Category Archives: Colorado Stem Cells

With over 22 years experience treating musculoskeletal conditions, Colorado Rehabilitation and Occupational Medicine is a leader in Regenerative Medicine in Denver, Colorado, offering both Stem Cell Therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP).

Stem Cell Therapy is a cutting-edge treatment with the capacity to repair injured, torn, or arthritic tissue by delivering biological material directly to the site of the problem. Stem Cells have the ability to release biological signals to the cells in your own body that initiate them to regenerate. CROM uses only non-controversial, non-fetal Stem Cells. Much of the excitement surrounding Stem Cells lies in their potential to repair labral tears, rotator cuff tears or partial tears, and osteoarthritis, while avoiding surgical treatment and joint replacements.

Similar to Stem Cell therapy, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is another regenerative medicine approach whereby blood is drawn from the patient, and then spun in a centrifuge to separate the blood plasma, which contains concentrations of healing growth factors and platelets. This therapeutic concentration is then injected to the area of injured tissue, where it can assist in healing tendonitis, tendon or labral tears, and arthritis.

Many professional athletes have decided to use Stem Cell Therapy treatments to help them heal from athletic injuries and reach peak condition. Based on mounting case studies, we are closer to Regenerative Medicine being covered through commercial (private) insurance.

Now these advanced medical treatments are available in Colorado from the states premiere physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians-CROM. CROM performs stem cell therapy and PRP at multiple offices in the Denver area If you do not live in the Denver area or Colorado, feel free to contact us about setting up an appointment, and how our treatments work.

Stem Cell Therapy treatments are performed after an initial consultation to determine if these treatments are suitable for your specific problem, or whether other treatments, which may be less expensive and/or covered by insurance, are optimal.

Stem Cells injections are performed under ultrasound guidance by trained physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor. Follow up exams with ultrasound evaluations will evaluate your progress after the injection.

CROMs Dr. Scott Primack discusses Regenerative Medicine andSports Injuries on The Big Show on Mile High Sports Radio

CROM physicians are Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Our Musculo-skeletal specialists administer tissue grafts containing Stem Cells directly into an injury site (through ultrasound or X ray guidance) to help regenerate cartilage, tendons and muscle in order to provide pain relief and increased function.

Patients who have chronic joint, muscle or tendon conditions that have not responded to traditional treatment. Also, patients who do not wish to consider surgery for labral tears, partial thickness rotator cuff tears, a knee or hip replacement or have other severe arthritic or tendon problems may wish to consider stem cell therapy. In some cases, stem cell therapy may be appropriate for treatment of spinal conditions.

Under usual circumstances, the bodys ability to repair and replace damaged cartilage, tendons, or other specialized tissue in adults is limited. Use of bone marrow concentrate or amniotic tissue grafts may offer the ability to help repair these tissues. Stem Cell Therapy is only performed after an initial consultation by a CROM Physician specializing in Musculo-Skeletal Care. The physician will review your medical history, perform a clinical examination, and discuss stem cell treatments as well as other potential treatments in order to give you the information necessary for you to determine if stem cell therapy is the best option.

1. Obtain tissue containing stem cells through a simple procedure that concentrates your own bone marrow. This marrow contains stem cells, platelets, and other factors which promote tissue growth. Or, a graft of amniotic tissue from a specially selected and screened donor (which also contains stem cells) may be used. This is obtained in advance and because of the unique properties of amniotic tissue no tissue typing is required, and there is no rejection of this type of graft.

2. Whichever approach you and your CROM Physician specialist select, your doctor will numb the site of injection with a local anesthetic.

3.The Bone Marrow Concentrate or amniotic tissue graft will be administered by your CROM Physician through an ultrasound-guided injection. In some cases, X-ray guidance may be used.

4.You will then be able to relax and let the tissue graft get to work. Your CROM Physician Specialists will discuss an appropriate follow up and, if indicated, rehabilitation program with you. In most cases, there are few activity restrictions required, and no restrictions on usual activities such as driving.

We utilize two types of tissue grafts containing stem cells:

Amniotic Tissue Graft Stem Cells- Amniotic tissue is collected under sterile technique from screened donors at the time of cesarean section.

