Signs are good for Sophie after pioneering stem cell treatment

ONE DAY AT A TIME: Sophie Edwards, who suffers from a rare form of leukaemia, is progressing well after undergoing pioneering treatment.

A GIRL diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia is progressing well after undergoing pioneering stem cell treatment after an earlier bone marrow transplant failed.

Sophie Edwards's family say they are taking one day at a time after the eight-year-old underwent the stem cell treatment three months ago.

Her mother, Emma Edwards, of Newsome, Huddersfield, said last night: "She is a lot better."

After her bone marrow transplant failed earlier this year, Mrs Edwards and her husband, Andrew, know only too well that Sophie's condition can suddenly change but so far all the signs are good.

Three months ago Sophie underwent a type of stem cell treatment that was the first of its kind in Leeds. Doctors used part of the original bone marrow left over from the previous transplant, but as Sophie was so ill there wasn't time for it to be treated, so instead it was transplanted unprepared and chemotherapy used to get rid of the cells she didn't need.

The original transplant took place at St James's Hospital, in Leeds, in October, but she rejected the transplant in January.

Sophie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in February last year. Doctors then found Sophie was suffering from leukaemia with Philadelphia chromosome, which occurs in chronic leukaemia cases.

Source:  www.yorkshirepost.co.uk  27 May 2009

Adult stem cells cure child of sickle cell anemia

Research using adult stem cells has saved the life of a Texas boy suffering from sickle cell anemia.

 

Dallas-area residents Joe and Darlene Davis welcomed the news of a pregnancy and later the birth of their first son. Texas Alliance for Life recorded an interview with the couple.
 
"I was very excited to find that I had a son -- but finding out that he had sickle cell anemia, as a nurse I knew there was going to be a lot of problems associated with that disease," Joe said.
 
"The child can have strokes," Darlene also noted. "It can stunt his growth and damage some organs, and the child can die at an early age -- age 15 maybe or earlier."
 
Stem cell therapy was the key, and when the Davises received news of a new pregnancy and the birth of another son, they were elated because stem cells from the new baby's umbilical cord could be used to help their ailing firstborn.
 
"[Cells from] Isaac's umbilical cord blood, adult stem cells, [were] going to save my son's life, and that adult stem cell got my son cured today. He is healed," Darlene adds. "What I'm talking about is no more sickle cell, no more running to the hospital, no more fevers, no more blood transfusion. He's a healthy child today."
 
Research shows adult stem cells are now being used to treat well over 70 diseases and medical conditions, while research using embryonic stem cells -- which requires killing of a human embryo -- has produced no results.

Source: www.onenewsnow.com 28 May 2009

Great site - Cordblood America

Found this link - a good umbilical cord blood site.  

Has a good video in simple language of the benefits of storing cord blood in a blood bank.  Click onto the lick below for some interesting insights!

http://www.cordblood-america.com/

Contact lens stem cell sight aid

The treatment used stem cells from the patients' eyes Scientists have used stem cells grown onto contact lenses to improve the sight of people with cornea damage. The treatment was given to three patients by a team from Australia's University of New South Wales. All saw improvements within weeks. They used the patients' own stem cells in the treatment, detailed in the journal Transplantation, and a type of lens already used after eye surgery. UK experts said the small-scale study was promising.  This small-scale study reveals promising outcomes with the use of contact lenses  Sonal Rughani, RNIB The cornea is the transparent layer that covers the eye - but it can lose transparency, damaging sight. In the most serious cases, people can need cornea grafts or transplants. Corneal disease can be caused by genetic disorders, surgery, burns, infections or chemotherapy. In this study, all three patients had damage to the epithelium - the layer of cells covering the front of the cornea. Eye cells The researchers in this study used limbal stem cells - found within the eye. Stem cells are "master cells", which have the power to transform themselves into other cell types. The cells can be taken from any healthy part of the eye and, because they are from the patient's own body, the transplant will not be rejected. They removed small samples of stem cells from the eyes of the three patients - two men and a woman - and grew them on contact lenses. The patients then wore the lenses for 10 days. During that period, the stem cells moved off the lenses and onto the damaged corneas. The patients were followed up for between eight and 13 months. 'Step forward' The researchers, led by Dr Nick di Girolamo, said each person's sight improved significantly within weeks of the procedure, and that it was a simple inexpensive technique which required a minimal hospital stay. Professor Kuldip Sidhu, director of the Stem Cell Lab and Chair of Stem Cell Biology at the University of New South Wales, who was not directly involved in the work, said: "This study is a step forward towards developing regenerative medicine with stem cells for other debilitating human diseases. And Loane Skene, professor of law at the University of Melbourne and former Deputy Chair of the Lockhart Committee on human cloning and embryo research, said: "Provided that patients are told that the new procedure is experimental and possible risks are not yet known, and they then consent to have it, this use of a patient's own stem cells is no more ethically contentious than a skin transplant" Sonal Rughani, of the RNIB, said: "This small-scale study reveals promising outcomes with the use of contact lenses. "We await further developments of this innovative nature." Source: BBC News 28 May 2009

