May 17, 2010 by

Success Stems From Adult Cells

The use of adult stem cells for conditions besides bone marrow transplant is most prevalent in the area of heart failure. Since the original study of Strauer et al in 2001 in which a 46-year old patient was administered bone marrow stem cells after a heart attack and experienced a profound improvement in cardiac function, more than a thousand patients have received adult stem cells for cardiac-associated conditions.

Today the story of Eddie Floyd, a small business owner from Austin, Texas was highlighted in an article describing his presentation to the Texas Alliance for Life. Mr. Floyed suffered a heart attack three years ago. The heart attack caused profound damage so as to make him eligible to participate in a clinical trial being conducted at the Texas Heart Institute using his own bone marrow stem cells. The trial involves administration of the stem cells using a special catheter to the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.

Three years later, Mr Floyd is happy with the results. He explains that he has been able to resume normal daily activities. "There really isn’t anything that I can’t do because of my heart, that I’m aware of. [But] there are a few things I can’t do because of my belly…,"

Since the stem cells are from the patient’s own body, there is no possibility of rejection. He stated "They did not cause any kind of rejection, so I didn’t have to have any rejection-preventive medicine or anything like that…They were just generic stem cells that became heart."

In his talk Mr. Floyd explained that despite all of the media publicity and controversy around embryonic stem cells, these cells produced no benefit to patients like himself. There was one clinical trial in embryonic stem cells that was approved, which was Geron’s spinal cord injury protocol. The approval, however, was retracted before any patients were treated.

In contrast, adult stem cells such as the ones derived from the bone marrow have been used successfully not only in the treatment of heart failure, but other diseases such as liver failure, type 2 diabetes, and prevention of amputation in patients having poor circulation in the legs.

Currently adult stem cells are in clinical trials in the US and Western Europe. The most advanced adult stem cell types are in Phase III of trials, meaning that
if successful they will be sold as a drug within the next 1-3 years. Because Phase III trials have a placebo control arm, some patients do not want the risk
of being in a placebo group and therefore choose to go to clinics outside the US that offer this treatment. Once such clinic, Cellmedicine, has published
results on patients, such as a recent heart failure patient who underwent a profound recovery in heart function after treatment. The patient is described
in the peer reviewed journal International Archives of Medicine which is freely accessible at
www.intarchmed.com/content/pdf/1755-7682-3-5.pdf.

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Heart Disease, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , , , ,
May 17, 2010 by

Stem Cell Institute Panama Clinic Case Report of Successful Treatment of Heart Failure Patient Published

Adult stem cell therapy is currently in numerous clinical trials in the United States and Internationally. A sample of ongoing trials can be seen at
www.clinicaltrials.gov if you search for the words "stem cell". In clinical trials the objective is to determine safety (in Phase I), efficacy in an unblinded manner (Phase II) and efficacy in a blinded manner (Phase III). Numerous stem cell clinical trials are in Phase II, meaning that although safety has been established there is a question of efficacy. Patients with terminal
diseases sometimes make the informed decision not to wait until efficacy trials are completed and to go to stem cell clinics that offer similar procedures being
performed in clinical trials, but without the risk of offering the patient a placebo. The additional benefit to patients of making this choice is that they are offered treatment rapidly, whereas getting into a clinical trial could mean months on a waiting list.

The stem cell clinic Cellmedicine has been offering this choice to patients. Unlike other stem cell clinics, Cellmedicine has made it a priority to publish its protocols, scientific rationale, and outcomes in the peer reviewed literature. This means that all the scientists and doctors in the world can learn about the work being performed at Cellmedicine and offer comments/suggestions on it.

Today Cellmedicine announced publication of a paper in the peer reviewed journal, International Archives of Medicine, of a patient with terminal heart failure who underwent profound recovery after receiving adult stem cell therapy. The publication is freely available at

http://www.intarchmed.com/content/pdf/1755-7682-3-5.pdf.

The patient discussed in the report was administered adult stem cells in November 2007, when his heart had an ejection fraction of 25-30%. The ejection fraction is a quantitative measurement of the heart’s pumping activity. On June 2008, August, and Oct 2009, this marker of function increased to 40%. The patient reported a major improvement in quality of life. Additionally, proteins in the blood associated with heart failure were decreased.

Given that the report was based on only one patient, doctors at the clinic are excited but still caution in their statements.

"Stem cell therapy is a new science, and although the results discussed in the paper are promising, only the conduct of double-blinded, placebo controlled trials will allow definitive conclusions to be drawn," said Dr. Paz Rodriguez, Medical Director of the Cellmedicine Panama clinic and coauthor of the study.