Grafts of amniotic tissue (which include stem cells) from a donor do not involve fetal tissue, nor is there any harm to a fetus, baby, or mother in obtaining these stem cells from the donor. This type of stem cell therapy is not opposed by the Catholic Church or any other group on religious or ethical grounds.

Bone Marrow Graft Stem Cells-Bone marrow tissue containing stem cells is obtained by a simple aspiration procedure from your own bone marrow, and then concentrated before injection at the site of injury.

Most insurance companies do not cover Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate or Amniotic Tissue Graft at this time. However, we have had some success with workers compensation coverage for this treatment, and many insurance companies may cover the initial consultation as well as some aspects of the treatment, such as the ultrasound or X-ray guidance and follow up appointments.

CROMs self-pay pricing is very competitive and we strive to provide this treatment as cost-effectively as possible. The cost of Bone Marrow Aspirate or Amniotic Tissue Graft Stem Cell treatments varies depending on the site of injury, the amount of graft material required, and whether or not Bone Marrow Aspirate or Amniotic Tissue Graft is utilized. Because of this, final prices can be determined after an initial consultation with your CROM Physician Specialist. Please contact us for more information.

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Stem Cell Therapy Denver Colorado - Colorado Rehabilitation

Colorado Clinic offers multiple regenerative medicine stem cell treatments. These treatments are provided as an outpatient by a double board certified doctor. Each treatment maintains minimal risk, with the possibility of repairing and healing of injured tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and muscle. We have kept up with the latest in stem cell research so that we can offer our patients proven, evidence-based procedures that can provide them with the pain relief theyve been looking for.

We offer more than 50 pain management therapies and treatments at our clinics throughout the state, and they provide excellent pain relief. However, most pain management treatments are designed to help relieve pain rather than heal the actual root cause of the problem. This is because that, for many years, medical professionals believed there was no way to actually heal damaged tissues and nerves. That all changed with advancement in stem cell research.

Stem cells are blank cells that do have not yet developed any functionality. These cells take on the properties of the cells around them, meaning that if we cultivate them to perform the function formerly performed by damaged cells in an injured area, they can help the body heal and recover in ways that were never before possible. Instead of the pain relief offered by many pain management treatments, stem cell therapy offers an actual chance of recovery. Many patients who undergo stem cell therapy are able to regain 100% of their functionality.

At Colorado Clinic, we offer many different forms of stem cell therapy:

Stem Cell therapy at Colorado Clinic is offered by the top pain management and regenerative medicine doctor in Northern Colorado, Dr. Sisson. He has extensive experience with regenerative medicine including PRP therapy, make your appointment today!

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Stem Cell PRP Therapy | Colorado Stem Cell Therapy

STEM CELL THERAPY

Christopher K. Jones, MD

I am very excited to offer stem cell therapy as a treatment for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. Although stem cell therapy is in its infancy, early research is opening the door for another non-invasive treatment for degenerative arthritis, lateral or medial epicondylitis, patella tendinitis, plantar fascitis, rotator cuff tears, muscle injuries, shin splints as well as a variety of other conditions.

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are cells that are able to differentiate (change) into any type of mature cell (i.e. bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle). These cells have the ability to repair injured tissue by transforming into the particular type of cell that is needed in the area of treatment.

How are stem cells obtained?

Stem cells can be obtained from an individual by aspirating bone marrow and centrifuging it in order to separate the stem cells from the other cells such as red blood cells and adipocytes. They can also be obtained from fetal tissue or the amniotic membrane. The amniotic membrane can be sterilely processed and produce an injectable product.

What else does this injection contain?

The amniotic membrane contains over 1 million cells and 44% of these cells are mesenchymal stem cells. It also contains many other vital substances for the healing process, such as growth factors, fibrocytes, epidermal cells and amino acids. These other constituents is what differentiates amniotic products from adult derived mesenchymal stem cells.

What are the advantages of using amniotic derived stem cells over adult derived (bone marrow aspirate)?