Sight restored with stem cell contact lenses

PETER CAVE: Medical researchers at the University of New South Wales are claiming success in curing partial blindness by coating contact lenses with stem cells. The patients with diseased corneas wore the lenses coated with their own stem cells and after about a month their corneas had regrown.

The scientists say that in the future the technique may be used to help people blinded by other causes.

Meredith Griffiths reports.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: One of the main causes of blindness around the world is diseases affecting the cornea. That's the thin clear barrier at the front of the eye and if it gets diseased, scratched, scarred or burned, light can't make it through to the retina.

The World Health Organization says that every year corneal disease could be responsible for one-and-a-half-million people losing sight in one of their eyes. But now researchers in Sydney have found a way to overcome that for some patients.

Dr Nick Di Girolamo is a medical scientist at the University of New South Wales.

NICK DI GIROLAMO: The cornea is the window to the eye so any abnormal cells that are growing on top of a healthy cornea would preclude or would distort vision. 

We've gone from patients that have only been able to count fingers, you know, at a close distance in front of their eye so to speak, to being able to read letters on a standard visual chart. 

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: The three patients in question were legally blind in one eye. The scientists took some stem cells from their healthy eyes and cultured them inside contact lenses for 10 days. The patients then wore the contacts and after less than a month their corneas had regenerated.

Dr Nick Di Girolamo again.

NICK DI GIROLAMO: We can grow the cells on a contact lens, that was the biggest challenge, to make sure that they were healthy and remained stable on that contact lens for a period of time. And then it was just a matter of trusting that they could transfer from the contact lens surface onto the patient's ocular surface.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: He says the patients only need to wear the contact lenses for about 10 days and that the beauty of the technique is that it uses the patient's own cells.

NICK DI GIROLAMO: So we're not going to be using any immunosuppressive therapy to prevent rejection if you want; whereas most other techniques out there utilise foreign human materials or stem cells that are grown in the presence of animal products. You know there's a potential risk of foreign infectious agents in that material. 

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: Dr Di Girolamo says the plan now is to grow a whole cornea.

NICK DI GIROLAMO: We're focusing on corneal disease because of the accessibility of the cornea but it's quite possible that using a similar material to the contact lens material, you know in the future that sort of material could be used as a carrier of different stem cells such as retinal stem cells to the back of the eye.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: Do you think in years to come this will help people with other problems who are blind for other reasons?

NICK DI GIROLAMO: Oh most definitely. Certainly you know there needs to be a lot more laboratory work looking at this sort of technique for diseases in the back of the eye, like macular degeneration for example.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: Jane Ellis from Vision Australia says the study is good news for anybody with corneal problems but she says at the moment the treatment can only help people with damage to the edge of the cornea.

JANE ELLIS: The most common form of corneal problem that we see in Australia is called keratoconus which is where the cornea grows in a very odd shape. The use of stem cells to correct that will be a great breakthrough because currently the treatment is around corneal transplant and as we know, the risks around surgery to the cornea are quite high. The waiting list for corneal transplants is very high.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: Jane Ellis says the study illustrates just one of the many possibilities that stem-cell research is opening up for people who are blind or have poor vision.

PETER CAVE: Meredith Griffiths.

