Category Archives: Colorado Stem Cells

Artist's rendition of a yunnanozoan, highlighting its basketlike pharyngeal arches

DINGHUA YANG

More than 500 million years ago, as myriad new lifeforms were emerging and diversifying in the worlds oceans, a small, wormlike fish called the yunnanozoan (Yunnanozoan livitidum) flourished around what is now southwestern China.

Based on the numerous fossils that have been found, this sea creature seemingly had little more to it than eyes, a rudimentary brain, and a basketlike skeleton of cartilage supporting its digestive tract. Yet as with many other organisms that emerged during this time, paleontologists have long known that yunnanozoans represent important developments in evolutionary history, especially regarding the emergence of the skeleton and, eventually, the spine. Despite this, yunnanozoans classification has been controversial among researchers for years, explains Nanjing University paleontologist Baoyu Jiang, as experts have interpreted various parts of its anatomy as evidence that it belonged to different ancient clades. Now, research by Jiang and his colleagues published today (July 7) in Scienceconcludes that yunnanozoans may be among the earliest vertebrates.

Vertebrates are thought to have emerged during the Cambrian explosion around 520 million years ago, but the point in time at which these animals branched away from the phylum of chordata, which lack the rigid structures that protect vertebrates nervous system, is difficult to pin down. Over the years, numerous hypotheses for how vertebrates first appeared and developed have emerged, Jiang tells The Scientist. Any progress about the [yunnanozoans] phylogenetic position is key to understanding the origin of vertebrates, he says, so the researchers decided to apply newer imaging techniques to 127 recently collected yunnanozoan fossils in order to determine how best to classify the animals and how to place them within evolutionary history.

In the past, various researchers have placed yunnanozoans into multiple clades, including cephalochordates (a clade of rudimentary invertebrate marine animals), hemichordates (considered to be a link between invertebrates and vertebrates), and even in a far more ancient group called the stem deuterostomes. These conflicting designations tend to be based on observations of the same fossils, with researchers disagreeing on how to interpret various structures.

In the new study, the team examined the fossils with X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT) and scanning electron microscopytwo techniques that Mount Holyoke College paleontologist Mark McMenamin, who didnt work on the study, says have recently become the standard for the field but havent yet been applied to many types of fossils. The researchers focused primarily on seven pairs of symmetrical arches that are thought to be a precursor to modern skeletons, and especially of the head and jaws of vertebrates.

One of the yunnanozoan fossils analyzed in the study

FANGCHEN ZHAO

Jiang and his colleagues found that those arches contain a pattern of filaments, interconnected by bamboo-like bars of cellular cartilage, that closely resemble the gill arches of modern fish and align with earlier predictions for what an early vertebrate ancestor would look like. These structures, overlooked by prior analyses, are typical of a vertebrate, Jiang tells The Scientist, and are missing from fossils of early chordates. The findings, he says, support the hypothesis that vertebrates heads and jaws did indeed develop from the first two arches found in yunnanozoans and similar organisms.

The arches structure, the authors say, also resembles the modern vertebrates pharyngeal skeletonswhich develops from three embryonic germ layers and neural crest cellsand provide important details regarding when in evolutionary history these skeletons emerged. Collectively, they write, the arches features suggest that yunnanozoans may be stem (early) vertebrates.

What makes this exciting is not so much the actual old age of the fossils, but [the] placement of the yunnanozoans on the phylogenetic tree, David Jandzik, an evolutionary biologist at Comenius University in Slovakia and the University of Colorado Boulder who didnt work on the study, tells The Scientist over email. Yunnanozoans had been (controversially) placed among stem vertebrates before, and it is not surprising that the new details on fossil morphology can lead to dramatic changes in the topology of a phylogenetic treewhich is basically a hypothesis on who is more closely related to whom.

The finding that yunnanozoan pharyngeal arches are homologous to those of vertebrates suggests that yunnanozoans belong among vertebrates rather than chordates, Jandzik explains, and the paper shows that [an] elaborate pharyngeal skeleton composed of cellular cartilage might have existed earlier [than previously assumed] and that its evolution was probably even more rapid than we had thought before.

Jandzik notes that reclassifications of this sort happen all the time due to the incompleteness and imperfect preservation of the fossil material, but says that the authors conclusion that yunnanozoans are vertebrates may be difficult to topple. The new material presented in this study is relatively robust, he says, so it might require even more compelling new evidence.

McMenamin says he found the papers claim that the yunnanozoan fossils presently contain the earliest evidence of a pharyngeal skeletonwhich served as the foundation of the skeletons of the vertebrates still alive today and gave rise to structures such as the head and jawparticularly compelling. If their interpretation that yunnanozoans are vertebrates are correct, that pushes the origins of vertebrates into the early Cambrian, he says, as yunnanozoan fossils predate the time vertebrates were thought to have first evolved, and it will expand our notion of the diversity of form very early in the history of these creatures.

However, McMenamin says hes not completely convinced that interpretation is correct. He points out that the fossils seem to be missing a notochorda rod typically found behind the neural tube in chordates, which provides structural support and assists in the patterning of cells into tissues during embryonic development. This structure is flexible in chordates but stiffer in vertebrates, and McMenamin says he would have expected it to have been preserved in fossils across hundreds of millions of years better than the arches identified in the paper, had it been present in yunnanozoans. The absence of a notochord, he says, is one factor that has allowed for the many interpretations of yunnanozoan phylogeny, and therefore he says it was a little bit of a surprise to see the fish definitively classified as a vertebrate, rather than a chordate, without one.

I think [the authors] made good advances in the imaging, and their interpretation of these structures is reasonable, but I dont think theyve knocked down the controversy of the affinity of the yunnanozoans, McMenamin says.

Jiang says that there was some evidence of a physical groove in the fossils where a notochord would be expected, potentially indicating its presence, but that he and his colleagues didnt mention it in the paper because in this study, we focused on the arches.

Despite his reservations about the notochord, I would just say that this is a very welcome techniques paper that is adding new data to the mix, McMenamin tells The Scientist, adding that it is going to really help us understand early chordateand possibly as well early vertebrateevolution.

Go here to read the rest:
This Simple Fish May Have Been One of the First Vertebrates - The Scientist

Hormone therapy is often used to treatprostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, but many patients develop resistance to hormone therapy, causing their disease to become more aggressive and potentially more deadly.

One of the big challenges we have in the field is that the majority of prostate cancer therapies target hormones the androgen axis, saysUniversity of Colorado Cancer Center mentored memberCecilia Caino, PhD. But nearly all patients develop resistance to those drugs and then get a more aggressive disease that starts moving to other parts of the body. Its been confined to the prostate, but now it might move over to the bones or the liver, or the lungs. Thats really a big problem, because when you start to compromise the vital organs, the patient eventually will die.

In spring 2021, Caino received anIdea Award from the U.S. Department of Defenses Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program toinvestigate the role of mitochondria the small energy factories in cells that help to break down food into fuel in metastatic prostate cancer.