Besides the obvious benefit of not having an invasive procedure, which carries all of the inherent risks of surgery, amniotic derived stem cells have been shown to develop into fully functioning cell types. In other words, the cells carry the potential to heal and grow. Further, the procedure is as simple as having a cortisone injection.

How are stem cell injections given?

First, The amniotic derived stem cells are mixed with PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma). The area to be injected is treated with a local anesthetic, and the mixture of local anesthetic and PRP is injected into the part of the body being treated. For many of these injections, I utilize ultrasound in order to guide the needle into the bad tissue or joint. The whole process takes place in my clinic and typically takes less than 30 minutes.

What happens after your treatment?

First and foremost, it is important to create the most optimal environment for the stem cells. This means avoiding the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxyn, Celebrex, aspirin) and not icing the affected area for the first 4-6 weeks. Additionally, I advise against high impact or vigorous activity during the 6 weeks. It is okay to walk, lift light weights and do low impact activities such as bicycle or elliptical.

What conditions may benefit from stem cell injections?

When will I begin to see some improvement?

Patients typically report some improvement as early as 6 weeks. They also report improvements up to 2 years following the treatment. For some patients, if limited response is seen at 6 months, I may recommend a second injection.

What are the potential complications?

There have been no reported adverse reactions in patients treated with the amniotic stem cell product that I use. There is typically injection site soreness for a few days after the injection, and there is a very low (well less than 1%) risk of infection with any injection.

Does insurance pay for stem cell therapy?

Insurance companies consider stem cell therapy experimental, and therefore, do not pay for this treatment.

What are the results?

The research currently available suggests that approximately 85% of patients respond favorably to stem cell injections. There are several studies evaluating treatment of knee arthritis. These studies show patients to have significant relief up to 2 years following the injection. Further, they noted that those with more severe arthritis will not benefit as much, and will more likely require additional treatments. The results of treating tendinopathies have shown similar success. This therapy is certainly new, but shows incredible promise and will likely be mainstream in the future.

Am I a candidate for stem cell therapy?

If you are suffering from one of the above or other orthopedic conditions, I am happy to have you schedule a consultation and discuss your particular case.

How do I schedule an appointment?

Call my office at 719-632-7669

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Stem Cell Therapy - Colorado Springs Orthopedics

Do you have an idea of the natural healing potential that is available in your body?

Read on to find out where your body stores these powerful stem cells.

Adult stem cells are found in the highest concentration in adipose (fat) tissue. In smaller concentrations, they are additionally found in your bone marrow. Beyond what is used for harvesting, stem cells are also found in blood, skin, muscles, and organs.

Adipose tissue provides the largest volume of adult stem cells (1,000 to 2,000 times the number of cells per volume found in bone marrow). Bone marrow provides some stem cells but more importantly provides a large volume of growth factors to aid in the repair process. In addition to adult stem cells, fat tissue also contains numerous other regenerative cells that are important to the healing process.

Stem cells derived from adipose fat tissue have been shown to be a much better source for the repair of cartilage degeneration and recent studies have demonstrated its superior ability to differentiate into cartilage.

There are some myths and misconceptions about stem cells and where the cells come from. Dr. Brandt has dedicated a blog post to the important topic.

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Top Stem Cell Therapy Clinic in Vail & Denver, Colorado ...

Richard Sennott, Star Tribune file During a family portrait in 2000, Molly Nash gives her 4-week-old brother, Adam, a kiss. Molly Nash received some umbilical blood from her brother, saving her from a fatal genetic disease.

Adam Nash was dubbed Little Frankenstein by the New York Post in 2000 because he was conceived via in vitro fertilization specifically so doctors at the University of Minnesota could collect stem cells from his umbilical cord blood to save his sister, Molly.

Today, back home in Colorado, Adam has a drivers license and helps disabled children ski. His sister once weeks from death due to a condition called Fanconi anemia is debating whether to focus on oceanography or graphic design in college. And IVF to produce an ideal child for a siblings stem cell transplant is common, albeit with lingering ethics concerns.

A squirrelly trio of teens is vindication for Adams mother, Lisa Nash, who felt the weight of the ethical questions when the Us Dr. John Wagner suggested IVF in 1995.

