applied successfully to people.

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animal disease

...and magic. Diseases of animals remain a concern principally because of the economic losses they cause and the possible transmission of the causative agents to humans. The branch of medicine called veterinary medicine deals with the study, prevention, and treatment of diseases not only in domesticated animals but also in wild animals and in animals used in scientific research. The prevention,...

A major challenge to veterinary medicine is adequately attending to the diversity of animal species. Veterinarians address the health needs of domestic animals, including cats, dogs, chickens, horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and goats; wildlife; zoo animals; pet birds; and ornamental fish. The sizes of animals that are treated vary from newborn hamsters to adult elephants, as do their economic values, which range from the undefinable value of pet animal companionship to the high monetary value of a winning racehorse. Medicating this variety of tame and wild animals requires special knowledge and skills.

On the basis of recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the government of a country, there are about 450 veterinary degree programs worldwide. The level of veterinary training varies greatly among the various countries, and only about one-third of these programs designate the degree awarded as a doctors degree. Professional training of veterinarians is commonly divided into two phases. The first, or basic science, phase consists of classroom study and laboratory work in the preclinical sciences, including the fields of anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, nutrition, microbiology, and public health. The second phase focuses on the clinical sciences and includes classroom study of infectious and noninfectious diseases, diagnostic and clinical pathology, obstetrics, radiology, anesthesiology, surgery, and practice management and hands-on clinical experience in the colleges veterinary teaching hospital. The clinical experience gives students the opportunity to treat sick animals, perform surgery, and communicate with animal owners. Student activities in the clinical setting are conducted under the supervision of graduate veterinarians on the faculty. Several important opportunities for additional training are available to graduate veterinarians. Internship (one-year) and residency (two-to-five-year) programs enable veterinarians to gain clinical proficiency in one or two medical specialties. Graduate veterinarians can also pursue advanced degree programs. Usually the field of advanced study is medically oriented, but some seek advanced degrees in areas such as business.

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Most clinical-practice veterinarians treat only companion animals and usually within the practices clinic, or animal hospital. A small proportion treat only food-producing animals or horses, most often by traveling to the location of the animal in a vehicle equipped for veterinary services in the field. Most of the remainder in clinical practice are in mixed practices, which deal with both small animals and large domestic animals such as cattle or horses. Some small-animal practices offer services for special species such as ornamental fish, caged birds, and reptiles. Some practices may limit work to a specific medical area such as surgery, dentistry, dermatology, or ophthalmology. Corporate-owned animal hospitals have increased in number and are often combined with a retail outlet for pet supplies.

Veterinarians in academia administer the basic and clinical science programs of veterinary colleges. In addition, they conduct basic and clinical research, the latter of which may involve application of new instrumentation technologies for diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases. Included are echocardiography, laser lithotripsy, endoscopy, nuclear scintigraphy, ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; see nuclear magnetic resonance).

Veterinary medicine intersects with private industry in such areas as marketing of animal-health products, monitoring of animal health in large commercial animal-production programs, and biomedical research. Veterinary specialists in industry work in the fields of toxicology, laboratory animal medicine, pathology, molecular biology, and genetic engineering. Pharmaceutical companies employ veterinarians in the development, safety testing, and clinical evaluation of drugs, chemicals, and biological products such as antibiotics and vaccines for animals and people.

National and local governments employ veterinarians in those agencies charged with public health, protection of the environment, agricultural research, food and drug safety, food-animal inspection, the health of imported animals, and the humane treatment of animals. Veterinarians working in public-health programs, for example, evaluate the safety of food-processing plants, restaurants, and water supplies. They also monitor and help control animal and human disease outbreaks. The increased threat of bioterrorism has given veterinarians vital roles in the protection of the food supply for animals and people and in early detection of use of zoonotic organisms as weapons. Veterinarians also work in aerospace; e.g., they have been scientific advisers on animal use in the U.S. space program and have been members of U.S. space shuttle crews. Veterinarians in military service perform biomedical research, care for military dogs, and protect troops through food-inspection and communicable-disease monitoring-and-control programs.

Britannica Lists & Quizzes

See also animal disease.

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veterinary medicine | Britannica.com

Posted by Ardent Editor on July 23rd, 2007

One of the most promising uses for genetic modification being eyed in the future is on the field of medicine. There are a number of advances already being done in the field of genetic modification that may be able to allow researchers to someday be able to develop a wide range of medicines that will be able to treat a variety of diseases that current medicines may not be able to.

There are many ways that genetic modification can be used in the development of new medicines in the future. One of them is in the production of some human therapeutic proteins which is used to treat a variety of diseases.