In initial researchrecently published in the journal Molecular Cancer Research, Caino and her co-investigators discovered that tumor cells use mitochondria to control their growth and detect stress that can destroy a tumor cell if it is not controlled. In addition to the Department of Defense, the research isfunded by the American Cancer Society, the Boettcher Foundation, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

We know that tumor cells are very resistant to stress in general; thats what makes them so hard to target with therapies, Caino says. But when the tumors grow too fast, they start running out of nutrients to keep building. They utilize this mitochondrial pathway that we describe to slow down for a moment, adapt, and expand their capacity to synthesize more blocks to build the cells.

Caino and her team also found that a mitochondrial protein called MIRO2 is overexpressed in metastatic prostate cancer tumors. Having previously found that MIRO2 works together with two other proteins called GCN1 and GCN2 to help metastatic prostate cancer cells tolerate conditions where growth of normal cells would be prevented, Caino now hypothesizes that targeting this protein compound can inhibit the mitochondrial process that prevents tumor cells from destroying themselves by expanding too quickly.

Our next step is to treat animal models that have metastases and see if we can eliminate the tumor or prevent the metastasis from even occurring in the first place, she says. We're also learning a lot more about the complex, because we want to know how it's regulated. That will help us stratify patients who will benefit from the therapy from those who will not.

The researchers will start out treating the metastasis with an existing drug used to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia, but Caino also hopes to eventually design a drug that would prevent the complex from forming in the first place.

A lot of times drugs work for a while, then they stop working. You already have to be thinking about what youre going to do when that drug doesn't work anymore, she says. Hopefully we can come up with a strategy to stop the process farther upstream.

Caino is especially excited about this research as it represents her first peer-reviewed paper as a senior corresponding author. It also marks 22 years from her first experience in lab research.

I decided to start a new line of research that did not stem directly from my postdoctoral studies, she says. I also chose to begin my lab with a couple of graduate students and a technician, investing in their training while remaining involved in bench work myself. Walking this long, winding road was challenging and called upon every single skill and strength I had.

The rest is here:
How Tumor Cells Use Mitochondria to Keep Growing

by Paulick Report Staff|06.27.2022|3:42pm

Joint inflammation and osteoarthritis (OA) are common issues in competition horses. These conditions often lead to decreased performance and lameness.

Veterinarians can treat OA via joint injections, which involve placing drugs directly into the joint capsule. Some drugs commonly used include corticosteroids, polysulfated glycosaminoglycans, and hyaluronic acid. Biologic therapies like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cells can also be used.

Vets determine which drugs to use and how often to administer them based on their clinical experience; this is often guided by anecdotal evidence rather than scientific findings. This lack of direct comparisons between treatment options means there are no guidelines for how often a joint should be injected or for which treatment is best.

The AAEP surveyed its membership in 2019 to better understand how vets were administering joint injections. The results were presented at the 2021 AAEP Annual Convention. Dr. Gustavo Zanotto of Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Dr. David Frisbie, of Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine co-authored the study.

The survey had 407 vet respondents, many of whom worked with Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorses, as well as Warmbloods. The duo determined that nearly 75 percent of vets were concerned that treating equine joints too frequently would damage the articular cartilage.

The majority of vets said that the joints can be injected every 6 months, while 30 percent said that the joints can be injected every 3 months.

[Story Continues Below]

Triamcinolone and methylprednisolone were the drugs most often injected into both high- and low-motion joints, respectively. Nearly three-quarters of the vets believed that triamcinolone contributes to laminitis, though there is no research to support that this drug increases laminitis risk in healthy horses.

Over 55 percent of vets said they used an antibiotic when injecting joints, an increase since a study asked the same question in 2009. The main reasons treating veterinarians cite for antibiotics use is poor environmental conditions and the use of corticosteroid injections. This is concerning as the veterinary field continues to battle antibiotic resistance, Zanotto said. Currently, there is no evidence that corticosteroid joint injections increase the risk of infection or that the environment in which joints are injected contribute to infection.

Though joint injections are common, there is a lack of evidence-based guidelines regarding their frequency or recommended doses.

Read more at Veterinary 33.

Continued here:
Nearly 75 Percent Of Veterinarians Concerned That Frequent Injections Could Cause Joint Damage - Horse Racing News - Paulick Report

Today, the Global Business Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced the recipients of the Collaborative Infrastructure Grant, an Advanced Industries Accelerator Program that helps Colorado-based teams of technology businesses and nonprofits fill infrastructure gaps in the advanced industries. This years recipients will develop an advanced manufacturing hub to strengthen the local workforce and supply chains; add 1.4M square feet of new wet lab space for bioscience and clean tech startups; support adult bone marrow stem cell collection to benefit the treatment of musculoskeletal injury and disease; and add a state-of-the-art facility to evaluate outdoor product performance and production (full awardee list below).

The Advanced Industries Accelerator Program is designed to benefit all aspects of innovation in Colorado, said Rama Haris, Senior Manager for OEDITs Advanced Industries Program. We were pleased to see that this years applications for the Collaborative Infrastructure Grant represented that full spectrum, from manufacturing to health and wellness to outdoor recreation, and will fill infrastructure needs that benefit Coloradans and the nation.

To be eligible, projects must have multiple collaborative public-private partners, broad impacts across one or more advanced industries, and support capability growth within the identified industries through research, technology development, and manufacturing. The AIA Program received five applications for this grant opportunity. Applications were reviewed by a multi-disciplinary committee of business, technical and financial experts across the advanced industries. Final recommendations were approved by the Economic Development Commission on June 16, 2022.

Awardees

Metropolitan State University of Denver, $135,000: The world events of the last two years have illustrated the need for the US to more rapidly adopt, deploy, and support advanced manufacturing to strengthen the local workforce and supply chains. Metropolitan State University of Denver is developing a hub of advanced manufacturing innovation with a world-class Industry 4.0 Center of Excellence on the downtown Denver Auraria Campus. This physical lab will educate the manufacturing workforce and be accessible to local manufacturers. The center will include office space, lab space, and demonstration facilities.

Rocky Mountain Innosphere, $1,500,000: A recent report identified that the Denver and Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area lacks 1.4M square feet of wet labs to support current and near-term needs. Rocky Mountain Innosphere, as part of the Colorado Build Back Better Coalition, is developing wet lab space for bioscience and clean tech startups. The wet lab space will be developed by renovating a 31,000 square foot building at the historic National Western Center and will provide for a startups progression from R&D to early scale-up.

Steadman Philippon Research Institute, $500,000: Musculoskeletal injury and disease are the most disabling and costly conditions suffered by Americans. Of the many adult stem cell types potentially applicable for treating musculoskeletal disorders, bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) from bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) are the most clinically translatable. The Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colo. is developing a BMAC harvesting, banking, and delivery service that facilitates multiple injections from a single bone marrow harvest without expansion or significant manipulation of the cells.

University of Colorado Denver, $250,000: Advanced manufacturing capabilities are essential to develop new products, processes, and services across a range of industries, including the outdoor recreation industry. Outdoor recreation powers a vast economic engine that creates billions in spending and millions of jobs. The University of Colorado Denver in partnership with Outside Inc. is building the Gear Innovation Lab, a facility with state-of-the-art testing equipment to evaluate outdoor product performance and production. The standardized lab testing will be supported by Outsides team of expert editors and field testers to provide a holistic technical, consumer, and community assessment and reporting of outdoor gear.

