The Fountain of Youth is Closer than we Think | Dr. Robert Hariri | TEDxBedminster
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Stem cells holds in them, the secret scientific ingredients to enable humans to live younger longer....

By: TEDx Talks

Read the original:
The Fountain of Youth is Closer than we Think | Dr. Robert Hariri | TEDxBedminster - Video

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise NIBIB-funded researchers report in a recent study that they were able to use human stem cells to grow brand new nerves in a rat model of spinal cord injury. The neurons grew tens of thousands of axons that extended the entire length of the spinal cord, out from the area of injury. The procedure employs induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs, which are stem cells that can be driven to become a specific cell type -- in this case nerve cells-- to repair an experimentally damaged spinal cord. The iPSCs were made using the skin cells of an 86 year old male, demonstrating that even in an individual of advanced age, the ability of the cells to be turned into a different cell type (pluripotency) remained.

Lead author Paul Lu, Ph.D., and senior author Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD, and their team at the University of California - San Diego Center for Neural Repair, performed the experiment building on earlier work using human embryonic stem cells in a similar rat spinal cord injury model.1 The current work, described in the August 20 edition of Neuron, was performed to determine whether iPSCs could be used for spinal cord repair.2

The group is interested in using iPSCs to develop a potential repair for spinal cord injury (SCI) because with iPSCs, they can use cells taken from the person with the injury, rather than use donated cells such as human embryonic stem cells, which are foreign to the patient. This is an important advantage because it avoids any immune rejection that could occur with foreign repair cells.

In the current work, the iPSC-derived human neurons were embedded in a matrix that included a cocktail of growth factors, which was grafted onto the experimentally injured spinal cord in the rat model. After three months the researchers observed extensive axonal growth projecting from the grafted neurons, reaching long distances in both directions along the spinal cord, from the brain to the tail end of the spinal cord. The axons appeared to make connections with the existing rat neurons. Importantly, the axons extended out from the site of injury, an area with a complex combination of post-injury factors and processes going on, some of which are known to hinder neuronal growth and axon extension.

In the earlier study, Tuszynski and colleagues used human embryonic stem cells in a similar grafting experiment. In that study, axons grew out from the site of spinal cord injury and the treated animals had some restoration of ability to move affected limbs. The current study was undertaken to see if the same result could be achieved using the iPSC method to create the neurons used in the graft. While the use of iPSCs in the current study resulted in dramatic growth of the grafted neurons across the central nervous system of the rats, the treated animals did not show restoration of function in their forelimbs (hands). The researchers note that the human cells were still at a fairly early stage of development when function was tested, and that more time will likely be needed to be able to detect functional improvement.

Tuszynski went on to state, There are several important considerations that future studies will address. These include whether the extensive number of human axons make correct or incorrect connections; whether the new connections contain the appropriate chemical neurotransmitters to form functional connections; whether connections, once formed, are permanent or transient; and exactly how long it takes human cells to become mature. These considerations will determine how viable a candidate these cells might be for use in humans.

Lu, Tuszynski and their colleagues hope to identify the most promising neural stem cell type for repairing spinal cord injuries. Tuszynski emphasizes their commitment to a careful, methodical approach: Ultimately, we can only translate our animal studies into reliable human treatments by testing different neural stem cell types, carefully analyzing the results, and improving the procedure. We are encouraged, but we continue to work hard to rationally to identify the optimal cell type and procedural methods that can be safely and effectively used for human clinical trials.

1. Long-distance growth and connectivity of neural stem cells after severe spinal cord injury. Lu P, Wang Y, Graham L, McHale K, Gao M, Wu D, Brock J, Blesch A, Rosenzweig ES, Havton LA, Zheng B, Conner JM, Marsala M, Tuszynski MH. Cell. 2012 Sep 14;150(6):1264-73

See original here:
Grafted Stem Cells Display Vigorous Growth in Spinal Cord Injury Model

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 19:42 EST, 1 October 2014 | Updated: 03:09 EST, 2 October 2014

Scientists have found a possible treatment for the most common form of blindness using special stem cells found on the front surface of the eye.

Research at the University of Southampton, published in the journal PLOS ONE, showed that stem cells can be gathered from the corneal limbus.

This part of the eye is a narrow gap between the transparent cornea and white sclera.

Discovery: University of Southampton researchers hope their work will lead to new treatments for blindness

Under the correct conditions, these cells could be directed to behave like the cells needed to see light - photoreceptor cells.