Current methods of producing these valuable human proteins are through human cell cultures but that can be very costly. Human proteins can also be purified from the blood, but the process always has the risk of contamination with diseases such as Hepatitis C and the dreaded AIDS. With genetic modification, these human proteins can be produced in the milk of transgenic animals such as sheep, cattle and goats. This way, human proteins can be produced in higher volumes at less cost.

Genetic modification can also be used in producing so-called nutriceuticals. Through this genetic modification can be used in producing milk from genetically modified animals in order to improve its nutritional qualities that may be needed by some special consumers such as those people who have an immune response to ordinary milk or are lactose intolerant. That is just one of the many uses that genetic modification may be able to help the field of medicine in trying to improve the quality of life.

Other ways of using genetic modification in the field of medicine concern organ transplants. In is a known fact to day that organ transplants are not that readily available since supply for healthy organs such as kidneys and hearts are so very scarce considering the demand for it. With the help of genetic modification, the demand for additional organs for possible transplants may be answered.

Genetic modification may be able to fill up the shortfall of human organs for transplants by using transgenic pigs in order to provide the supply of vital organs ideal for human transplants. The pigs can be genetically modified by adding a specific human protein that will be able to coat pig tissues and prevent the immediate rejection of the transplanted organs into humans.

Although genetic modification may have a bright future ahead, concerns still may overshadow its continuous development. There may still be ethical questions that may be brought up in the future concerning the practice of genetic modification. And such questions already have been brought up in genetically modified foods.

And such questions may still require answers that may help assure the public that the use of genetic modification in uplifting the human quality of life is sound as well as safe enough. Public acceptance will readily follow once such questions have been satisfactorily answered.

See the article here:
Genetic Modification in Medicine | gm.org

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints. It can affect one joint or multiple joints. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, with different causes and treatment methods. Two of the most common types are osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The symptoms of arthritis usually develop over time, but they may also appear suddenly. Arthritis is most commonly seen in adults over the age of 65, but it can also develop in children, teens, and younger adults. Arthritis is more common in women than men and in people who are overweight.

Causes

Cartilage is a firm but flexible connective tissue in your joints. It protects the joints by absorbing the pressure and shock created when you move and put stress on them. A reduction in the normal amount of this cartilage tissue cause some forms of arthritis.

Normal wear and tear causes OA, one of the most common forms of arthritis. An infection or injury to the joints can exacerbate this natural breakdown of cartilage tissue. Your risk of developing OA may be higher if you have a family history of the disease.

Another common form of arthritis, RA, is an autoimmune disorder. It occurs when your bodys immune system attacks the tissues of the body. These attacks affect the synovium, a soft tissue in your joints that produces a fluid that nourishes the cartilage and lubricates the joints.

RA is a disease of the synovium that will invade and destroy a joint. It can eventually lead to the destruction of both bone and cartilage inside the joint.

The exact cause of the immune systems attacks is unknown. But scientists have discovered genetic markers that increase your risk of developing RA fivefold.

Symptoms

Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling are the most common symptoms of arthritis. Your range of motion may also decrease, and you may experience redness of the skin around the joint. Many people with arthritis notice their symptoms are worse in the morning.

In the case of RA, you may feel tired or experience a loss of appetite due to the inflammation the immune systems activity causes. You may also become anemic meaning your red blood cell count decreases or have a slight fever. Severe RA can cause joint deformity if left untreated.

Diagnosis

Seeing your primary care physician is a good first step if youre unsure who to see for an arthritis diagnosis. They will perform a physical exam to check for fluid around the joints, warm or red joints, and limited range of motion in the joints. Your doctor can refer you to a specialist if needed.

If youre experiencing severe symptoms, you may choose to schedule an appointment with a rheumatologist first. This may lead to a faster diagnosis and treatment.

Extracting and analyzing inflammation levels in your blood and joint fluids can help your doctor determine what kind of arthritis you have. Blood tests that check for specific types of antibodies like anti-CCP (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide), RF (rheumatoid factor), and ANA (antinuclear antibody) are also common diagnostic tests.

Doctors commonly use imaging scans such as X-ray, MRI, and CT scans to produce an image of your bones and cartilage. This is so they can rule out other causes of your symptoms, such as bone spurs.

Treatments

The main goal of treatment is to reduce the amount of pain youre experiencing and prevent additional damage to the joints. Youll learn what works best for you in terms of controlling pain. Some people find heating pads and ice packs to be soothing. Others use mobility assistance devices, like canes or walkers, to help take pressure off sore joints.

Improving your joint function is also important. Your doctor may prescribe you a combination of treatment methods to achieve the best results.

A number of different types of medication treat arthritis:

If you have RA, your doctor may put you on corticosteroids or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), which suppress your immune system. There are also many medications to treat OA available over the counter or by prescription.

Surgery to replace your joint with an artificial one may be an option. This form of surgery is most commonly performed to replace hips and knees.

