Category Archives: Stem Cell Videos

25 July 2012 Last updated at 21:04 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

The first child to have pioneering surgery to rebuild his windpipe with his own stem cells is doing well and is back in school.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, who is now 13, had the ground-breaking surgery at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2010.

Using Ciaran's own cells meant his immune system would not reject, and attack, the organ.

His surgeons said things were going well so far and that Ciaran could live the life of a normal teenager.

He was born with long-segment tracheal stenosis, which causes breathing difficulties. His lungs collapsed on the day he was born and he had major surgery to reconstruct his airways when he was six days old.

Metal tubes were used to hold his airways open, but in 2009 one caused huge amounts of bleeding when it damaged the main blood vessel coming out of the heart.

It was at this stage surgeons tried a pioneering operation. Instead of growing a new windpipe, they took a donor windpipe and stripped it of all the donor's cells. What was left was a three-dimensional web of collagen fibres which was transplanted into Ciaran.

Meanwhile, stem cells, which can become any other type of cell, from nerve to skin cells, were taken from Ciaran's bone marrow. These were then sprayed onto the newly transplanted windpipe.

The surgery had been tried once before in Spain, in 2008, on a 30-year-old woman, but Ciaran was the first child.

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Stem-cell op child 'doing well'

MOBILE, Alabama -- Adult stem cells extracted during liposuction can be used to grow healthy new small-diameter blood vessels for use in heart bypass surgery and other procedures, new research shows.

The findings were presented today at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

The reason that's important, health officials said, is because millions of cardiovascular disease patients are in need of small-diameter vessel grafts for procedures requiring blood to be routed around blocked arteries.

These liposuction-derived vessels, grown in a lab, could help solve major problems associated with grafting blood vessels from elsewhere in the body or from using artificial blood vessels that are not living tissue, said Matthias Nollert, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, in a written statement.

Now, Nollert said, "small-diameter vessel grafts carry an inherent risk of clotting, being rejected or otherwise failing to function normally."

Nollert said the engineered blood vessels have good mechanical properties and "we believe they will contract normally when exposed to hormones. They also appear to prevent the accumulation of blood platelets -- a component in blood that causes arteries to narrow."

Here's how it works:

In the study, according to the American Heart Association, adult stem cells derived from fat are turned into smooth muscle cells in a laboratory, and then "seeded" onto a very thin collagen membrane.

As the stem cells multiplied, the researchers rolled them into tubes matching the diameter of small blood vessels. In three to four weeks, they grew into usable blood vessels.

Creating blood vessels with this technique has the potential for "off-the-shelf" replacement vessels that can be used in graft procedures, Nollert said.

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Stem cells from fat used to grow blood vessels in lab, research shows

In a Tissue-Engineering First, Doctors Think the Boy's New Windpipe Could Grow

July 25, 2012 -- Ciaran Finn-Lynch is an accidental medical pioneer. With his life in danger, doctors used the 13-year-old's own stem cells to grow him a new windpipe, and they did it inside his body -- a feat that's never been accomplished before.

"It's a really heroic story," says Harald C. Ott, MD, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "They really saved this kid's life."

Ott worked out some of the science that made the procedure possible but was not directly involved in Ciaran's treatment.

Two years after the surgery, doctors say Ciaran (pronounced KEER-an) is living the life of a normal teen. He's grown more than 4 inches and gone back to school. Best of all, he has no need for an expensive and complicated regimen of anti-rejection drugs.

What doctors are learning from his case could help thousands of children born each year with life-threatening birth defects.

Ciaran was born with a windpipe so small and deformed that it caused his lungs to collapse.

Doctors managed to hold his airway open using metal tubes. But eventually the tubes eroded into his aorta, the large vessel that carries blood out of the heart. He was rushed to the hospital with massive bleeding. Twice.

The second time, the bleeding stopped on its own. That gave his doctors a small window of time to look for other options.

Two years earlier, scientists had devised a new way to create organs using a patient's own stem cells. Though the technique had only been tried in adults, they thought the same method might work for Ciaran.

