Category Archives: Hawaii Stem Cells

Keith Swayne has a magic touch when it comes to fundraising.

I guess I could go to anyone and get them to write some kind of check just so I would go away, he says, laughing. However, thats not what I want to accomplish. I want to connect people to causes and needs that they can relate to and then help them find a way to help out.

Swayne is so adroit at soliciting donations, in fact, that a campus project he undertook has left people shaking their heads in amazement: His efforts led to a $20 million windfall for investigators at the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders.

Keiths passionate commitment to supporting our research has been tireless and nothing short of transformative, says Joshua Grill, director of UCI MIND.

It all started with a $150,000 gift the Laguna Beach philanthropist made to the research facility in honor of his late wife, Judy, whom he lost to Alzheimers disease in 2014. He also issued a challenge to the community at the time that boosted the donation to $300,000.

The UCI MIND team then leveraged that seed money to secure a total of $20 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Our research is blazing new trails into understanding the genetic, molecular and cellular underpinnings of disease and is poised to lead to identification of new treatment targets and candidates, Grill says. Keiths initial challenge-gift enabled an exponential impact in terms of research support.

Weian Zhao lab at Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell center at UCI. Lab personnel: Ling Shun, Meglu Han, Michael Toledano, Aude Segaliny, Jan Zimak, Leanne Hildebrand

His late wife would have liked that, Swayne says. The fact that some good came from this terrible disease Judy would certainly want that, he says. And I wanted that too.

The couple, married 50 years, were best friends and committed partners. Judy Swayne, like her husband, was intent on making a difference in her community. Among other contributions, in 1989, she founded the Orange County Community Foundation, which became a major philanthropic institution in the region. Keith Swayne has carried on her legacy as a member of its board, stepping down in September after a stint as chairman.

In addition, Judy Swayne served on numerous nonprofit boards, acted as a role model and mentor to many throughout the philanthropic community, and was the mother of two: a daughter, Anne Keir, who lives in Hawaii, and a son, Kirk Swayne, of Orange County.

The disease was hard on my kids, Keith Swayne says. Its a tough disease.

It was also hard on Swayne himself, Grill notes: Alzheimers is an insidious disorder that robs patients of their most human characteristics language, decision making and, of course, memory.

Ultimately, it also robs patients of their independence, putting a strain on family members.

Keith was a caregiver to his beloved Judy, a costly and taxing role, Grill says. He watched her progress until she succumbed to this unrelenting disease, helpless to do anything to slow or stop its course. He decided to do what he could to prevent others from suffering her fate.

Frank M. LaFerla, dean of the UCI School of Biological Sciences, also recalls Swaynes struggles.

Alzheimers disease really impacted his family, he says. Judy was a very special woman. He wanted to make sure future generations wouldnt experience the pain his wife did.

At the time, LaFerla was director of UCI MIND and talked with Swayne about ways he could make a difference in the search for a cure. One field of research involved stem cells, which experts believe may offer great promise for new medical treatments.

My lab had started getting involved with stem cells many years ago, and about this time a new technology was created using stem cells from your skin, not embryos, LaFerla says. You could take some of a patients skin cells by biopsy and reprogram them to become pluripotent meaning they have the ability to give rise to many different types of cells found in the body, such as brain cells or more skin cells or kidney cells.

Swayne likes innovation and taking chances, LaFerla says: I told him this opportunity was high-risk but had high potential.

That was when Swayne issued his challenge to the community and set about rounding up donors. He held salons at his hillside home, inviting LaFerla and other UCI staffers to speak to local residents. They explained how pluripotent stem cell technology could be used as a tool in Alzheimers research.

I went to people who knew my wife or to people I knew who also had a vested interest in Alzheimers research because they had the disease in their own families, Swayne says.

He found many community members who were willing to contribute.

The odds are that if you live to be 85, theres a 1-in-2 chance youre going to have Alzheimers. A lot of my friends are in my age bracket, says Swayne, 79. The message was compelling.

One thing he learned was that individuals were familiar with the Alzheimers Association but not UCI MIND.

In some respects, UCI MIND is one of the best-kept secrets in Orange County, Swayne says. Many people didnt know that its one of only 30 NIH-designated Alzheimers research centers in the country.

His fundraising zeal and efforts to involve the Orange County community in the effort eventually paid off. As LaFerla says, It worked better than we could ever have dreamed.

When the time came to renew funding for the stem cell research program from the National Institute on Aging, UCI MIND won a five-year commitment to continue its research. One reason behind the NIAs decision: local philanthropic contributions.

With charitable and federal funding in place, UCI established a bank of induced pluripotent stem cells, now a valuable resource for Alzheimers researchers globally. Today, hundreds of cell samples have been provided to investigators at UCI and 10 other research universities around the world, and UCI MIND scientists and their partners have received more than $20 million in grants.

And all of that stemmed, ultimately, from the initial gift we received from Keith, LaFerla says.

Adds Swayne: We grew $150,000 to $20 million. It blows me away.

