Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
Diff bw Surgical Hair Transplantaion Stem Cell Therapy - Health file
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Diff bw Surgical Hair Transplantaion & Stem Cell Therapy - Health file - Video
Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
St. Petersburg, FL (PRWEB) April 17, 2014
One of the most respected plastic surgeons in America is encouraging the FDA to move forward on approval of stem-cell based therapies inspired in part by Matthew McConaughey's recent Oscar win for the film Dallas Buyers Club. In the film, McConaughey portrayed Ron Woodroof, who fought the Food and Drug Administration over his use and distribution of unapproved but effective HIV/AIDS medications. In a letter to FDA comissioner Margaret A. Hamburg dated April 14th, Dr. Christian Drehsen of St. Petersburg claims that the story echoes current FDA treatment of stem cell therapies, of which almost none are approved for use in the United States.
Drehsen cites his extensive past experience working with stem cells, and calls on the FDA to provide more rapid approval for the procedures, which he says are safe and effective.
In the period 2009-2010, before the current regulatory embargo, Drehsen performed over 20 reconstructive and cosmetic stem-cell procedures using technology from the pioneering stem cell therapy research firm Cytori. In his letter, Drehsen writes that the results of his procedures were excellent, and hes frustrated with the limitations now in place.
Japan has approved these procedures. Much of Europe has approved them. Theyre changing peoples lives every day but not in the United States, the letter reads in part.
Stem cell therapies have myriad potential uses. Drehsen says that in his own practice at the Clinique of Plastic Surgery, their promise includes greatly improved outcomes for burn victims, patients with extensive sun exposure damage, and post-operative breast reconstruction procedures. Those therapies have been pioneered with good results in Europe and Australia, respectively.
Other treatments currently proven or under trial include treatments for traumatic hamstring injury (http://ir.cytori.com/investor-relations/News/news-details/2014/Cytori-to-Initiate-US-Clinical-Trial-of-Adipose-Derived-Regenerative-Cells-in-Hamstring-Injuries/default.aspx) and chronic heart failure (http://www.cytori.com/Innovations/ClinicalTrials/CardiovascularDisease.aspx).
Though much American resistance to stem cell research has been rooted in ethical concerns about the use of embryonic stem cells, the Cytori procedure uses Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cells, or ADRCs stem cells derived from the patients own body fat and altered for re-injection using a proprietary process. Dr. Drehsen was one of a handful of doctors in the United States to use this technology for plastic surgery before the FDA blocked its usage. This makes him one of the most experienced surgeons in the U.S. in non-embryonic stem-cell enhanced facelift procedures. Drehsens website (http://cliniqueps.com) features many examples of his past successful stem-cell procedure outcomes.
The FDA serves the vital function of ensuring patient safety. But these procedures have been proven safe," Drehsen concludes. "It should be no surprise that using a patients own tissue presents fewer risks than many alternatives. Its sad that these options have continued to be blocked by bureaucracy.
Drehsen says that much of the equipment used in his stem cell procedures now sits in storage, unused.
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St. Petersburg Surgeon Dr. Christian Drehsen Lobbies FDA to Speed Approval of Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy
Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
Two Central Pennsylvania dogs are receiving a regenerative therapy for arthritis thats unprecedented for this area and less expensive than standard surgery. Stem Cell therapy is a way to repair damaged tissue and treat injury. When dealing with dogs, veterinarians say its the future of treatments and its becoming less costly.
Gunny is a 7-year-old German Shepard. He underwent the revolutionary stem cell therapy at the Palmyra Animal Clinic. Vets say the stem cell therapy is a way to combat Gunnys arthritis in his hips. Doctors collected fatty tissue from his shoulder, processed the stem cells in the lab and injected the cells back into his hips. This happens all in one day for around $1500. Prior to this, surgery could cost around $3,000.
Dr. Calvin Clements of the Palmyra Animal Clinic says, Injected in a damaged joint or ligament, these cells will take on that characteristic and differentiate into the cartilage or tissue were dealing with and help to regenerate it.
Dr. Clements says results are noticeable in about a month. On average, animals improve 85%.
