Category Archives: Texas Stem Cells

August 29, 2014|5:03 pm

Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina, participates in the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge."

T.D. Jakes, Perry Noble, Nick Vujicic and Jentezen Franklin were among the numerous participants of the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" that's been sweeping online social networks. The stunt was being used to raise funds to support continued research into treating and curing Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Participants of the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" record a video of themselves being doused with a bucket of ice-cold (or icy) water. Participants also state which individuals they are nominating for the challenge. If a person who is called out for the challenge fails to accept within 24 hours, they are then expected to donate $100 to an ALS organization (although some do boththe challenge and make a donation).

An example of the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" can be seen in the video below of Jakes, pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas:

As heard in the video, Jakes called out Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, comedian and actress Sheryl Underwood and E. Dewey Smith, pastor of The House of Hope Atlanta. Both Underwood and Smith have accepted the challenge.

The "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge," most affiliated with the ALS Association, has been criticizedby various parties, both for how it has been simplified by some participants as a social media trend as well as for the nature of the research involved in pursuing a cure for ALS.

The ALS Association explainsthat in its quest to "leave no stone unturned" to find effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease, that an embryotic stem cell study was its current primary fund recipient. According to onlineforlife.org, that study involves stem cells taken from a fetus aborted at eight weeks. The ALS Association, emphasizing the need for "appropriate scientific review and ethical guidelines" in stem cell research, says that it allows donors to request that their donations not be used to fund embryonic stem cell research, or any projects involving human stem cells.

In a press releasedated Aug. 29, the ALS Association revealed that it had received in the last 30 days $100.9 million in donations due to the viral nature of the ongoing "Ice Bucket Challenge." The organization raised more than 36 times as much in donations as it did in the same 30-day period last year, when it pulled in $2.8 million.

While the ALS Association is the primary organization linked to the "Ice Bucket Challenge," there are other nonprofits that fund research for treatments and a cure for the grave disease that does not involve the use of embryonic stem cells. Sen. Ted Cruz in his recorded "Ice Bucket Challenge," notes on his Facebook pagethat he personally supports John Paul II Medical Research Institute (as does Regent University) because the organization "respects human life."

Read more from the original source:
TD Jakes, Perry Noble, Nick Vujicic and Jentezen Franklin Accept ALS 'Ice Bucket Challenge,' Call Out Rick Warren, Ed ...

Researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center have developed a technique that corrects a mutation leading to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The technique, called CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, removes the mutation entirely in mice, and could have far-reaching consequences in the treatment of muscular dystrophy in people.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, DMD appears in approximately one out of every 3,500 male births in the US (but rarely appears in girls). It usually strikes before the age of six, often confining patients to a wheelchair before adolescence, with death generally before age 25.

It is a severe form of muscular dystrophy caused by a mutation in a gene called dystrophin that leads to loss of function and strength, not only in voluntary muscles such as those in the arms and legs, but also (later) in the cardiovascular system. It has no cure and existing treatments focus on improving quality of life more so than on halting the progression of the disease.

Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing to precisely remove the mutation in DNA responsible for DMD, the UT team found that the mouse's DNA repair mechanisms replace it with a normal copy of the gene. Unlike other approaches, such as exon skipping (causing cells to "skip" the mutation) and gene therapy (which delivers functional dystrophin via a harmless virus but retains the original dysfunctional copy of the gene), this new technique could potentially correct the problem at the source. In other words, it could permanently fix genetic defects, thereby promising completely functional DNA protein. This, in turn, could have a big impact on muscle regeneration over time.

"At the moment, we still need to overcome technical challenges, in particular to find better ways to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 to the target tissue and to scale up," says Dr. Eric Olson, director of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine at UT Southwestern. "But in the future we might be able to use this technique therapeutically, for example to directly target and correct the mutation in muscle stem cells and muscle fibers."

Mice injected with even just a subset of corrected cells showed progressive, widespread improvement over time, the research found. The hope is that the technique can one day be adapted for human treatment of muscular dystrophy.

"This is very important for possible clinical application of this approach in the future," Dr. Olson explains. "Skeletal muscle is the largest tissue in the human body and current gene therapy methods are only able to affect a portion of the muscle. If the corrected tissue can replace the diseased muscle, patients may get greater clinical benefit."

The research is described in a paper published in the journal Science.

