Category Archives: Florida Stem Cells

News Release

Thursday, February 13, 2020

NIH-supported research of Hydractinia could provide clues to human reproductive conditions.

A little-known ocean-dwelling creature most commonly found growing on dead hermit crab shells may sound like an unlikely study subject for researchers, but this animal has a rare ability it can make eggs and sperm for the duration of its lifetime. This animal, called Hydractinia, does so because it produces germ cells, which are precursors to eggs and sperm, nonstop throughout its life. Studying this unique ability could provide insight into the development of human reproductive system and the formation of reproductive-based conditions and diseases in humans.

By sequencing and studying the genomes of simpler organisms that are easier to manipulate in the lab, we have been able to tease out important insights regarding the biology underlying germ cell fate determination knowledge that may ultimately help us better understand the processes underlying reproductive disorders in humans, Dr. Andy Baxevanis, director of the National Human Genome Research Institutes (NHGRI) Computational Genomics Unit and co-author of the paper. NHGRI is part of the National Institutes of Health.

In a study published in the journal Science, collaborators at NHGRI, the National University of Ireland, Galway, and the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience at the University of Florida, Augustine, reported that activation of the gene Tfap2 in adult stem cells in Hydractinia can turn those cells into germ cells in a cycle that can repeat endlessly.

In comparison, humans and most other mammals generate a specific number of germ cells only once in their lifetime. Therefore, for such species, eggs and sperm from the predetermined number of germ cells may be formed over a long period of time, but their amount is restricted. An international team of researchers have been studying Hydractinias genome to understand how it comes by this special reproductive ability.

Hydractinia lives in colonies and is closely related to jellyfish and corals. Although Hydractinia is dissimilar to humans physiologically, its genome contains a surprisingly large number of genes that are like human disease genes, making it a useful animal model for studying questions related to human biology and health.

Hydractinia colonies possess feeding polyps and sexual polyps as a part of their anatomy. The specialized sexual polyps produce eggs and sperm, making them functionally similar to gonads in species like humans.

During human embryonic development, a small pool of germ cells that will eventually become gametes is set aside, and all sperm or eggs that humans produce during their lives are the descendants of those original few germ cells. Loss of these germ cells for any reason results in sterility, as humans do not have the ability to replenish their original pool of germ cells.

In a separate study, Dr. Baxevanis at NHGRI and Dr. Christine Schnitzler at the Whitney Lab have completed the first-ever sequencing of the Hydractinia genome. In this study, researchers used this information to scrutinize the organisms genome for clues as to why there are such marked differences in reproductive capacity between one of our most distant animal relatives and ourselves.

Having this kind of high-quality, whole-genome sequence data in hand allowed us to quickly narrow down the search for the specific gene or genes that tell Hydractinias stem cells to become germ cells, said Dr. Baxevanis.

The researchers compared the behavior of genes in the feeding and sexual structures of Hydractinia. They found that the Tfap2 gene was much more active in the sexual polyps than in the feeding polyps in both males and females. This was a clue that the gene might be important in generating germ cells.

The scientists next confirmed that Tfap2 was indeed the switch that controls the process of perpetual germ cell production. The researchers used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technique to remove Tfap2 from Hydractinia and measured the resulting effects on germ cell production. They found that removing Tfap2 from Hydractinia stops germ cells from forming, bolstering the theory that Tfap2 controls the process.

The researchers also wanted to know if Tfap2 was influencing specific cells to turn into germ cells. Their analysis revealed that Tfap2 only causes adult stem cells in Hydractinia to turn into germ cells.

Interestingly, the Tfap2 gene also regulates germ cell production in humans, in addition to its involvement in myriad other processes. However, in humans, the germ cells are separated from non-germ cells early in development. Still, despite the vast evolutionary distance between Hydractinia and humans, both share a key gene that changes stem cells into germ cells.

This press release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research.

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is one of the 27 institutes and centers at the NIH, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The NHGRI Division of Intramural Research develops and implements technology to understand, diagnose and treat genomic and genetic diseases. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at: https://www.genome.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

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Read more here:
Study shows how a tiny and strange marine animal produces unlimited eggs and sperm over its lifetime - National Institutes of Health

ResearchAdministrator2018-10-04T19:36:47-05:00

Stem cells technology has been around for decades. It has been subject of ethical concerns and sanctioned (highly regulated) by the government. However, in the past few decades, it was found that umbilical derived stem cells are multi-potent (capable of forming different cell types) almost like the embryonic stem cells (ESC) derived from the inner cell mass (ICM), 5-day-old embryos. Unlike the ESC, stem cells harvested from donated umbilical cord, including the umbilical cord blood cells, amnion/placenta, umbilical cord vein or umbilical cord matrix are readily available and not subject to government regulation.

One of the characteristic of stem cells is that they renew the tissues that they populate, and throughout the body, they continue to populate (rejuvenate) and replace old dying cells. The body loses this ability to regenerate damaged tissue with advanced age.

Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSC) have been used in the past 40 years to treat adult with bone marrow deficiency, but their capacity to expand is limited, specially bmMSC derived from adults.

Umbilical cord stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells-like cells that are robust, easily harvested, isolated and extensively expanded in culture.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) offers a large array of alternative treatment to physicians for their patients. MSC treatment gives the body the ability to heal itself by generating new tissues and growth factors that can promote healing and recovering from injury a lot faster.