Hes not resting on his laurels, though. Swayne continues to connect more donors to UCI MIND so that research can progress.

The UCI MIND team is devoted to this cause, he says. Its reassuring to know youve got people with this talent trying to find answers to this disease.

So Swayne writes letters to business and community leaders urging their backing, chairs a panel that seeks new opportunities for philanthropic gifts, speaks on behalf of the institute at public events, and co-leads a caregiver support group for men whose spouses have Alzheimers.

Keith gives a voice to the nearly 6 million Americans with Alzheimers and the more than 15 million caregivers like him, Grill wrote earlier this year in a letter nominating Swayne for the Outstanding Philanthropist Award, which will be conferred on Nov. 14 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Orange County in celebration of National Philanthropy Day. UCI MIND would not be the organization it is without the leadership of Keith Swayne.

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Stemming the Tide of Alzheimer's - UCI News

The scientific world has been fascinating us ever since Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein all the way to the discovery of Higgs Boson to inventions such as rockets, allowing us to travel the outer space. The thirst for knowledge, to find out more about the world we live in, is what leads us to the world we live in today.

Today, we're taking a look at the last 20 years and the most incredible and strangest scientific discoveries that we came across that may already be a normal knowledge in our lives or will certainly become the norm in years to come.

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In April, astronomers announced that the atmosphere of Uranus waschock-full of hydrogen sulfide a stinky gas that comes out of sewers on Earth according to data fromthe Gemini North telescope which sits on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

The moral of the story: not only does Uranus smell incredibly bad,study co-author Patrick Irwin, a professor of planetary physics at the University of Oxford, said in a statement that, "suffocation and exposure in the negative 200 degrees Celsius [minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit] atmosphere made of mostly hydrogen, helium and methane would take its toll long before the smell."

If you think you're looking at the dunes of a desert, think again. Back in May of 2018, visitors and residents of the Russian city, Sochi, began posting pictures on Instagram of rather strange and curious orange snow on the mountains. Apparently, the orange snow had also fallenover parts of Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova and Greece.

Meteorologists and scientists have later explained the cause:sand and dust had been kicked up by storms in Africa, turning into a true phenomenon of transferred sand from the Sahara to Eastern Europe.

No, we're not actually talking about "our" Earth. Back in 2018, a group of scientists reported finding a planetabout 1.6 times the size of earth, 200 light-years away from Earth and that may also be able to sustain life. Although Super Earth is a very cool name, they decided to name this new-found planetK2-155d, and it is known torevolve around a super hot dwarf star. Scientists also believe it may contain liquid water on its surface. How cool is that?

Neuroscientists have discovered all the way back in 2014 how to implant false memories into the brain. Freaky, right? Although this is not the movie Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, a duo of neuroscientists successfully manipulatedmouses brain cells, encoding the memory of receiving a shock when placed in a small metal box. Although the mouse never really received the shock, when placed in the box, it would react in fear due to the memory implanted in its brain.

All the way back in 2014, IBM helped us take a step forward into the futurewith the release of the SyNAPSE computer chip, which simulatesthe firing of synapses that is done every day by the human brain.Dharmendra Modha, chief scientist of brain-inspired computing at IBM, told The Guardianthat there is potential in that chip to"open up a spree of tremendous innovation." He wasn't wrong because as years go by, we are now more used to AI assistance in our every day lives.

This is quite a curious one. Back in 2017, a group of scientistssuccessfully created an artificial womb out of abag of fluids that was able to grow a sheep. This breakthrough eliminates the health risk of pregnancy and presents a natural environment in which premature infants can develop. It's an incredibly smart solution and one that can save the lives of both women and children alike.

This is definitely one of the most interesting ones. In the UK, caterpillars were found to fall victim to what was known as the "zombie virus", something a researcher was able to find while counting butterflies (curious, right?). Basically, the caterpillars were being infected by the baculovirus, a virus thatstops their molting and encourages them to keep eating. Later, the caterpillar's body liquefies and explodes, spreading the virus to other caterpillars. Fortunately, the virus didn't cause too much harm to the caterpillar population.

Quantum computers are basically incredible machines that can exploit the properties of quantum physics, outperforming any supercomputer that exists nowadays.IBM unveiled its commercial quantum computer, Q System One, in January 2019 and it set the tone for quantum computers designed for commercial use.The Q System One is a 20 quantum bits machine, but it isestimated that a quantum computer capable of achieving "quantum supremacy" will requireat least 50 qubits.

No, it's not Pluto, the poor thing. Researchers at CalTech found mathematical evidence suggesting there is a "Planet X", a ninth planet on our system, beyond Neptune and unseen to us and our technology. This theory explains a lot, such as a clustering oforbits for a group of cosmic bodies beyond Neptune that current mathematics cannot account for or explain. It's also predicted to be super-sized with a mass five times over that of Earth andan orbit 400 to 800 times farther from the Sun.