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Doctors Report Historic Transplant in Child

Study Highlights :

NEW ORLEANS, July 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adult stem cells extracted during liposuction can be used to grow healthy new small-diameter blood vessels for use in heart bypass surgery and other procedures, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions.

Millions of cardiovascular disease patients are in need of small-diameter vessel grafts for procedures requiring blood to be routed around blocked arteries.

These liposuction-derived vessels, grown in a lab, could help solve major problems associated with grafting blood vessels from elsewhere in the body or from using artificial blood vessels that are not living tissue, said Matthias Nollert, Ph.D., the lead author of the study and associate professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, in Norman, Okla.

"Current small-diameter vessel grafts carry an inherent risk of clotting, being rejected or otherwise failing to function normally," Nollert said. "Our engineered blood vessels have good mechanical properties and we believe they will contract normally when exposed to hormones. They also appear to prevent the accumulation of blood platelets -- a component in blood that causes arteries to narrow."

In this study, adult stem cells derived from fat are turned into smooth muscle cells in the laboratory, and then "seeded" onto a very thin collagen membrane. As the stem cells multiplied, the researchers rolled them into tubes matching the diameter of small blood vessels. In three to four weeks, they grew into usable blood vessels.

Creating blood vessels with this technique has the potential for "off-the-shelf" replacement vessels that can be used in graft procedures, Nollert said.

The researchers hope to have a working prototype to test in animals within six months.

Co-authors are Jaclyn A. Brennan, M.S., and Julien H. Arrizabalaga, B.S. Author disclosures are on the abstract. Funding for this study was provided by the American Heart Association.

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Adult Stem Cells From Liposuction Used to Create Blood Vessels in the Lab

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that the seventeenth patient was treated in the ongoing Phase I trial of its spinal cord neural stem cells for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). This patient is also the second to return to the trial for additional injections. In this treatment, the patient received five injections in the cervical (upper back) region of the spinal cord, in addition to the ten he had previously received in the lumbar (lower back) region, for a total of 15 injections. The final previously treated patient of this cervical cohort is expected to return to the trial in August, provided the inclusion requirements continue to be met. This ground-breaking stem cell trial is taking place at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO )

"We are pleased that this phase of the trial, in which we have been permitted by the FDA to take the unprecedented step of dosing patients for the second time, is progressing as planned," said Karl Johe, PhD, Neuralstem's Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer. "These are the first patients in the world to receive our cells in both the lumbar and cervical regions of their spinal cords, where the stem cell therapy could support both walking and breathing."

About the Trial

The Phase I trial to assess the safety of Neuralstem's spinal cord neural stem cells and intraspinal transplantation method in ALS patients has been underway since January 2010. The trial is designed to enroll up to 18 patients. The first 12 patients were each transplanted in the lumbar (lower back) region of the spine, beginning with non-ambulatory and advancing to ambulatory cohorts.

The trial then advanced to transplantation in the cervical (upper back) region of the spine. The first cohort of three was treated in the cervical region only. The current cohort of three is receiving injections in both the cervical and lumbar regions of the spinal cord. In an amendment to the trial design, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the return of previously treated patients to this cohort. The second of these returning patients was just treated. The entire 18-patient trial concludes six months after the final surgery.

About Neuralstem

Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem is in an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.

In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia and chronic stroke. The company has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) application to the FDA for a Phase I safety trial in chronic spinal cord injury.

Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company is in a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first neurogenic small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Additional indications could include CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, and memory disorders.

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Seventeenth Patient Dosed in Neuralstem ALS Stem Cell Trial

ScienceDaily (July 25, 2012) With an eye to the future, the results will let cells be obtained in the laboratory that can be transplanted into leukemia patients with no compatible donors.

Researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) have deciphered the function executed by a protein called -catenin in generating blood tissue stem cells. These cells, also called hematopoietic, are used as a source for transplants that form part of the therapies to fight different types of leukemia. The results obtained will open the doors to produce these stem cells in the laboratory and, thus, improve the quality and quantity of these surgical procedures. This will let patients with no compatible donors be able to benefit from this discovery in the future.

