Category Archives: Stem Cell Videos

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2012) Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who are exploring novel ways to treat serious heart problems in children, have conducted the first direct comparison of the regenerative abilities of neonatal and adult-derived human cardiac stem cells. Among their findings: cardiac stem cells (CSCs) from newborns have a three-fold ability to restore heart function to nearly normal levels compared with adult CSCs. Further, in animal models of heart attack, hearts treated with neonatal stem cells pumped stronger than those given adult cells.

The study is published in the September 11, 2012, issue of Circulation.

"The surprising finding is that the cells from neonates are extremely regenerative and perform better than adult stem cells," says the study's senor author, Sunjay Kaushal, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director, pediatric cardiac surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "We are extremely excited and hopeful that this new cell-based therapy can play an important role in the treatment of children with congenital heart disease, many of whom don't have other options."

Dr. Kaushal envisions cellular therapy as either a stand-alone therapy for children with heart failure or an adjunct to medical and surgical treatments. While surgery can provide structural relief for some patients with congenital heart disease and medicine can boost heart function up to two percent, he says cellular therapy may improve heart function even more dramatically. "We're looking at this type of therapy to improve heart function in children by 10, 12, or 15 percent. This will be a quantum leap in heart function improvement."

Heart failure in children, as in adults, has been on the rise in the past decade and the prognosis for patients hospitalized with heart failure remains poor. In contrast to adults, Dr. Kaushal says heart failure in children is typically the result of a constellation of problems: reduced cardiac blood flow; weakening and enlargement of the heart; and various congenital malformations. Recent research has shown that several types of cardiac stem cells can help the heart repair itself, essentially reversing the theory that a broken heart cannot be mended.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can become tissue- or organ-specific cells with a particular function. In a process called differentiation, cardiac stem cells may develop into rhythmically contracting muscle cells, smooth muscle cells or endothelial cells. Stem cells in the heart may also secrete growth factors conducive to forming heart muscle and keeping the muscle from dying.

To conduct the study, researchers obtained a small amount of heart tissue during normal cardiac surgery from 43 neonates and 13 adults. The cells were expanded in a growth medium yielding millions of cells. The researchers developed a consistent way to isolate and grow neonatal stem cells from as little as 20 milligrams of heart tissue. Adult and neonate stem cell activity was observed both in the laboratory and in animal models. In addition, the animal models were compared to controls that were not given the stem cells.

Dr. Kaushal says it is not clear why the neonatal stem cells performed so well. One explanation hinges on sheer numbers: there are many more stem cells in a baby's heart than in the adult heart. Another explanation: neonate-derived cells release more growth factors that trigger blood vessel development and/or preservation than adult cells.

"This research provides an important link in our quest to understand how stem cells function and how they can best be applied to cure disease and correct medical deficiencies," says E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs, University of Maryland; the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor; and dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Sometimes simple science is the best science. In this case, a basic, comparative study has revealed in stark terms the powerful regenerative qualities of neonatal cardiac stem cells, heretofore unknown."

Insights gained through this research may provide new treatment options for a life-threatening congenital heart syndrome called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Dr. Kaushal and his team will soon begin the first clinical trial in the United States to determine whether the damage to hearts of babies with HLHS can be reversed with stem cell therapy. HLHS limits the heart's ability to pump blood from the left side of the heart to the body. Current treatment options include either a heart transplant or a series of reconstructive surgical procedures. Nevertheless, only 50-60 percent of children who have had those procedures survive to age five.

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Neonatal heart stem cells may help mend kids' broken hearts

London, Sep 10:

Ladies, you may not have to depend upon painful Botox injections and expensive cosmetic surgery for long to look young.

A British firm is trialling a new natural method which involves injecting the patients own stem cells to restore skins youthful elasticity.

Researchers believe they will spur the growth of new skin cells, called fibroblasts, which make the elastic ingredient collagen which is produced in large quantities when we are young, but declines as we age, the Daily Mail reported.