Excerpt from:
OEDIT Announces Recipients of Collaborative Infrastructure Grant - Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade

Hello,

Candice Bergen, the interim leader of the federal Conservatives, says the party leadership race is intense and dynamic, but expects unity among Tories once its over.

I recognize that this leadership race is not something for the faint of heart, Ms. Bergen told a news conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.

It is a very vigorous race where not only the candidates are incredibly engaged, but hundreds of thousands of Canadians are engaged.

But, the Manitoba MP added, I have no doubt that once the race is over, we will all come together. Well be united and be strong.

The leadership race continues to be a tumultuous exercise, with tense jousting between the campaigns of Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre and those of rivals Jean Charest, former Quebec premier, and Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, Ont.

The other candidates in the race are Ontario MPs Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis and Roman Baber, a former member of the Ontario legislature.

Last week, Mr. Poilievres campaign said it had signed up more than 300,000 new members to the party, prompting a new round of exchanges among the campaigns, particularly that of Mr. Brown. This week, Jenni Byrne, an adviser to Mr. Poilievre, was blunt here in her response to comments by Mr. Brown.

Ms. Bergen, who, as interim party leader, is neutral in the race, said she trusts the candidates to run the race they see as appropriate, and that criticism is part of the process.

Meanwhile Tuesday, two Conservative MPs switched their support from Mr. Brown to Mr. Poilievre. Story here from CBC.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you're reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

TODAY'S HEADLINES

BREAKING - Sasha Suda, director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada, has resigned from her leadership position to take a post in the United States. Ms. Suda joined the gallery in 2019.

DO MORE ON COST OF LIVING: CONSERVATIVES AND NDP The federal Conservatives and New Democrats both delivered forceful pleas to the government on Tuesday to do more to address the cost-of-living crisis in Canada, though the parties diverged on what they want to see from the Liberals. Story here.

ELECTORAL OFFICER CALLS FOR CHANGES Canadas chief electoral officer is recommending that changes to the law be made to combat foreign interference in elections and the spread of misinformation. Story here.

TIME FOR THE ONTARIO LIBERALS AND NDP TO CONSIDER MERGING: SORBARA As Ontario Liberals look to rebuild after their devastating result in last weeks provincial election, former Liberal finance minister Greg Sorbara says its time to consider what he acknowledges is a pie-in-the-sky idea: merging his party with the provinces NDP. Story here.

TRUDEAU MUM ON SUMMIT EXCLUSIONS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isnt saying whether he supports President Joe Bidens decision to exclude Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba from this weeks Summit of the Americas. Story here.

TORIES SPREADING MISINFORMATION ON STREAMING LEGISLATION: RODRIGUEZ - Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez accused the Conservatives of spreading misinformation about the governments online streaming legislation. Story here.

GG AND AIR CANADA PROMPTED COMPLAINTS: LANGUAGE COMMISSIONER - Canadas Governor-General and Air Canadas CEO were connected to thousands of complaints to the official languages commissioner in the past year. Story here from Global News.

QUEBECERS HAVE NO APPETITITE FOR SOVEREIGNTY-FEDERALISM BATTLES: DRAINVILLE Former Parti Qubcois MNA Bernard Drainville says he has joined the nationalist ranks of the governing Coalition Avenir Qubec because Quebecers no longer have an appetite for the sovereignty-federalism battle. Story here from The Montreal Gazette.

ANAND AS ALL-ROUND GOVERNMENT FIXER Macleans magazine looks here at Defence Minister Anita Anand as the Trudeau governments all-round fixer.

LEBLANC GRATEFUL FOR STEM-CELL DONATION CBC reports on how a young German man donated stem cells that saved the life of federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Domenic LeBlanc after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Story here from CBC.

WARE RECOGNIZED AS PERSON OF NATIONAL HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE The federal government has recognized John Ware, a Black cowboy in Western Canada, as a person of national historic significance. Story here.

CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE

CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Scott Aitchison is in Ottawa on parliamentary business. Roman Baber is in Toronto, Jean Charest in Montreal, Leslyn Lewis in her HaldimandNorfolk riding, and Pierre Poilievre in Ottawa. Patrick Browns campaign did not provide details on his whereabouts.

THIS AND THAT

TODAY IN THE COMMONS Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, June 7, accessible here.

DIPLOMATIC EVENT ON TUESDAY Yesterdays newsletter said seven diplomats would be presenting their credentials to the Governor-General on Monday. In fact, they are presenting their credentials on Tuesday.

TWO BQ MPS HAVE COVID19 Two Bloc Qubcois members have tested positive for COVID-19 and are isolating at home. They are Martin Champoux, the MP for Drummond, and Marilne Gill, the MP for Manicouagan.

CSIS DIRECTOR REAPPOINTED David Vigneault, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service since 2017, has been reappointed to the position, effective June 19, 2022, according to a statement from the Prime Ministers Office. Statement here.

THE DECIBEL

On Tuesdays edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globes Greg Mercer talks about the inquiry into Canadas worst mass shooting the massacre of 22 people in rural Nova Scotia in April, 2020. Mr. Mercer talks about how the RCMP didnt believe the reports they received from the public, lacked training in their own communications systems, and how a senior commander gave commands after having several drinks. The Decibel is here.

PRIME MINISTER'S DAY

In Ottawa, the Prime Minister chaired a cabinet meeting, and then departed for Colorado Springs in Colorado, where he was scheduled to participate in an official welcome ceremony featuring military honours by the Canadian and U.S. armed forces. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to participate in a briefing session provided by members of the North American Aerospace Defence Command, observe a demonstration at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, meet with Canadian Armed Forces personnel from NORAD, and depart for Los Angeles.

LEADERS

Bloc Qubcois Leader Yves-Franois Blanchet will hold a media scrum before Question Period regarding Bill C-21, the governments firearms legislation.

Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen, and other caucus MPs, held a media availability to discuss inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Ms. Bergen also attended Question Period.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a news conference on the cost of living and attended Question Period.

OPINION

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Doug Ford won re-election by becoming a fiscal yes-man. But he cant keep it up in the postpandemic era: But Mr. Ford had one other thing going for him: The past two years have been a fiscal liminal moment. All sorts of rules, including basic budget arithmetic, were suspended. To govern is normally to choose, but the PC government has spent the past two years not really having to make fiscal choices. Not having to worry about making revenues and expenditures roughly match has allowed it to say yes to everyone and no to almost nobody. But this moment is was temporary. Governments across the country did what had to be done, running deficits to keep Canadians afloat and the economy treading water during the worst of the pandemic. That is now ancient history. With recession and mass unemployment giving way to labour shortages and an economy running too hot, the era of write-cheques-and-ask-questions-later is over.

