Panama City, Panama
Cornea stem cell growth was demonstrated by a new technique at the Area of Cellular Therapy of the University Clinic (University of Navarra). Researchers demonstrated the efficacy of adult stem cells in this capacity.
70 rabbits, which served as test animals, were treated for diseases of the cornea using stem cells. The technique was developed by Dr. Ana Fern
The scientific community’s brief obsession with cloning experiments for stem cell research is about to end if the speculations surrounding the headlines from the June 7 journals Nature and Stem Cell are indeed the major breakthrough they seem to be. The published findings reveal that Japanese researchers have produced embryo-like stem cells from the somatic cells of mice.
“Neither eggs nor embryos are necessary. I’ve never worked with either,” said the papers author Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in an interview with the London Times. At a conference on stem cell research at the University of Manchester, Yamanaka presented his findings this week.
The cells were made to have the same qualities as a stem cell taken from a very early-stage embryo. The pluripotency was achieved by introducing four proteins which “reprogram” the nuclear DNA in mouse skin cells.
In order to renew and replace tissues in the body, stem cells are used. Thus, healing injuries and curing diseases have become a focus of researchers who are trying to develop new medical applications by using stem cells. Success in experimental treatments of Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, as well as many other conditions has been accomplished with adult stem cells. These cells are now commonly used in some forms of cancer treatment.
Stem cells found in the body are limited in the different types of tissues they can produce. Many researchers support this assessment, especially those who focus on embryonic stem cells research. The pluripotency of embryonic stem cells is an attractive characteristic.
However, the “holy grail” of stem cell research, the equivalent of “transforming lead into gold” could accurately describe the Japanese team’s findings if they are indeed accurate. The discovery of a method of creating pluripotent stem cells exactly matched to the patient without killing an embryonic human being would be one of the most significant discoveries in stem cell research.
Numerous false alarms have transpired over the years with scientists claiming to have discovered a way to work with embryonic stem cells without actually destroying or harming the embryo itself. None of the potential breakthrough’s were a true departure from harming embryos but it seems that the Japanese research team has made this leap.
When asked if whether he thought the Japanese research was another false alarm, Dr. John Shea answered that the paper appeared to present a legitimate breakthrough. Shea said he was still being cautious, but that the research could lead to an ethical solution to the embryo and cloning debate.
Shea, who is a medical ethics consultant to Canada’s pro-life lobby, Campaign Life Coalition said that, “the Japanese team has produced pluripotent embryo-like stem cells similar to blastomeres, those cells found in the earliest stages of embryonic life, but have not created embryos.”
A $2.4-million grant was awarded to two Ottawa researchers for their work in fighting the chronic and often disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord that is multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Harry Atkins and Dr. Mark Freedman will continue a closely watched clinical trial involving an experimental bone marrow stem cell transplant therapy. Their team was awarded the money by The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
Improvements in the ability to walk and see have been among the most dramatic observations of their MS research along with data on MS symptoms slowing down.
“The idea behind this clinical trial is to replace the diseased immune system with a new one derived from the patient’s own bone marrow stem cells,” said Atkins, a scientist at the Ottawa Health Research Institute, and a bone marrow transplant specialist at the Ottawa Hospital.
“First, we purify and freeze the patient’s stem cells, then we use strong chemotherapy to destroy their existing immune system,” he said. “We then transplant the purified stem cells back into the patient.”
“It takes time, but eventually these stem cells will form a completely new immune system — one that does not attack the brain and spinal cord — we hope.”
Researchers say that applying the procedure to treat autoimmune diseases such as MS is novel, but a similar procedure has been used to treat certain types of blood cancer for more than 25 years.
“We hoped that this therapy would halt or slow the progression of MS, and in the patients examined so far, it seems to have worked,” Freedman said. “In addition, some patients have experienced substantial improvements in their ability to see and walk.”
“This was unexpected, and it suggests the exciting possibility that the therapy may be contributing to some sort of repair or regeneration. With this funding, we can investigate this further.”
The knowledge gained could lead to significant improvements in the treatment of MS and other autoimmune diseases, even though the therapy is highly experimental researchers said.
Making it the most common neurological disease of young adults in Canada, between 55,000 and 75,000 Canadians have multiple sclerosis. People are typically diagnosed with MS between the ages of 15-40.