MSC can be used to treat an array of debilitating conditions:

Advantages to using MSC:

Read the original:
Research - Florida Stem Cell Research

Florida stem cell treatment centers often have patients seeking to avoid knee surgery. Are you one of the millions upon millions of people who have knee pain? Thinking about getting stem cell therapy as an option? Good news, even if you have bone-on-bone causing your knee pain, Regenerative Medicine of North Florida stem cell shots may be your best option because our stem cell injections for patients with knee pain are getting people tremendous positive results.

FACT: Smart people just like you, are looking towards stem cell treatments to help relieve chronic joint pain such as hip pain, knee pains, and back or shoulder pains. Its really exciting when you look at the incredible medical advancements for a variety of these conditions.

But before we go any further lets talk about the elephant in the room. Where does Regenerative Medicine of North Florida get the stem cells that will be used to treat you?

We want to be very clear. We do NOT use embryonic cells. Thats illegal. Plus thats not something that we would do.

Keep reading to discover exactly how we get the powerful stem cells we use to help our patients and if you like what you see, then hopefully youll be like the large growing number of our patients who are now enjoying the quality of life that they deserve.

Lets start with another fact.

FACT: Using stem cells from aborted babies is illegal in the USA.

Besides, we would NEVER do that as we stated before.

So lets start with some easy ways to understand some medical terms. Autologous simply means you have a surgical procedure and they use your own stem cells. This definitely works. It is very expensive, and the number of stem cells that you have, REDUCE by the millions and millions the older you are. Those are only two of the big reasons that we do not use these types of stem cells to get the powerful results that weve seen at Regenerative Medicine of North Florida.

Regenerative Medicine of North Florida uses a process known as HUCT, which basically means we use stem cells from the umbilical cord of healthy mothers who donate their umbilical cord. So just like people donate organs to help people have a better quality of life, these healthy mothers who delivered healthy happy babies donate the umbilical cord because they know the umbilical cord has an astonishing amount of stem cells. Specifically, they are referred to as MSC, which stands formesenchymal stem cells.

Long story short, these are the extremely potent stem cells we use that are responsible for the amazing results associated with stem cell therapy.

Now for a little more technical information for the people who love details.

As a direct result of medical advancements, there are a number of different ways to obtain stem cells, but the one that is very effective and most cost-effective is a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) obtained from umbilical cords.

In addition to no surgery required and the reduced costs (Many times our stem cell injections are less than half the cost of your other options for stem cell treatment), our Regenerative Medicine of North Florida doctors selected this option because it will allow for a plentiful, and an ethical option to help our patients.

When you get MSC stem cells here at Regenerative Medicine of North Florida then youll know the benefits of MSC cells have been clinically researched.

MSCs afford several advantages for clinical use, such as availability and ease of harvesting; multilineal differentiation potential; potent immunosuppressive effects; safety without any possibility of malignant transformation after infusion of allogeneic cells, which is common in the case of ESCs and iPSCs; and the lack of ethical issues that occur with the application of human ESCs. One of the most promising benefits of MSCs for cell-based therapy is their availability and ease of harvesting.

FACT: The older someone becomes, the lower the count of stem cells available to be extracted and use. Think of it like this. When you were younger you healed much faster. Thats because of the number of stem cells available to do the natural regenerative repairs. The older you get then you have fewer stem cells of this nature. And when you try to extract the smaller amounts of stem cells it requires a surgical procedure. Most often the surgical process to obtain the autologous stem cells is performed using a very large needle that is plunged deep enough into your hip bone in order to reach your bone marrow, and the marrow is sucked out of your hip for use. Additionally, as stated before, extracting stem cells from the hip, is much more expensive. It is also more painful and the recovery period is significantly longer. This is particularly true when compared to a shot from Regenerative Medicine of North Florida which we have many patients say that the flu shot is more uncomfortable than getting Regenerative Medicine of North Florida therapy.

Lets be honest. There are a number of different stem cell treatment options available, each with their own marketed benefits, but none of them can 100% guarantee you the results that youll be cured, or that your pain will be completely gone. But when you take a look at how stem cells are helping people with cancer it logically makes sense that stem cell therapy is a very powerful option. Specifically, stem cells have been researched in their effectiveness for cancer treatment, and both autologous and allogeneic options have their own benefits to consider.

Advantage of autologous stem cell transplant is that the patient will be getting his/her own cells back. An advantage of allogeneic stem cell transplant is that the donor stem cells make their own immune cells, which may help destroy any cancer cells that may remain after high-dose treatment.

Now, lets be clear that stem cell therapy is not covered by most insurance. And the notion that just because insurance does not cover it means that stem cell therapy is not a good option is frankly just poor thinking.

FACT: Insurance did not cover bone marrow transplants when it first got started, but bone marrow transplants were clearly saving lives. Insurance will always try to pay for the least amount of options that they can while charging the most premium that they can. Thats their business.

So when youre digging into the details of whether you should get stem cell shots in Ohio, then, there is the cost that is a big consideration. A Regenerative Medicine of North Florida stem cell shot costs just on average of $4,000 per shot. And we have finance options that allow you to make easy monthly payments. This is significantly lower than most other options. Autologous treatment, meanwhile, is $7,000 to $20,000 or more. Yes, that is really expensive and in most cases, it means people have to pay that money before they can get treatment. This means they get a loan or get the treatment financed.