In 2016,Italian scientist, Dr. Sergio Canavero, surprised the science and medical world when he claimed to have been able to transplant one monkeys head onto another monkeys body. Back then, head transplants were virtually unspoken of. "The blood vessels, spine, and neuro-systems of each monkey were connected using polyethylene glycol (PEG), a chemical that preserves nerve cell membranes." Later, in 2017, he completed yet another successful surgery, now havingtransplanted a human cadavers head onto a different cadavers body. The next step for him isto be able to perform this operation on living, brain-dead human beings.

We hear a lot about 3D printing nowadays and it's one of those inventions that has come a long way since 1986. However, when would we ever be able to imagine we could actually 3D print human organs?In May of 2019, for the first time, a 3D printed lung came to life, marking the beginning of an era in organ availability for transplant patients, making it so much easier in the future to cure patients that would otherwise wait years for a matching donor.

As it turns out, hobbits were real, but they are not taken from Lord Of The Rings or some other fantasy story.Homo floresiensis, commonly called the hobbit, was a tiny hominid that stood at three feet tall as adults and was indigenous to Flores island in Indonesia. The first bones were discovered back in 2004 and categorized asa new hominin species, though its unclear which species it evolved from.

Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal interwoven pattern, and it's the building block of graphite, which is used in pencil tips. Why is this important? Graphene is the thinnest material known to man at one-atom-thick; and it's 200 times stronger than steel! It's also an excellentconductor of heat and electricity, making this a material that is a wonder to the world and science. Currently, scientists are working on producing it on a mass scale.

It was a little over 10 years ago, back in 2004, that a team of archaeologists dug upthe tomb of Lady Xia, grandmother to the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, that lived between 259 B.C. and 210 B.C. In the tomb, they found a number of objects and animal bones (these were thought to belong to the pets of Lady Xia), but the most curious discovery was that one of those skeletons found didn't match any known species. In July of the same year, researchers announced that it was the remains of a previously unidentified gibbon that went extinct since the last ice age,naming it Junzi imperialis.

We all know the genius mind that is Elon Musk, and he was actually the one to put in practice the project of building reusable & recyclable rockets that would safely land on barges in the ocean, saving the billions of dollars that it costs to replace such technology. Even in the event of a failed launch, this would save even more money and frustration for the team, taking us one step closer toaffordable space travel.

It's not as weird as you're thinking right now, honestly. The human-pig hybrid has created with one goal in mind: to one day allow us to grow our own organs inside an animal instead of relying on human donors. What happened seems easy, but it was actually quite complex. Human stem cells were implanted into a pig embryo and removed 4 weeks later for analysis. It was successful!

Back in 2018,Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced the birth of the worlds first ever gene-edited human babies and it rocked the science world.He used CRISPR to edit the genes of two twin girls still in development to make them immune to the HIV virus. Then he transformed the embryos into the mother's uterus. The twins were born healthy, but keep their identity hidden from the media. This is, without a doubt, a huge step inin the potential of human genome editing.

This is a weird one to think about, but genetic scientists have discoveredthat all humans across the globe are related, albeit 5,000-10,000 generations removed. Now if that doesn't mess you up, I don't know what will.Approximately 60,000 to 100,000 years ago, genetics took a huge toll in which our species nearly went extinct. It's still unclear what caused this, but according to evidence in our DNA, it is estimated that less than 1,000 Homo Sapiens were alive during this hard time for our species.

With years of development in data storage, you'd think it would be possible to imagine a small disccapable of withstanding 1,000-degree temperaturesthat can hold 360 terabytes. But it really isn't easy. This is called 5D Data Storage and it's a revolutionary technology it is estimatedthat these discs can store data for up to 13.8 billion years,written on tiny patterns printed on three layers within the disc.

We all know about Dolly, the first successful genetic clone of an animal. She was cloned around 23 years ago, and since then we have been able to successfully clonemice, goats, pigs, deer, horses, cats, dogs, and even gray wolves. This has helped immensely in increasing the population of endangered animals, and it is even thought thatwe could use these techniques to bring back now-extinct animals, such as the Wooly Rhino and the Mastodon.

Sources: CNN, Live Science, National Geographic, National Post, Best Life Online

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20 Strangest Scientific Discoveries Of The Last 20 Years - TheTalko

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CaverStem on the Big Island Giveaway! - EDGEOnTheNet

Note: All photos , videos and testimonials on this web site that depict actual patients or outcomes do not indicate you will have a similar result, as individual results vary. These in no way imply or indicate that you will have similar outcome. Plastic Surgery and medicine are not an exact sciences and not predictable.

The Hawaii Stem Cell Treatment Center is not offering stem cell therapy as a cure for any condition, disease or injury. No statements or treatments on this website have been evaluated or approved by the FDA. This website contains no medical advice. All statements and opinions provided by this website are provided for educational and informational purposes only and we do not diagnose or treat via this website or via telephone. The Hawaii Stem Cell Treatment Center is offering patient funded research to treat individual patients with their own autologous stem cells and is not involved in the use or manufacture of any investigational drugs.