If your arthritis is most severe in your fingers or wrists, your doctor may perform a joint fusion. In this procedure, the ends of your bones are locked together until they heal and become one.

Physical therapy involving exercises that help strengthen the muscles around the affected joint is a core component of arthritis treatment.

Diet and exercise

Weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight reduce the risk of developing OA and can reduce symptoms if you already have it.

Eating a healthy diet is important for weight loss. Choosing a diet with lots of antioxidants, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, can help reduce inflammation. Other inflammation-reducing foods include fish and nuts.

Foods to minimize or avoid if you have arthritis include fried foods, processed foods, dairy products, and high intakes of meat.

Some research also suggests that gluten antibodies may be present in people with RA. A gluten-free diet may improve symptoms and disease progression. A 2015 study also recommends a gluten-free diet for all people who receive a diagnosis of undifferentiated connective tissue disease.

Regular exercise will keep your joints flexible. Swimming is often a good form of exercise for people with arthritis because it doesnt put pressure on your joints the way running and walking do. Staying active is important, but you should also be sure to rest when you need to and avoid overexerting yourself.

At-home exercises you can try include:

Outlook

While theres no cure for arthritis, the right treatment can greatly reduce your symptoms.

In addition to the treatments your doctor recommends, you can make a number of lifestyle changes that may help you manage your arthritis.

Read the original:
Arthritis: Causes, Signs, and Diagnosis - healthline.com

A Contemporary Blending of Traditional Medicine & Complementary Therapies

Career Opportunites at Advanced Integrative Medicine:

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Advanced Integrative Medicine is excited to announce:

Advanced Integrative Medicine is looking to grow!

We are very excited at how well we have been received in our community and we are now looking to expand! We are now interviewing for Internists, Physicians Assistants and Osteopaths wanting to be involved in a leading medical office that offers alternative options to our patients. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who wants an unlimited possibility for income. Please call the office at (303) 708-0246 or email us your resume at info@aim4yourhealth.com if you are interested. We are also OPEN to New patients!

Advanced Integrative Medicines primary goal is to provide our patients with team based health services that combine Western (Allopathic) medicine with complementary treatments in a modern setting emphasizing integrated treatment modalities.

We believe that your active involvement with our providers who are Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Family Practice along with two highly trained Physician Assistants are essential to your personal health and wellness.

In addition, our professionally licensed health care providers in Clinical Psychology, Diet and Nutrition, Chiropractic, and Acupuncture services work closely together with our traditional medical providers

Mon - Fri : 8am - 5pm

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What is Integrative Medicine and Health?

Integrative medicine and health reaffirm the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.

Integrative medicine combines modern medicine with established approaches from around the world. By joining modern medicine with proven practices from other healing traditions, integrative practitioners are better able to relieve suffering, reduce stress, maintain the well-being, and enhance the resilience of their patients.

Although the culture of biomedicine is predominant in the U.S., it coexists with many other healing traditions. Many of these approaches have their roots in non-Western cultures. Others have developed within the West, but outside what is considered conventional medical practice.

Various terms have been used to describe the broad range of healing approaches that are not widely taught in medical schools, generally available in hospitals or routinely reimbursed by medical insurance. Integrative medicine is a term that emphasizes the combination of both conventional and alternative approaches to address the biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of health and illness. It emphasizes respect for the human capacity for healing, the importance of the relationship between the practitioner and the patient, a collaborative approach to patient care among practitioners, and the practice of conventional, complementary, and alternative health care that is evidence-based.

According to the 2012 National Health Interview Survey:

Read the 2012 report What Complementary and Integrative Approaches Do Americans Use?

CAM is attractive to many people because of its emphasis on treating the whole person, its promotion of good health and well-being, its valuing of prevention, and its often more personalized approach to patient concerns.

Most people who use CAM combine it with conventional medicine, because they perceive the combination to be superior to either alone. Independent predictors of CAM use in one written survey were higher level of education, poorer health status (chronic pain, anxiety, etc.) and a holistic interest in health, personal growth and spirituality.

Funding for biomedical research in the field of integrative medicine has increased dramatically over the past several years. In 1992, Congress established the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with an annual budget of $2 million. In 1998, it was elevated to a full NIH center and renamed the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and again renamed in 2015 to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). NCCIHs mission is to support research and training in CAM and to disseminate evidence-based information to both the public and professional worlds.

Link:
What is Integrative Medicine and Health? | Osher Center for ...

Getting healthy and staying healthy isnt only about medical treatments. Sometimes you need a little extra support to help you tolerate treatment and recover from illness and feel better overall.

Integrative Medicine takes into account the whole person. It makes use of different therapeutic practices to address all aspects of your health physical, emotional, social, spiritual and more. The goal is to restore and maintain health and wellness.

At the Elmhurst Integrative Medicine Clinic, we address your mind, body and spirit so you can live a better life now.