Regenerative Medicine of North Florida has a price structure that gets you top-notch quality care at an affordable price. Yes, people do choose some of our finance options too. But many just pay upfront because Regenerative Medicine of North Florida stem cell shots cost almost half the cost of many of your other options

American clinics charge approximately $10,000 per treatment. Notably, many patients get more than one of these non-FDA approved treatments and must pay each time of course. Some clinics have reduced prices to the $7,000-$8,000 range. Interestingly, costs for treatments outside of the US are usually far higher than in the US, charging anywhere from $20,000 all the way up to $100,000. These clinics still generally have Americans as clientele.

If youre still reading then weve covered a lot of information. So lets talk about the other elephant in the room when it comes to stem cell therapy.

FACT: Stem cell therapy is not FDA approved. These procedures, just like a skin graft, is not FDA approved. The regenerative cells we use come from a tissue bank that is overseen by the American Association of Tissue Banks.So that lets you know the cells are really highly monitored, and the FDA is getting really more involved in this, that is theyre going to the manufacturers. Theyre going to the places that take the cells from the umbilical cord, manufacture them and send them to our offices to use. Theyre really monitoring that process. So the FDA is really standardizing that, making sure all the safety qualifications are up where they need to be.

And thats why weve vetted labs to make sure that we use the best labs. The ones that are actually working with the FDA to make sure that they have the highest manufacturing standards possible, so you get the best cells. And that its the safest cell that you can get as well.

Just to be clear again, the American Association of Tissue Banks, or the AATB, set up guidelines for these labs that they need to follow. If they dont have these safe rooms and clean rooms and different things that are necessary to do, theyd never be able to do this. Its just like any other tissue donation process.

So think about someone who donates a kidney or a liver, those types of things. Its going to go through a lot of screening. That person, first of all, their history. Theyre gonna screen the tissue itself. Theyre gonna make sure there are no diseases, to make sure its pure so they can use it.

Where the FDAs focus is right now, its actually called the FDA INTERACT program to help and make sure they standardize the manufacturing process so that you do get the best cells, the safest and most effective cells available on the market.

For most of our clients cost is more important than the FDA approval because smart people realize that the FDA approves drugs every year that end up having side effects, including death, and in many cases, after they approve a drug, they will then, (after the drug companies make massive profits,) then essentially say: OOPS, lets take that one off the market.

So, when you really think about it, the FDA does not always get things right. Just look up Celebrexs FDA history.

Are we saying the FDA is bad? NO. The FDA serves a vital part in public health.

Yet, to think that the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical companies who DO NOT WANT YOU TAKING NATURAL, non-drug options, in the place of their multi-billion dollar pills, MAY have the ability to lobby the decision-makers to impact whether the FDA says Yes or No to a treatment, then you must still be living under a rock somewhere and youd be a good candidate to buy some swampland in Florida.

Enough said there.

Lets wrap this up.

Anyone looking to have stem cell treatment should consider the pros and cons of all the different options. Our Regenerative Medicine of North Florida team believes that the closer you look at us vs your other options then the better we will look to you. That being said, Regenerative Medicine of North Florida.com (HUCT) stem cell therapy is quickly becoming the most popular option and for good reason.

Listen to what the National Institute for Health (a government website) has to say in one of their medical publications:

Human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) is being increasingly used as an alternative source of stem cells for cell-based therapy for malignant and nonmalignant diseases. HUCB is preferred to bone marrow because of its easy availability, low potential for graft-versus-host disease and tumorigenicity as well as infectious complications. Furthermore, no immunosuppression is required.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20528762

To date, various studies have shown the effectiveness of this type of treatment, and we have real people who have real results who you can talk to when you come to one of our Free Seminars.

Read the original here:
Florida Stem Cell Treatment Center

Soft tissue injuries in muscles, tendons and ligaments, andosteoarthritis, can make moving around painful and limit your physical activity. ButDr. James Presley,a Mayo Clinic physical medicine specialist, says two specialized treatments are growing more common and can help you heal faster.

Platelet-rich plasmais a specialized treatment that Dr. Presley says can bring relief for many patients dealing with soft tissue injuries.

Platelet-rich plasma is a way of trying to harness the bodys immune system or the bodys own ability to heal tissues, Dr. Presley says. [We] concentrate it and then spot-shoot it into the area of injury.

Dr. Presley says the process involves taking blood from your arm, processing it to concentrate the platelets, then injecting it directly into the affected area.

These treatments seem to be helpful in helping the healing process move along when it comes to tendon and ligament injuries, and potentially to help decrease pain and improve function in a joint that has some arthritis, Dr. Presley says.

The second treatment is calledbone marrow aspirate concentrateand involves extracting cells, including stem cells, from bone marrow in the pelvis; processing them into a solution; and injecting them into a painful joint.

The studies that have been done with this have shown patients have decreased pain and thereby improved function of a joint with mild to moderate osteoarthritis, Dr. Presley says.

But he says the best thing you can do is protect your muscles, tendons, and ligaments from injury by finding a happy medium between staying active and avoiding overuse.

Excerpt from:
Advances In Treatment Of Soft Tissue Injuries (Video) - South Florida Reporter

FORT MYERS

Water is Floridas most precious resource. It not only surrounds our state, but it also connects communities within Florida. Floridas unique landscape is made up of wetlands, beaches, swamps, and forests; all of which play a crucial role in the well-being and character of our state. We depend on water for the health of our ecosystems, tourism, economy, and consumption.