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'Little Frankenstein,' conceived so Minnesota doctors could save sister, is now a happy teen - Minneapolis Star Tribune

June 15, 2017, 6:00 a.m.

Washington, D.C.

They have built careers isolating cells, designing integrated circuits and mastering computer languages. Now they are knocking on doors, being interviewed on TV and asking perfect strangers to give them money.

Across the country, scientists card-carrying members of an elite that prizes expertise are exiting their ivory towers to enter the political fray.Theres the cancer researcher from Mississippi, the integrated circuit designer from New York, the physician from Utah and the stem cell biologist from Southern California, among dozensof others.

Its a move that appears to defy the first principle of their profession: logic. Unlike a law degree, a Ph.D. does not provide a well-worn path to politics. And while 79% of Americans believe that science has made life easier, their esteem for the scientific enterprise has been on a steady decline, according to the Pew Research Center.

But even amidst signs that science is losing its power to persuade, a new crop of office-seekers is anything but discouraged. In districts blue and red, working scientists are putting two hypotheses to the test.

First: Their facility with facts and data will make them better policymakers than the politicians currently in office.

Second: Their professions reputation for pragmatism and problem-solving will mobilize and unify voters around them.

Our skill set works: We analyze complex information and make it understandable to people, said Dr. Kathie Allen, a family physician who is running for the Utah congressional seat soon to be vacatedby Republican firebrand Jason E. Chaffetz.

People are really tired of falsehoods, she added. With careers grounded in facts and evidence, she said, scientists offer a compelling alternative for voters fed up with career politicians.

That may sound like the wishful thinking of a political newbie, but some longtime campaign strategists agree.

Joe Trippi, who has worked with Ted Kennedy, John Edwards, Jerry Brown and Howard Dean, said scientists werea double threat in the current political moment.

For voters dismayed by the Trump administrations attacks on climate science and proposals to slash federal funding for biomedical research, a scientist-turned-office-seeker offers a direct antidote to the status quo. And for voters craving an alternative to politics as usual, these unconventional candidates feed into a compelling insurgent narrative.

If youre a scientist, your background is perfect for the time were in, Trippi said.

The ranks of scientists, engineers and medical professionals in Congress has grown from 24 two decades ago to 33 today. But those members are still dwarfed bypeople with backgrounds in law or business, who fill roughly three-quarters of the 535 seats in the House and Senate, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Theres no official tally of how many scientists have run for office. But anecdotal evidence for a surge in candidates is widespread.

Rush Holt, a plasma physicist who served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before retiring in 2014, has seen it firsthand.People who were once wary of political participation have been pushed off the sidelines and into the public square by a sense that science is too relevant and important to be downgraded or ignored, he said.

Over the years, Holt has counseled a thin trickle of scientists pondering a run for public office. Now, he said, its a stampede.

Im getting more interest by far than Ive gotten in previous election cycles, said Holt, who is now president of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science. He calls it a remarkable moment.

Like Allen and Holt, many of the scientists eyeing a run for office are Democrats, keen to challenge a president who has questioned the value of vaccines and dismissed global warming as a Chinese hoax.Whether they come from chemistry labs or radio astronomy observatories, they can channel the frustration and anger that prompted more than 1 million people to March for Science this spring.

But theyre quick to point out theyre not ideologues.

Is there a better way to create policy? asked Patricia Zornio, a biomedical researcher at Stanford University who is contemplating a 2020 challenge to Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican. You take large amounts of information and distill it, and come up with a conclusion. It has nothing to do with partisanship.

If that faith in science sounds like it could easily veer toward sanctimonious bromides, the would-be candidates have been warned.

We are so naive as scientists, said South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard, who also happens to be an expert on the evolution of animal communication on the faculty of Florida International University. We think the truth carries and that science always matters. The corrective, he told a group of prospective candidates recently, is to find a coach that knows more about the business than you do.

Since shortly after the inauguration of President Trump, training sessions and webinars have cropped up to coach Democratic office-seekers with a scientific bent. Among the most visible have been sessions organized by 314 Action (314 refers to the value of pi).