For more information, contact the Palmyra Animal Clinic at 717-838-5451.
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Stem Cell therapy on animals may be medicine of the future
Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
PALMYRA -- Gunny, an 8-year-old German shepherd, who has been suffering from painful arthritis in his hips, got a new lease on life Wednesday after receiving an injection of stem cells from his own body.
Gunny was the first of two dogs with degenerative joint disease who were treated with a new, faster and less expensive procedure at the Palmyra Animal Clinic, 920 E. Main St. The new process, which is available for dogs, cats and horses, uses stem cells taken from fatty tissue in the animals to combat osteoarthritis to improve their quality of life.
The process has been around for a decade, but with new technology, the local clinic is able to do the process in-house, in less time and at less cost. The clinic has been offering stem cell therapy since 2008.
While stem cell therapy has been commercially available for about a decade, Dr. Calvin Clements, owner of the clinic, said, "there was a several-day turnaround, multiple anesthesias, and it was considerable expense. With this technique, we have the ability to collect the cells, inject the cells and bank the cells."
The cost of the procedure is about $1,300, compared to $3,000 when sent out of house, Clements said.
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On Wednesday, Clements and his associate, Dr. Richard Hann, used the new process - known as Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Procedure - for the first time in their office with Gunny, and Hudson, an 8-year-old toy fox terrier, who has arthritis in his knees.
Clements said an animal's pain from degenerative disease is similar to humans.
"Like the pain that anyone who has advanced joint degenerative disease experiences, at first, it doesn't hurt too bad but as time progresses some are in considerable pain. It can be very severe," he said.
"We're looking to improve their joint function. Stem cell therapy has really proven itself just by the outcome that we've had in patients when we were shipping it out," Clements said. "This is more convenient. It's a faster process. It's in-house, and we know how the samples are being handled from beginning to end."
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Palmyra Animal Clinic adds new stem cell therapy to improve animals' lives
Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
Stem cell scientist Mahendra Rao, former director of the now-defunct Center For Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Photo taken in December, 2013 during a speech by Rao at the World Stem Cell Summit in San Diego.
One of the nation's top stem cell scientists has become an adviser to San Diego's Stemedica, a developer of stem cell-based therapies.
Dr. Mahendra Rao joined Stemedica's scientific and medical advisory board, and will help guide the company's strategy, said Maynard Howe, chief executive of the privately held company. Rao's career as a scientist who has also worked for companies and federal agencies makes him particularly useful, Howe said.
Rao is a medical doctor with a PhD in developmental neurobiology from CalTech. He headed the neurosciences division of the National Institute on Aging. He also led the stem cell division of Carlsbad-based Life Technologies, now a unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific. The two companies are on good terms: Life Technologies sells two kinds of stem cells made by Stemedica, used for research purposes, Howe said.
Rao was most recently founding director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, which has been shut down. Rao, who resigned at the end of March, said he was disappointed at the slow pace of funding studies with artificial embryonic stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells. Stemedica announced his appointment April 8.
Rao said Wednesday that his goal now is to advance stem cell therapies through the private sector. Stemedica drew his attention because it had developed a method of reliably generating "clinically compliant" stem cells suitable for use in therapy.
In addition, Rao said he likes that Stemedica is developing combination stem cell therapies, using a variety called mesenchymal stem cells. This variety of stem cell generates chemicals that promote short-term regrowth and seems to enhance the survival of other transplanted stem cells. For example, mesenchymal stem cells could help transplanted neural stem cells integrate into the brain.
"That's a high-risk process and it's a much more difficult road, but they seem to be willing to do that," Rao said.
He has also rejoined the board of Q Therapeutics, a Salt Lake City company developing treatments for spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. Rao is the company's scientific founder, but had to leave the company when he joined the NIH.
Stemedica and its affiliated companies are undertaking multiple clinical trials of stem cell therapies. One of the most advanced is for stroke, Howe said. See utsandiego.com/stemedicastroke1 for detailed information.
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Top stem cell scientist joins Stemedica
Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
Updated: Wednesday, April 16 2014, 06:10 PM CDT It's like a new lease on life for some pets in Lebanon County, after they got an improved type of stem cell therapy.