Floridas water is now facing its own crisis between quality and quantity. WINK News is devoted to learning about these issues, while explaining what they mean to you and your family. Just as were concerned about the problems, we care about potential solutions. Its all of our water and it will take all hands on deck to get to the bottom of Southwest Floridas water quality crisis.

(Info from SFWMD website https://www.sfwmd.gov/who-we-are/history) To understand our water issues, we have to go back to the beginning. According to the South Florida Water Management District, as recently as the early 1900s, South Floridas inland was swampland.

SFWMD says toward the end of the 19th century, draining led to the connection of waterways, like the Caloosahatchee River to Lake Okeechobee. Following the 1928 hurricane which claimed thousands of lives, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930 allows the development of the Herbert Hoover Dike. In the 1960s, the Kissimmee River is straightened out as part of a flood control measure in the state.

These changes reduced water flow to the Florida Everglades, but restoration efforts are underway today.

How does all of this connect to our water quality and quantity concerns? To maintain water levels in Lake Okeechobee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases water from the lake when necessary. The water flows east and/or west, to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.

SFWMD also controls flooding and protects our water supply through the use of levees, canals and pump stations.

LINK: EPA Nutrient Pollution Sources and Solutions

In regards to water releases from Lake Okeechobee, the concern is harmful nutrients that could end up in our estuaries. These nutrients can stem from fertilizer, septic tanks, stormwater, and fossil fuels. These nutrients, combined with sunlight and slow-moving water, can lead to harmful blue-green algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms like toxic blue-green algae can kill pets and be harmful to humans, resulting in rashes, stomach or liver illness, respiratory issues, and even neurological effects.

LINK: Mote Marine Lab red tide research

Similar to blue-green algae, red tide occurs naturally as a microscopic organism; However, according to Mote Marine Lab, red tide happens when the cells multiply quickly and are paired with things like salinity and temperature. Mote says there is not a direct link between Karenia Brevis, the red tide alga, and nutrient loading, but nutrients can contribute to the growth of red tide. The brevetoxins in red tide are deadly to marine life. When combined with wind and currents, the aerosols from red tide can cause respiratory irritation in people.

Beyond harmful algal blooms, Floridians have to face issues like fecal bacteria in waterways, having too much water as a result of flooding, and not enough water.

This just touches the surface of some of the challenges our water faces. To overcome these problems, people from all walks of life have come together to try to solve them. From agencies to universities and everyone in between, its been an all-hands-on-deck effort to experiment, form task forces, and educate in the light of this crisis.

Original post:
Explained: What is the water crisis Southwest Florida is battling? - Wink News

World AIDS Day is taking place on December 1 to raise awareness around HIV and AIDS, and to support the 37.9 million people around the world living with the virus.

This year's theme will be "Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Community by Community," highlighting the role of communities in preventing, treating and supporting people with HIV.

"I believe in communities," UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said in a statement. "Communities make change happen."

"With communities in the lead and governments living up to their promises, we will end AIDS."

Read more

This year marks the 21st World AIDS Day since its establishment in 1988, when James W. Bunn and Thomas Nettertwo public health officers at the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS in Genevaco-founded the day in an effort to destigmatize the disease.

"There was a lot that people felt they did not know about the epidemic and they were afraid," Bunn told NPR in a 2011 interview. "In those days people were being fired from their job. They were being denied Social Security benefits. They were being ostracized by their families. They were being evicted from their homes because they were sick and dying."

Today, people can show their support for people living with HIV and AIDS by donning a red ribbon.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, a condition that weakens the immune system against infections and certain cancers by destroying or impairing the body's immune cells.

If an HIV-positive person does not receive treatment, they could be susceptible to diseases and infections a person with a functioning immune system would be able to fight off, includingbut not limited totuberculosis and cryptococcal meningitis.

AIDS, which stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is the most advanced stage of HIV and can develop any time between two and 15 years after infection if the person is not taking proper medication.

To qualify as AIDS, one of more than 20 life-threatening cancers or so-called "opportunistic infections" (such as Kaposi sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and cervical cancer) must be present, according to the WHO.

One important difference between the two is that HIV can be passed on from one person to another, while AIDS cannot.

HIV can be traced to chimpanzees in Central Africamost likely, Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), says Avert, an international HIV and AIDS charity based in the U.K. Scientists believe it is a mutation of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)a condition found in monkeys and apesthat was passed onto humans when hunters looking for bush meat came into contact with infected blood.

The theory is backed up by the fact that there are different strains of HIV (M, N, O, and P), suggesting slightly different forms of the virus emerged after multiple contact with SIV-carrying primates.

While scientists may not have identified the virus that caused AIDS until 1984, the jump from chimpanzee to human may have taken place much earlier and as far back as the late 1800s, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). The first confirmed case of HIV is from a sample of blood that was taken in 1957 and belonged to a man in Kinshasa.

From Kinshasa it spread through roads, railways and a burgeoning sex trade to other parts of the DRC and, by the 1960s, to Haiti. Many Haitians had been working in the DRC and it is thought that it is through them that HIV first traveled across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.

AIDS was not formally recognized until the early 1980s, when University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) physician Michael Gottlieb put a name to a devastating illness affecting gay men living in Los Angeles. However, the first AIDS-related deaths in the U.S. are thought to have occurred much earlier.