The Hawaii Stem Cell Treatment Center does not claim that any applications or potential applications using these autologous stem cell treatments are approved by the FDA or are even effective. We do not claim that these treatments work for any listed nor unlisted condition, intended or implied. It is important for potential patients to do their own research based on the options that we present so that one can make an informed decision. Ay decision to participate in our patient funded experimental protocols is completely voluntary.

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Contact Us - Stem Cell Treatment Center Hawaii

Stem cell research can almost seem too good to be true. The ability to regenerate entire organs or cure blindness may be years or decades away from practical application but orthopedics stem cell research for sports injury are a reality today. The promise of avoiding expensive, painful orthopedic procedures with extended recovery times lies in stem cell therapy. Pro athletes have been looking to stem cell therapy regularly for years now with extremely positive results Pro Athletes and Stem Cells. Most of our stem cell patients have had an almost immediate marked decrease in inflammation, pain and freedom of movement. Many of our chronic joint pain patients have experienced incredible progress and dramatic improvement in quality of life in their ability to increase activity.

To determine if your a good candidate for stem cell therapy, call or contact us to schedule a consultation with our stem cell specialist.

All of our stem cell treatments follow the same sterile closed surgical protocol set forth by our international stem cell network CSN. The process generally entails removing a small amount of fat from the patients abdominal region through a tiny incision. We then isolate the undifferentiated cells from the adipose fat cells. The stem cells are then injected into the damaged areas of the body to initiate healing. The treatment is an out patient procedure done under local anesthetic.

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Stem Cells and Sports Injuries - Honolulu Hawaii

MushRoaming Hawai'i

(Kauai, Hawai'i - the Big Island, Oahu)

December 2008 was a good month for mushroaming Hawai'i. When we got to Kauai on Dec. 12, it had already rained every day for two weeks in Kapa'a. The rain did not stop and the sun shone once in awhile too, so fungi fruited plentiful, at least for Hawaiian condition. Hawai'i has a rather sparse funga (formerly mushroom flora) in the first place; as Don Hemmes & Dennis Desjardin stated in their very useful guide "Mushrooms of Hawai'i (2002) "what Hawai'i lacks in diversity and abundance, it makes up for in beauty and uniqueness". In this context it should be mentioned that so far no endemic ectomycorrhizal species is known, the few EM species growing in Hawai'i were all introduced with non-native tree species. Thus saprophytic species rule, making up 95% of the 300+ species recorded so far (Hemmes & Desjardin 2002). UPDATE: I heard recent research has turned up an endemic ectomycorrhizal species, but I have not seen the publication yet. I would appreciate receiving a hint regarding the reference.

Asere rubraLabill.: Fr.Starfish StinkhornorSea Anemone Fungus

The fruiting body of the Sea Anemone Fungusjust opened. The gleba, the dark brown slimy spore mass, is still in its original position and will soon spread out onto the base of the tentacles. The gleba has not developed its awesome smell, at least spoken through a fly's nose. Humans in general are less fond of this particular smell imitating rotting flesh. However flies flock to this filth and take care of spore dispersal. Daniel Winkler

The hollow stem of thisAsere rubrafits over my little finger. Daniel Winkler

One of the two eggs isfullydilated. The fruiting body extends within hours by pressurizing already developed cells with liquid.

One of Hawaii's most beautiful and intriguing mushrooms is definitelyAsere rubra, the "Starfish Stinkhorn" or "Sea Anemone Fungus". Starfish Stinkhorn indicates that it is unmistakably a member of the Stinkhorn / Phallales order named for the infamous Stinkhorn, poignantly known asPhallus impudicus.

AllAsere rubraphotos were taken at Kalalau Lookout, Koke'e State Park, Mount Wai'ale'ale, Kauai Island, Hawaii on Dec. 19, 2007, 1200 m asl (4000 ft).

This site is within 10km to the earth's most rainy site, Mount Wai'ale'ale (a.k.a. Waialeale, height 1569 m /5,148 ft). Here, on this heavily eroded dormant volcano precipitationmeasures11,700 mm (460 inches) onannual average. Photos: Daniel Winkler.

Neither Starfish nor Sea Anemone manifested yet, but they are lurking to hatch. The universal veil of this mostly buried egg is being ripped open by the fruiting body about to hedge.Asere rubrais a saprobic fungus, feeding of decaying biomass. It also grows in flower beds on mulch and in disturbed areas in general. It is common on the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical Pacific Islands. It seems to be spreading to the continental US and Europe.In 1800Asere rubrawas the first Australian fungus to be named. Daniel Winkler

Phallus multicolor(Berk. & Broome) Cooke- Yellow-veiled stinkhorn

What a unique beauty!

And it does not reek so strongly of rotting meat like many of its lovely relatives, but offers a decisive spermatic note to spice up its aroma.

Laid out on a lava rock the jelly-filled volva with its rhizoids is separated from the hollow stem of the fruiting body ofDictyophora multicolor.