Source: UT Southwestern

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New gene editing method corrects muscular dystrophy in mice

Because life is precious and human dignity needs to be respected, of course now anti-choice groups are now coming down on the Ice Bucket Challenge.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to question the unlikely philanthropic viral sensation of the summer from its gimmicky premise to the way it overshadows our own governments slashing of medical research funding but its hard to argue with the more than $13 million raised for ALS so far, or the awareness the stunt has raised for the vicious and so far incurable degenerative disease. But the story has taken a new twist as religious groups are now beginning to discourage followers from participating because ALS research at times relies on embryonic stem cells.

This week, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati specifically asked Catholic school leaders at 113 schools to immediately cease any fundraising plans connected to the challenge, because the ALS Association funds at least one study using embryonic stem cells in direct conflict with Catholic teaching. Speaking to Religion News Service Tuesday, ALS Association representative Carrie Munk said, Currently, The Association is funding one study using embryonic stem cells (ESC), and the stem cell line was established many years ago under ethical guidelines set by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); this research is funded by one specific donor, who is committed to this area of research. The project is in its final phase and will come to an end very soon. She added that donors can stipulate where their money goes and can ask that it not pay for embryonic stem cell research.

But thats still not acceptable to some. Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco explained to Cincinnati.com Thursday that We appreciate the compassion that has caused so many people to engage in this, Andriacco said. But its a well established moral principle that a good end is not enough. The means to that ends must be morally licit. The Archdiocese suggests people who want to do the challenge contribute to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute, where the research is only conducted using adult stem cells. Similarly, Father Michael Duffy, in a post for Patheos, wrote earlier this month, While I cant donate to the ALS Association, I will certainly pray for those that suffer from this disease. Ill also be on the lookout for a charity that doesnt violate the Sanctity of Human Life. And LifeNews this week warned that If you give to the ALS Association your money may end up supporting clinical trials that use aborted fetal cells. The reference is likely to a four-year-old clinical trial involving eight-week-old fetal tissue taken from a single source of spinal cord cells: cells that were extracted from fetal tissue, which was donated. The provenance of the source has not been disclosed, but the results of the FDA approved trial were reported last year as extraordinary.Fetal tissue research has existed in the U.S. for decades.Early polio research included the use of embryonic tissue. Thechickenpox, rubella, hepatitis A,shingles and one rabies vaccine all derive from fetal embryo fibroblast cells cultivated in the 1960s and Catholic leadership has wrestled with the ethics of using those vaccines.

Not all religious leaders are opposed to the Ice Bucket Challenge. Don Clemmer of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called the Cincinnati decision a local matter, and the National Catholics Bioethics Center plans to issue its own statement on the moral controversy that has arisen soon. And evangelical pastor Greg Laurieand Texas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakeshave jumped in, as has Catholic Paul Ryan.

Researchers investigating many other conditions, including Parkinsons, also have been known to use embryonic stem cells. The National Institutes of Health notes that embryonic stem cells are derived from donors and created in vitro and not derived from eggs fertilized in a womans body. And the ALS Association, while acknowledging that stem cell research raises a great deal of ethical questions also calls it a major medical breakthrough.

Medical research almost always inspires moral questions, and those questions need to be asked and debated. There are also plenty of reasons to opt out of the ice bucket challenge and choose to put ones time and money somewhere else; there are reasons to have conversations about embryonic stem cell research and fetal tissue research. But ignorance helps no one, and if youre going to take a stand on an issue, at least do your own soul searching and get the facts straight first.

Originally posted here:

The Ice Bucket Challenges stem cell controversy

Welcome

The Stem Cell Center Texas Heart Institute is dedicated to the study of adult stem cells and their role in treating diseases of the heart and the circulatory system. Through numerous clinical and preclinical studies, we have come to realize the potential of stem cells to help patients suffering from cardiovascular disease.We are actively enrolling patients in studies using stem cells for the treatment of heart failure, heart attacks, and peripheral vascular disease.

Whether you are a patient looking for information regarding our research, or a doctor hoping to learn more about stem cell therapy, we welcome you to the Stem Cell Center. Please visit our Clinical Trials page for more information about our current trials.

Emerson C. Perin, MD, PhD, FACC Director, Clinical Research for Cardiovascular Medicine Medical Director, Stem Cell Center McNair Scholar

You may contact us at:

E-mail: stemcell@texasheart.org Toll free: 1-866-924-STEM (7836) Phone: 832-355-9405 Fax: 832-355-9440

We are a network of physicians, scientists, and support staff dedicatedto studying stem cell therapy for treating heart disease. Thegoals of the Network are to complete research studies that will potentially lead to more effective treatments for patients with cardiovasculardisease, and to share knowledge quickly with the healthcare community.

Websitein Spanish (En espaol)

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The Stem Cell Center at Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's