Source: The World Today - Thursday, 28 May , 2009

New Tech research center’s aim: healing soldiers quicker

Georgia Tech officials on Tuesday unveiled a $5 million research center aimed at finding better ways to heal combat wounds and speeding those treatments into military use.

Often, such advances lag for long periods before moving into clinical use, said Barbara Boyan, the director of the new center. Many researchers focus on study and publishing in scientific journals rather than planning to move a product to the market, she said.

The Georgia Tech Center for Advanced Bioengineering for Soldier Survivability has coupled with several medical device firms early on, giving it an edge in moving advancements into medical use, she said.

Researchers at the center, which include clinicians and consultants experienced in combat medical care, focus on the healing of wounds, broken bones and massive muscle loss.

Medical care on the battlefield largely focuses on stabilizing a soldier, such as stopping bleeding and preventing infection, Boyan said. Oftentimes that soldier can be back in the U.S. for medical care within two days.

“We can take a concept discovered in an academic setting and transfer it into helping improve their lives,” Boyan said.

The researchers currently are focusing on using a person’s own stem cells — not the controversial stem cells taken from human embryos — to enhance tissue and bone repair. They are developing a better way to deliver stem cells to an injured area, in which the cells take hold and help grow tissue and bone, she said.

The center began its research last year but only recently received full funding, officials said.

Boyan, who is also the associate dean for research at Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering, said the researchers hope their work leads to clinical trials within three years and is in use within five.

Eventually, she hopes that the advancements will be used in civilian trauma centers.

The center receives funding from the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research’s Orthopedic Trauma Research Program, the U.S. Department of Defense and from private industry.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution May 26, 2009

Adult allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a single centre experience in Malaysia

An interesting statistical piece... 

Gan GG, Zakaria Z, Sangkar JV, Haris AR, Bee PC, Chin E, Teh A.

Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

We analysed the outcome of 104 patients from a single institution who underwent allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) from their HLA-identical siblings between 1993 and 2006. 

Sixty-nine percent of patients had peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) as the stem cell source and the remaining had bone marrow (BM). 

The majority of patients are Chinese (60%) followed by Malays (24%) and Indians (14%). The median time to reach white cell counts of >1 x 10(9)/L and platelet counts of >30 x 10(9)/L was 13 and 15 days, respectively in patients who had PBSC transplantation compared with 16 and 25 days in patients who had BM transplantation, (p <>

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) of grade II to IV was observed in 34% of patients and chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) in 38% of patients. Although not statistically significant, there was a higher incidence of overall aGVHD in Indian patients (73%) compared to Chinese and Malays (57% and 56% respectively). There was no significant difference in the incidence of aGVHD and cGVHD with the source of stem cells. 

Overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) was 50% and 60% at five years respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that patients transplanted in standard risk and those who had limited cGVHD had a significant better OS, (p = 0.05 and p = 0.05). Patients who had cGVHD and transplanted in standard risk had a better DFS, (p = 0.002 and p <>

In summary, AHSCT in standard risk patients is associated with a better outcome than those transplanted in high risk and although not statistically significant, there is a higher incidence of aGVHD in Indian patients.

Interview with soap star and stem cell transplant recipient Anthony Herrera

I am honored to have been granted an interview withAs The World Turns soap star and stem cell transplant recipient, Anthony Herrera. Anthony and I first corresponded last year in regards to my upcoming book of memoirs, Survival Mode, based on my husband's battle with mantle cell lymphoma. Anthony had also written a book, The Cancer War,about his experience with the same cancer and kindly offered me the benefit of his insight.

Anthony was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, the rarest and deadliest form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, in 1997 at New York University Hospital and was told, "There is nothing we can do. You are going to die." He then went to Memorial Sloan-Kettering and received chemotherapy, total body irradiation, and an autologous stem cell transplant(using his own stem cells). After relapsing in 1998, he received an allogenic stem cell transplant (also known as a bone marrow transplant) using stem cells donated by his brother, John. He required a boost ofdonor lymphocyte infusion after transplantation, and has been in remission since 2000.

Anthony graciously granted me an interview this week. Please read more about this inspirational man, who is alive today because of the miracle of stem cell transplants.