The Yellow-veiled stinkhorn Phallus multicolor akaDictyophora multicolorgrowing out of needle duff of Iron wood (Casuarina equisetifolia). Most netted stinkhorns have white indusia, whileDictyophora multicolorhas a yellowish indusium (the apron / veil-like structure). Also growing in Hawai'i is the Yellow-netted stinkhorn (Ph. cinnabarinus), which has a longer veil and a cinnabar red receptacle, the tissue that is covered by the gleba.

All Phallusphotos: MacKenzie Park (seeAgaricus subrufescensbelow), Puna, Hilo, Southeast Hawaii, Jan 2, 2008. Daniel Winkler

Amanita marmorata subsp. myrtacearumO.K. Miller, Hemmes & D.Wong Marbled death cap

Amanita mormoratasurrounded by the needles of Iron wood (= Australian pine,Casuarina equisetifolia) and an old tree snail shell (Achatinellasp. ). Iron wood and Hawaiian death cap live in ectomycorrhizal symbioses. It is believed that this deadly poisonous mushroom was introduced from Australia while introducing one of its host trees such asCasuarina,Araucaria, Melaleucaor anEucalyptusspecies. Daniel Winkler.

Carved spirits are watching over two marbled death caps on a beautiful site overlooking the Pacific ocean.

AllAmanitaphotos were taken near Moloa'a Beach, Kauai Island, Hawaii on Dec. 17, 2007, 50 m asl (160 ft), All photos: Daniel Winkler.

Chlorophyllum molybdides(Meyer: Fr.) Massee- Green-Spored Shaggy Parasol

A flush ofChlorophyllum molybditesfruiting along a road near Kapa'a, Kauai, Dec. 19, 2007. Photos: Daniel Winkler.

Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii, Dec. 19, 2007. Photo: Daniel Winkler.

Sources:Vellinga, E.C. 2002. New combinations in Chlorophyllum. Mycotaxon 83: 415-417. Vellinga, E.C. 2003. Type studies in Agaricaceae the complex ofChlorophyllum rachodes. Mycotaxon85: 259-270.

A group of Green-spored shaggy parasols in fruiting between a flower bed and the lawn. Jan. 6, 2008. Kilua, Oahu, Hawaii Daniel Winkler

Agaricus subrufescensPeckAlmond Mushroom

Agaricus subrufescens, theAlmond Mushroom is close relative of the Prince -Agaricus augustus, one of my absolute favorite edibles. And the almond taste is even stronger in this fungus. A. subrufescensis also saprophytic, but prefers a warmer climate thanA. augustus. Dec 29, 2007,MacKenzie Park, Southeast Hawaii Daniel Winkler

MacKenzie Park, Southeast Hawai'i ("Big Island")

Typical conditions in December 2007 in Hawaii, the skies are gray and the Pacific surf is up. Picking Almond mushrooms under these conditions is ideal. The salt sprayed made this tasty mushroom even more delicious, yummy! (I like to eat this almond mushroom and the prince raw).

Often the Almond mushroom fruits in groups. It used to be cultivated since the late 1800s on the East Coast, but somehow got forgotten in the early 20th century and replaced by the boring button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus).Dec 29, 2007, MacKenzie Park, Southeast Hawaii Daniel Winkler

Agaricus subrufescensis not just tasty, but reputed to be highly medicinal. However, the almond mushroom made it to its myco-medicinal stardom under the nameAgaricusblazeiMurrill (sensuHeinemann) and most recently asA. brasiliensisWasser et al.

Agaricus rotalisK.R.Peterson, Desjardin & Hemmes

ThisAgaricus rotalisis a newly described species from Hawaii. It was growing in leaves under a banana in Moloa'a, Kauai.Agaricus rotalisstains yellow at the stem base (not pictured) and smells of phenol, two good indications that digestive problems will follow consumption for the ones who were not deterred by its chemical smell. Andy's backyard in Moloa'a, Kauai. Dec. 26, 2007. Daniel Winkler

Lepista tarda(Peck) Murrill

Lepista tardaPeck, a close relative of the Blewit [Lepista / Clitocybe nuda], is reputed to be as tasty as the Blewit, but it lacks the blewit's typical orange juice concentrate smell. Since I rely on my nose for the final identification of the blewit, I did not fry these ones. This mushroom has also been described asClitocybe tardaPeck,Clitocybe sordida(Fr.: Fr.) Singer andTricholoma sordidum(Fr.) Kummer.