The company Pharmacells, based in Glasgow, plans to begin clinical trials in 12 months, using stem cells harvested from a blood sample from the patients.

They believe the procedure could be commercially available in just three years, potentially revolutionising the market for anti-ageing treatments.

By using the bodys own cells, it is billed as a more natural approach to reducing the signs of ageing than Botox, a chemical which freezes the facial muscles to smooth wrinkles.

The company has licensed the technology to harvest a new type of stem cell called a blastomere-like stem cell (CORR) which is found circulating in the blood.

Like other types of stem cells, it is unspecialised and can develop into many other types of cell in the human body such as a liver, brain or skin cell.

The advantage of this particular one it is available in very large doses from one blood sample.

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Soon a stem cell jabs to end wrinkles

British firm is trialling new method by injecting patient's own stem cells to restore skin's youthful elasticity

By Tamara Cohen

PUBLISHED: 10:40 EST, 9 September 2012 | UPDATED: 02:12 EST, 10 September 2012

Scientists will begin clinical trials in 12 months, using stem cells harvested from a blood sample from the patients

Scientists are working on a new weapon in the war against wrinkles.

There are not many things women have not tried in the quest for a youthful complexion from lotions and potions to Botox and cosmetic surgery.

But a British firm is trialling a new method which involves injecting the patients own stem cells to restore skins youthful elasticity.

Researchers believe they will spur the growth of new skin cells, called fibroblasts, which make the elastic ingredient collagen which is produced in large quantities when we are young, but declines as we age.

The company Pharmacells, based in Glasgow, plan to begin clinical trials in 12 months, using stem cells harvested from a blood sample from the patients.

They believe the procedure could be commercially available in just three years, potentially revolutionising the market for anti-ageing treatments.

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Could this stem cell cure for wrinkles end the endless hunt for the perfect skin cream?

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After more than a decade of short-term cures to erectile dysfunction, most aimed at symptoms rather than the underlying issues of nerve damage, a new approach has emerged from adult stem cell technology developed by RNL Bio. Dr. Ji Youl Lee and the RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute (RNL SCTI) team, working at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, found in animal studies that adipose (fat) derived adult human stem cells, grown in culture, were very effective in treating cavernous nerve injury. When rats with cavernous nerve injury, the equivalent of erectile dysfunction (ED) in humans, were treated with RNL Bio's patented adult stem cells, they showed significant recovery of nerve system capacity and long-term recovery. The RNL SCTI team has significant evidence now to suggest that similar, long-term recovery is around the corner for men suffering from recurrent ED and the underlying damage to the nerves in the male reproductive system.

The study, "Therapeutic effect of adipose-derived stem cells and BDNF-immobilized PLGA membrane in a rat model of cavernous nerve injury," is published in the current issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM), among the top 10% most-cited journals in Urology,* and the Official Journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine. JSM, published by Wiley, the world's largest medical journal publisher, is a peer-reviewed journal whose mission is to publish the best new research in biomedical approaches to pathologies of human sexuality. The study was also released ahead of print as an ePub by the Editors. [PMID: 22642440: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22642440%5D

Potential therapies from adult stem cells could benefit many men who have cancer of the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and second leading cause of death in USA, and an increasingly common disease in many other nations (including Korea, where it is now the fifth most prevalent form of cancer). Among the most common treatments for prostate cancer is prostatectomy. The main cause of cavernous nerve injury is prostatectomy, and 20 to 70% patients who undergo prostatectomy experience ED, despite recent development of robotic and laparoscopic operation. Researchers searching for ways to prevent nerve injury have begun to focus on regenerating damaged nerves. So, Dr. Lee's team turned to adult stem cells. His team injected adipose-derived adult stem cells and porous membrane for releasing growth factors and regenerating nerves into rats with cavernous nerve injury. His team identified that stem cells increase the internal pressure of subjects' cavernous tissue at a statistically significant level.

Dr. Jeong-Chan Ra, president of RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute, noted that "patients' own adipose derived stem cells are expected to play a crucial role in therapy for ED in the near future, and to go beyond the limitations of current therapy, including its side effects."