CD: How did your allogenic stem cell transplant in 1999 make medical history?

AH: What is important to know is that chemotherapy, radiation, and a transplant using my own stem cells failed. In 1999, my battle with mantle cell lymphoma became a pioneer case. Because of my new immune system (made possible by the allogenic stem cell transplant), there has been NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE in my body for nine years.

Perhaps Dr. Giralt phrases it better:

"Herrera is one of the pioneer cases of mantle cell lymphoma - usually a lethal diagnosis. Despite having failed multiple other therapies, his case provided proof of principal that donor cells could induce long-term remission."

-Sergio Giralt, M.D. - Professor of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center

CD:  What was your brother's experience with the stem cell donation process?

AH:  Donating stem cells is only slightly more uncomfortable than giving blood. The tricky part is the drug you have to inject that causes the bone marrow to overproduce, therefore, putting baby stem cells into the blood. This can cause some bone pain, unless the dosage is carefully administered.

CD:  After your transplant, you required a boost of donor lymphocyte infusion. What did this process entail for you and John?

AH:  This is the same process as donating stem cells for the transplant.

CD:  In 2005, you testified for Senator Arlen Specter on the importance of the Federal Government's support of stem cell research. As an advocate for this cause, can you tell us how stem cell research has touched your life?

AH:  In a few words - my life is better now, than it has ever been. Bishop Desmond Tutu said, "I can honestly thank God for my cancer."

CD: What would you like the public to know about the importance of volunteering to be listed on the marrow registry?

AH: There has been tremendous progress made in the last couple of years with the success of donor transplant. You may save someone's life!

You can watch Anthony Herrera on As The World Turns when his villainous character, James Stenbeck, returns to the show once again this summer.

Source: Examiner.com 20 May 2009

Yard sale aims to raise money for stem cell treatment for infant

A yard sale to benefit Sight for Skyler will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Beautiful Bowtique, 803 Mason Drive, off Barksdale Boulevard near the front entrance to Barksdale Air Force Base, in Bossier City.

Donations to Sight for Skyler also will be accepted at Beautiful Bowtique.

Skyler Goodwin has optic nerve hypoplasia, a rare disorder that has left the infant blind, with light perception, nystagmus, septo optic dysplasia, hypothyroidism and growth hormone deficiency.

Her parents are raising money for a special stem cell treatment available only in China. The treatment uses discarded umbilical cords to reverse the condition.

Source: www.shreveporttimes.com 22 May 2009

Postdoctoral positions for Neural Stem Cells in Neurooncology and Regenerative Neurosciences, Hospital University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Postions for Postdocs in the use of Mesenchymal/Embryonic Neural Stem Cells in an animal brain/spinal cord injury model as well as the involvement of stem cells in the progression of brain tumour.

Applications with a Phd and a neuroscience background are invited for a 2-year post-doc fellowship, working with neural stem/progenitor cells and progression of medulloblastomas. The applicant should be experienced in molecular and cell biology and be experiences in doing animal brain cancer models studies. 

We are currently seeking highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellows to join our team who have extensive experience in electrophysiological recording techniques and fine dissection skills and experience in stem cell culture at the Department of Neurosciences,University Sains Malaysia Health Campus where we are focusing on animal models of sensorimotor control of spinal locomotor circuits,neural plasticity, and functional recovery after stem cells have been transplanted into the brain or spinal cord after injury.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in neuroscience, physiology or bioengineering or other related sciences with an academic record of scientific excellence, independent research, and a strong interest in an interdisciplinary approach with experience in stem cell culture,brain/spinal cord electrophysiology (in vivo and in vitro) recording and electromyography studies.

Applicants should submit a curriculum vita, list of publications, and e-mail address and telephone of 3 references who can attest to your lab skills.

Contact: 
Prof Jafri Malin Abdullah MD, Ph.D. 
Professor of Neurosciences and Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, 
Department of Neurosciences,
School Of Medical Sciences/Hospital University Sains Malaysia,
Jalan Sultanah Zainab 2,
Kubang Kerian,Kota Bharu,
Kelantan,16150,MALAYSIA

Tel:+6097664240 Fax:+6097648613

Scientists turn embryonic stem cell into heart cell

An older news on stem cell development in Canada but still interesting to read today...