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on Pierre Poilievres good fortune: His supporters dont see his hypocrisy: Say what you will about Mr. Poilievres policies many of which range from disturbing to all-out bonkers his campaign is a well-oiled machine. Whether it is successful in getting all those people it signed up to vote for him remains to be seen, though all the candidates will face the same issue. Perhaps the most interesting thing left to watch will be how Mr. Poilievre behaves from now until the party membership votes on Sept. 10. Does he begin to play it safe with his pronouncements, or will he double down on his aim to be disruptor-in-chief?

David Parkinson (The Globe and Mail) on how Bill Morneau talks about the Liberals economic failings as if they were someone elses fault: The government came to office in 2015 on an economic platform very much focused on building long-term productivity and growth but then repeatedly stumbled, stalled and backpedalled its way out of its own best advice. When you look at where the government drifted off course, Mr. Morneau was, at least nominally, at the rudder.

Andr Picard (The Globe and Mail) on why we must make it easier to both live and die with dignity, but denying MAiD to those living in poverty is not the answer: These cases drew attention to the fact that since March, 2021, Canada has had two tracks of patients eligible for medically assisted death: Track 1 is for those with conditions where death is reasonably foreseeable, and track 2 is for individuals with a serious or incurable condition for whom death is likely not imminent. The case of Denise attracted the most attention because she said her choice of MAiD was essentially because of abject poverty. Like most people living with a disability in Ontario, she receives $1,169 monthly (plus a $50 special diet supplement) in social assistance, which is not even remotely close to a livable income in Toronto, especially if you need specialized housing. Anti-MAiD activists pounced on the story to argue that Canada is euthanizing the poor, which is nonsensical rhetoric. Of course, assisted death is not a solution to poverty or poor housing, but these cases are not as black and white as they have been made out to be.

Genevieve LeBaron and Priscilla Fisher (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on whether we are ready to seriously act over the forced labour problem created by Canadas supply chains: We think of Canada as a beacon for human rights. But the sad fact is that the U.S., Britain and France are far ahead of us, having passed laws to hold corporations accountable for modern slavery in supply chains and having implemented import bans on slavery-made goods. Canada is lagging behind.

Got a news tip that youd like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.

Excerpt from:
Politics Briefing: Conservative leadership race is intense, Bergen says, but she expects party unity once it's over - The Globe and Mail

Nine plaintiffs who anonymously sued Gov. Janet Mills over a COVID-19 mandate for health care workers will appeal a U.S. District Court judges decision requiring them to disclose their names by June 7.

The group filed its complaint in federal court last August, before the vaccine mandate for employees of designated Maine health care facilities went into effect Oct. 29.

Using pseudonyms, the health care workers argued that it was their religious right to refuse the vaccine overtheir belief that fetal stem cells from abortions were used to develop it. The state mandate does not allow for religious exemptions.

The Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal filed a motion in November challenging the groups right to file the complaint anonymously.

In his 13-page ruling Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Jon D. Levy said he at first allowed the group to withhold their names because they argued they were afraid of the public passions concerning mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, and that they were at a heightened risk of severe social stigma and worse if their identities were revealed.

In the final analysis, however, there is a near total absence of proof that their expressed fears are objectively reasonable, Levy wrote Tuesday. The Plaintiffs privacy interests have not been shown to outweigh the public interest associated with the presumption of openness that applies to civil proceedings.

Attorneys for the unnamed health care workers did not respond to requests Wednesday afternoon to discuss their appeal. They are represented by Maine attorney Steve Whiting, and lawyers from Liberty Counsel, a conservative, religious law firm based in Florida that has participated in several lawsuits against Maine and other states over COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions. Nationally, the firm also has opposed safe and legal access to abortions and same-sex marriage, and the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified the firm as a hate group.

Before filing the notice to appeal, a spokesperson for Liberty Counsel told the Portland Press Herald on Tuesday night that the firm would not speak with reporters about Levys ruling because of the papers involvement in the lawsuit.

In an emailed statement Wednesday, attorney Sigmund Schutz, who represents the newspapers, said he plans to vigorously defend Levys order.

Chief Judge Levys decision vindicates the bedrock principle of the American justice system that courts operate in secret only in exceptional circumstances, Schutz wrote.

Shannon Jankowski, staff attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, has joined Schutz as co-counsel. Jankowski said Wednesday that this is the only case the committee is involved in related to vaccine mandates, but that there are several court cases around the country in which people using pseudonyms have tried to challenge mandates. Jankowski said hundreds of other people around the country have filed complaints concerning vaccine mandates in their own names.

In Arizona in January, a judge denied a federal employees motion to anonymously sue President Biden over the U.S. governments vaccine mandate. At about the same time in Colorado, a judge agreed to let a group of university employees anonymously challenge their employers mandate.

These plaintiffs are attempting to invalidate a vaccine mandate that applies throughout the state of Maine, Jankowski said of the anonymous plaintiffs in the Maine lawsuit. This is something that has broad-ranging impacts on all citizens of Maine, and the public has the right to know who these plaintiffs are, what role they play in the health care system. Its important information for the public to be able to assess for themselves whats going on in this case.

Levy is still considering the lawsuit against the vaccine mandate. Meanwhile, federal judges have refused to block the mandate, which has been in effect since last Oct. 29. The states major health care providers reported at the time that most workers chose to get the shots and keep their jobs.

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Maine health care workers to appeal order to disclose their names in vaccine mandate lawsuit - Press Herald

Lawrence Goldstone| The Fulcrum(TNS)

Pennsylvanians rally for women's rights in Harrisburg

Pennsylvanians rally for women's rights in Harrisburg

Daniella Heminghaus, York Dispatch

Ordinarily, the word unprecedented is hyperbole, similar to Breaking news! or Greatest ever! When used to describe the current danger to American democracy, however, it is all too appropriate. Never in the nations history have democratic institutions been so at risk under what would first appear to be banal circumstances.

There have been previous threats to Americas system of government, but each was spurred by a single overriding issue that created deep doubt as to whether democracy was up to resolving it. For the first 75 years of the nations existence, the United States wrestled with whether human slavery would be perpetuated or abolished, which left the Union teetering on the edge of dissolution. In 1861, it fell into Civil War, and the succeeding decades were spent trying to reinvigorate democracy, first by bringing Black Americans into the political system, then, in a sad irony, by shutting them out of it.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, with unemployment in excess of 20%, many Americans looked to Europe and what seemed to be the enormous success of Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini in pulling their countries out of similar quagmires and wondered if fascism might not be a better system for the United States. As Ira Katznelson described in his brilliant book, Fear Itself, it was only the political genius of Franklin Roosevelt that prevented fascism from gaining perhaps unstoppable momentum here.

More: Is democracy failing? Xi Jinping says it is, and he's not entirely wrong

More: White replacement theory is fascisms new name

More: Strengthening US democracy is critical to deterring future aggression

But slavery is no more although racism, sadly, persists and the economy, despite a job-crushing pandemic and high inflation, retains a solid base with unemployment matching a 20-year low. There is cause for dissatisfaction, surely, but if the past five years should have taught Americans anything, it is that the nations democratic institutions left it uniquely positioned to find solutions to even the most seemingly intractable problems.