So far, the group has had inquiries from roughly 6,000 scientists and science advocates, from all 50 states. Close to 100 of them gathered in Washington, D.C., two days before the March for Science for the biggest training event to date.

There, would-be candidates learned how to craft a message (make science local), recruit and organize an army of volunteers (present it as an opportunity)and canvas voters (bring dog biscuits!). They learned what to wear, how to sit for a TV interview, and how to hit up potential donors.

Among the scientist dos: Introduce yourself as a different kind of politician. Mine data to find and target your districts voters. Change things up if your message isnt working. (Youre an experimentalist! Stoddardreminded them.)

Scientist donts included reading your curriculum vitae, using PowerPoint slidesand appending footnotes to position papers. (Footnotes! cried political communications specialist Chris Jahnke, who has coached Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. God bless you, please dont!)

Do scientists have an advantage in the current political environment, with the Democratic Party awash in volunteers eager to run against the GOP?

Absolutely, Democratic campaign strategist Martha McKennatold a 314 Action session. Voters think politicians talk and nothing gets done, she said. As scientists, you find solutions.

Its a message that resonates with Patrick Madden, a professor of computer science at Binghamton University in New York. In May, he announced a bid to challenge Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) in New Yorks 22ndCongressional District.

Madden holds up his cellphone, a device more powerful than the computer that sent men to the moon. His work on integrated circuits has helped make such devices faster, better and more fun to own.

Were not full of crap, he said. Things like this got better because we make stuff thats real. If we were a pack of liars, the jig would be up.

Madden calls himself a firm believer in the scientific method, the engineering mind-set.

These principles of being honest, being truthful and looking for solutions: its a radical idea, he said. But I think we ought to try it.

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What happens when scientists leave their labs to experiment with politics? - Los Angeles Times

Dr. John Schultz gives an injection of bone marrow derived stem cells into the knee of patient Steve Brink from Washington state at the Regenexx offices in Broomfield on Monday. Brink was in to have work done on a sports injury on his knee made worse by surgery. The company isolates platelets and stem cells to re inject them into patients to stimulate tissue healing in joints, ligaments and tendons. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

Eric Beck removes plasma from a centrifuge at the Regenexx processing lab at their offices in Broomfield on Monday. The company isolates platelets and stem cells to re inject them into patients to stimulate tissue healing in joints, ligaments and tendons. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

Broomfield physician Christopher Centeno has a bold prediction about one of the fastest-growing fields of medicine: Orthopedic surgery.

"Most of what we currently call orthopedic surgery will, in the next 10-20 years, be in the dust bin of history," he said. "Thirty years from now, cutting people open and drilling holes will be considered barbaric."

Like many men with big claims, Centeno isn't exactly unbiased. He is one-half of the Centeno-Schultz Clinic in Broomfield, and co-founder and owner of Regenexx, a company specializing in regenerative medicine through the use of biologics. Regenexx treatments include injection of patient's own stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to encourage healing of tendons, joints and muscles.

Seventy percent of orthopedic issues currently treated with surgery could instead be handled using regenerative methods, Centeno said. Patients come to him from all over the country to repair torn ACL and rotator cuffs or find relief from osteoarthritis and sciatica.

Medical professionals are increasingly buying in to Centeno's ideals. Regenexx has licensed its technology to 48 clinics in the U.S. and abroad since 2012. And a classroom/lab at the Broomfield headquarters has instructed hundreds of doctors to administer the injections.

Even orthopedic surgeons who stand to lose out if scalpels can be replaced by syringes are increasingly seeing the benefits of non-invasive, regenerative therapies. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 2014 published an interview titled "Are Biologics the Future of Orthopaedics?"

Dr. Adam W. Anz provided the answer: "Biologics represent the next frontier in orthopaedics," he told AAOS. "I believe biologics will revolutionize the next 30 years."

There is certainly promise in stem cells and PRP, agreed ortho surgeon Eric McCarty, the chief of sports medicine and shoulder surgery for the University of Colorado School of Medicine's orthopedics department, and also director of sports medicine for CU athletics.

McCarty has used some biologic treatments on student athletes. He himself received an injection of PRP to ease the pain of his tennis elbow and prevent the need for surgery. But the treatments are usually preventive, or additive, to surgical options.