On May 15, 1969, a gay black teenager died of a then-unknown illness in St Louis, Missouri. Before his death, 16 year old Robert Rayford had developed Kaposi sarcoma lesions and other AIDS related symptoms. However, it was not until 1987 that an autopsy revealed Rayford carried the virus and he is now believed to be the first person to have died from AIDS in the U.S.

It is not known who gave Rayford the disease but scientists now suspect that the virus entered and re-entered the U.S. several times, subsiding if there was not a large enough population for it to spread.

Recently, scientists have traced an unknown patient zero to early 1970s New York. It is thought the virus entered the U.S. from the Caribbean, gaining a foothold in New York before spreading to the rest of the country.

Worldwide, approximately 1.7 million people were newly infected with HIV last year. That includes 37,832 people in the U.S and associated territories.

In East and Southern Africa, where 7 percent of the population aged 15 to 49 are HIV-positive, there were 800,000 new infections in 2018.

HIV-1 Group M is the strain responsible for most of these.

According to government data, there are around 1.1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. today. Approximately 1 in 7 (or 15 percent) are unaware that they are infected.

Florida, Georgia and Louisiana are the states with the highest rates of infection per 100,000 people, the CDC reveals. As many 46 percent of people who are HIV-positive people live in Southern states.

However, the number of people newly diagnosed is decreasing. Overall, the number of people in the U.S. being diagnosed with HIV decreased around 9 percent between 2010 and 2016.

HIV is transmitted from one person to another through bodily fluids, including blood, breast milk and semen.

In the U.S., two-thirds of new diagnoses in 2018 were because of male-to-male intercourse. Around a quarter were caused by heterosexual intercourse and 7 percent were caused by drug injections using infected needles.

There are plenty of myths about how you can contract HIV. You cannot get AIDS from a toilet seat. Despite urban legends stating otherwise, HIV cannot be passed on to another person through hugging, shaking hands or sharing objects and/or food. As the CDC makes clear, the virus is not present in saliva (or tears or sweat) so unless both people have bleeding gums, it is not possible to get HIV from kissing.

Nobut it can be effectively managed.

According to the WHO, around 32 million people have died of AIDS. Fortunately, with the right treatment, an HIV-positive status is not a death sentence.

The average life expectancy in the U.S. for people without HIV is 76 years for men and 81 years for women. According to WebMD, a 20 year old who began antiretroviral treatment in 2008 and manages to maintain a low viral load can expect to live to around 78.

According to the WHO, 62 percent of people have received treatment and more than half (53 percent) have achieved HIV suppression so that there is effectively no risk of passing the virus on to others.

Timothy Ray Brown is a patient in Berlin who was apparently cured of HIV after undergoing a rigorous treatment to cure his acute myeloid leukemia.

The process effectively wiped out his immune system with large quantities of radiation or chemotherapy, and replaced it with stem cells from a donor.

The same treatment has been performed more recently in a London patient, who like Brown received donor cells from a person with two copies of a gene mutation affecting the CCR5 receptora mutation that effectively renders the person immune to HIV.

However, while testing might suggest the patients are in remission, experts have been careful about bandying around the word "cured." What's more, it can only be used to people who are HIV-positive and have acute myeloid leukemia.

Read more:
World AIDS Day 2019: Theme, History and Facts about HIV and AIDS - Newsweek

THIS is the heartbreaking moment a tiny toddler sobs her way through agonising cancer treatment.

Sophia Soto's devastated mum took the photo while her little 14-month-old was having a lead put on her chest.

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Sophia was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastomaafter tumours were discovered behind her eyes and on her kidney.

And her mum Rosie, 40, is now sharing the harrowing image in a bid to highlight the traumatic reality of childhood cancer.

Speaking about the poignant picture, Rosie, from Florida, USA, said: "The picture of Sophia upset really does home in on the reality of childhood cancer.

"She was having a lead put on her chest for her treatment - which she didn't want - hence why Sophia was so upset.

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"I look back at the picture now and wonder how I did it; it was so hard watching my little girl so ill."

Rosie first suspected something was wrong with Sophia after she began developing bruising around her eyes - something she claims doctors repeatedly dismissed as being from bump or fall.

It wasn't until Rosie took Sophia to see an eye specialist that they spotted what they suspected tumours behind her eyes were causing the bruising.

Rosie added: "Sophia kept getting bruising on her eyes and I didn't recall her falling over or anything, so I didn't understand where they were come from.

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"I kept taking her to the doctors because the bruising wasn't going away, but they just said it must have been from a bump or something.

"Sophia wasn't referred for a scan or biopsy until I went to see an eye specialist with her who knew straight away that it was caused by a tumour.

"She was sent for an MRI where black spots appeared on the scans confirming the tumours behind her eyes.

"It was then the biopsy which found the tumours on one of her kidneys as well which led to her stage 4 neuroblastoma diagnosis."

Neuroblastoma is a rare type of cancer that mostly affects babies and children and develops from specialised nerve cells left behind from a baby's development in the womb.

I kept taking her to the doctors because the bruising wasn't going away, but they just said it must have been from a bump or something

After being diagnosed in March 2014, the then 14-month-old endured 60 rounds of chemotherapy, 20 rounds of radiation and a stem cell transplant over a six months period.

Thankfully, Sophia, now six, has been in remission for five years and now looks like a completely different child compared to the one in the heart wrenching photograph.