It might appear odd, therefore, that a sizable segment of the American population seems willing, if not eager, to cast aside our most sacred traditions, not because of a threat from abroad or even, for all the chest thumping, one from within. At its core, these anti-democrats are using as their justification a claim to moral superiority, which overlaps with a desperate need to perpetuate minority rule.

The hypocrisy of those on this dubious high ground could not be more striking. Those who claim to be defending the lives of the unborn are all too willing to abandon those lives almost from the second they leave the womb. Those who claim to be defending liberty are content to see liberty be denied for their opponents. Those who scream about rigging elections and gaming the system spend a good deal of their time trying to rig elections and game the system. Those who decry cancel culture cheer the banning of books and restrictions on free expression in schools.

And, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly demonstrated in recent years, those who most vociferously defend religious liberty seek to impose their own religious beliefs on others.

In Masterpiece Bakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the court ruled that a vendor could refuse service to a gay couple on religious grounds. In a dissent on an emergency petition from Catholic health care workers in New York, Justice Neil Gorsuch favored granting them an exemption from the states vaccine mandate on the grounds that the vaccines had been developed from decades-old stem cells obtained from aborted fetuses. This despite directives from both the pope and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that taking the vaccine was both acceptable and advisable.

But it is in Justice Samuel Alitos leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization that the full agenda of the Supreme Courts conservative majority became clear. Alito, in a 98-page opinion reeking with smug arrogance, belittled not only liberal justices who had defended a womans right to choose to have an abortion but also Republican appointees Harry Blackmun, David Souter, Sandra Day OConner and Anthony Kennedy for agreeing. He blithely tossed aside 50 years of precedent in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey as egregiously wrong from the day they were decided, self-righteously comparing his opinion to the overturn of Plessy v. Ferguson by Brown v. Board of Education. It seems to have eluded him that Plessy took away a right that Brown restored, which is precisely the opposite of what he and his four colleagues would do in Dobbs.

Abortion is one of the most delicate and difficult issues with which both the court and the country must grapple. As much as either side is loath to admit it, each has a point. Alitos opinion does not balance the nuances, however, but instead simply dismisses one side while fully embracing the other. His reasoning, as many legal analysts have pointed out, is contrived and transparently flawed religious dogma dressed up as law.

There is a word for a system of government in which the dictates of religion override other freedoms and civil guarantees. Theocracy.

One pundit said that with this decision and those on voting rights, the United States has officially returned to the 19th century. Others have described the decision as a triumph for originalism, and however questionable that legal philosophy may be, it is difficult to view it as anything but advocating a return to the 18th century. But Alito goes back farther than that. The root of conservative Catholic education remains the scholasticism of Peter Abelard, a 12th-century theologian who employed a similar version of Aristotelian logic in biblical analysis as does Alito in constitutional analysis. (This perhaps explains Alito using both 13th- and 17th-century sources as precedents.)

It would be one thing if Alito and his fellow conservatives were giving voice to the will of the people, which in theory is a precept of democracy. But instead, he is perpetrating the courts march to theocracy with both a religious and political minority. Catholics, of course, have the right to worship as they please and to follow the dictates of their Church, but Catholics are only 20% of the population. And with the exception of George W. Bushs victory over John Kerry in 2004, no Republican has won the popular vote for presid since George H. W. Bush in 1988.

While tyranny of the majority may put democracy at risk, tyranny of the minority is no democracy at all. Americans rejected slavery and Americans rejected fascism. The current threat is more subtle, thus more insidious, and so it remains to be seen whether Americans will reject theocracy as well.

Lawrence Goldstones most recent book is "On Account of Race: The Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of African American Voting Rights."

The Fulcrum covers what's making democracy dysfunctional and efforts to fix our governing systems. Sign up for our newsletter atthefulcrum.us. The Fulcrum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news platform covering efforts to fix our governing systems. It is a project of, but editorially independent from, Issue One.

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America's return to the 19th century - York Dispatch

Today in 2022 the number of new achievements cropping up each year is nothing short of astonishing. Modern medicines ability to heal previously unhealable parts of the body from brains to hearts to compound fractures and nerve disorders continues to amaze. Now, stem cell treatments are the newest addition to the healing repertoire.

Before diving into a stem cell treatment of any type, its important to note that almost all stem cell treatments remain in the experimental stages. For the small number of stem cell treatments that have been approved by regulatory bodies worldwide, even these treatments require meeting specific criteria before the patient is eligible for the treatment.

Almost without exception, the medical community is both excited and hopeful about the possibilities of stem cell treatment .

Stem cell technology promises to revolutionize the world of medicine and is now available in a number of forms, the top ten of which are listed below. Before we begin, its a good idea to take a closer look at what regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy involve.

Regenerative medicine is a field that would have seemed miraculous only two decades ago, much less two centuries. The basic premise is that, through various treatments, scientists and physicians can help patients who suffer from illness or injury to rebuild the affected parts of their body.

For instance, a patient who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) could receive the necessary ingredients to rebuild the damaged parts of their brain. A person who was dying of cancer could receive new cells to replace the part of the body that doctors had to excise.

Regenerative medicine uses the bodys own ingredients such as cells, structural tissue, exosomes, or other biomaterials to repair damaged tissues and organs.

Stem cell therapy is one kind of regenerative medicine, and it holds a great deal of promise.

The power of stem cells is that they are a renewable resource. As undifferentiated cells, they can turn into a wide variety of other cell types. Their power varies depending on how specialized they are, to begin with.

Such a wealth of stem cell types, as well as the medical communitys growing ability to access them, has resulted in a powerful new technology for healing illnesses and injuries. Scientists and researchers have almost limitless ideas for the treatment of stem cells, which are currently in various phases of development.

Below are 10 of the most popular stem cell treatments right now. Most have not received FDA approval in the United States, nor approval from other regulatory bodies worldwide.

The patient should use caution with all of these options. No matter which route a patient decides to go, its best to have a knowledgeable physician guiding your decision-making. That way, you can steer clear of any untested, suspect or dangerous treatments.

Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a type of cancer that arises in the lymphatic system, which is responsible for fighting disease and toxins in the body. White blood cells, also known as lymphocytes, give rise to cancer cells, which then pervade the body. Without treatment, the condition is almost universally fatal.

Chemotherapy is an extremely effective tool against this disease. The problem is, high doses of chemotherapy often kill off bone marrow, in which new blood cells get made. In so doing, the chemotherapy kills cancer but also kills the patient, who now has no source of blood cells.

Stem cell treatment, however, helps mitigate this risk substantially bygiving the patient an infusion of new cells following those necessarily high doses of chemotherapy. The patient first receives the chemo, then the stem cell infusion to help them repopulate their blood cell counts. Many patients show great promise of living long and healthy lives following the treatment.

Leukemia is another form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system as well as bone marrow. Leukemia cells are cancerous, affecting the immune system and causing an array of unpleasant symptoms, then eventually leading to death without treatment. It isthe most common childhood cancer, but it affects adults of a range of ages as well.

Stem cell therapy poses significant hope, however. Much like with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the treatment involves first killing off leukemia cells with high doses of chemotherapy and sometimes radiation as well. After the majority of cancer cells are defeated, the patient receives an infusion of stem cells to help the body repopulate, so that it can make normal blood cells once again.