* Journal Citation Reports: Thomson/Reuters, 2010/11

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A New Approach to Erectile Dysfunction? Study Shows Adult Stem Cells Offer Hope to Patients with Erectile Dysfunction ...

The ability of the body to produce this elastic material slows down with age because the number of these fibroblasts decrease.

By introducing large numbers of stem cells into the right place, we are increasing the ability of the body to produce this material. It is still in its early stages but we hope to begin phase one trials within the next 12 months.

Until recently, anyone hoping to get rid of their wrinkles had to rely on cosmetic treatments that injected synthetic collagen under the skin as a filler to remove the lines.

Botox has now become popular for cosmetic treatments, where a neurotoxin from the bacteria Clostridium botulinum is injected to immobilise the muscles that can cause wrinkles.

Fibroblast cells produce collagen and help maintain the skins structural integrity.

Pharmacells, which will be conducting its first clinical trial with a clinic in Hong Kong, uses a technique to purify an unspecialised type of cell, known as blastocyst-like stem cells, which can develop into many different types of tissues in the body.

It will be the first therapy to use this type of cell and the company also hopes to develop new techniques to treat diseases such as heart disease and osteoarthritis.

Rajiv Grover, a plastic surgeon and president elect of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said it could be five to 10 years before stem cell treatments for wrinkles were widely available.

It is an exciting prospect as the science of stem cells will influence plastic surgery and cosmetic medicine significantly in the future, he said.

There is some evidence stem cells, when injected, can improve skin quality, but until you have had studies that look at the long-term effect and the safety, you cannot be sure.

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Stem cells from blood may banish wrinkles

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Verastem, Inc., (VSTM) a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells, announced the presentation of data at theInternational Conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group being heldSeptember 11 15, 2012, inBoston, MA.

Verastemwill present data on the targeted inhibition of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) in mesothelioma. Approximately 50% of patients with mesothelioma harbor a specific genetic lesion in the gene Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), which results in the loss of the protein Merlin and increased sensitivity to FAK inhibition.

In Merlin-negative mesothelioma, we have demonstrated that the proportion of cancer stem cells increases in response to treatment with the standard of care agent pemetrexed, said Jonathan Pachter, Ph.D., Verastem Vice President and Head of Research. In striking contrast, we have found that these cancer stem cells are particularly sensitive to targeted FAK inhibition. This translational research provides valuable information for the design of our upcoming clinical trials.

The schedule for theVerastemposter presentation is as follows:

Date:Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 11:30 AM 12:30 PM (ET) Poster Title:FAK inhibitor VS-4718 preferentially attenuates cell growth of malignant mesotheliomas with NF2 mutation: role of cancer stem cells Abstract Number:407 Location:Harborview Ballroom at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston, MA Session: Novel Therapeutics

AboutVerastem, Inc.

Verastem, Inc.(VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are an underlying cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. For more information please visitwww.verastem.com.

Forward-looking statements:

This press release includes forward-looking statements about the Companys strategy, future plans and prospects, including statements regarding the development of the Companys compounds and the Companys FAK and diagnostic programs generally. The words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, predict, project, target, potential, will, would, could, should, continue, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include the risks that the preclinical testing of the Companys compounds may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, that the Company will be unable to successfully complete the clinical development of its compounds, including VS-6063 and VS-4718, that the development of the Companys compounds will take longer or cost more than planned, and that the Companys compounds will not receive regulatory approval or become commercially successful products. Other risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and in any subsequent SEC filings. The forward-looking statements contained in this presentation reflect the Companys current views with respect to future events, and the Company does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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Verastem to Present on Focal Adhesion Kinase Program at the 11th International Conference of the International ...