In the publication, Cellmedicine provides detailed rationale for how the stem cell therapy may be affecting the process of heart failure. Data from other studies was described which states that stem cells can:

a) Directly differentiate into new heart cells

b) Stimulate the body’s ability to generate new heart muscle by activating dormant stem cells that already exist in the heart

c) Cause formation of new blood vessels that accelerate the healing process.

Heart failure is only one of the conditions that Cellmedicine treats.

"To date our group has published results on multiple sclerosis, non-ischemic heart failure, and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients in collaboration with major
American Universities including University of California San Diego, Indiana University, and University of Utah. By publishing our data in a scientific forum, we welcome discussion and interaction, which will lead to advanced patient care not only in Panama City but internationally," concluded Dr. Paz Rodriguez.

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Heart Disease, Heart Disease, News, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy Tagged With: , , ,
May 16, 2010 by

Dylan’s hope (Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy)

The possibility of using stem cells to treat cerebral palsy
has been suggested by several scientists based on the ability of these cells to:
a) stimulate regeneration of damaged nervous system tissue; b) to prevent
ongoing death of neurons; and c) to directly turn into, or "differentiate" into
neurons. This is explained in the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egRxgUXDN4Y.

One type of stem cell therapy that is currently under
investigation for cerebral palsy involves administration of cells from the
umbilical cord blood. This treatment has been the subject of much interest
because of the possibility of using cord blood from other patients. Routinely
performed outside of the United States, Dr. Joanne Kurtzburg from Duke
University has been the first to perform this treatment under the regulations of
the FDA. This recent story provides a personal description of one of the
patients treated.

In May 2009 5-year old Dylan Cain could only speak about 30
words and could not interact with family and friends. Subsequent to receiving a
cord blood transplant Dylan had a "miraculous" recovery according to parents.

"They told us at Duke that it might be months before we saw
any sign of improvement," Mother Jinger Cain said. "Just six weeks after we
returned home, he started to answer questions. His right leg straightened out a
bit, and his vocabulary has expanded amazingly."

"The speech therapist found that Dylan had progressed
5-plus months in the 3 1/2-month period of time, which means he is progressing
faster than his peers," Jinger said. "What is even more impressive is that
before the stem cells and hyperbaric treatments, he was progressing at a rate of
one month for every four months that went by, or three to four months of
development in a year, so he was consistently falling behind his peers. Now he
is progressing five times faster than before, and that has blown away his
teacher and therapists at the school he attends, as well as his doctors."

Jinger said that Dylan’s teacher in Bend told her she has
never seen a child make such gains in her 20 years of teaching.

Successes such as this case have prompted other doctors to
performed clinical trials assessing in a standardized fashion whether stem cells
actually impact cerebral palsy. Dr. James E Carroll, (706) 721-3371, of The Medical College of Georgia has recently announced initiation of a 40 patient placebo controlled trial in patients with cerebral palsy between 2-12. For more information please see the link below.

www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01072370?term=NCT01072370&rank=1

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Cerebral Palsy, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , ,
May 16, 2010 by

Hope for Brain Injury Victims

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem
caused by a sudden trauma to one or more areas of the brain. Today the
conventional method of treating patients with TBI is based on administration of
supplements to rebalance the brain’s chemistry. In the early phases of TBI
reduction of the ongoing inflammation using various antioxidants and
anti-inflammatory compounds has demonstrated some promise. Unfortunately, after
the injury has occurred there is little that can be done with the exception of
physiotherapy programs to allow the patient to cope with loss of function.

Although the traditional belief has been that once the
brain is damaged, regeneration is non-existent, recent findings suggest that
this may not be entirely true. Specific parts of the brain (subventricular
zone) have been demonstrated to contain stem cells that begin to multiply and
make new brain cells (neurons) after injury. Although this healing process is
often not potent enough to cause a robust effect that can be seen clinically,
the fact that it exists pushes scientists to find ways of amplifying it.

It was discovered more than twenty years ago that pregnant
pigs have areas of the brain in which cells multiply. The more recent finding
of brain stem cells has prompted researchers to ask whether administration of
pregnancy-related hormones can actually accelerate healing of injury brains.
Scientists at the Canadian company Stem Cell Therapeutics have shown that
administration of the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (the same hormone
detected by the pregnancy test) to animals with TBI can accelerate recovery. We
have previously discussed here that this company is now in clinical trials with
this approach for stroke, another type of brain injury
www.cellmedicine.com/stem-cell-therapeutics-placement.asp.