This treatment, like the one for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, is typically only available to patients who have relapsed. That means their cancer went into remission from standard treatments, then returned months or years later. Good news, though: with a stem cell treatment within the first remission, the survival rate at 5 years is 30-50 percent. If the patient has not experienced a relapse within 2 years of the stem cell transplant, they have a good chance of surviving for many years.

Recent research shows that stroke victims may find hope in stem cell transplants. An astounding study at Stanford Universityalmost completely reversed the devastating effects of a strokeon Sonia Coontz, who suffered the attack on the brain at the young age of 31. After confinement to a wheelchair and speech difficulties for two years, she decided to enroll in a clinical trial, which used stem cells to rebuild centers in her brain.

Within hours of the stem cell treatment, she was able to move her arms and legs whereas before she had suffered almost complete immobilization. She and her doctors also noticed rapid improvements in her speech again, within only a few hours. Other patients noticed astonishing improvements as well, the only side effects coming in the form of passing headaches.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition affecting the joints. Over time, the cartilage that protects joints, preventing the rubbing of one bone on another, breaks down. Eventually, this can lead to the deterioration of the underlying bone as well, causing aching, stiffness, and eventual immobility in many cases. The condition commonly affects the hips, knees, and thumbs, though it can also strike elbows, wrists, ankles, and fingers.

The main issue with this condition is that cartilage is not a self-renewing substance. People are born with only so many cells in their bodies, which means that when those cells die and are carried off to the bodys waste disposal factories, no new cells take their place. Thus, the degeneration of joints and bones.

Thats where stem cells step in. Because they can transform into many different types of specialized cell, stem cells have the ability to become cartilage cells, renewing what was once unrenewable.

The procedure is offered in many clinics within and outside the United States and typically uses adipose cells as the stem cell source. Physicians extract these cells from fat tissue, separate out the stem cells from the rest, then prepare a solution containing growth factors and other ingredients necessary to tell stem cells how to develop in the new site. Once its prepared, doctors inject it into the affected site, such as a knee joint.

Regenexx is a U.S. company specializing in orthopedic applications of stem cells that was founded by Dr. Chris Centeno. Dr. Centeno is an expert in the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) within orthopedic applications. His Regenexx clinic in Denver, Colorado, draws patients from all over the U.S. who are seeking innovative, non-surgical treatments for osteoarthritis, as well as a wide range of other orthopedic applications.

As the visionary behind the revolutionary Regenexx technology, he pioneered a procedure that involves extracting a small bone marrow sample through a needle and a blood draw from a vein in your arm. These samples are then processed in a laboratory and the stem cells it contains are injected into the area needing repair. The goal is to deliver large numbers of stem cells to the injured area.

Like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects joints. However, unlike osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative condition, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition, in which the body attacks its own systems, causing destruction, limited function, and pain.

That means the mechanism for treatment is slightly different, with stem cell therapy potentially targeting the immune system rather than the joints themselves. That said, stem cell treatment of the joints can have the same positive effects as in osteoarthritis, and theres no reason for patients not to try.

Clinical trials conducted in the last decade have not yet yielded conclusive results as to the efficacy of this treatment, but more trials crop up all the time, giving patients who struggle with severe pain and loss of mobility hope that they do may enroll in trials at home in the US or abroad. Examplestudies in Belgium have started, whilesome in the United States have wrapped up, with the scientific community awaiting information.

Rheumatoid arthritis isnt the only autoimmune disease, of course. A huge range of autoimmune conditions exists, such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Addisons disease, Graves disease, and more.

These conditions all share the characteristic of the bodys immune system reacting to normal substances in the body as though they were pathogenic. That means instead of letting the body function normally, the immune system will attack tissues and substances, creating ongoing sickness and in many cases, eventually death.

Stem cell therapy has two possible benefits in the case of autoimmune diseases. For one thing, it can help repair and regenerative tissues damaged in an autoimmune attack. Stem cells can help them repair nerves, skin, blood, organs, and more. This helps the patient regain their health and fight the degenerative nature of such diseases.

Second, stem cells can actually modulate the immune system so that it no longer attacks the body so viciously or at all. Research demonstrates thatstem cells can minimize the pathological effects of the immune system, making it so the body no longer attacks itself all while preserving its ability to attack foreign substances and real pathogens.

One of the most traumatic injuries to the human body is blunt for trauma to or severing of the spinal cord. Depending on where the injury occurs, the patient may never walk or even move their arms again. For most of human history, such a traumatic injury was completely irreparable. In recent years, neurosurgery has given people back some of their function in cases like these, but outcomes are still all too often disappointing.

Stem cells provide serious hope for the future. Instead of trying to repair damaged nerves, stem cells offer the ability to replace them. By injecting stem cells to the site of the injury, the spinal column can repair itself, accessing all the ingredients it needs for the specialized job.

In combination with growth factors and hormones, stem cells are capable of traveling to the site of the injury assessing what needs rebuilding and stepping in to do the job for doctors. This limits the number of modifications needed from the outside and leaves the healing to the body.

While the mechanisms arent yet clear, it seems that hormones such as growth factors in addition to the location in the body can provide signposts to stem cells telling them what kinds of tissues are needed. Then the stem cells transform into them, integrate with the damaged tissue and repair it.

While balding is far from life and death, many people care about their hair a great deal. Luckily, stem cells are paving the way for all-natural hair regrowth.

The simple outpatient treatment may actually provide the de-balding effects for which men and women have searched for decades (scratch that: centuries). Heres how it often works: The patient goes into a clinic. The specialist removes follicles from their scalp, separates out the stem cells, and injects those follicles along with stem cells back into the scalp.

Recent research in Italyhas developed one mechanism of doing so, while multiple clinics across the United States, Europe, and other locations worldwide offer modified versions of the treatment. The essence of the therapy involves encouraging formerly hairless or balding sections of the scalp to grow by offering the nutrients needed to regenerate hair and a follicle needed to produce one in the first place.

A leading company working on a treatment for hair loss is Replicel. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the company is developing an autologous cell therapy utilizing dermal sheath cup (DSC) cellsto treat androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness). The product that Replicel is developing is called RCH-01. It is poised to begin a Phase 2 trial that will enroll 160 male subjects.

In the trial, dermal sheath cup (DSC) cells will be isolated from a biopsy taken from the back of the patients head. Afterward, the cells will be multiplied in the lab and injected into balding areas on the patients scalp.

Before embarking on a hair treatment plan, be sure to research the clinic. Although stem cell treatments for hair loss are certainly available, they are not approved by the FDA and are at this point considered uniformly investigational. That means patients shouldnt conclude theyre safe based on a few website testimonials. Do the research and, as always, speak with a physician before signing on the dotted line.

Heart disease is still theNo. 1 killer in the United States(although by some estimates cancer will soon or has already surpassed it). For obvious reasons, stem cells seem like a strong possibility for repairing heart tissue and helping to overcome the intermediate symptoms that eventually lead to heart disease or cardiac arrest.