Gunney is an 8-year-old German Shepherd, suffering with severe hip pain. Doctor Calvin Clements is treating the dog with a new type of stem cell therapy, where cells are collected, harvested, and injected. This is all done in the Palmyra Office and all done on the same day.
This takes out the practice of shipping out the tissues and waiting days to get the cells back. In the end, it allows the animals to feel better, faster.
It will take Gunney just a few days to start feeling better, but a full month before the cells fully take. According to Doctor Calvin Clements, this therapy improves the animal's health by 85%.Palmyra vet treats dogs with stem cell therapy
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Palmyra vet treats dogs with stem cell therapy
Posted: April 16, 2014 at 4:47 pm
Jesse stem cell research speech
via YouTube Capture.
By: Jesse Rollins
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Jesse stem cell research speech - Video
Posted: April 16, 2014 at 4:47 pm
TED Talk Stem Cell Research
By: Komatsuzaki Aran
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TED Talk Stem Cell Research - Video
Posted: April 15, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Scientists have used steroids to enhance the performance of stem cells (Photo: Shutterstock)
Stem cells are highly promising for the treatment of everything from HIV to leukemia to baldness. In many cases, however, a great number of them must be used in order have a noticeable effect, which makes treatments impractical or expensive. Now, scientists at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital have found that a smaller number of stem cells can still get the job done, if they're first hopped up on steroids.
The research was conducted by Doctors Jeffrey Karp and James Ankrum, the former of whom has also helped bring us painless medical tape for newborns, worm-inspired skin grafts, porcupine quill-inspired surgical patches, and superglue for holes in the heart.
The scientists started with ordinary mesenchymal stem cells, and treated them with glucocorticoid steroids. This caused the cells to produce an increased amount of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which is an anti-inflammatory agent. Since it was noted that the cells' IDO expression was highest when they were actually being exposed to the steroids, the scientists added steroid-containing microparticles to the cells, so that they could have access to the drugs at all times.
When the 'roided-up stem cells were then introduced to inflamed immune cells, they were found to reduce inflammation twice as effectively as unmodified mesenchymal stem cells.
"Our approach enables fine tuning of cell potency and control following transplantation, which could lead to more successful cell-based therapies," said Ankrum.
A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Source: Brigham and Women's Hospital
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Scientists give stem cells a performance boost ... by putting them on steroids
Posted: April 15, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Silly putty. We always knew it would fix the world's problems. Now, a team of mechanical engineers from the University of Michigan have proven it.
Taking polydimethylsiloxane, a type of silicone used in breast implants andthe key ingredient that gives Silly Putty its viscoelasticproperties, the team built a growth system to help human embryonic stem cells develop into motor neuron cells. Studies have been carried out in the past to demonstrate that different chemical properties are required to help coax the pluripotent cells into different types of adult cells. This study focussed on the physical, however -- the scaffolding upon which that maturation process takes place.
The scaffolding was made up of these polydimethylsiloxane threads -- the tiny Silly Putty threads are referred to as "microposts" in a paper describing the technique, and an array of these makes up the membrane for the cells to thrive on. The flexible quality of the material meant that when the team produced longer threads, the membrane became softer. This allowed the cells to develop far faster than if rigid, short ones were used.
Within 23 days, motor neurons being grown were ten times bigger than those matured in the lab using the usual methods or on the stiff membranes. Moreover, the cells that were produced exhibited many of the traits of their mature counterparts, including electrical properties and chemical signalling pathways. The paper published in Nature is actually named after that signalling pathway, Hippo/YAP, which is key to controlling organ size through the regulation of cell production and dispersion.
The hope is the method can speed up research into debilitating diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) where these key cells are lost.
"For ALS, discoveries like this provide tools for modelling disease in the laboratory and for developing cell-replacement therapies," commented Eva Feldman, a professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan's School of Medicine not involved in the study. Feldman is already picking up from the team's lead, using the approach to attempt to engineer motor neuron cells from patient's own cells.
Wired.co.uk has been in touch with Feldman and will update this article if we hear more about that project's progress.
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Silly putty silicone helps stem cells mature faster