Another approach to treating TBI involves administration of
stem cells from outside of the body. This approach has previously been used for
conditions like heart failure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flv0RmzPyLU , liver failure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdH6Mm4w98I , or multiple sclerosis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIcUaKZWOSE.

Recent studies have demonstrated that animals in which TBI
was induced, the administration of bone marrow stem cells results in
regeneration of damaged areas. It is currently unclear whether the stem cells
themselves are becoming new neurons, or whether the stem cells are producing an
environment in which the existing brain stem cells may exert their activity.
The University of Texas has recently completed a 10 patient clinical trial of
children with TBI treated with their own stem cells

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=NCT00254722, however the
results have not been published yet.

One example of the potential of adult stem cells in
treatment of brain damage is illustrated in a scientific report from Russia in
which comatose patients where treated with stem cells and consciousness was
regained (Seledstove et al. Cell therapy of comatose states. Bull Exp Biol
Med. 2006 Jul;142(1):129-32).

The potential of stem cell therapy for TBI is anticipated
to be promising. Dr. Paul Breen, a specialist in TBI stated ""This new research
in stem cell research is a huge breakthrough and highly anticipated. We hope
that this could help pave the way for future research in stem cell usage for
brain trauma treatment in the coming years. If it works, it could give thousands
of people who have suffered brain injury hope of, if not a complete recovery,
then certainly a much better quality of life and a restoration of many of their
physical and mental functions. It’s a strong case in favour of continued stem
cell research."

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Brain Injury, News Tagged With: , , , ,
May 7, 2010 by

Biomedical Ethics in a Brave, New World

Dennis Trammell Pastor of the First Baptist Church at
Possum Kingdom Lake, near Graford was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999
when his vision decreased in one eye, a symptom of multiple sclerosis called
optic neuritis. Over the years he has been receiving numerous conventional
medications that dealt with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. However in July
2008, his illness advanced to the secondary progressive phase of the disease.
Having no treatment options available, two months later, he went to the
Cellmedicine clinic to receive adult stem cell therapy.

To date over 200 patients with multiple sclerosis have been
treated with adult stem cells by Cellmedicine. Adult stem cells such as those
derived from the patient’s own fat have the ability to help the nervous system
heal itself from damage, as well as "reprogram" the immune system to stop
attacking the body. This is explained in a scientific publication that
Cellmedicine and collaborators from the University of California San Diego have
written

www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-7-29.pdf and is
explained in this video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC0VkR3gRoA.

Alluding to the controversy surrounding stem cells, which
was particularly relevant to Pastor Trammell, he stated, "I really questioned
before agreeing to take part in the treatments what type of stem cells were
used". Several stem cell clinics use fetal-derived stem cells. Pastor Trammell
highly objected to this possibility based on moral principal. From a medical
perspective fetal stem cells are dangerous given the possibility of cancer
formation. Accordingly, he was pleased to learn that that Cellmedicine clinic
uses only stem cells from adult sources.

The Pastor reports a significant increase in his energy
level, "I had gotten to the point where a nap was needed on a regular basis. But
since the treatment, a daily nap is no longer needed," he said. Other multiple
sclerosis patients treated at Cellmedicine have reported similar beneficial
effects. Holly Huber from San Diego suffered from loss of balance,
incontinence, fatigue and like Pastor Trammell, optic neuritis. Here is a video
of Holly describing her story
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqtBfArn1I0.

The issue of using stem cells is considered by many
stakeholders in the religious community. "We’re still dealing with the age-old
question: "Given what can be done, ought we?’ But the list of ‘can-do’ options
in health care get longer each day; hence, also the ‘ought’ questions and the
complexities of knowing right from wrong, good from bad," said Tarris Rosell,
professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Rosemary Flanigan
Chair in the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Mo.

However, it seems like adult stem cells are not only
acceptable, but in some cases endorsed as an alternative to embryonic stem
cells. This is highlighted by the recent funding of adult stem cell research by
the Vatican

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/23/world/main6424439.shtml

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , ,
April 18, 2010 by

Saginaw stem-cell therapy study breaking new ground

Use of stem cells for treatment of degenerative diseases offers great hope. Unfortunately, this hope is tempered by practical
considerations. For example, in patients with heart attacks it is known that readministration of their own stem cells into the infarct related area results in profound improvement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flv0RmzPyLU. The problem with this is that stem cells need to be extracted from the bone marrow of the heart attack patient, which is a difficult and invasive procedure, and additionally the patient’s stem cells need to be processed extensively before they can be re-infused. To compound the problem, the stem cells from patients with heart attacks usually have suboptimal function. Therefore novel ways of performing stem cell therapy are needed that would make this approach practical.