We offer the following Integrative Medicine services alongside your medical treatments:

Reiki

Reiki is a complementary, holistic healing practice intended to promote the balance of energy in the body. The session is safe, gentle and non-invasive, and is used to enhance the effectiveness of conventional medical treatment. Reiki can help promote relaxation and release stress. It can also relieve pain, improve mental clarity and promote sleep.

Mindfulness therapy

Mindfulness therapy involves focusing your awareness on the present moment. Mindfulness meditation may involve deep breathing exercises and self-soothe techniques. During it, you acknowledge and accept your thoughts, feelings and sensations without judgment. By connecting with the moment at hand, mindfulness therapy can help you relax, gain mental clarity, reduce anxious thoughts, and feel restored.

Guided imagery

Guided imagery involves the process of using directed thoughts and suggestions to guide ones imagination toward a relaxed, focused state. For example, it can help you to prepare for an event or activity by imagining a positive outcome.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is the process by which an individuals body relaxes while the mind enters a state of deep concentration. This therapy can be used to treat people with addictions, pain, anxiety disorders and phobias.

Therapeutic massage

Advanced massage techniques are a useful adjunct to ones health plan to promote healing and maintain health. Massage is beneficial for many conditions, including chronic pain, soft tissue injuries and stress reduction.

Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

This therapeutic practice includes an evaluation and treatment to resolve various body ailments through the use of acupuncture, cupping or gua sha. It promotes a state of optimal health to provide relief from pain, headaches, digestive disorders, sleep trouble, colds and sinus congestion, stress and more.

Naturopathic nutrition coach

Maintaininga healthy, balanced diet is important to control your weight and improve your overall wellness. Heather Bautista, ND, CNS, LDN, naturopathic health coach with the Integrative Medicine Clinic, can help educate you in choosing healthy dietary options that are right for you.

Join us on July 18 at 7:00 p.m. for a Healthy Driven Evening Conversation titled "Super Foods You ShouldKnow About"at Elmhurst Hospital, hosted by Bautista. Visit the class registration page to learn more (enter "food" into the search).

Smoking cessation

Struggling to quit smoking? Our smoking cessation program can give you the support you need to quit for good.

Smoking is a strong, complicated addiction. You need the best tools to help with the physical and emotional symptoms. Hypnosis and acupuncture are great resources to help you succeed. During hypnosis for smoking cessation, a patient is often asked to imagine unpleasant outcomes from smoking, which can help later when the desire to smoke occurs. Acupuncture can help stop jitters, curb cravings, lessen irritability and restlessness, increase relaxation and detoxify the body.

Our Integrative Medicine Clinic offers a four-week smoking cessation program by hypnosis, counseling and acupuncture (if you wish). The program can give you the support you need to kick the habit for good. Learn more and call 331-221-6135 to register.

Be Activated Therapy

Be Activated is used globally by elite sports teams, the fitness industry and health professionals to treat injuries and enhance sporting performance. It is a powerful tool for stress management and can quickly break common patterns of movement dysfunction and chronic pain.

Eric Janota, D.O. is offering Be Activated at Edward-Elmhurst Health Center (located at 8 Salt Creek Lane in Hinsdale) for people with:

The Be Activated philosophy will change the way your body works. Simple changes to dysfunctioning muscles allow the body to make immediate shifts towards resilience, strength and speed. The results are incredible. An activated body will quickly change from a state of tension and pain to a strong and relaxed state of excellent performance. To learn more, call 331-221-2550.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is hands-on care. It involves using the hands to diagnose, treat and prevent illness or injury. Using OMT, your osteopathic physician (D.O.) will move your muscles and joints using techniques including stretching, gentle pressure and resistance.

OMT can help people of all ages and backgrounds. The treatment can be used to ease pain, promote healing and increase overall mobility. OMT is often used to treat muscle pain, but it can also help patients with a number of other health problems such as: asthma, sinus disorders, carpal tunnel syndrome and migraines.

Julia Afridi, D.O., Medical Director of Integrative Medicine at Elmhurst Hospital, is offering OMT at Elmhurst Hospital and at our Oak Park clinic. Please call 331-221-1700 to set up your appointment for OMT.

For people with cancer, Integrative Medicine therapies can help to diminish the stress and anxiety of cancer treatment and create a sense of well-being. Often patients forgo this type of therapy because its rarely covered by insurance.Instead, they live with the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Hope. Lives. Here. is an initiative launched by the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation to increase awareness and raise funds for cancer programs and services at The Nancy W. Knowles Cancer Center.

The Foundation has raised funds to provide twocomplimentary 30-minute appointments in the Integrative Medicine Clinic to each new cancer patient that we treat in 2017. To make an appointment, call 331-221-6135.

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Integrative Medicine Clinic | Edward-Elmhurst Health