Stiffness of muscles, extreme fatigue, speech problems, loss of balance, double or blurred vision, bladder and bowel problems, or even partial or complete paralysis can be among the unpredictable and varying symptoms that a person with MS can experience.
To treat their 20-year-old son, a Monmouthshire couple is planning to use the stem cells derived from the umbilical cord blood of their expected child.
Julian and Joanna are expecting their baby in September, their soon to be newborn son is already named Rhys, and his cord blood will be a match for the 20-year-old Michael.
41-year-old Julian is the biological father of Michael. Joanna, who is 27, is Julian’s current partner. Despite Joanna not being Michael’s biological mother, the cord blood from Rhys will still be compatible.
Since the treatment is illegal in the UK, the family will travel to the United States instead.
Since the illness was diagnosed, Michael has suffered from muscle wastage and experts believe the cells could reverse the damage.
The plan is to fly stem cells to Newcastle University in Boston after they have been extracted and frozen from baby Rhys’ umbilical cord blood. Once in the Boston, the cells will be implanted into Michael’s spinal cord.
Without treatment Michael would not live to see his 21st birthday the doctors said.
The knowledge that stem cells could be used to treat motor neuron disease came to Joanna’s attention when she was researching on the internet while she was six-weeks pregnant.
She said: “Mike’s best chance is to have cells from a donor who is a close genetic match. The best he is going to get is from his own brother even though he is not born yet.”
“To get a match otherwise could take three or four years and Michael doesn’t have years, he only has months.”
“It’s a race against time but Rhys will have a DNA link. We know it’s a long shot and we are all hoping against hope.”
Julian said: “This disease is meant to affect old people. Not my young and healthy son.”
Michael suffers from extreme fatigue and is losing mobility in his hands as well as the rest of his limbs.
The Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA) say most sufferers die within two to five years of diagnosis – with half dying within 14 months.
Julian said: “When doctors first diagnosed Mike, none of us knew what it was.”
“Then when we did some research, we couldn’t get our heads round it. This disease is meant to affect old people. Not my young and healthy son.”
“It would be just amazing if little Rhys saved Michael. Rhys will be our miracle baby.”
Motor neuron disease tends to affect men slightly more than women and is most common among people aged 50 to 70. In the UK, the condition affects about 5,000 individuals.
The nerve cells which control muscle activity begin to breakdown causing the progressive disorder.
Symptoms of the disease include difficulties breathing, swallowing, and speaking, as well as the loss of mobility and muscle-wasting.
In the U.S. and Canada, motor neuron disease is being treated with stem cell therapy.
Since doctors are split on its effectiveness, it has yet to be approved by UK health authorities.
A spokeswoman for the MNDA said: “We are not for or against the treatment but it is at very early stages and not proven that it can have any effect on motor neuron disease.”
A $2.4-million grant was awarded to two Ottawa researchers for their work in fighting the chronic and often disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord that is multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Harry Atkins and Dr. Mark Freedman will continue a closely watched clinical trial involving an experimental bone marrow stem cell transplant therapy. Their team was awarded the money by The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
Improvements in the ability to walk and see have been among the most dramatic observations of their MS research along with data on MS symptoms slowing down.
“The idea behind this clinical trial is to replace the diseased immune system with a new one derived from the patient
After Chris Chandler won a celebrity golf tournament, the first thing he did was give his father-in-law, 49ers legend John Brodie, a great big hug.
Chris, the former 49ers quarterback, dedicated his American Century Celebrity Championship golf tournament victory to John, who also played quarterback for the 49ers during his time in San Francisco.
Seven years ago, Brodie suffered a near-fatal stroke. But after two stem-cell treatments in Russia, he has made remarkable improvement over the recent months, with his ability to move his right leg substantially improved and his speech less impaired. Today, he was in the gallery to watch Chris win the tournament.
“From the night it happened to where he is now, it’s a small miracle,” said Chandler, who is married to Brodie’s daughter Diane. “I’m sure there is a level of frustration that he fights every day. But I think as time goes on, he’s showing his strength as a person to hang in there and enjoy life as he can. He’s as tough as nails.”
Another stem-cell treatment is already in the works for the 71-year-old Brodie according to Chris. Brodie no longer has the right arm that led the 49ers to three consecutive division titles in the 1970s, but he is hoping to add the limited mobility he has, and erase even more of the residual effects left from his stroke.