"In an active town (like) Boulder, people hurt themselves skiing or biking, and fixing an ACL or rotator cuff is not managed with biologics," he said. "What we're looking at now is how does that help speed up the process of healing or prevent osteoarthritis or the need for surgery."

McCarty cautions patients about clinics that promise healing. There are "a lot of claims about stem cells," he said, but not "much science to back it up."

"They have to understand what they're getting at this point and time. I caution people to be careful of how they spend their money."

The procedures are pricey. An ACL repair, for example, costs $6,000-$8,000 at Regenexx. A surgical procedure in a hospital would cost north of $10,000, McCarty said, but the procedure is covered by most insurers, unlike regenerative therapies.

Adoption among insurers has been slow, Centeno admits. But he disagrees with McCarty on the pace of change. The shift is happening now, he said.

"Twenty years ago, we were the only people in the country doing this. Then five years ago, 100 people were doing it. In the last 24 months, that has probably climbed to 1,000. It is spreading like wildfire as we speak."

Centeno doesn't concern himself with naysayers in the medical or insurance fields, instead keeping his focus on spreading the word and training ever more physicians in the ways of Regenexx.

"It's like anything in medicine," he said. "You've gotta push that rock uphill."

Shay Castle: 303-473-1626, castles@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/shayshinecastle

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Regenexx: injections soon will replace orthopedic surgery - Broomfield Enterprise

Thebackdrop of storm clouds added to the atmosphere of import as Colorado State University leaders and philanthropists John and Leslie Malone gathered at the June 2 groundbreaking event for the C. Wayne McIlwraith Translational Medicine Institute.

The project, which required years of planning and record fundraising to reach this point officially took a big step forward today, with the university breaking ground for an institute that promises medical innovations by harnessing the bodys healing powers to help animals and people suffering from a wide range of diseases.

Dr. David Frisbie, the institutes interim operations director and a CSU professor of equine surgery, hailed the milestone event in his opening remarks. As he welcomed those in attendance some 150 faculty, staff, clinicians and donors he described the phenomenal journey that led to the groundbreaking near the Diagnostic Medicine Center.

This building will be a central focus of scientific advancement as well as research, Frisbie said. The teaching and technology resources will be a beacon to great minds so that they can come together in developing healing technologies for not only people but animals as well.

The $65 million facility is named for an illustrious veterinarian who has built a remarkable clinical and research enterprise in orthopaedic medicine for horses during nearly 40 years at CSU.

McIlwraith, a University Distinguished Professor and founding director of CSUs Orthopaedic Research Center, is an international pioneer in equine arthroscopic surgery. He has also pushed the boundaries of research into biological therapies based on living cells and their products, including novel protein and stem-cell therapies that help heal injured and degraded joints. Many of McIlwraiths findings regarding the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of equine joint injury and disease have been translated into orthopaedic advancements for people the succession known as translational medicine.

CSU President Tony Frank said the use of the word translational is an appropriate and important description of what will take place in the building. Well be moving things from the bench or laboratory into the hospital, from theory to practice, and patients from disease into health, he said.

President Tony Frank addressed guests, donors, faculty and staff at a luncheon help prior to the ground breaking of the C. Wayne McIlwraith Translational Medicine Institute.

The word transformational also came up quite a bit in conversations with the lead donors, John and Leslie Malone, according to Frank.

The idea of changing something completely is a daunting one, he explained. With this new institute, CSU will completely change the way we go after disease problems, and the way we put teams together, looking across biology and into engineering. Changing something completely and making efforts this large are heady conversations. Theyre not new to the people who had the vision for this building, said Frank.

John and Leslie Malone provided the transformational lead gift of $42.5 million to establish the research institute, prompted by their interest in the regenerative power of stem-cell therapies for horses and humans. The Malones raise world-class dressage horses and Thoroughbred racehorses; they became intrigued by the concept of the Translational Medicine Institute after their horses at Harmony Sporthorses near Denver were successfully treated with orthopaedic procedures developed by McIlwraith and his CSU colleagues.

