Category Archives: Stem Cell Therapy

San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) September 11, 2014

The Stem Cell Institute, located in Panama City, Panama, will present an informational seminar about umbilical cord stem cell therapy on Saturday, September 20, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas at the La Cantera Hill Country Resort from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Stem Cell Institute Speakers include:

Neil Riordan PhD Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Clinical Trials for MS and Autism: Rationale and Clinical Protocols

Dr. Riordan is the founder of the Stem Cell Institute and Medistem Panama Inc.

Jorge Paz-Rodriguez MD Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy for Arthritis, Inflammation and Sports Injuries

Dr. Paz is the Medical Director at the Stem Cell Institute. He practiced internal medicine in the United States for over a decade before joining the Stem Cell Institute in Panama.

Special Guest Speaker:

Janet Vaughan, DDS, MS, Professional Dancer- Successful Stem Cell Therapy in Panama: A Patients Perspective

Dr. Vaughan is Board Certified in Orthodontics (Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics) and she is a Fellow in the International College of Dentistry.

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Stem Cell Institute Public Seminar on Adult Stem Cell Therapy Clinical Trials in San Antonio, Texas September 20th, 2014

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Newswise Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in partnership with ViaCyte, Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology firm specializing in regenerative medicine, have launched the first-ever human Phase I/II clinical trial of a stem cell-derived therapy for patients with Type 1 diabetes.

The trial will assess the safety and efficacy of a new investigational drug called VC-01, which was recently approved for testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The 2-year trial will involve four to six testing sites, the first being at UC San Diego, and will recruit approximately 40 study participants.

The goal, first and foremost, of this unprecedented human trial is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of various doses of VC-01 among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, said principal investigator Robert R. Henry, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at UC San Diego and chief of the Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. We will be implanting specially encapsulated stem cell-derived cells under the skin of patients where its believed they will mature into pancreatic beta cells able to produce a continuous supply of needed insulin. Previous tests in animals showed promising results. We now need to determine that this approach is safe in people.

Development and testing of VC-01 is funded, in part, by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the states stem cell agency, the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center and JDRF, the leading research and advocacy organization funding type 1 diabetes research.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a life-threatening chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow glucose to enter cells to produce energy. It is typically diagnosed during childhood or adolescence, though it can also begin in adults. Though far less common than Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin, Type 1 may affect up to 3 million Americans, according to the JDRF. Among Americans age 20 and younger, prevalence rose 23 percent between 2000 and 2009 and continues to rise. Currently, there is no cure. Standard treatment involves daily injections of insulin and rigorous management of diet and lifestyle.

Phase I/II clinical trials are designed to assess basic safety and efficacy of therapies never before tested in humans, uncovering unforeseen risks or complications. Unpredictable outcomes are possible. Such testing is essential to ensure that the new therapy is developed responsibly with appropriate management of risks that all medical treatments may present.

This is not yet a cure for diabetes, said Henry. The hope, nonetheless, is that this approach will ultimately transform the way individuals with Type 1 diabetes manage their disease by providing an alternative source of insulin-producing cells, potentially freeing them from daily insulin injections or external pumps.

This clinical trial at UC San Diego Health System was launched and supported by the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. The Center was recently created to advance leading-edge stem cell medicine and science, protect and counsel patients, and accelerate innovative stem cell research into patient diagnostics and therapy.

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Clinical Trial to Test Safety of Stem Cell-Derived Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes

Freeport, Grand Bahama (PRWEB) September 08, 2014

Adult stem cell therapy for heart disease has emerged as a new treatment alternative for those living with a poor quality of life as a result of severe coronary artery disease. Okyanos is slated to begin delivering this innovative new treatment in the next several weeks, and is now screening qualified heart disease candidates. The procedure will be performed in their newly constructed state-of-the-art Phillips catheterization lab, as announced last month.

Just 50 miles from US shore, Okyanos cardiac cell therapy is available to qualified patients with advanced stages of coronary artery disease (CAD) and congestive heart failure (CHF). The screening process consists of a thorough review of your medical history by the Okyanos Chief Medical Officer and Cardiologist, Dr. Howard Walpole, as well as consultation done in conjunction with your cardiologist. You must be able to travel as the protocol is delivered in Freeport on Grand Bahama Island.