Tyler thought leukemia had gotten the best of him when no suitable bone-marrow donor worldwide could be found. He thought his days were numbered when doctors told him the news last winter.
He wondered how his friends would spend their lives. He had studies in Japan for a year, and his dream of a return trip was now out of the question. Slowly fading to black, were hid goals of becoming a filmmaker.
“I was pretty depressed. I thought a lot about what I had been able to do in life,” said Tyler, 22, of Spokane.
But the umbilical cord blood stem cells from 2 babies were compatible and could help cure him. Tyler felt like he was given a second chance.
Capable of replacing the cancerous cells of leukemia by producing new healthy blood cells; the stem cells a more commonly taken from bone marrow as opposed to cord blood.
Tyler learned that at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, his odds could be further improved by new stem-cell technology.
“It was pretty amazing. I thought, ‘How did you find that?’ ” said Colosimo, now recovering from a cord-blood stem-cell transplant he received May 24.
Finding a biologically matched bone-marrow donor is not the easiest, and Tyler was one of nearly 13,000 people each year who have difficulty finding a match. Despite the 9 million people on donor registries, other family members, and even sibling; there is no help.
Since the vast majority of bone-marrow donors are Caucasian, minorities are disproportionately affected because stem-cell matches are linked to race.
For Tyler, surviving acute myelogenous leukemia would have been unlikely without the suitable cells. Certain kinds of anemia, other types of leukemia, and other potentially fatal diseases can be treated using stem cell transplants.
For children who can’t find an optimal match, stem cells from umbilical cords work well. These cells have been around for almost 20 years.
The donated cells are transplanted and begin producing new cells, but the patient’s blood cells — including the diseased ones — must first be killed off by chemotherapy and radiation prior to transplant.
In contrast to bone marrow which requires a close match, cord-blood stem cells do not need to be as compatible. Additionally, 45 cord-blood banks around the world already have blood available for use.
Since children are smaller in size, they need far fewer cells than adults to quickly replace those killed off by the pre-treatment protocol. To protect against disease and infection, this includes white cells.
While the cells reproduce and build a new immune system adult must be closely monitored since they are vulnerable to potentially fatal infections for about 25 days after such a transplant.
However, there now may be a way around the problem thanks to the efforts of Dr. Colleen Delaney, a Hutchinson Center oncologist and researcher. Quick reproduction of the cord-blood stem cells is stimulated by placing them in a special culture prior to transplant.
The technique draws on the research of Dr. Irwin Bernstein, a Hutchinson Center pioneer in learning how stem cells develop.
In only 17 days, Delaney has expanded the number of blood stem cells 150-fold. The amount of time a patient is most vulnerable to infection is subsequently reduced to about 15 days. Only yielding about a fourfold increase in cells, scientists at other institutions have attempted similar techniques without so much success.
“This can open up a whole new donor pool for people who can’t find donors,” Delaney said.
The treatment is experimental and Tyler is only the third patient to experience it. A 30-year-old woman and a 42-year old San Francisco man both fared well after transplant. The man is battling a viral infection at the present time a year after his treatment, but the woman is now healthy six months following her initial treatment.
Safety of treatment is the primary concern at this point, and it is only in the first phase of research. Over the next two years, this particular phase will involve approximately 12 more patients. Other medical centers will become involved with more trials with more patients if this initial phase proves promising.
“It’s very early in the research now,” Delaney said. “We have to have more patients to see where this is going.”
Since he was diagnosed in November, Tyler has had a rough six months like all leukemia patients do.
Tyler was physically active in various sports including rowing and karate. This made his early symptoms; the terrific aching in his legs, back, and wrists, quite perplexing. He developed difficulty breathing and fever while his test results were pending. Then two days after Thanksgiving, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
To prepare for his transplant, Tyler began his chemotherapy soon so he could put his leukemia into remission. A suitable bone-marrow match could not be found after months of searching. Compatibility issues arose even when checking his brother for a match.
Cord-blood was a welcome alternative, especially with their network of banks. Looking for the very best donors became the luxury of the doctors since patients have a 95% chance of finding a suitable donor with cord blood.
He needed a double dose of stem cells and when two matching donors were found, Tyler was ready.
“I got pretty excited, when Dr. Delaney told me,” he said.
In preparation for the transplant, Tyler decided to go through the harsh treatment.