John Malone said that he and his wife are fortunate to have the opportunity to support efforts such as the new research institute. This one, for us, really checked all the boxes: horses, education and research, he said. He added relentlessness, stem cells, and orthopedics to that mix.

As you get older, you appreciate stem cells and orthopedics, both in your horses and in your neck, in my case, he said.

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Translational Medicine Institute launched at Colorado State University - Source

Editors note: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch today from Florida was delayed due to weather conditions. The launch has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 3.

A SpaceX rocket wasslated to launch two University of Colorado Boulder-built payloads to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida on Thursday, including oneto look at changes in cardiovascular stem cells in microgravity that may someday help combat heart disease on Earth.

The Dragon spacecraft

The second payload will be used for rodent studies testing a novel treatment for bone loss in space, which has been documented in both astronauts and mice. The two payloads were developed by BioServe Space Technologies, a research center within the Ann and H.J Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering,

We have a solid relationship with SpaceX and NASA that allows us to regularly fly our flight hardware to the International Space Station, said BioServe Director Louis Stodieck. The low gravity of space provides a unique environment for biomedical experiments that cannot be reproduced on Earth, and our faculty, staff and students are very experienced in designing and building custom payloads for our academic, commercial and government partners.

The experiments will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and carried to the ISS on the companys Dragon spacecraft. The SpaceX-CRS-11 mission launching Thursday marks BioServes 55th mission to space.

The cardiovascular cell experiments, designed by Associate Professor Mary Kearns-Jonker of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California, will investigate how low gravity affects stem cells, including physical and molecular changes. While spaceflight is known to affect cardiac cell structure and function, the biological basis for such impacts is not clearly understood, said BioServe Associate director Stefanie Countryman.

As part of the study, the researchers will be comparing changes in heart muscle stem cells in space with similar cells simultaneously cultured on Earth, said Countryman. Researchers are hopeful the findings could help lead to stem cell therapies to repair damaged cardiac tissue. The findings also could confirm suspicions by scientists that microgravity speeds up the aging process, Countryman said.

For the heart cell experiments, BioServe is providing high-tech, cell-culture hardware known as BioCells that will be loaded into shoebox-sized habitats on ISS. The experiments will be housed in BioServes Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL), a newly updated smart incubator that will reduce the time astronauts spend manipulating the experiments.

The second experiment, created by Dr. Chia Soo of the UCLA School of Medicine, will test a new drug designed to not only block loss of bone but also to rebuild it.

The mice will ride in a NASA habitat designed for spaceflight to the ISS. Once on board, some mice will undergo injections with the new drug while others will be given a placebo. At the end of the experiments half of the mice will be returned to Earth in SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft and transported to UCLA for further study, said Stodieck, a scientific co-investigator on the experiment.

BioServes Space Automated Byproduct Lab

In addition to the two science experiments, BioServe is launching its third SABL unit to the ISS. Two SABL units are currently onboard ISS supporting multiple research experiments, including three previous stem cell experiments conducted by BioServe in collaboration with Stanford University, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota.

The addition of the third SABL unit will expand BioServes capabilities in an era of high-volume science on board the ISS, said Countryman.

BioServe researchers and students have flown hardware and experiments on missions aboard NASA space shuttles, the ISS and on Russian and Japanese government cargo rockets. BioServe previously has flown payloads on commercial cargo rockets developed by both SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, and Orbital ATK, Inc. headquartered in Dulles, Virginia.

Since it was founded by NASA in 1987, BioServe has partnered with more than 100 companies and performed dozens of NASA-sponsored investigations. Itspartners include large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and NASA-funded researchers, and investigations sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratory. CU-Boulder students are involved in all aspects of BioServe research efforts, said Stodieck.

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SpaceX to launch CU-built heart, bone health experiments to space station - CU Boulder Today

FOX31 Denver

How a simple cheek swab can save a life FOX31 Denver The machine processes the blood, and returns the red blood cells and the rest of the blood products, except for some of the stem cells, back to the donor, said Dr. Michael Maris, the director of research at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute in ...

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How a simple cheek swab can save a life - FOX31 Denver