Osiris Therapeutics has developed a clinical product called Prochymal, that consists of expanded bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. This product has been demonstrated safe by intravenous infusion and perhaps more importantly, does not require matching with the recipient. Currently Osiris has completed Phase III trials and is in discussions with the FDA regarding its commercialization path for this product.

Recently Osiris completed a Phase I trial using Prochymal for treatment of post infarct pathological cardiac remodeling. These results were positive and prompted the company to initiate a Phase II study. Part of this study is being conducted at Michigan Stem & Regenerative Medicine Program of the Michigan CardioVascular Institute and Covenant Health Care under the leadership of Dr. Safwan Kassas, an interventional cardiologist .

"Stem cells represent a promising cardiac research avenue, given their potential to preserve heart function in at-risk patients," Kassas said. "Cardiologists today are unable to reverse cardiac deterioration following a severe heart attack."

To date 2 patients, William C. Smith, 60, of Bay City, in December, and Brenda Sigmund, 62, of Caro, in January where infused with the Prochymal product.

Kathleen Mostek, director of research and regenerative medicine for MCVI, 1015 S. Washington in Saginaw, said the stem cells were taken from five volunteers, grown in a lab and stored in a bank in a freezer. He stated "This protocol is adult stem cells, they are the same for everyone in the world, with no rejection,".

The study is a double-blind, placedo-controlled stem cell investigation being conducted in the U.S. and Canada and will enroll about 220 patients. To be eligible for the trial, patients must have experienced their first heart attack within seven days.

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , , ,
April 12, 2010 by

Magnetic Attraction of Stem Cells to Injured Heart Creates Potent Treatment

The intracoronary administration of bone marrow stem cells in patients who have suffered a heart attack has been demonstrated to cause beneficial effects in double blind studies, as discussed in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flv0RmzPyLU. Intracoronary administration has potential side effects since a balloon needs to be expanded in the area where the heart attack occurred, which may cause exacerbation of the existing damage. A more attractive method of stem cell delivery would be via the intravenous route. Unfortunately, intravenous administration has the drawback that some of the cells become lodged in organs such as the lung and liver.
Despite this, intravenous administration has demonstrated positive results, for example in a clinical trial conducted by Osiris (Hare et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study of intravenous adult human mesenchymal stem cells (prochymal) after acute myocardial infarction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Dec 8;54(24):2277-86) an improvement in heart pumping
ability was observed.

One way of improving stem cell homing to the area of need is through direct administration of proteins, or genes encoding the proteins, that specifically attract stem cells. This approach has been performed with SDF-1 in animal models, and now the company BioHeart is doing Phase I clinical trials. Other ways include the use of laser therapy to induce expression of stem cell homing molecules as being developed by the San Diego company Entest Biomedical.

Today a new approach was reported in the journal Circulation Research, which is published by the American Heart Association.
Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have loaded stem cells with iron-nanoparticles and administered them intravenously in animals that were induced to undergo a heart attack by ligation of the coronary artery. The scientists found that by
applying magnetic fields to the heart, they could increase the number of injected stem cells that lodged into the heart by 3-times. This was accompanied by functional improvement.

"Stem cell therapies show great promise as a treatment for heart injuries, but 24 hours after infusion, we found that less than 10 percent of the stem cells remain in the injured area. Once injected into a patient’s artery, many stem cells are lost due to the combination of tissue blood flow, which can wash out stem cells, and cardiac contraction, which can squeeze out
stem cells. We needed to find a way to guide more of the cells directly to the area of the heart that we want to heal." Said Eduardo Marban, M.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

Commenting on the success of the present study, he stated "This remarkably simple method could easily be coupled with current stem cell treatments to enhance their effectiveness."

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Heart Disease, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , ,
April 8, 2010 by

Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy in Clinical Trial

Cerebral palsy is characterized by hypoxia/reperfusion
induced damaged to the brain in the perinatal period. It is manifested in four main types: a)
Spastic, which occurs in 70-80% of cases and is associated with damage to the
corticospinal tract or the motor cortex; b) Ataxic, occurs in 10%, is
associated with damage to the cerebrum, and causes deficiencies in walks, hearing
and speech; c) Athetoid/dyskinetic is caused by injury to the to the
extrapyramidal motor system and/or pyramidal tract and to the basal ganglia, it
occurs in approximately 20% of cases. Cerebral
palsy is a non-progressive disorder in which recovery does not occur and
treatments revolve around addressing symptomology. The possibility of stem cell therapy for
cerebral palsy was proposed by Cellmedicine several years ago and is discussed
in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egRxgUXDN4Y
.