"As a leader in cardiac cell therapy, Okyanos is very excited to bring this innovative treatment and new standard of care to patients in a near-shore, regulated jurisdiction, said Matt Feshbach, CEO and co-founder of Okyanos. Our innovative treatment will restore blood flow to the heart helping it begin the process of healing itself, thereby improving the quality of life for heart disease patients who have exhausted all other options.

Over 12 million Americans suffer from some form of heart disease costing $108.9 billion dollars annually in the US alone. Several million patients have now exhausted the currently available methods of treatment but continue to suffer daily from chronic heart disease symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and chest discomfort that can make simple activities challenging. Cardiac cell therapy stimulates the growth of new blood vessels which can lead to reduced angina and reduced re-hospitalizations resulting in an improvement in quality of life.

The Okyanos procedure is performed by prestigious US-licensed chief cardiologist, Dr. Howard Walpole. It is the first cardiac cell therapy procedure for heart failure and disease available outside of clinical trials in which the bodys own adult stem cells, derived from fat tissue, are injected directly into the damaged part of the heart via a catheter to restore blood flow and repair tissue damaged by a heart attack or disease.

The procedure begins with the extraction of a small amount of your body fat, a process done using advanced water-assisted liposuction technology. After separating the fat tissue using a European Union-approved cell processing device the Okyanos cardiologist immediately injects these cells into and around the low blood flow regions of the heart via a cathetera protocol which allows for better targeting of the cells to repair damaged heart tissue. Because the treatment is minimally invasive it requires that patients be under only moderate sedation. Post-procedural recovery consists of rest in a private suite for several hours that comfortably accommodates up to 3 family members.

Okyanos Heart Institute is scheduled to begin delivery in the next several weeks. Patients can contact Okyanos at http://www.Okyanos.com or by calling toll free at 1-855-659-2667.

About Okyanos Heart Institute: (Oh key AH nos) Based in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Okyanos Heart Institutes mission is to bring a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with coronary artery disease using cardiac stem cell therapy. Okyanos adheres to U.S. surgical center standards and is led by CEO Matt Feshbach and Chief Medical Officer Howard T. Walpole Jr., M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.C., F.A.C.A.I. Okyanos Treatment utilizes a unique blend of stem and regenerative cells derived from ones own adipose (fat) tissue. The cells, when placed into the heart via a minimally-invasive catheterization, stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. Angiogenesis facilitates blood flow in the heart and supports intake and use of oxygen (as demonstrated in rigorous clinical trials such as the PRECISE trial). The literary name Okyanos, the Greek god of the river Okeanos, symbolizes restoration of blood flow.

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Okyanos Cardiac Cell Therapy Clinic Scheduled to Open

Wichita, KS (PRWEB) September 09, 2014

Twenty-eight year-old Ryan Benton has lived with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy his entire life. In 2009, he was fortunate enough to begin receiving adult stem cell treatments at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. These treatments have had a dramatic impact on Ryan by increasing his muscle strength, enhancing his sense of well being and improving his overall outlook on life.

After receiving his first stem cell treatments, Ryan, along with his siblings Lauren and Blake, recognized that very few people knew much about adult stem cell therapy. So together, they founded Coming Together for a Cure (CTFAC) as a means to raise awareness and funds. Their ultimate goal is to afford others the same opportunity that Ryan has been fortunate enough to receive.

Our family has been extremely blessed by having the opportunity for Ryan to receive adult stem cell treatments. The treatments have given him more strength, balance, endurance and an overall better physical wellbeing. By having this opportunity we hope to share awareness of adult stem cell therapy so that other families can benefit from this advancement in medicine as we have, said Sandra Renard, Ryans mother.

The annual Coming Together for a Cure benefit has grown tremendously over the years. At this years 6th annual event on Saturday September 13th, CTFAC is anticipating its largest crowd ever, of up to 1,000 attendees.

The venue, known as The Farm, is located at 5820 N. Ridge Rd. Wichita, KS 67205. Doors open to the general public at 6:00pm. Starting at 6:30, guests will be treated to live music and entertainment from classic rock, bluegrass and country music bands. Music from Kansas native and current Nashville recording artists, Jared Daniels Band starts at 8:30. Refreshments, concessions, adult beverages and food trucks will also be on hand.