She was told she was in remission in November 2014 and has been medication free for two years.

Sophia isn't yet classified as 'cancer free' so still goes for check ups every six months with specialists.

What are the symptoms of cancer in children?

Cancer symptoms can be very similar to those of other childhood illnesses - and they vary between children.

According toCancer Research UK, there are 15 signs to look out for:

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The brave six-year-old still has tumours behind her eyes which cannot be removed due to the placement of them, but doctors believe the tumours are benign and therefore not causing Sophia too much harm.

Rosie added: "Doctors are reluctant to remove the tumours Sophia currently has behind her eyes as they've said it would be likely the surgery to disfigure her face.

"Whilst they are tumours, doctors are reasonably confident that they are not cancerous so we have decided to not have the surgery right now, but it may be something she has when she's older."

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Sophia now looks like any other fun-loving child and from her appearance, you would never know she had cancer.

The six-year-old loves to dance and hopes of becoming a vet one day.

Rosie said: "No one can imagine what she went through looking at her now - she just looks like a normal regular child.

"Sophia has her moments when she asks about when she was sick and has questions about her treatment scars, but over all she's a pretty happy girl.

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BRIDE'S DREAM Cancer-stricken bride had arm amputated to have enough time to get married

"If I was to say anything to other parents with children battling cancer, I'd say to them to not give up, stay positive and keep your faith.

"It's really important not to compare your child's process to anyone else as everyone battles illnesses differently as every situation is different.

"We're over the moon that Sophia is now doing so well - we're really blessed that she's such a fighter."

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Mum shares heartbreaking photo of toddler sobbing through gruelling cancer treatment - The Sun

Michael J. Moore, center, a professor of biomedical engineering in the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, is leading a team of researchers on a project called the HEAL Initiative, or Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative. Researchers include Jeffrey Tasker, the Catherine and Hunter Pierson Chair in Neuroscience, left, and James Zadina, director of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center and an adjunct professor of medicine at the Tulane School of Medicine. (Photo by Matthew Hinton)

A Tulane University researcher is joining more than 40 universities from across the United States in looking for ways to improve treatment of chronic pain and ultimately achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction.

Michael J. Moore, professor of biomedical engineering in the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, is part of a $945 million National Institutes of Health project called the HEAL Initiative, or Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative.

In 2016, an estimated 50 million U.S. adults suffered from chronic pain and in 2018, an estimated 10.3 million people 12 years and older misused opioids, including heroin.

This is indeed an exciting opportunity to work on a problem of great public health significance to our nation.

Tulane biomedical engineering professor Michael J. Moore

Its clear that a multi-pronged scientific approach is needed to reduce the risks of opioids, accelerate development of effective non-opioid therapies for pain and provide more flexible and effective options for treating addiction to opioids, NIH Director Francis S. Collins said in a statement. This unprecedented investment in the NIH HEAL Initiative demonstrates the commitment to reversing this devastating crisis.

Moores share of the project is $1.2 million. He will be teaming up with Jeffrey Tasker, the Catherine and Hunter Pierson Chair in Neuroscience, and James Zadina, director of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center and an adjunct professor of medicine at the Tulane School of Medicine.

This is indeed an exciting opportunity to work on a problem of great public health significance to our nation, Moore said.

The management of pain both acute and chronic can be a frustratingly futile endeavor for both patients and clinicians, Moore said. Desperate attempts at treatment with opioids and other narcotics has led to a heartbreaking and calamitous epidemic of addiction to prescription painkillers.

The epidemic has prompted federal agencies and the pharmaceutical industry to work toward identifying the next generation of painkillers. Unfortunately, Moore said, there are few adequate model systems currently in use to enable rapid screening of the analgesic properties of drug candidates.

Moores proposal seeks to develop the first model of pain that utilizes living human cells on a computer chip, mimicking the transmission of pain and enabling the evaluation of the cellular basis of tolerance to certain drugs. Moore said the model will eventually enable experimental drugs to be screened in a way that is faster, less expensive and more effective.

He and his team are collaborating with Randolph Ashton, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and Swaminathan Rajaraman, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Central Florida. Ashton is developing human stem-cell derived spinal neurons, and Rajaraman is developing specially-made microelectrodes for taking electrical measurements from the cells.

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Tulane team researching ways to end opioid addiction - News from Tulane

How healthy are we today? The world is increasingly globalised; international travel and commerce are more extensive than ever; and in some places, the effects of the climate crisis are already being seen. Are we doing enough to prevent disease and prolong life? Are societies, businesses andgovernments ready for future threats on human health and wellbeing?

The answer is mixed. In the World Health Organisations (WHO) World Health Statistics report, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, wrote in the reports introduction that there is still much to do before the deadline of the UN Sustainable Development Goals come 2030:

While we have made remarkable progress on several fronts, huge challenges remain if we are to reach the targets for health we have set ourselves. In some areas progress has stalled and the gains we have made could easily be lost.

Nine out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, with more than half of the urban population exposed to outdoor air pollution 2.5 times above WHOs safety standard. As many as 15,000 children below the age of five died every day in 2016 as a result of this.

In low and lower-middle-income countries, adults faced double the risk of dying from diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic lung disease compared to those in high-income countries. There continues to be tens of millions of new cases of tuberculosis each year, of which 1.6 million die, making it the leading infectious cause of death worldwide.