Canadian scientists have discovered how to turn an embryonic stem cell into a so-called "master" heart cell that can then turn into an "endless supply" of three different cell types found in a human heart, according to an online edition of the journal Nature posted on Wednesday.

The hope is that this breakthrough will lead to the creation of heart tissue that could repair hearts damaged by disease or heart attacks.

Embryonic stem cells are able to turn into any kind of cell in the human body. With this research, scientists were able to devise the right cocktail of growth factors and molecules to turn the master heart cell into three types of heart cells: muscle cells that pump blood, cells that form blood vessels and cells that create the lining of blood vessels.

"We're telling them in the best way we can to go down a pathway, and that pathway is towards a functioning heart cell," said study author Gordon Keller of Toronto's McEwan Center for Regenerative Medicine.

Keller noted that since the process was rather quick, and the stem cells became heart cells in about 14 days, it could have a big impact in the field of heart research.

The cells could be used to study the effectiveness of new drugs, Keller said. As well, researchers could determine if sheets of these cells could be used to repair large areas of a damaged heart.

Keller said that the next step is to try this particular recipe with skin cells. This could eliminate the problem of tissue rejection if heart cells were created by a person's own skin cells. As well, it circumvents the ethical controversy of using embryonic stem cells.

Source:  Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2008

Stem cell surgery for cancer patient in Shanghai

A 21-year-old leukemia patient underwent pioneering surgery in a Shanghai hospital Wednesday, when doctors transfused 30 milliliters of umbilical-cord blood donated by a Shanghai cord bank. Today they will transplant a batch of his father's stem cells, which are an imperfect match.

This combination of umbilical-cord blood and half-matched stem cells can offer lifesaving transplant opportunities to many more patients than traditional methods, which require a perfect match between patient and donor, said doctors from Shanghai No. 1 People's Hospital.

It will be a month before results of the transplant are determined.

About 40,000 to 50,000 people on China's mainland are diagnosed with leukemia every year - alf of them children. Only about 1,000 are able to receive a stem-cell transplant because of the difficulty of finding a matching donor.

The chances of finding a perfectly matched donor are as little as one in 100,000, when direct blood-relatives are not available. The possibility of an exact match is one in four between immediate relatives.

The chances of finding a donor of umbilical-cord blood is 50 to 100 times higher because this sort of transfusion is less prone to rejection. However, one unit of umbilical-cord blood is usually not enough to treat an adult patient.

Stem cells, from which all other cells in the body grow, are found in umbilical-cord blood, bone marrow and peripheral blood. With this new procedure, umbilical-cord blood is used to reduce the chance of the body rejecting half-matched stem cells.

"Without a perfectly matched donor, the recipient will develop severer rejection and could die," said Chen Liyun, a Shanghai Cord Bank official. "In cord blood, there's a special type of cell that can curb rejection. The method uses this kind of cell to control rejection."

Medical experts said hospitals in Beijing were the first in the nation to begin the practice four or five years ago.

The new transplant method offers options to patients who previously had none.

Dr Chen Jing from Shanghai Children's Medical Center said the technology is still new in clinical practice and there hasn't been a lot of data collected to confirm its effects.

"However, it is a solution for some patients who can't find a perfectly matched donor," Chen Jing said.

Source: Shanghai Daily April 9, 2009

New stem cell method

Researchers have developed a new way to make embryonic-like stem cells by soaking them in genetically engineered proteins, a new step toward using ordinary cells to treat disease.

An international team led by the Scripps Research Institute in California said it is the safest method yet found to transform ordinary skin cells into what are called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells.

They reported their finding, made using mouse cells, in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
They have also formed a corporate alliance to sell their technology to other researchers who want to make and work with the cells.

“Scientists have been dreaming about this for years,” said Sheng Ding of Scripps, who led the research.

Stem cells are the body’s master cells, providing a renewable source of brain, bone, muscle, blood and other cells. These cells make up days-old embryos and in the first few days after conception each one can give rise to all of the cells and tissues in the body.
These embryonic stem cells are sought after and studied by scientists who hope to understand and harness their powers to transform medicine by providing transplants to treat brain diseases, injuries, cancer and perhaps as a source of new organs.