Collaborations set to advance Alzheimers disease and retinitis pigmentosa treatments

Irvine, Calif., September 06, 2012

UC Irvine scientists will be part of two research teams garnering CIRM Disease Team Therapy Development Awards, which are designed to accelerate collaborative translational research leading to human clinical trials. In one, Dr. Henry Klassen, an associate professor of ophthalmology in UC Irvines Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, and his collaborators at UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, received $17.3 million to cultivate therapeutically potent retinal progenitor stem cells to treat the blinding effects of retinitis pigmentosa.

In the other, StemCells, Inc. in Newark, Calif., received $20 million and will collaborate with Frank LaFerla and Mathew Blurton-Jones neurobiologists with the stem cell research center and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) to advance research using the companys proprietary purified human neural stem cells to improve memory in people with Alzheimers disease.

CIRMs support for UC Irvines efforts to advance stem cell-based treatments for a variety of diseases is extremely gratifying, said Peter Donovan, director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. Henrys work on retinitis pigmentosa and Frank and Mathews on Alzheimers disease hold great promise, and we are delighted that they have the support to see their work move toward the clinic.

Klassens objective is to introduce stem cells that rescue and reactivate damaged and dying photoreceptor rods and cones, thus reversing the course of RP even at relatively advanced stages. The current CIRM funding will allow Klassen and his collaborators to grow these cells under conditions ensuring that pharmaceutical standards are met. The resulting cells will be tested in animals for safety and to make certain that they are therapeutically potent. Then the team, which has partnered with investigators at the NIH, will seek FDA approval for the use of these cells in early clinical trials, in which a small number of patients with severe RP will be injected with cells in their worse-seeing eye and followed clinically for a specified period of time to determine the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

We believe its possible to rejuvenate a portion of inactive cones in the degenerating retina, said Klassen, whose work also has received long-standing support from the Discovery Eye Foundation. Our methods have been validated, and Im optimistic that stem cell-based treatments can help restore clinically significant vision in people going blind due to retinal degeneration. The CIRM award will further LaFerla and Blurton-Joness efforts with StemCells, Inc. to understand how human neural stem cells can treat Alzheimers disease, the leading cause of dementia in the U.S. Earlier this year, the researchers reported findings showing that neural stem cells restored memory and enhanced synaptic function in two animal models relevant to Alzheimers disease, possibly by providing growth factors that protect neurons from degeneration. With these studies establishing proof of concept, the team intends to conduct further animal studies necessary to seek FDA approval to start testing this therapeutic approach in human patients.

Our goal is to research ways to make memories last a lifetime, and were excited to investigate the potential efficacy of stem cells for Alzheimers disease, said LaFerla, the UCI MIND director and Chancellors Professor and chair of neurobiology & behavior.

CIRMs governing board gave $63 million to four institutions and companies statewide on Wednesday. The funded projects are considered critical to the institutes mission of translating basic stem cell discoveries into clinical cures. UCIs portion of the awards it shares is $5.6 million for the Alzheimers disease effort and $6 million for the RP program, bringing the campuss total CIRM funding to $96.25 million.

The two grants are the second and third CIRM Disease Team Therapy Development Awards given to Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center scientists. In July, Aileen Anderson and Brian Cummings and StemCells, Inc. received a $20 million commitment to fund the collection of data necessary to establish human clinical trials in the U.S. for cervical spinal cord injury.

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State stem cell research funding agency awards $37.3 million to aid UC Irvine efforts

Researchers have discovered a cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, according to a release from the University of California, Los Angeles. This finding promises to lead to a more profound understanding of how a healthy immune system is created and as well as how disease can cause poor immune function.

The study's senior author, Dr. Gay Crooks, was quoted as saying, " We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow, as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse bone marrow.The few studies with human tissue have mostly used umbilical cord blood, which does not reflect the immune system of post-natal life."

Understanding the process of normal blood formation in human adults is a crucial step in shedding light on what goes wrong during the process that results in leukemias, cancers of the blood. The findings were published online in the journal Nature Immunology.

"The identification of a progenitor in human bone marrow primed for full lymphoid differentiation will now permit delineation of the molecular regulation of the first stages of lymphoid commitment in human hematopoiesis," the authors wrote. "It will also allow understanding of how these processes are affected during aberrant hematopoiesis in disease states."