Over the past five years the annual Coming Together for a Cure benefit has raised nearly $60,000. Money raised at each CTFAC event is donated to the Aidan Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by renowned stem cell scientist, Neil Riordan, PhD. The Aidan Foundation has funded Ryans treatments since 2009 and continues to provide ongoing funding.

Ryans father George Benton said, Ryan's stem cell treatment has truly become a dream come true. This dream was made possible by our wonderful friends and family who have generously given their talents, their love, and their financial support to Ryan in his quest for a cure. This effort proves that together, we can do anything.

CTFAC Contact Information:

Email: comingtogetherforacure(at)gmail(dot)com Website: comingtogetherforacure.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/comingtogetherforacure Twitter: @CTFACbenefit

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Coming Together For A Cures 6th Annual Benefit for Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy in Wichita, Kansas On Saturday ...

The same remedy that healed journalist Julia Szabo's dog wound up saving her life.

Part of Szabo's book, "Medicine Dog: The Miraculous Cure that Healed My Best Friend and Saved My Life" (Lyon's Press, Guilford, CT, 2014; $16.47), is devoted to a black pit bull who found a sort of fountain of youth through stem cell therapy. Another portion focuses on how a similar therapy may have saved Szabo's own life.

Szabo says she purposefully intended to adopt a black pit bull from animal care and control in New York City because such a dog might otherwise never be adopted. It's true that black dogs of any breed are least likely to find homes, and dogs that resemble pit bulls aren't for everyone. Like most municipal animal control facilities, New York's is inundated with pits.

She recalls that when she first saw Sam, "He reached out his big bear-like paw, and I took it to my heart. It turned out the decision to adopt Sam was the best choice of my life." Sam was the "perfect dog," he adds, though large at 75 lbs. He was about a year old when adopted in 1996.

As the years passed, Sam became increasingly arthritic. Things got so bad that he could barely lift his leg to relieve himself. Szabo was treating Sam as her veterinarian suggested, but he continued to decline. One day, Sam collapsed on the street. Thing is - though he was about 14, aside from the arthritis, Sam was otherwise healthy.

Desperate to try anything, via Google, Szabo discovered Vet-Stem, a company that provides regenerative stem cell therapy for animals.

"It's an amazing thing," Szabo says, "While people in Europe know about this (treatment) and accept it, most Americans think embryonic stem cells (come) from aborted fetuses, but this isn't it; these stem cells are carried in belly fat. This is a case of loving fat."

Sam shortly after stem cell treatment

Under anesthesia, the animal undergoes liposuction, literally a tummy tuck. The fatty or adipose tissue is overnighted to Vet-Stem in San Diego, CA., where it's processed in a centrifuge to separate the stem cells from the fat. Then, the stem cells are placed in vials and delivered to the veterinarian on dry ice. The cells are then directly injected into the pet's arthritic joints and intravenously into the bloodstream.

"It's like the movie 'Fantastic Voyage,' where they shrink down the scientists into a tiny little capsule and go through the guy's bloodstream," says Szabo. "The stem cells naturally target places in the body that are inflamed and need an assist. In Sam's case, they went right to his inflamed joints, and it worked."

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Stem Cell Therapy Save Her Dog, And Saved Her | Steve Dale ...

Research has shown that cells called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may hold the potential to cure damaged nerves, regrow limbs and organs, and also model a patient's particular disease.

When the generation of iPSCs was first reported in 2006, efficiency was paramount because only a fraction of a percentage of reprogrammed cells successfully became cell lines. Accordingly, the stem cell field focused on reprogramming efficiency to boost the pool of cells that could be studied. However, as scientists gained an increased understanding of the reprogramming process, they realized that myriad variables, including the ratio of reprogramming factors and the reprogramming environment, can also greatly affect cell quality.

Now researchers working in the lab of Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch together with scientists from the Hebrew University have determined that the reprogramming factors themselves impact the reprogramming efficiency and the quality of the resulting cells. Their work is described in the current issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

"Postdoctoral researcher Yosef Buganim and Research Scientist Styliani Markoulaki show that a different combination of reprogramming factors may be less efficient than the original, but can produce much higher quality iPSCs," says Jaenisch, who is also a professor of biology at MIT. "And quality is a really important issue. At this point, it doesn't matter if we get one colony out of 10,000 or one out of 100,000 cells, as long as it is of high quality."