The study, executed jointly with the Erasmus Medical Center Stem Cell of Rotterdam and published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, analyzed a chain of molecular reactions that are produced inside some embryonic cells and that play a role in the creation of a hematopoietic stem cells. 'Our study contributes to deciphering the code that makes a precursor cell that is only found in the embryo become a hematopoietic stem cell. In order for that to happen, the -catenin protein must be activated for a while and with a specific dosage' explains Dr Anna Bigas, head of the IMIM Stem Cells & Cancer Group and lead researcher.

This protein also plays a fundamental role in the cells that originate and maintain some types of leukemia. 'The parallelisms between normal and leukemia stem cells prove to us that the molecular pathways that regulate both populations are the same. For this reason, our work will help us understand the origin of these diseases', argues Dr Bigas.

In addition to embryonic stem cells, each of our body's organs has another type of stem cell that has the capacity to regenerate all the cells for the tissue in question. However, they are only formed in the embryonic stage and are maintained for the rest of our lives. hematopoietic stem cells are part of the blood and, when they are transplanted, they are the inception for all of this tissue's cells.

At present, transplanting these cells is dependent on the availability of compatible donors. Nonetheless, there is still a high percentage of patients with no donors and that, therefore, cannot be submitted to this procedure. The results of this article lay the foundations so that, in the future, these patients can benefit from a source of laboratory-generated hematopoietic stem cells created from compatible embryonic cells or other types of expressly transformed cells.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute).

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Key function of protein discovered for obtaining blood stem cells as source for transplants

Scientists have turned back the hands of a biological clock to rejuvenate ageing and damaged human heart cells.

Using stem cells, they reset a molecular mechanism that determines the rate at which cells age.

Although the work on human cells was confined to the laboratory, the same technique has been successfully tested in mice and pigs.

Researchers in the US managed to get new heart tissue to grow in the animals in just four weeks.

They hope the advance will lead to new treatments for heart failure, which often follows a heart attack.

'Modifying aged human cardiac cells from elderly patients adds to the cell's ability to regenerate damaged heart muscle, making stem cell engineering a viable option,' said lead scientist Dr Sadia Mohsin, from San Diego State University in California.

During heart failure the damaged heart is not strong enough to pump blood around the body efficiently, leading to rapid exhaustion.

In the laboratory studies, Dr Mohsin's team worked on heart tissue surgically removed from elderly patients.

Stem cells from the samples were treated with a growth protein called PIM-1.

The effect was to boost activity of an enzyme called telomerase, which has a direct impact on ageing.

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Breakthrough on damaged heart cells

NEW ORLEANS, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists said they modified stem cells that rejuvenated damaged and aged heart tissue in older heart failure patients.

Sadia Mohsin, a postdoctoral research scholar at San Diego State University's Heart Institute, said the finding could one day lead to new treatments for heart failure patients.

Modified human stem cells helped the signaling and structure of the heart cells, which were biopsied from elderly patients, Mohsin explained.

The researchers modified the stem cells in the laboratory with PIM-1 -- a protein that promotes cell survival and growth, Mohsin said.

Cells were rejuvenated when the modified stem cells enhanced activity of the enzyme telomerase, which elongates telomere length. Telomeres are "caps" on the ends of chromosomes that facilitate cell

replication. Aging and disease results when telomeres break off.

"There is no doubt that stem cells can be used to counter the aging process of cardiac cells caused by telomere degradation," Mohsin said in a statement.

The technique increased telomere length and activity, and increased cardiac stem cell proliferation, all vital steps in combating heart failure, Mohsin told the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences scientific sessions.

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Heart rejuvenated with modified stem cells

Human Stem Cells Found to Restore Memory

StemCells Inc. hopes a clinical trial of its proprietary stem cells in rodents will lead to a clinical trial with Alzheimer's patients.

Neurosphere: StemCells is testing neuronal stem cells, which form floating aggregates when grown in culture, as a treatment for Alzheimers disease, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions. StemCells Inc.

Last week, a California biotech company announced that its human stem cells restored memory in rodents bred to have an Alzheimer's-like conditionthe first evidence that human neural stem cells can improve memory.

The company, called StemCells, is betting that its proprietary preparation of stem cells from fetal brain tissue will take on many different roles in the central nervous system. The company and its collaborators have already shown that its stem-cell product has potential in protecting vision in diseased eyes, acting as brain support cells, or improving walking ability in rodents with spinal cord injury.