To make room for the new, healthy cells, total body radiation and chemotherapy were used to destroy all his blood cells as well as the cancerous ones. The process left Tyler exhausted and nauseas.
Dripping into Tyler’s body was a deep red colored solution of stem cells, as Tyler’s parents, Lynn and Tom, and brother Ben gathered in his hospital room on May 24th; the day of the transplant.
“We really looked forward to that Day Zero, as they called it,” said Lynn. “Now we count the days since the transplant.”
Headaches and diarrhea racked his body for two weeks and he developed terrible fevers and mouth sores. These were part of the rough days Tyler had to endure after the transplant.
He was able to retreat to a South Lake Union apartment near the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (where he received outpatient treatment and tests) and Hutchinson Center on June 14th. He will continue his three months of initial recovery there.
Provided that everything goes well, he should be able to recover completely in about a year, but he is exhausted right now. In 2008, he hopes to resume his studies at the University of Idaho, where he would be a senior.
His dreams of becoming a filmmaker have returned, and traveling and perhaps even working in Japan are among his resurrected goals.
“So far, I’m happy with the treatment,” he said. “It seems like it’s working.”
Using a person’s own bone marrow, doctors were able to grow new blood vessels. However, in order for patients with diseased arteries to benefit from the test-tube grown vessels, a few more years of research will be required said researchers. Still, the accomplishment is yet another large step for adult stem cells and demonstrative of their therapeutic potential.
“Our studies show that bone marrow is an excellent source of stem cells that can be coaxed into creating blood vessels,” Stelios Andreadis, associate professor in the University at Buffalo department of chemical and biological engineering, told United Press International.
Andreadis said that endothelial and smooth muscle cells make up the test tube created blood vessels.
“These stem cells can be used in regenerative medicine for cardiovascular applications,” he said.
Especially for those found in and around the heart, the main reason for creating new blood vessels is for use in arteries said Andreadis. However, the blood vessels created in his laboratory are capable of being used, at the very least as, veins in humans right now.
The new blood vessels should be engineered to withstand internal pressures as high as 1,200 millimeters of mercury in order to have the strength to be used to replace diseased coronary arteries. This is 10 times above the normal limit. Having a top strength of about 200 mmHg, bone marrow stem cell derived blood vessels are not yet strong enough.
“We need to improve the matrix around which the cells grow in order to have strong enough blood vessels for replacing human arteries,” he said. The researchers have already used tissue engineered vessels in animals such as sheep with good results, he said.
Cardiovascular Research recently published Andreadis’ preliminary work. Providing a desirable alternative to the venous grafts now routinely done in patients undergoing coronary bypass operations, the paper demonstrated the potential for eventually growing tissue-engineered vessels out of stem cells harvested from the patients who need them.
A high 10-year failure rate, discomfort and pain at the donor site, and the limited availability of vessels are some of the disadvantages of venous grafts.
Using a tissue-specific promoter for alpha-actin (a protein found in muscles that is responsible for their ability to relax and contract) in conjunction with a fluorescent marker protein, Andreadis reported on a novel method for isolating functional smooth muscle cells from bone marrow.
One of the most important properties of blood vessels is their ability to proliferate and the ability to contract in response to vasoconstrictors. In their expression of several smooth muscle cell proteins, the tissue-engineered vessels performed similarly to native blood vessels.
Critical to the functioning of artificial blood vessels, both elastin and collagen are produced by the vessels. These components also give tissue their elasticity and strength.
The John R. Oishei Foundation of Buffalo and the Integrative Research and Creative Activities Fund in the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York funded Andreadis’ research.
“The work in Buffalo shows the promise that stem cells have in their ability to produce different structures,” said S. Chiu Wong, associate professor of medicine at the Weill Medical College at Cornell University. “This pre-clinical work shows again that stem cells can be a rich source for development. It certainly remains a fruitful area of research.”
Working on producing more coronary blood vessels is another aspect of stem cell research which Wong and his colleagues are working on. In an attempt to generate blood vessel growth, stem cells are injected directly into heart muscle. Wong and his team are part of a multicenter clinical trial involved to this particular study which has been funded by Baxter.
Unrelated allogeneic stem cell transplant may benefit patients with AML who are at a high risk of developing cancer progression following standard therapy according to a recent article published in the journal Blood.