But amid all this destruction, there have been exponential advances in health technology and research. Recently, an experimental new tuberculosis vaccine reported a 50 percent success rate, which though far from ideal, may have the potential to save millions of lives.

On top of this, scientists have managed to grow human stem cells in pig embryos, bringing us closer to the day where it will be possible to develop human organs in animals for transplant later on. Public policy and medical breakthroughs have increased the average life expectancy of a child born in the US from 50 to 80 years. In the US, similar milestones can be seen in the eradication of polio, improved oral health, decline in tobacco use, treatments in cancer, HIV/AIDS and so forth.

Its never been more urgent for us to improve global wellbeing. Play a role in creating a better, healthier tomorrow with a degree in public health from these leading US universities:

Taking on the worlds health challenges with a world-class degree begins at the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University. Leveraging science and community engagement, the college is the perfect base to become part of the next generation of public health professionals.

Source: Oregon State University, College of Public Health and Human Sciences

The first in Oregon to be accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, the college offers a comprehensive Master of Public Health programme that ensures students have the knowledge and leadership skills, as well as a respected degree, to succeed on a local and global scale. World-leading faculty guide students toward their career goals in public health, while a dedicated support team provides the resources needed to foster success both in and outside of the classroom.

The Master of Public Health is rigorous and interdisciplinary the ideal choice for recent graduates or professionals from across the globe. Students benefit from small classes, personal connections with faculty, experiential work opportunities all over the world, and a wide range of resources and support. Online students also receive a high level of personal support and the same quality of education, diploma and transcript.

The on-campus Master of Public Health is based in Corvallis, Oregon, which is one of the friendliest, safest, greenest and most innovative college towns in the US. The online programme is delivered through Oregon State Ecampus, widely considered one of Americas best providers of online education.

Founded in 1984, the USF College of Public Health offers several undergraduate and graduate courses in public health. Its home to the first accredited undergraduate public health degree programme and is ranked by US News and World Report as 1st in the state of Florida, 2nd public school in the southeast, and 16th nationally among Council on Education for Public Health accredited schools.

Source: College of Public Health, University of Southern Florida

The innovative Bachelor of Science in Public Health lets students pursue specialised coursework in pre-health, epidemiology, biostatistics, food safety, infection control, nutrition, global health, environmental and occupational health and health coaching, among others. The degree can be undertaken fully online or through a mix of online and classroom-based courses.

The Master in Public Health (MPH) is designed to prepare students to be public health professionals. Core modules include biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy and management, environmental and occupational health, and social and behavioral sciences. There are several concentration areas students can choose from, from maternal and child health to global disaster management as well as humanitarian relief and homeland security.

The Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) refines students quantitative and/or qualitative skills and provides a comprehensive research experience. It focuses on research design, data collection, analysis and application of research aimed at improving and protecting the health of populations.

At the SDSU Graduate School of Public Health, aspirants can opt for the fully online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree without any need to take time off from their career or life commitments.

Administered by the College of Extended Studies, this 18-month degree is rigorous, but also one that pays off. The curriculum tasks students touse multiple sources of data, develop scientific papers and presentations and identify strategies and programmes related to population health. By the end of the course, students will be able to develop, implement, evaluate and critique public health programmes providing a useful skillset for early- to mid-career professionals to advance their career in this field.

The degree is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and consists of 51 units, including three units (180 hours) of internship or practical field experience. With pre-recorded courses lectures, students can work at their own pace and around their work and family schedules. Students undertake two three-unit courses per eight-week session, with a one-week break between sessions.

Now in its second year, the affordable Masters (each unit only costs US$562) is already ranked 21st in the nation by bestcolleges.com, an independent resource for online students.

There are many reasons why students should consider a graduate degree in public health sciences at the University of Miami (UM).

Source: Department of Public Health, University of Miami

The major research university is one of US News and World Reports Top 50 national universities. The Miller School of Medicines Department of Public Health Sciences is one of the most impactful public health graduate programmes in the country, which also boasts a faculty rich in industry experts and practitioners. Among the offerings here include the MPH, Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Public Administration Joint Degree (MPH/MPA) and Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology.

Public health students are guided by a hands-on, intimate teaching. Through an individualised study experience, professors recognise the unique learning style of each student, allowing them to shape the learning environment around students needs to further enhance the effectiveness of graduate studies.

Then, there are the various opportunities for students to promote their professional portfolio. For a real-world experience in health-related settings (local, national, and international), the Capstone Field Experience allows students to apply public health academic theories and test out practical skills to find solutions to todays public health challenges. Such valuable experience provides students with the crucial understanding of what it takes to advance your career as an effective public health professional.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International

The 5 pillars of a public health degree

How to apply for a Masters of Public Health

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Improve global wellbeing with a degree in public health - Study International News

FT596 Selected by ASH for Feature at CAR-T and Beyond Press Conference on December 7

Two Oral and Four Poster Presentations Covering iPSC-derived Cell-based Cancer Immunotherapy Pipeline Accepted for Presentation

Company to Host Investor Event at ASH on December 6

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders, announced today that two oral and four poster presentations covering the Companys off-the-shelf, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived natural killer (NK) cell and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product candidates will be featured at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. The meeting will be held December 7-10, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.

In addition, this years ASH press program will feature the Companys FT596 product candidate. The "CAR-T and Beyond" press briefing will take place at 7:30 a.m. EST, Saturday, December 7, in the ASH Press Briefing Room (W221DE) of the Orange County Convention Center. It is open to all media registered to attend the meeting.