To make iPSCs, scientists expose adult cells to a cocktail of genes that are active in embryonic stem cells. iPSCs can then be pushed to differentiate into almost any other cell type, such as nerve, liver, or muscle cells. Although the original combination of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and Myc (OSKM) efficiently reprograms cells, a relatively high percentage of the resulting cells have serious genomic aberrations, including aneuploidy, and trisomy 8, which make them unsuitable for use in clinical research.

Using bioinformatic analysis of a network of 48 genes key to the reprogramming process, Buganim and Markoulaki designed a new combination of genes, Sall4, Nanog, Esrrb, and Lin28 (SNEL). Roughly 80% of SNEL colonies made from mouse cells were of high quality and passed the most stringent pluripotency test currently available, the tetraploid complementation assay. By comparison, only 20-30% of high quality OSKM passed the same test. Buganim hypothesizes that SNEL reprograms cells better because, unlike OSKM, the cocktail does not rely on a potent oncogene like Myc, which may be causing some of the genetic problems. More importantly, the cocktail does not rely on the potent key master regulators Oct4 and Sox2 that might abnormally activate some regions in the adult cell genome.

To better understand why some reprogrammed cells are of high quality while others fall short, Buganim and Markoulaki analyzed SNEL colonies down to the genetic and epigenetic level. On their DNA, SNEL cells have deposits of the histone protein H2AX in locations very similar to those in ESCs, and the position of H2AX seems to predict the quality of the cell. The researchers believe this characteristic could be used to quickly screen for high quality colonies.

But for all of its promise, the current version of SNEL seems unable to reprogram human cells, which are generally more difficult to manipulate than mouse cells.

"We know that SNEL is not the ideal combination of factors," says Buganim, who is currently a Principal Investigator at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "This work is only a proof of principle that says we must find this ideal combination. SNEL is an example that shows if you use bioinformatics tools you can get better quality. Now we should be able to find the optimal combination and try it in human cells to see if it works."

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Therapy-Grade Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells can be ...

La Jolla, CA (PRWEB) September 03, 2014

A new study, published on Aug. 8th, 2014 in Stem Cells Translational Medicine, has shown the positive effect stem cell therapy has had on a group of patients only 6 months after their treatment. Researchers observed significant improvements in disease-related complications in each of the 5 patients included in the study. Post-treatment brain scans of each patient revealed that stroke-related damage was reduced over time. Further, at six-month follow-ups patients demonstrated improvements in standard measures of stroke-related disability and impairment.

Researchers are being cautiously optimistic when considering these results. Similar improvements are often seen in stroke patients as part of the normal recovery process and state that more thorough studies will need to be completed. Nonetheless, the findings are absolutely astounding as the five patients included in this study suffered severe strokes. Four out of five of the patients had the most serious type of stroke. Normally only 4% of these patients survive and are able to live independently after six months of a stroke occurrence.

Clinical studies for stem cell treatment are currently being offered by StemGenex to patients diagnosed with Stroke and other degenerative neurological diseases. Innovation is truly a driving force for StemGenex. Stroke Patients who receive stem cell treatment through StemGenex receive multiple therapeutic modalities they simply cannot find elsewhere under one roof, said Jeremiah McDole, Director of Scientific Research and Development at StemGenex. Offering targeted therapies that deliver stem cells past the blood brain barrier is essential to providing effective treatment for patients with neurological disorders.

StemGenex takes a unique approach of compassion and empowerment while providing access to the latest stem cell therapies for degenerative neurological diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons Alzheimers disease, and others. Rita Alexander, founder of StemGenex and the companys first stem cell patient, insists that all patients be treated like they are one of our loved ones. Hope, compassion, and the relentless pursuit for an end to these diseases are the primary focus.

To find out more about stem cell therapy, contact StemGenex either by phone at (800) 609-7795 or email Contact@stemgenex.com

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Latest Study on Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promising Signs of Recovery for Stroke Patients and Support for StemGenex ...