One type of stem cell that has been used for cerebral palsy
comes from the cord blood. Usually cord
blood stem cells are used for treatment of hematological (blood) disorders such
as leukemias or genetic metabolic conditions. Cellmedicine proposed the use of cord blood for conditions such as
cerebral palsy
http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-5-8.pdf
because of: a) its superior growth factor producing ability to other types of
adult stem cells; b) the possibility of using cord blood with minimal matching;
and c) the ability of cord blood stem cells to directly differentiate into
other types of cells relevant to cerebral palsy such as neurons and glial
cells.

In order to test validity of the possibility that cord blood
may be useful for such a condition, the developmental cycle that occurs with
drugs has to be applied. That is,
firstly animal data needs to support the possibility of efficacy, as well as
the safety of the intervention. Secondly, pilot human studies are needed to determine if it is feasible
to administer the cells in patients with the particular disease without
possibility of adverse effects. Thirdly,
formal clinical trials need to be initiated. These usually begin with Phase I trials that assess safety and maximally
tolerated dose, Phase II trials that assess efficacy in a non-blinded manner,
and Phase III trials that seek efficacy in a
double-blind placebo-controlled manner.

Groups like Cellmedicine have been involved in treatment of
patients with cord blood. Additionally,
Dr. Joanne Kurtzburg from Duke has been using the patient’s own cord blood in
treatment of patients with cerebral palsy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLmY7Ps65wQ. Both
of these treatments were considered part of the "practice of medicine" and may
be comparable to "pilot investigations" in that safety data was generated and
the medical procedure for physically administering the cells was
developed.

Today a group at the Medical College of Georgia announced
initiation of Phase I/II Placebo-Controlled, Observer-Blinded, Crossover Study
to Evaluate the Safety and Effectiveness of a Single, Autologous, Cord Blood
Stem Cell Infusion for the Treatment of Cerebral Palsy in Children.

The trial involves 40 patients between ages 2-12 who are
seizure-free and have clinical evidence
of a non-progressive motor disability due to brain dysfunction. The subjects recruited
will not have the ability to sit independently by one year of age or the
ability to walk by 18 months of age.

Patients will be
divided into 2 groups, with the first group receiving red-cell depleted, mononuclear
cell enriched cord blood unit prepared for infusion (treatment) and the second
being administered saline combined with the inert stem cell administration
solution lacking stem cells. The
observer and patient will not know who is receiving cells from which
group.

The main observation endpoints of the trial will be safety of autologous (patient’s own)
cord blood infusion in children with cerebral palsy by repeated follow-up over
one year with clinical and laboratory evaluations. The secondary endpoint will
be determination of whether a beneficial effect has occurred in the
recipients. This will be measured using
a patient questionnaire and standardized Gross Motor Function Measure
evaluation with effects anticipated to be seen within 3-4 months.

Conceptually this study is a very safe one because it is the
patient’s own cord blood stem cells that are being used. This however could also be a negative
issue. There is some evidence that when
stem cells from another individual (allogeneic) are used, it is the reaction
between the recipient and donor that gives rise to production of numerous
growth factors. Since this current
treatment is only using the patient’s own cells, it may be similar to simply
adding your own blood back into you. The
animal studies previously performed involved using human cord blood cells in
mice lacking part of the immune system. Additionally they used much higher concentration of cord blood cells per
kilogram of body weight. Regardless, it
is very important to state that this study lays the groundwork for translation
of numerous stem cell approaches that have previously been used for patient
treatment outside of the US, for US approval.

Parents of patients interested in trial participation should
contact James E Carroll, M.D. the Principle Investigator of the study at 706-721-3371 jcarroll@mcg.edu

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Cerebral Palsy, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , , , ,
March 8, 2010 by

Stem cell therapy shows early promise: Celgene

Crohn’s disease is a favorite amongst mesenchymal stem cell
development companies. This may be because on the one hand, this type of stem
cell possesses anti-inflammatory properties, and on the other hand it has the
potential to regenerate injured tissue. Additionally since the quality of life
of patients with advanced Crohn’s Disease is so poor, and current treatments are
generally ineffective at addressing the root cause, that new treatments usually
receive much support from regulatory agencies. Crohn’s disease is characterized
as a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. It is
believed to affects almost one million people in the United States.