We are honored that FT596 has been selected by the ASH Program Committee for feature in this years prestigious Annual Meeting Press Program, said Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics. The multi-antigen targeting functionality and off-the-shelf availability of FT596, combined with the intrinsic anti-tumor activity of NK cells, is a promising approach to overcome antigen escape and time-to-patient treatment, and has the potential to convey deeper and more durable responses to more patients. We look forward to highlighting the breadth of our novel off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived cell-based cancer immunotherapy pipeline this year at ASH.

FT596 is among the first cell-based cancer immunotherapies to be manufactured from a master iPSC line, and is the first-ever cellular immunotherapy allowed for clinical investigation that is genetically engineered to contain three active anti-tumor modalities: a proprietary chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting B-cell antigen CD19; a novel high-affinity, non-cleavable CD16 Fc receptor for enhanced binding to tumor-targeting antibodies; and an interleukin-15 receptor fusion (IL-15RF) for improved potency.

2019 ASH Oral Presentations

2019 ASH Poster Presentations

About Fate Therapeutics iPSC Product Platform

The Companys proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform enables mass production of off-the-shelf, engineered, homogeneous cell products that can be administered with multiple doses to deliver more effective pharmacologic activity, including in combination with cycles of other cancer treatments. Human iPSCs possess the unique dual properties of unlimited self-renewal and differentiation potential into all cell types of the body. The Companys first-of-kind approach involves engineering human iPSCs in a one-time genetic modification event and selecting a single engineered iPSC for maintenance as a clonal master iPSC line. Analogous to master cell lines used to manufacture biopharmaceutical drug products such as monoclonal antibodies, clonal master iPSC lines are a renewable source for manufacturing cell therapy products which are well-defined and uniform in composition, can be mass produced at significant scale in a cost-effective manner, and can be delivered off-the-shelf for patient treatment. As a result, the Companys platform is uniquely capable of overcoming numerous limitations associated with the production of cell therapies using patient- or donor-sourced cells, which is logistically complex and expensive and is subject to batch-to-batch and cell-to-cell variability that can affect clinical safety and efficacy. Fate Therapeutics iPSC product platform is supported by an intellectual property portfolio of over 250 issued patents and 150 pending patent applications.

About FT596

FT596 is an investigational, universal, off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell cancer immunotherapy derived from a clonal master induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line engineered with three anti-tumor functional modalities: a proprietary chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) optimized for NK cell biology, which contains a NKG2D transmembrane domain, a 2B4 co-stimulatory domain and a CD3-zeta signaling domain, that targets B-cell antigen CD19; a novel high-affinity 158V, non-cleavable CD16 Fc receptor that has been modified to augment antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity by preventing CD16 down-regulation and enhancing CD16 binding to tumor-targeting antibodies; and an IL-15 receptor fusion (IL-15RF) that promotes enhanced NK cell activity. The FDA has allowed investigation of FT596 in an open-label Phase 1 clinical trial as a monotherapy and in combination with rituximab for the treatment of advanced B-cell malignancies and in combination with obinutuzumab for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In preclinical studies of FT596, the Company has demonstrated that dual activation of the CAR19 and CD16 receptors, in combination with IL-15RF signaling, convey synergistic anti-tumor activity. Increased degranulation and cytokine release were observed upon dual receptor activation in lymphoma cancer cells as compared to activation of each receptor alone, indicating that multi-antigen engagement may elicit a deeper and more durable response. Additionally, in a mixed cellular composition cytotoxicity assay comprised of CD19+ and CD19- tumor cells, FT596 combined with CD20-directed monoclonal antibody therapy effectively eliminated the heterogeneous population of tumor cells, a result that was not observed with single-antigen targeted CAR19 T cells.

About Fate Therapeutics, Inc.

Fate Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of first-in-class cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders. The Company has established a leadership position in the clinical development and manufacture of universal, off-the-shelf cell products using its proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform. The Companys immuno-oncology product candidates include natural killer (NK) cell and T-cell cancer immunotherapies, which are designed to synergize with well-established cancer therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, and to target tumor-associated antigens with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). The Companys immuno-regulatory product candidates include ProTmune, a pharmacologically modulated, donor cell graft that is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease, and a myeloid-derived suppressor cell immunotherapy for promoting immune tolerance in patients with immune disorders. Fate Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit http://www.fatetherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements regarding the Companys clinical studies and preclinical research and development programs. These and any other forward-looking statements in this release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that results observed in prior studies of its product candidates, including preclinical studies and clinical trials of any of its product candidates, will not be observed in ongoing or future studies involving these product candidates, and the risk that the Company may cease or delay preclinical or clinical development of any of its product candidates for a variety of reasons (including requirements that may be imposed by regulatory authorities on the initiation or conduct of clinical trials or to support regulatory approval, difficulties or delays in subject enrollment in current and planned clinical trials, difficulties in manufacturing or supplying the Companys product candidates for clinical testing, and any adverse events or other negative results that may be observed during preclinical or clinical development). For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause the Companys actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Companys most recently filed periodic report, and from time to time in the Companys press releases and other investor communications.Fate Therapeutics is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Christina TartagliaStern Investor Relations, Inc.212.362.1200christina@sternir.com

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Fate Therapeutics Announces Six Presentations at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting - GlobeNewswire