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Stem Cells & Immune System: "Missing Link" Found

>>UC Irvine photos

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded $63 million in CIRM Disease Team Therapy Development Awards to four research teams. UCLA's Stanley Nelson and collaborators also are recipients, for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

CIRM also granted Basic Biology IV awards to a number of UC researchers:

UC Berkeley: Robert Tjian UC Davis: Deborah Lieu UCLA: Kathrin Plath, Owen Witte UC San Diego: George Sen, Gene Yeo, Maike Sander, Ananda Goldrath, Miles Wilkinson, David Traver UC San Francisco: Jeremy Reiter, Barbara Panning, Miguel Ramalho-Santos

>>CIRM press release

IRVINE Efforts to begin human clinical trials using stem cells to treat Alzheimer's disease and retinitis pigmentosa received a $37.3 million boost from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine during its most recent round of funding on Wednesday (Sept. 5).

UC Irvine scientists will be part of two research teams garnering CIRM Disease Team Therapy Development Awards, which are designed to accelerate collaborative translational research leading to human clinical trials. In one, Dr. Henry Klassen, an associate professor of ophthalmology in UC Irvine's Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, and his collaborators at UC Santa Barbara and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, received $17.3 million to cultivate therapeutically potent retinal progenitor stem cells to treat the blinding effects of retinitis pigmentosa.

In the other, StemCells, Inc. in Newark, Calif., received $20 million and will collaborate with Frank LaFerla and Mathew Blurton-Jones neurobiologists with the stem cell research center and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) to advance research using the company's proprietary purified human neural stem cells to improve memory in people with Alzheimer's disease.

"CIRM's support for UC Irvine's efforts to advance stem cell-based treatments for a variety of diseases is extremely gratifying," said Peter Donovan, director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. "Henry's work on retinitis pigmentosa and Frank and Mathew's on Alzheimer's disease hold great promise, and we are delighted that they have the support to see their work move toward the clinic."

Klassen's objective is to introduce stem cells that rescue and reactivate damaged and dying photoreceptor rods and cones, thus reversing the course of RP even at relatively advanced stages. The current CIRM funding will allow Klassen and his collaborators to grow these cells under conditions ensuring that pharmaceutical standards are met. The resulting cells will be tested in animals for safety and to make certain that they are therapeutically potent. Then the team will seek FDA approval for the use of these cells in early clinical trials, in which a small number of patients with severe RP will be injected with cells in their worse-seeing eye and followed clinically for a specified period of time to determine the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

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CIRM's latest round of funding

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0958103/Global-Markets-for-Stem-Cells.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Biological_Therapy

INTRODUCTION

The report examines strategies employed by companies specializing in this field to meet the challenges of a competitive and fast-growing market.

REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY

Products based on stem cells do not yet form an established market, but unlike some other potential applications of bioscience, stem cell technology has already produced a number of significant products in important therapeutic areas. The potential scope of the stem cell market is now becoming clear, and it is appropriate to review the technology, see its practical applications so far, evaluate the participating companies and look to its future.

SCOPE OF REPORT

This report discusses the implications of stem cell research and commercial trends in the context of the current size and growth of the pharmaceutical market, both in global terms and analyzed by the most important national markets. The important technologies supporting stem cells are reviewed, and the nature and structure of the stem cell industry is discussed with profiles of the leading companies, including recent M&A activity. Five-year sales forecasts are provided for the national markets and the major therapeutic categories of products involved.

MARKET ANALYSES AND FORECASTS

Market figures are based on revenues at the manufacturer level and are projected at 2012-dollar value without attempting to predict the effect of inflation/deflation. Therapeutic categories quantified and forecast include cancer, CNS diseases, infections and cardiovascular. Major country markets in three regionsAmericas, Europe and Asiaare analyzed and forecast, with a summary for the rest of the world.

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Global Markets for Stem Cells