As is the case with most of these therapies, the biggest benefit of stem cell treatment for heart disease is its ability to replace damaged or dead cellswithoutthe need for invasive surgery or transplants. An injection of stem cells can give the body the ingredients it needs to grow the specialized cells on site, ideally without having to put the patient under or open them up. The exact mechanisms of this procedure are not as yet clear, however.

On 16 May, 2018, Nature News reported that Japans health ministry gave doctors at Osaka University permission to take sheets of tissue derived from stem cells and use them to treat diseased human hearts. From preclinical studies in pigs, it appears that thin sheets of cell grafts grown from induced pluripotent stem cells can improve heart function. While the treatment approved by Japans health ministry will only be tested in three patients, a follow-up trial could enroll ten or more patients.

Stem cell therapy for heart disease is currently limited to clinical trials.

Many people are very interested in the possibility of stem cells to treat diabetes. BothType IandType IIdiabetes have devastating effects on the health of millions, and stem cells may help to ameliorate those conditions.

Type I and Type II diabetes affect the body in different ways. Type I diabetes is genetic, and results from the pancreas failing to produce insulin, or producing too little of it. Insulin is what tells the body to remove glucose from the bloodstream and let it into cells, so they can use it for energy. Most likely this is due to an immune system disorder in which the body attacks its own islets, the pancreatic cells responsible for manufacturing insulin. In this case, stem cells may provide the same immune system-modulating effect as they do for other autoimmune diseases.

Type II diabetes is when the body becomes resistant to insulin. The pancreas may still make it, but the patients body does not sense it it is insulin resistant, which means the release of insulin in the bloodstream still does not result in cells taking up glucose. It remains in the bloodstream, causing dangerous hyperglycemia just as it does in the case of Type I.

The second condition may also respond to stem cell treatment, which can help moderate pancreatic productive of insulin as well as helping the body respond to it more effectively. Multiple clinical trials assessing the validity of stem cells for both diseases are underway, and many eagerly await their results.

There exist two possible sources of stem cells: autologous and allogeneic. Both provide benefits and drawbacks.

Autologous stem cells are those that come from the patients own body. Physicians can source them anywhere, from blood or other tissues, but they still count as autologous so long as the patient themselves is the source and recipient of the stem cells. Allogeneic stem cells, on the other hand, come from donors usually family members, but sometimes anonymous donors who have given their stem cells to a bank.

Autologous stem cells are ideal since the body already knows the cells and doesnt consider them invaders, as is often the case with donor cells. There is a very little risk, therefore, of the patient rejecting the stem cell infusion (except in rare cases where the patient has an allergic reaction to a preservative or other agent used in preparation). There is also no risk ofgraft-versus-host disease, a condition in which the donor cells from another individual see the patients body as an invader to the donors immune system, and will, therefore, attack it.

So why doesnt every stem cell patient use autologous cells, then? Usually, its due to the danger that the patients own cells will re-infect them with a disease. For instance, in the case of leukemia or lymphoma, the patient needs cells other than their own to ensure no reintroduction of cancer cells. Thats why donor cells are critical but again, they do bring risks.

Overall, the decision is a very personal one that patients should discuss with their managing physicians before taking action. Note that in cases where allogeneic cells are needed, it can take a long time to find the right donor, so its best to start as soon as possible.

Not all treatments are equally available to patients, nor will they necessarily provide the same results across the board. Whether or not a certain therapy is right for a patient depends on many factors, including:

among other factors.

The best approach in cases where the studies have unclear results and the patient isnt sure where to turn is to speak with a physician. They will have much better guidance to offer than one can find online, and can help prepare the documentation needed to enroll.

Patients and loved ones can also speak with clinics, who often provide stem cell treatments of the types discussed above, with patients reporting significant positive results. Beware, though, that terms like human trials and human studies get tossed around rather loosely these days. Technically,a clinical trial must follow an array of very specific guidelines to constitute a valid form of medical research. It is a time-consuming process to start and fund a clinical trial, so before enrolling, always do due diligence.

If you are seeking a stem cell treatment, werecommend GIOSTAR to help you access medical guidance and advice. In alignment with what we believe at BioInformant, GIOSTARs goal is to offer extensively researched stem cell therapy options designed to improve a patients quality of life.

Click here to Schedule a Consultation or ask GIOSTAR a question.

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Top 10 Most Popular Stem Cell Treatments of 2022

A joke about bald heads by comedian and presenter Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony last month stung patients and providers of alopecia areata (AA) around the world. Actor Will Smiths shocking slap to Rocks face in response ignited public awareness of a disorder that steals the hair of nearly 7 million people in the United States, many of them children.

But the emotionally challenging and disfiguring autoimmune disease that prompted actor Jada Pinkett Smith, the jokes target, to shave her head and her husband, Will Smith, to react, has been on the radar of dermatology clinicians and researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus for years.

Like many providers who care for patients who suffer from AA, Stanca Birlea, MD, PhD, was saddened by the widely publicized fiasco. Patients with extensive or long duration alopecia areata can be severely impacted with their disease, and they need to be approached and treated with special understanding and empathy, said Birlea, an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

For now, no cure exists, but therapy options leading to improved outcomes are expanding. Birlea and her colleagues are particularly excited about one of the latest class of drugs added to their arsenal called JAK inhibitors, she said.

Pioneering work at CU Anschutz focuses on these drugs, some given off-label to patients in its dermatology clinic and others being tested in clinical trials. All have been described as remarkable and life-changing by patients and providers.

AA, a common autoimmune disorder that affects 0.1-0.2% of the general population, causes either sudden diffuse hair loss or circular bald patches of the scalp. The condition most often targets the scalp but can cause hair loss anywhere on the body.

Over 200,000 new cases are diagnosed every year in the United States, affecting both sexes. While it can arise at any age, 80% of cases are diagnosed before age 40, with 50% of cases diagnosed in childhood. AA can have devastating consequences in all patients, but especially in children, Birlea said.

Half of alopecia areata cases strike in childhood, when school peers often lack sensitivity and tact. The emotional stress for families can be heartbreaking.

Up to a quarter of patients have a family history of AA and/or other autoimmune diseases, with thyroid disease and vitiligo the most common. Birlea specializes in vitiligo, the disorder that caused white spots on the skin of pop legend Michael Jackson.

Atopic eczema (the most common form of eczema, which tends to run in families), is often associated with AA. AA is also prevalent in patients with Down syndrome, and faculty at the CU School of Medicine and at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome have identified interesting clinical and molecular aspects characterizing this association, Birlea said.

Between 10% and 50% of AA patients can have nail abnormalities, including nail pitting (pinpoint depressions) and ridging (narrow raised bands) in the nail plate.

In AA, cytotoxic CD8+ T cells attack the lower segment of the hair follicles (which is called the bulb and produces the hair shaft). These T cells attack the pigment cells called melanocytes and release cytokines and chemokines, which disrupt the normal function and gradually destroy the hair follicles, Birlea said.

Genetic factors are strongly involved in the pathogenesis of AA, as suggested by heritability in first-degree relatives. Twin studies, family-based linkage studies, genome-wide association studies and candidate gene association studies have also highlighted the genetic link.