Dec. 23, 2007, Haena State Park, Kauai, Hawaii. Daniel Winkler

Wood Eating Fungi

Auricularia cornea(Ehrenb.: Fr.) Ehrenberg ex Endlicher Pepeiao / Wood Ear

Schizophyllum communeFr. Splitgill mushroom

Pycnoporus sanguineus(L.: Fr.) Murr.Red Polypore

Schizophyllum communeis named for its split gills. Due to its unique lengthwise split or grooved gills it is placed in its own family: Schizophyllaceae. It is globally distributed and eaten in East Asia. Also there is a fair amount of research indicating medicinal value. Dec. 22, 2007, Kapa'a, Kauai, Hawaii. Daniel Winkler

Pycnoporus sanguineusis a pan-tropical white-rot fungus that recycles lignin. It is used as a afebrifuge toreduce a high fever in traditional medecines in the Amazon. Its unique color makes identifyication easy. This picture shows the Red Polypore growing out of dead hardwood from above (right). On the left, the hymenium, the spore bearing porous underside is turned-over resting on a conk (left). Dec. 27, 2007, Kapoho near Hilo, East Hawaii, Hawaii. Daniel Winkler

The Fan Jelly,Dacryopinax spathularia(Schw.:Fr.) G.W. Martin feeds of dead wood. In China this tiny Fan Jelly is eaten just as much as its better known relativeTremella mesenterica, theWitch's Butter. The latter I had the doubtful fortune to taste in a Chinese eatery in Tibet. I found it very bland and I have no intention to pick it for the table. Dec 29, 2007, Kehena,Pahoa, East Hawaii ("Big Island") Daniel Winkler

The beautiful "Golden Scruffy" or "Golden Tuft", Cyptotrama asprata(Berkeley & M. A. Curtis) Redhead & Ginns is a small gilled wood decayer, formerly classified as aCollybia. Jan 1, 2008,MacKenzie Park, Pahoa, East Hawaii ("Big Island") Daniel Winkler

Main sources:

Desjardin, D.E.; Hemmes, D.E. 2002. Mushrooms of Hawaii: An Identification Guide, Ten Speed Press, 1-212.

Arora, D. 1986. Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. 959p.

Former webpage graphic background: Dicranopteris linearis- False staghorn fern Hawaiian:uluhe- Gleicheniaceae

Webpage first published: 2-24-2008

Last revision: 2-8-2018

Bonus non-fungal photos

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MushRoaming Hawaii | Mushroaming - Daniel Winkler's ...

The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on "unscrupulous" clinics selling unproven and potentially dangerous treatments involving stem cells.

Hundreds of clinics around the country have started selling stem cell therapies that supposedly use stem cells but have not been approved as safe and effective by the FDA, according to the agency.

"There are a small number of unscrupulous actors who have seized on the clinical promise of regenerative medicine, while exploiting the uncertainty, in order to make deceptive, and sometimes corrupt assurances to patients based on unproven and, in some cases, dangerously dubious products," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement Monday.

The FDA has taken action against clinics in California and Florida.

The agency sent a warning letter to the US Stem Cell Clinic of Sunrise, Fla., and its chief scientific officer, Kristin Comella, for "marketing stem cell products without FDA approval and significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice requirements."

The clinic is one of many around the country that claim to use stem cells derived from a person's own fat to treat a variety of conditions, including Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and lung and heart diseases, the FDA says.

The Florida clinic had been previously linked to several cases of blindness caused by attempts to use fat stem cells to treat macular degeneration.

The FDA also said it has taken "decisive action" to "prevent the use of a potentially dangerous and unproven treatment" offered by StemImmune Inc. of San Diego, Calif., and administered to patients at California Stem Cell Treatment Centers in Rancho Mirage and Beverly Hills, Calif.

As part of that action, the U.S. Marshals Service seized five vials of live vaccinia virus vaccine that is supposed to be reserved for people at high risk for smallpox but was being used as part of a stem-cell treatment for cancer, according to the FDA. "The unproven and potentially dangerous treatment was being injected intravenously and directly into patients' tumors," according to an FDA statement.

Smallpox essentially has been eradicated from the planet, but samples are kept in reserve in the U.S. and Russia, and vaccines are kept on hand as a result.

But Elliot Lander, medical director of the California Stem Cell Treatment Centers, denounced the FDA's actions in an interview with Shots.

"I think it's egregious," Lander says. "I think they made a mistake. I'm really baffled by this."

While his clinics do charge some patients for treatments that use stem cells derived from fat, Lander says, none of the cancer patients were charged and the treatments were administered as part of a carefully designed research study.

"Nobody was charged a single penny," Lander says. "We're just trying to move the field forward."

In a written statement, U.S. Stem Cell also defended its activities.

"The safety and health of our patients are our number one priority and the strict standards that we have in place follow the laws of the Food and Drug Administration," according to the statement.

"We have helped thousands of patients harness their own healing potential," the statement says. "It would be a mistake to limit these therapies from patients who need them when we are adhering to top industry standards."

But stem-cell researchers praised the FDA's actions.

"This is spectacular," says George Daley, dean of the Harvard Medical School and a leading stem-cell researcher. "This is the right thing to do."

Daley praised the FDA's promise to provide clear guidance soon for vetting legitimate stem-cell therapies while cracking down on "snake-oil salesmen" marketing unproven treatments.

Stem-cell research is "a major revolution in medicine. It's bound to ultimately deliver cures," Daley says. "But it's so early in the field," he adds. "Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous practitioners and clinics that are marketing therapies to patients, often at great expense, that haven't been proven to work and may be unsafe."