Several teams have been working to find ways to simply make ordinary cells behave like embryonic stem cells — bypassing the need to get them from embryos, a painstaking process that some people also find morally objectionable.

   Source: Keralaonline 26 May 2009

Enns applauds vote for adult stem cell research

State Rep. John Enns had praise Tuesday for members of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust board of directors for their vote to provide money for adult stem cell research.

A total of $5.5 million from the trust will be given for adult stem cell research.

The board voted Monday to make the contributions after hearing presentations about such research ongoing in Oklahoma. Under the plan, the board will give $500,000 for a yearlong planning phase to determine how the money should be distributed, then award $1 million in grants each year for five years.

“After conducting a legislative study last year, it became apparent that the state’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund was one of the best sources to fund adult stem cell research,” said Enns, R-Enid. “I have worked with the board this year and was very pleased they are now willing to dedicate dollars to this very worthy research.”

Enns was author House Joint Resolution 1035, which would let the voters amend the Oklahoma Constitution to specify 10 percent of the interest earnings on the tobacco trust fund to be used for adult stem cell research.

With the resolution in conference committee in the Legislature and the tobacco trust funds action, Enns said passage of the bill is not necessary now. His resolution will remain in conference until the 2010 legislative session.

Dr. Stephen Prescott, president of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, said adult stem cells have the potential to treat ailments including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. He said OMRF scientists are researching how to “back up” progression of adult cells, so the cells can be reprogrammed for specific uses.

Adult stem cells are not taken from embryos.

“This new funding initiative will accelerate this re-search while speeding the delivery of new treatments to Oklahomans suffering from life-threatening diseases,” Prescott said.

Researchers hope adult stem cells someday will be used to regenerate organs from only a few cells.

Dr. Courtney Houchen, a researcher at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, said some scientists also are trying to look at ways to destroy some stem cells that are involved in the spread of cancer.

“It’s an emerging opportunity in Oklahoma,” said the trust board’s chairman, Casey Killblane.

The trust is funded by money from the 1998 tobacco settlement agreement, in which big tobacco companies gave money to states, which were to use the funds to cover government costs of providing health care to people who have become sick because of tobacco use.

The $647 million Oklaho-ma has received so far has been put in the trust and uses only the earnings the trust generates. Oklahoma has placed the funds under constitutional protection and can only use them for health programs.

“By focusing on this promising research, Oklahoma could attract new businesses, create new high-paying jobs and save lives,” Enns said. “While we should not allow tobacco funds to be diverted without careful consideration, I believe this research could result in significant medical breakthroughs that improve the lives of all Oklahomans.”

Source: www.enidnews.com 19 May 2009

Manchester to become stem cells and robotics excellence centre, says report

Manchester is set to become a major business hub in the fields of stem cell research and robotics, according to a new report on the future landscape of British business produced by high street bank HSBC.

The bank’s Future of Business report said that Manchester would be one of a number of cities to benefit from a narrowing in the north/south divide which would take place as a living costs continued to rise in the south and mobile working becomes more widespread.

However, the bank did not include Manchester in a list of five so-called ‘supercities’ which will “derive their status, income and prestige from new economic income streams such as biotech, stem cell research, innovation, gaming and even alternative work practices,” according to the report’s author, Martin Raymond of The Future Laboratory. The five cities identified were Brighton, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Newcastle.

Some 59 per cent of Manchester-based businesses surveyed as part of the report said that they felt legislation and regulation posed the biggest threat to UK business’s competitiveness and 57 per cent argued that they would like to see more support for entrepreneurs.

Source: www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk 26 May 2009

Preventing Tumor Growth in Embryonic Stem Cells

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Israel have created a method that can eliminate the tumor risk of using stem cells as the cure for various diseases. According to the scientists, this development may revolutionize the field of stem cell therapy and save many lives worldwide.

Human embryonic cells are a potentially powerful tool for the treatment of various ailments that cause tissue damage, such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and heart failure. These cells are capable of differentiation to all cell types of the mature human body under certain conditions. This ability has earned them the name “pluripotent,” and turned their study into one of the most important fields of research in today's regenerative medicine.