Numerous genome-wide association studies and linkage studies conducted in the last two decades have provided compelling evidence for the implication of several AA susceptibility genes, most of them with immune function, Birlea said.

Both the onset and recurrences of AA can be triggered by different factors, such as emotional stress, trauma, viral infection and hormonal changes, she said.

AA is usually asymptomatic. Some patients, however, have described burning sensation, itchiness or discomfort preceding or during the active period of hair loss, Birlea said.

The patchy AA is the most common clinical presentation. It generally affects the scalp but can affect facial hair, including beard area, and/or eyebrows and/or eyelashes. While regrowth can occur spontaneously in the bald spots, often with white hairs, new spots can appear simultaneously.

Other more severe but uncommon presentations are:

Numerous lifetime recurrences are common in more than 30% of patients. Long-duration AA creates significant frustration in patients and often has mental health consequences, including loss of self-esteem, anxiety and depression, Birlea said.

Patchy alopecia areata is the most common of the different types. The hair-loss disorder affects women and men.

Especially in the early stages, spontaneous hair regrowth can occur, and an estimated 20% of patients can have one episode of hair loss with no recurrence during their lifetimes, Birlea said.

No available treatments are curative. However, the hair follicle stem cell populations are preserved in AA, and hair follicles can be regenerated. Thus, hair regrowth can occur even years after total hair loss, with or without treatment.

Topical treatments include high-potency steroids with anti-inflammatory properties and Minoxidil (Rogaine) a vasodilator with regenerative effects on the hair follicle.

Intralesional injections of corticosteroids are another popular option that can be given monthly, Birlea said. The hair regrowth effect can be temporary, however. And the injections cannot stop onset of new bald spots in other areas, because they treat the inflammation just on the area we inject.

Topical treatments and intralesional injections can induce hair regrowth in patchy AA or in more severe types, alone or in combination with systemic medications.

Immunotherapy uses sensitizer compounds (squaric acid dibutyl ester, diphenylcyclopropenone) that cause an allergic contact dermatitis in the lesional area. They have shown success in inducing hair regrow in patchy AA, including more extensive disease.

Providers generally reserve systemic therapy for patients with severe disease that is difficult to treat, including AA with more than 20% hair loss, rapid hair loss, chronic hair loss and/or with severe distress.

Oral steroids for short periods in combination with immunosuppressive medication given long duration (like methotrexate), are sometimes prescribed, although less so with the approval of oral JAK inhibitors, in light of their numerous side effects, Birlea said.

Research on mouse and human hair follicles showed that topical and oral new drugs for AA that inhibit the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes, known as JAK inhibitors reawaken the dormant follicles and prevent alopecia areata flares by blocking inflammatory signaling downstream IFN- and the T cell effects.

Three such JAK inhibitors already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are Jakafi(Ruxolitinib), a medication that is used to treat bone marrow malignancies, and Olumiant (Baricitinib) and Xelijanz(Tofiacitinib), both medications for rheumatoid arthritis.

In a study of severe AA patients treated with oral Xelijanz for four to 24 months, 74.3% of patients showed clinical response, and 51.4% showed greater than 50% hair regrowth. Those results could not be achieved with the standard treatments, indicating that this is a major clinical research breakthrough, Birlea said.

JAK inhibitors can provide excellent results, inducing significant or full hair regrowth, even in those patients who have been resistant to standard therapies or have been having long-standing disease. Stanca Birlea, MD, PhD

Several clinical trials are underway on JAK inhibitors, including through the dermatology department with Birlea and her alopecia areata expert colleagues: Cory A. Dunnick, MD, professor and director of clinical trials; David Norris, MD, professor and department chair; and Elizabeth Wallace, MD, assistant professor and associate director of clinical trials.

Dunnick is leading a trial of a phase 3, open-label, multicenter study looking at the long-term safety and efficacy of an oral JAK inhibitor for alopecia areata.

Facial hair, eyebrows and eyelashes can be targets of AA. Treatments options include topical, oral and injections.

Dunnick, Norris and Wallace are also part of a National Institutes of Health-funded study on the use of JAK inhibitors for five skin diseases common in patients with Down syndrome (including alopecia areata) and led by Joaquin Espinosa, PhD, professor of pharmacology and executive director at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome.

The study aims are to:

While JAK inhibitors are promising, the treatment option is mostly symptomatic, with hair loss typically reoccurring within months of the discontinuation of therapy, Birlea said. For this reason, providers recommend it long term, trying to maintain patients on the minimum effective dose, she said.

"JAK inhibitors can provide excellent results, inducing significant or full hair regrowth, even in those patients who have been resistant to standard therapies or have been having long-standing disease, Birlea said. This outcome can have a profoundly positive effect on affected patients quality of life.

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Will Smith's Slap at the Oscars Awakens the World to Alopecia Areata - University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Back pain is the second most common reason for physician visits in the United States and the most common cause of missed work

(PRWEB) March 20, 2017

Northern Colorado residents suffering from back pain due to degenerative discs may soon have new treatment options. Dr. Kenneth Pettine, founder of The Rocky Mountain Associates in Orthopedic Medicine, has been researching the use of mesenchymal stem cells to alleviate back pain, reduce swelling, and give patients relief without the use of surgery.

Back pain is the second most common reason for physician visits in the United States and the most common cause of missed work, said Dr. Pettine. The consensus among spine surgeons is patients with more than two segments of discogenic back pain have no surgical options and poor prognosis. This mesenchymal stem cell therapy could change that.

Dr. Pettine has been researching the use of mesenchymal stem cells in back pain treatment for years and has been releasing exciting findings about the potential relief for back pain sufferers. Mesenchymal are one type of stem cell and are responsible for modulating the immune system, has anti-inflammatory properties, and is the main cell thats responsible for helping the body recover from back and neck injuries. It can also help treat degenerative disc diseases, which is central to Dr. Pettines research.

In recently released research, Dr. Pettine tested mesenchymal stem cell therapy by injecting 146 patients suffering from back pain originating in three or more discs. He concluded that that the results are superior to those reported for surgery done on one or two discs. The patients getting the treatment reported better improvement in their condition and had fewer complications versus surgical patients.

The economic and emotional impact of chronic low back pain on both society and the individual patient is significant, said Dr. Pettine. Many of these patients are unable to work due to their condition and treatment can cost millions of dollars over a lifetime. This new therapy could be a new option for them that promises better results and greater recovery.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Pettines research about mesenchymal stem cells to treat degenerative back pain, you can visit his website http://www.KennethPettine.com for more information.

About Dr. Kenneth PettineDr. Pettine has been the principal author of 18 FTA studies with Biologics and non-fusion implants and is considered a pioneer in the field. He founded The Rocky Mountain Associates in Orthopedic Medicine in 1991 to offer patients a non-fusion surgical option for their neck and back pain. He co-invented the FDA-approved Prestige cervical artificial disc and the Maverick Artificial Disc. He is currently focused on the use of Mesenchymal stem cell therapy. You can learn more about the therapy and Dr. Pettine at his website, http://www.KennethPettine.com.

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