Others agreed.

"I see this is a major, positive step by the FDA," says Paul Knoepfler, a professor of cell biology at the University of of California, Davis, who has documented the proliferation of stem-cell clinics.

"I'm hoping that this signals a historic shift by the FDA to tackle the big problem of stem-cell clinics selling unapproved and sometimes dangerous stem cell "treatments" that may not be real treatments," Knoepfler says.

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FDA Cracks Down On Stem-Cell Clinics Selling Unapproved Treatments - Hawaii Public Radio-HPR2

Austin Yeargan III is on an ongoing quest to dismantle human disease.

The orthopedic sports surgeon and regenerative orthopedist is also a husband, dad and self-described motocross and surfing athlete, who likes to keep an eye on the most up-to-date techniques in his profession.

I am most excited about discovering the simplest, most natural, least invasive and most efficacious cellular- and molecular-based treatment options for patients to keep them doing what they love, Yeargan said.

At his practice, Regenerative Medicine Clinic at 5725 Oleander Drive, he uses techniques he has brought to the rapidly expanding field of regenerative medicine and orthobiologics.

Our techniques harvest, concentrate and deploy the bodys own cells for healing.Specifically, we offer patients suffering from chronic, debilitating and often immobilizing joint pain with an alternative to traditional bone and joint surgery, including total joint replacement, Yeargan said. We have developed techniques that surgeons across the country and the world have successfully duplicated, confirming the efficacy of the treatments.

His interest in this type of treatment was rooted in an early memory.

When I was 14, I was an elite-level soccer player and contest surfer, said the Raleigh native. I broke my tibia at a soccer tournament in the spring, just after receiving a new surfboard for my birthday. When the long leg cast came off in August, my knee wouldnt bend, and the limb was atrophied. Ever since then, Ive had it in the back of my mind how ridiculous it was that modern medicine couldnt make my leg heal faster or keep my knee from becoming stiff.

He was introduced to the field by the Dan Eglinton, who practiced in Asheville.Yeargan said Eglinton was the first nationally to use biologics in orthopedic surgery for hip avascular necrosis.

After receiving his science degree in chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1993, Yeargan attended the East Carolina University School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Hawaii, spending six months each at the Tripler Army Medical Center and Shriners Hospital for Children.

During his time in Hawaii, he gained additional expertise through two years of clinical and bench research, focusing on cellular and molecular level changes in thermal capsulorrhaphy and cartilage injury.

Yeargan then completed a sports medicine, adult shoulder, elbow and knee fellowship with additional hand training at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado.

During Yeargans fellowship, he worked with players on several professional sports teams, including the Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets and the U.S. ski and snowboard teams. (More recently, Yeargan has served as a team doctor for local high schools.)

When I returned to North Carolina in 2009, I was the first surgeon in the country to use a patients own stem cells in combination with shoulder surgery, and I witnessed firsthand the positive effects, Yeargan said. The results were extraordinary, and it was then that I realized that there was about to be a massive paradigm shift in medicine.

He said he didnt necessarily make a conscious decision to pursue regenerative medicine.

I just found that I had become a regenerative orthopedic surgeon. I was so excited to read and study immunology. I think this was the biggest advancement in my knowledge base, when I realized the potential for cellular technology to dismantle human disease, as we know it, he said.

In 2010, Yeargan introduced stem cell treatment to the area.

Thanks to new ultrasound technology and instrumentation, we have been able to narrow our focus to office procedures that are minimally invasive and can be done through a tiny, 2 [millimeter] incision and with little recovery time, he said.

He said that in some settings, genetic screening, nutrition counseling and lifestyle management planning may be offered.

All of our procedures are non-operative. Our flagship procedure is the mesenchymal signaling cell concentrate that involves harvest and processing of nucleated stem cells, dendritic cells, immune cells, endothelial cells and pericytes. Yeargan said.Bone marrow is taken easily and virtually painlessly from the pelvic crest with the patient seated comfortably. Once collected, the isopycnic separator produces three distinct layers that are processed in a proprietary fashion before administration at the target site.

The procedure may be just as valuable in a 14-year-old with a cartilage injury as it is to an 87-year-old grandmother with gonarthrosis who just wants pain relief, he added.

Human cells work by signaling, Yeargan said. We think of it like medicinal signaling cells. Signaling cells respond to the environment so just the right amount of substrate will be produced by the cell until ultimately being shut down by natural feedback loops, he said.

The clinic also offers another non-surgical option for patients suffering from Achilles tendonitis, tennis and golfers elbow and plantar fasciitis. The Tenex Tenotomy System addresses those conditions.

Biologics are ideal when combined with the percutaneous Tenex procedure for tendinitis and tendinosis in most locations and contribute to the effectiveness of the procedure, Yeargan said.

The clinics Proprietary Platelet Rich Plasma procedure, or PRP+, is used to treat acute injuries primarily. It can be used for pain in areas ranging from joints to the face.