This metamorphic ability is not so surprisingthey are stem cells, after all. But experts say the quality of scientists involved in StemCells and the interesting properties of its cells sets the company apart. "They've really been steadfast in their work to get these cells into clinical trials. That is a tough road and they've done it," says Larry Goldstein, a neuronal stem-cell researcher and director of UC San Diego's stem-cell program.

The company discovered the technique to isolate these cells from brain tissue in 1999 and has since spent some $200 million improving the technology. "Now we are really in the exciting phase, because now we are looking at human clinical data, as opposed to just small animals," says StemCells CEO Martin McGlynn.

His company is not the only group bringing stem cells into the clinic. While much attention was paid to Geron's departure from the world's first embryonic stem cell trial (see "Geron Shuts Down Pioneering Stem-Cell Program"), many other groups have continued to push their non-embryonic stem-cell therapies forward for leukemia, colitis, stroke, and more. Meanwhile, Advanced Cell Technology continues its U.K.-based embryonic stem-cell therapy trials for blindness. Non-embryonic stem cells can come from a variety of sourcesbone marrow, blood, as well as donated aborted fetal tissue, as is the case with StemCells and Neuralstem, another company focused on neuronal stem cells. In recent years, scientists have also developed methods for turning normal adult cells into stem cells (so-called induced pluripotent stem cells), but their safety has yet to be tested in humans.

So while StemCells is not a lone wolf, it may well be a pack leader. One of StemCells' first human studies involved a small trial of young children with a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease called Batten disease. In 2006, the company began the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-authorized trial of human neural stem cells at Oregon Health and Science University. Through small boreholes in the skull, a neurosurgeon implanted as many as a billion neural stem cells into different locations of the brains of six Batten patients.

The trial has since suggested that the cells are safe and integrate into the brain. At first, the children received immune system-suppressing drugs to prevent their body from rejecting the cells. But after a year, that treatment was stopped. "A big question that we had, that science had, that the FDA had, was what happens to these cells when you withdraw immunosuppression?" says McGlynn.

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Human Stem Cells Found to Restore Memory

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- Imagine cooking up a new recipe for carrot cake and trying to figure out what it tastes like by feeding it to your dog. You might be able to learn something from his reactions -- Does he eat some? A lot? Does he, heaven forbid, keel over afterward? -- but you'd be pretty limited by some basic differences between you and your canine friend. Even if he could somehow tell you what he thinks, there's just no telling if cake tastes the same to a dog.

This is something like the problem faced by researchers who are trying to understand and treat devastating human brain diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's by working with mice.

The mouse brain has told us a lot about the diseases, but, in the end, it's only a stand-in for working with the real thing.

Now the real thing is here. Two groups of Parkinson's and Huntington's researchers working in 13 labs nationwide have used advanced stem-cell technology to make human brain cells from skin cells donated by patients with those diseases. The brain cells look and act like cells affected by the diseases, and they can be manipulated in a petri dish.

Working with the new cells in a petri dish is a little like taking a bite of your recipe and getting your own reaction, without the potential of making yourself sick.

It's a first for the field, says Dr. Christopher Ross, one of the Huntington's disease study's lead researchers and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

"It's going to be a tremendous opportunity to study the disease, to understand it, and particularly to develop therapeutics," he says.

Huntington's disease is inherited and caused by a defect in a single gene. The disease is progressive and fatal, causing twitching and jerking movement, dementia and brain-cell death. It affects about 30,000 people in the United States. Parkinson's, while not fatal, affects about 1 million Americans and causes progressively worsening movement problems as well as mood and sleep disruptions.

The technology that made the recent advance possible, called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, was developed about four years ago simultaneously at the University of Wisconsin and in Japan.

In short, iPSCs are adult cells (usually skin or blood cells) taken from a donor with the disease and then genetically reprogrammed, or induced, back to their most primitive state. Once they are turned into stem cells, they can be forced to develop into any cell in the human body.

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Parkinson's, Huntington's disease research makes advances with stem cells: Discoveries