The loss of photoreceptor cells causes irreversible blindness and researchers hope this discovery could lead to new treatments for conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world which affects around one in three people in the UK by the age of 75.

Professor Andrew Lotery, of the University of Southampton and a consultant ophthalmologist at Southampton General Hospital, said: 'These cells are readily accessible, and they have surprising plasticity, which makes them an attractive cell resource for future therapies.

'This would help avoid complications with rejection or contamination because the cells taken from the eye would be returned to the same patient. More research is now needed to develop this approach before these cells are used in patients.'

Read more:
Stem cells found on front surface of eye could lead to treatment for blindness

HOUSTON -

Stem cells, the body's so called "master cells," are used to treat heart disease and cancer and to grow tissue. But plants also have stem cells and they're some of the hottest ingredients in anti-aging products.

Andrea Vizcaino, 49, is trying out a new phyto-facial that comes in the form of a freeze dried serum in a vial. One of the main ingredients is stem cells from the argon tree in Morocco. She described the procedure.

"It feels warm, especially around my chin and it feels good," said Vizcaino. "Very hydrating; the skin feels moist."

Apple, echinacea and grape stem cells are already used in many skin care products, but some scientists think the argon tree cells will penetrate even deeper.

"The plant stem cells stimulate our stem cells to regenerate the skin," said skin care specialist Candy Bonura.

Allenby agrees the new products can be hydrating, but said the jury is still out about the real effectiveness of plant stem cells.

"Stem cells are kind of the buzz word right now, but we have to remember that stem cells are different in plants and different in people," Allenby said.

Bonura acknowledged these new products won't take years off your face, but many clients do see a difference.

"I see a brightening, I see a hydration, I also see the skin is more supple looking and more youthful with a glow to it," Bonura said.

See more here:
Plant stem cells may help skin look younger, healthier

In an NHS first, stem cells from babies born in Croydon will be extracted so they can be used in life saving treatments.

To make this happen Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has teamed up with Precious Cells Miracle (PCM), to collect, process and store stem cells extracted from umbilical cord blood and tissue.

Because these cells can become bone, muscle, cartilage and other types of cells there is the potential for them to be used to treat many diseases.

Under the terms of the deal PCM will provide Croydon University Hospital with the staff, technology and specialised equipment necessary to perform sterile collections of cord blood.

And expectant parents will be given the option of privately storing their stem cells with Precious Cells Group for their families own immediate use or of donating their cord blood stem cells to build up the Governments public stem cell bank.

Precious Cells Group is covering the cost of storing and extracting the stem cells, which are then made available for the benefit of the public bank and those that require a transplant.

And it will share the private storage profits.

Precious Cells Group chief executive Dr Husein Salem said: The initiative we have announced through our charitable arm, Precious Cells Miracle, aims to address the significant underfunding of UK stem cell banking and increase the number of stem cells banked from umbilical cord blood and tissue, which will contribute to the key UK target of banking 50,000 stem cells by 2016.

It is also vital that people are properly educated about the availability and benefits of stem cell banking.

Only when patients are given all possible information can they make an informed decision about how and when to bank their stem cells and the aim is that our partnership with the NHS Croydon Trust and further Trust hospitals will make a strong contribution to this process.

Excerpt from:
Stem cells to be extracted at Croydon hospital in an NHS first

And researchers were amazed to find that the cells even existed in the eyes of a 97-year-old, opening up the possibility that the treatment could work for the elderly.

These cells are readily accessible, and they have surprising plasticity, which makes them an attractive cell resource for future therapies, said Professor Andrew Lotery, of the University of Southampton and a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Southampton General Hospital led the study.

This would help avoid complications with rejection or contamination because the cells taken from the eye would be returned to the same patient.

More research is now needed to develop this approach before these cells are used in patients.

The loss of photoreceptors cells causes irreversible blindness.

Age related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the developed world which affects around one in three people in the UK by age 75.

Around 513,000 people are in the late stage of AMD and that figure is set to rise by one-third over the next decade, totalling nearly 700,000 cases by 2020.

Almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss, approximately one person in 30.

It is predicted that by 2020 the number of people with sight loss will rise to over 2,250,000. By 2050, the number of people with sight loss in the UK will double to nearly four million.

There is currently no treatment for blindness caused by the loss of photo-receptors.

See the rest here:
Hope for blind as scientists find stem cell reservoir in human eye