However, there are serious dangers in the use of stem cells to replace damaged tissue. Stem cells have shown a tendency to develop into a specific kind of tumor, called teratomata, when they are implanted into mice during experiments. Teratomatas develop from pluripotent cells and consist of different tissue type elements from one or more of the three germ cell layers. It is a generally accepted opinion among medical professionals that this tumerogenic feature will manifest itself in human patients as well. Since embryonic stem cells begin their lifetime as perfectly normal cells, the abovementioned tumor development remains a puzzling feature to researchers.

A group of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have recently conducted a series of experiments trying to fully understand and solve this problem. In their latest project the team focused on analyzing the genetic basis of tumor formation originating from the human embryonic stem cells. They identified a gene, called survivin, which appears to be key to the tumorogenesis process. This gene is expressed in most cancer cells and early stage embryos, but is almost completely absent from mature human tissue.

Survivin (Credit: Protein Data Bank)

Survivin expression appears to be especially high in undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells and in their derived tumors. The research team was able to suppress the survivin activity in the embryonic stem cells as well as in the tumors, thus initiating programmed cell death (apoptosis) in those cells.

Although inhibiting survivin expression close to stem cell transplantation should minimize the risk of tumor formation, the researchers remain apprehensive. There are still major safety concerns about the use of stem cells and a combination of strategies may be needed to make the process safe and easy to use.

We at TFOT have recently brought you stories about stem cell therapy. One such story describes an alternative source of stem cells – hair follicles, discovered at the University of California, San Diego. We have also uploaded a video telling of the possibilities and principles of stem cell use in cell therapy.

Source: thefutureofthings.com 26 May 2009

Scientists discover stem cell clue to lung cancer development

Cancer Research UK scientists have revealed that stem cells become 'activated' in severely damaged lungs and help to repair them, according to a study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday).

These findings provide a crucial new insight into how lungs function on a cellular level and could help scientists devise a test to detect the early stages of lung cancer in people who are at a high risk of developing damaged lungs - such as long term smokers.

The primary role of stem cells is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found. But because stem cells are rare in comparison to normal cells, identifying exactly where they are and how they work has remained elusive.

A team of scientists from Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute and led by Professor Barry Stripp from Duke University Medical School in the US used a unique 'whole-lung' imaging method to examine and identify the location of stem cells in the lung tissue of mice, and determine the role they play in both healthy and damaged lungs.

They found that, while stem cells don't appear to be involved in the normal maintenance of healthy or moderately injured lungs, they do play a vital role in repairing severely damaged lungs.

Study author Dr Adam Giangreco, from Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute, said: "Our results suggest that tissue injury is a catalyst for stem cell activation, as we only saw stem cells working to repair this tissue after severe damage.

"Understanding how stem cells repair damaged lungs will also help us to determine the way in which these cells promote the development of lung diseases including cancer. We hope that these findings lead to improved methods for early lung cancer detection. These might include regular screening for lung stem cell activation in people with a high risk of lung damage."

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK with 38,000 people receiving a diagnosis every year. The disease is also the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for more than one in five of all cancer deaths - or 22 per cent.

The earlier lung cancer is diagnosed, the greater the chance of survival. But more than two-thirds of lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage when the disease is much more difficult to treat successfully.

Co-author Professor Fiona Watt, group leader and deputy director of Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute, said: "We believe these findings may help us explain why in the context of normal airways, faulty genes do not automatically lead to lung cancer. But when there is severe injury to the lung - caused by smoking or industrial chemicals for example - activation of stem cells carrying these gene defects could then lead to the development of lung cancer."

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "These are very interesting findings which help to improve our understanding of what goes wrong when lungs become damaged. They could also have important practical applications in terms of detecting lung cancer and improving treatments for the disease.

"Sadly, fewer than ten per cent of lung cancer patients will survival for more than five years after diagnosis, so the need to find better methods of detecting and treating the disease is crucial.

"It's also important to remember that smoking causes nine in ten cases of lung cancer so quitting is the best way to reduce the risk of developing the disease."

http://info.cancerresearchuk.org

Source: www.news-medical.net 26 May 2009