MI-EYE is camera-in-needle technology that also can be performed routinely in the office. It allows full view of the joint space for diagnosis without having to undergo an MRI, and injection procedures can be performed at the same time without changing the portal, Yeargan said.

The clinic serves about 500 patients annually.

There is definitely a growing demand for regenerative therapies in orthopedics and in general, Yeargan said. Being one of the only orthopedic surgeons specializing in non-operative orthopedics and regenerative medicine in the state, my hope is not only to educate patients about regenerative medicine but also educate the local and regional medical community as to its advantages and patient benefits.

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Yeargan Uses Patients Own Cells To Heal - Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Why go to Hawaii? is not a question often asked since you may already have the answer. No one would question that Hawaii is one the most beautiful destinations on earth if not the earthly paradise. We can spend hours praising the spiritual beauty of its dance (hula) and its unique music heard over the emerald valleys and golden sands as well as the visceral power of its active volcanos with a constantly flowing river of molten red lava. Our next biennial and 33rd Hawaii Plastic Surgery Symposium is conveniently planned on Saturday and Sunday of February 17 and 18, 2018 (not 2017) to coincide with the ugly weather that prevails in most parts of the northern hemisphere where the cold, the ice and blizzard paralyze outdoor activities. So put on your imaginary lei and perhaps mix yourself a real Mai Tai and plan attending our next symposium in February 2018.

We present another great program with world-renowned speakers in 2018. We will be fortunate to have among the guest Faculty, Melvin Spira, Professor Emeritus and former Chairman of Plastic Surgery at Baylor-Houston; Mark Granick, Professor and Chair at Rutgers-NJ; Ernie Manders, Professor University of Pittsburg Med School; Dan Del Vecchio of Harvard/MGH; Angela Pratt, Professor and Chief of Ob/Gyn at University of Hawaii-Honolulu; Professor Wong C Choi of Seoul, South Korea; Frank Lista (Toronto-Canada); Maurice Nahabedian, Professor and Chairman, Georgetown University; Reza Jarrahy of UCLA; Ash Ghavami (Beverly Hills); Charles Lee, Clin. Prof. Seoul- S.Korea, and a host of other well-recognized authorities. The topics will include: what I did right and wrong as a plastic surgeon; Understanding metaphysics of Beauty; Fat Grafting; Stem Cells and their Future; Breast Implants; Rhinoplasty; Cosmetic Surgery of Genitalia; Face, Eye and Future of Transplantation; Breast Reconstruction; Gynecomastia; Patient Selection and a 2 hours course on Hormone Treatment. CME Category I pending up to 17 hours.

Registration fees: $550 for Surgeons ($500 for registrations before September 1, 2017); $200 for Allied Health; $200 for spouses; No registration fee for residents and medical students. The Registration fee includes all meals and a dinner reception on Saturday evening on February 17, 2018.

Best wishes and see you in February 2018!

Tom Kosasa, F. Don Parsa, Paul Faringer, Robert Peterson, Ash Ghavami, Tom Crabtree

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Pan Pacific Surgical Hawaii Plastic Surgery Symposium

We also offer special discounts for multiple births, military families, medical professionals and more.Please call 800.786.7235 for details. Annual Storage

Service

Annual

Service

20 Years Prepaid

(Includes initial processing fee, 1st year of storage and additional 20 years of storage)

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Down payment is due at enrollment. *Actual monthly payment will be slightly lower than what is being shown. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Add $50 to down payment for medical courier service from Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. After the first year annual storage fees will apply, $150 for cord blood and $150 for cord tissue. A monthly service fee is included in the monthly payment.

Down payment is due at enrollment. *Actual monthly payment will be slightly lower than what is being shown. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Add $50 to down payment for medical courier service from Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. After the second year annual storage fees will apply, $150 for cord blood and $150 for cord tissue. A monthly service fee is included in the monthly payment.

*Fee schedule subject to change without notice. If a client has received a kit and discontinues services prior to collection, there is no cancellation fee if the kit is returned within two weeks from cancellation notice. Additional courier service fee applies for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Applies to 1-year plan and promotional plan only. After the first year, an annual storage fee will apply. Cryo-Cell guarantees to match any written offer for product determined to be similar at Cryo-Cells sole discretion. ** Promotional Plan cannot be combined with any other promotional offers, coupons or financing.

In order to preserve more types and quantity of umbilical cord stem cells and to maximize possible future health options, Cryo-Cells umbilical cord tissue service provides expectant families with the opportunity to cryogenically store their newborns umbilical cord tissue cells contained within substantially intact cord tissue. Should umbilical cord tissue cells be considered for potential utilization in a future therapeutic application, further laboratory processing may be necessary. Regarding umbilical cord tissue, all private blood banks activities for New York State residents are limited to collection, processing, and long-term storage of umbilical cord tissue stem cells. The possession of a New York State license for such collection, processing and long-term storage does not indicate approval or endorsement of possible future uses or future suitability of these cells.

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Cord Blood Banking Cost - Cryo-Cell International