Characterized by the rapid, uncontrolled growth of immature white blood cells known as myelocytes, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. The average age of diagnosis is more than 65 year old, although anyone young or old can develop the condition.
Defined as the disappearance of leukemia cells in the bone marrow and normalization of the red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet levels, the goal is to achieve remission with a treatment protocol consisting of induction therapy (initial treatment) that includes chemotherapy. In order to reduce the likelihood of leukemia recurrence, patients generally receive additional treatment (consolidation therapy) following their completion of the induction therapy. Consolidation therapy can range from less aggressive to extremely aggressive depending on the patient’s existing medical conditions, age, or prognosis of the leukemia.
Involving the use of high doses of therapy, which kill a greater amount of cancer cells than standard doses, an allogeneic stem cell transplant is considered an extremely aggressive treatment option. The patient’s susceptibility to the need for blood transfusions, bleeding, and infection, is increased by the high doses of therapy which cause a significant reduction in blood cells. Life-threatening infections can be a result of these high doses of therapy.
Following high-dose therapy, stem cells are collected from a donor and infused into the patient to restore the levels of blood cells. Stem cells are immature blood cells. The patient’s cancer cells can also be attacked by these donor stem cells. A potentially life-threatening condition called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) can also be caused by the donor cells since there is a chance that they can attack a patient
This month you will read about umbilical cord blood banking and the pros and cons surrounding the process considering the fact that July is National Cord Blood Awareness Month. Patient education campaigns have been launched by the American Association of Pediatrics, he National Marrow Donor Program, and other national organizations.
If you are a soon-to-be parent, you are also probably familiar with ads and brochures that inform you how baby’s umbilical cord blood could give hope to a patient with a blood disorder or that invite you to bank your baby’s umbilical cord blood as a form of insurance for future medical needs. Despite these campaigns, many parents have questions and remain confused about the entire process.
The placenta and developing fetus are connected by a tube called the umbilical cord. The baby’s placenta along with the umbilical cord is spontaneously expelled out of the mother’s body by the uterus after a child is born. The placenta and umbilical cord are typically discarded after the cord has been cut to detach it from the new born baby.
Stem cells, which are “mother” cells that can develop into the majority of the components that make up platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells, are found in abundance in the blood inside the umbilical cord. Like those previously obtained from bone marrow, these stem cells are similar.
Another new source for these precious life saving cells can now be umbilical cord blood that has been harvested and preserved. Unlike embryonic stem cells, there are no controversial implications to harvesting umbilical cord blood. The destruction of embryos, or the practice of cloning, is not associated with cord blood stem cells.
The use of stored umbilical cord blood has been exclusively limited for use in stem cell transplants. Frequently used for the treatment of a variety of serious illnesses such as some types of bone marrow failure, cancer, lymphomas, immune deficiency, leukemias, and anemias, stem cell transplants are also known as bone marrow transplants. In order to determine if the stem cells can be utilized to treat other types of illness, intense research is currently being conducted around the world.
Patients are most likely to match someone of their same race and ethnicity because tissue type is inherited. This is according to the National Donor Marrow Program. Thus, Hispanic or Latino donors, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black or African American, Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and Asian donors are all in high demand.
In the United States, the number of umbilical cord blood banks, both public and private, are limited. More banks are currently in the planning stages so the numbers are expected to rise in the near future.
There are two types of cord blood banks, private and public, and each has their advantages and disadvantages.
Privately stored cord blood ensures that the blood will be reserved for your family’s use if it would ever be needed in the future, however, other individuals who could possibly benefit from the cord blood stem cells would not have access to it.
Using umbilical cord stem cells, public cord blood banks further research into medical treatments. Transplants for non-relatives are also possible with public banks since they make donated cord blood stem cells available for transplant to anyone in need.
Donated cord blood stored in a public facility is no longer the property of the donor, and cannot be reserved for your baby or family’s use in the future. The public banks serve those patients who do not have an adult unrelated donor or matching family member.
At the Southwest Cancer Center at Texas Tech, six cord blood stem cell transplants saved the lives of six patients just over the past year. Delivered mothers who had babies from different locations around the country, the cord blood units were all donated.
No risk to the mother or baby is associated with the medically safe practice of donating umbilical cord blood. The option is a personal one, and just like any other medical procedure, a decision should be made after consultation and due consideration. But the choice to save, donate, or discard umbilical cord blood will soon be available to all new and expecting parents.