Today Celgene announced Phase I safety data on its
placental mesenchymal stem cell product PDA-001 in a trial of 12 patients. The
patients suffered from active moderate-to-severe Crohn’s and were unresponsive
to at least one prior conventional therapy. The treatment with stem cells
comprised two infusions of PDA-001 one week apart. The patients were divided
into 2 groups with 6 patients being administered a lower number of cells and six
a higher number.

According to Celgene, "The study met its primary safety
goal and demonstrated encouraging signs of clinical benefit, including clinical
remission among four patients in the low dose group". Interestingly the company
declined to speculate on why the lower number of cells elicited superior
benefit. As an interesting aside, the company Osiris Therapeutic conducted a
similar clinical trial in Crohn’s Disease using stem cells derived not from
placenta but from bone marrow sources.

The CEO of Celgene’s Cellular Therapeutics unit, Dr. Robert
Hariri stated "We are encouraged that in these patients with Crohn’s disease our
unique, placenta-derived therapies show signs of clinical benefit," he continued
"We will continue to aggressively pursue the clinical development of this and
other cellular therapies derived from what we see as one of the richest sources
of uniquely functional and versatile cells."

The company anticipates moving into Phase II clinical
trials not only in the area of Crohn’s but also in other degenerative
indications.

It is an interesting point that the cells were administered
intravenously. There are some groups that believe stem cells only work if
administered locally. This study suggests that the need for local injection may
not be as important as some others believe. Additionally, since companies like
Cellmedicine use various mesenchymal stem cell sources, the current results
provide US-based scientific evidence supporting at least the rationale for this
approach.

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Clinical Trials, Crohn's Disease, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , ,
March 5, 2010 by

Histostem Works With Korean Government Agency to Provide Cord Blood Storage for Multicultural Families

The US company Amstem through subsidiary signed a
partnership agreement with the Songpa-Gu Office of the Seoul Metropolitan
Government, to provide umbilical cord blood banking to multicultural families
for up to 15 years.  Cord blood is currently used for treatment of patients with
blood disorders such as leukemias as an alternative to bone marrow. 
Unfortunately many patients do not have suitable donors, this is especially true
in patients of various ethnicities.  The current program is designed to overcome
this problem.

The president of AmStem International, Inc., David Stark
 stated  "This provides AmStem and Histostem with another ‘badge of validity’
with government health agencies around the world. A diverse genetic catalogue of
autologous, HLA-typed stem cell resources such as cord blood is in extremely
high demand right now — not only by individual families, but by
government-sponsored scientists and other researchers worldwide. This is exactly
the kind of collaborative, networking opportunity that AmStem hopes to expand in
North America and Europe."

In recent years the use of cord blood for diseases not
associated with blood has been increasing.  For example, the Cord Blood Bank
Viacell has patents on the use of cord blood for treatment of Duchenne Muscular
Dystrophy (Kraus et al. US patent #7452529 – Treatment of muscular dystrophy
with cord blood cells).  The Cellmedicine.com group has collaborated with
the US company Medistem at publishing use of cord blood together with other
cells for treatment of a patient with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy that resulted
in functional improvement (Ichim et al. Mesenchymal stem cells as anti-inflammatories:
implications for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Cell Immunol.
2010;260(2):75-82).  The reason why cord blood appears to be useful in
treatment of a variety of conditions is believed to be due, at least in part, to
ability of the cells to produce numerous therapeutic factors that stimulate stem
cells already in the body to start multiplying.  Additionally, numerous studies
have shown that cord blood derived stem cells can produce cells ranging from
liver to brain to heart muscle.  A description of cord blood stem cells may be
seen on this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6CP-OL1Kuc .

Dr. Hoon Han, AmStem’s Chairman, commented on the cord
blood bank, "With more than 1.1 million foreigners now living in Korea, the
number of multicultural marriages and families is on the rise. By providing
these families the opportunity to store the donated umbilical cord blood, we
give them access to autologous stem cells that may be used in the future
treatment of certain cancers, such as leukemia, as well as immune and genetic
disorders. In addition, by addressing the multicultural population in Korea,
this collaborative opportunity also increases the genetic diversity of the
available supply of umbilical cord blood derived stem cells — which may benefit
Korean and foreign patients alike."

Filed Under: Adult Stem Cells, Cord Blood Stem Cells, News, Stem Cell Research Tagged With: , , ,
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