The length and quality of life for individuals with specific forms of muscular dystrophy is greatly affected by heart disease, which is also the leading cause of death in the United States.
November 1, 2007 by
Only 50% Effectiveness Required in Stem Cell and Gene Therapy to Yield Healthy Heart
October 20, 2007 by
Difficult to Heal Fractures Get Enormous Healing Boost from Stem Cells
Patients with previously hard-to-heal breaks in the long bones of their thighs, shins or arms, achieved repair in 91 percent of fracture cases due to stem cell therapy stated Aastrom Biosciences Inc.
33 patients with severe bone breaks that had previously failed to join from standard treatments had stem cells surgically inserted at their fracture sites in a study using stem cells developed by Aastrom. Today at a medical meeting in Boston, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company reported that the fractures of 30 patients had healed a year following stem cell therapy.
“We are treating patients that have not healed in the past and are unlikely to heal in the future with normal procedures,” said Elmar Burchardt, the company’s vice president of medical affairs, in a telephone interview. “It’s a completely new approach for bone treatment and tissue regeneration with the idea of restoring its original architecture.”
Aastrom has created a technique for expanding and purifying patients’ own stem cells as a therapy, and is one of several U.S. companies working to bring stem cell-based treatments to market.
Establishing efficacy in a disease that restricts blood circulation in limbs is also part of company tests in addition to testing its approach in several orthopedic uses. Spinal cord injuries and heart disease treatment development is also in the works.
Due to a poor blood supply, osteonecrosis is a condition that damages bone in the hips and other areas. The company is furthest along in testing its cells to treat this rare condition. The company has entered the final stage towards regulatory approval. They have recruited 120 osteonecrosis patients for a last phase study. Burchardt said that as soon as 2010, clearance from the U.S. Food and drug Administration could be sought.
The 30 bone-fracture patients who were deemed by the company to have healed all had bone scans that showed “multiple contact points” between pieces of bone that were formerly fragmented, Burchardt said. The patients’ limbs now “are fully weight-bearing and have full range of motion,” he said.
September 25, 2007 by
Stem Cell Therapy for Skin
Concentrating on the latest discoveries in skin science and regenerative medicine, Paris hosted Stem Cells and the Skin last week. The event marked the 7th such symposium for LVMH Research.
Scientists from Europe and the United States were invited to discuss the latest developments in stem cell therapy and its possible benefits to skin care. French luxury consumer group Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy used its research arm to organize the event.
Stem cells are at the heart of organ development and tissue repair because they have the potential to differentiate into different and specialized cells.
For a range of degenerative conditions and injuries such as premature baldness, severe burns, and more serious conditions such as heart disease and Parkinson’s; stem cell treatment promises benefits. Recent findings in therapeutic applications and the advances in stem cell research for the science of the skin were explored and implications discussed at LVMH’s symposium.
Cedric Blanpain’s work on the characterization, activation and differentiation of the epidermal stem cell was presented. Blanpain works at the Interdisciplinary Research Institute, at Free University of Brussels, in Belgium.
Residing in a portion of the hair follicle called the bulge, special multipotent follicular stem cells were the focus of Blanpain’s research. Real therapeutic benefits may come form these cells in the future because of their multipotency; the fact that they can divide into many different cell types.
To help pinpoint the processes that lead to hair regeneration, the project isolates the bulge stem cells, and investigates the optimal conditions for in vitro clonal analyses.
Additionally, a presentation entitled ‘Epidermal Basal Layer: the Regenerative Stem Cell Skin Compartment’ was given by Carlo Pincelli, from the Institute of Dermatology, at the University of Moderna and Reggio Emilia, in Modena, Italy.
Pincelli’s work focuses on investigating the biochemicals that help to regulate the survival and division of the stem cells, which reside on the basal layer of the skin in between the hair follicles.
The protein survivin and high levels of a transmembrane receptor called beta1-integrin were isolated by Pincelli and his team. These two components appear to be important for the division and differentiation of the stem cells.
For the treatment of skin disorders and burns, stem cell therapy could be used for therapeutic purposes. Improved knowledge of how the skin renews itself and how the stem cells function highlight this fact.
Concentrating on the possibility of in-vivo ‘reconstructed’ skin, a concept which LVMH feels would have powerful implications for our ageing society was the final discussion of the symposium. The catalyst was the question “The reconstructed man, a probable future?” by Eric Perrier, the Executive Vice President of LVMH’s R&D center.
September 20, 2007 by
Stem Cells from Testicles – Another Non-Controversial Breakthrough
Stem cell taken from men’s testicles could be transformed into a wide range of tissue types to help fight disease. United States researchers have come up with a new use for the rich source of stem cells.
The cells were reprogrammed to be heart cells, blood vessels, and other tissues after scientists isolated and extracted them form the testes of male mice.
Cancer, heart disease, strokes, Parkinson’s disease and other conditions could all be treated if the results can be duplicated using in humans. The ethical concerns surrounding embryonic stem cells would also be negated by this breakthrough.
Shahin Rafii continued to work long and hard on the project since the testes provide such a potentially rich source of stem cells. He spent years working and now the payoff is evident. Rafii is a doctor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
“Testes are designed to generate a lot of sperm and they have these germ cells,” he said.
“So germ cells are designed also in a way to give us two different tissues as well so we were able to get a germ cell from testes and instruct them to become other tissues.”
Humans will also benefit because the results are transferable to humans said Dr. Rafii.
“It can easily be applied to a human in near future,” he said.
Subjects should not be difficult to find Rafii added.
“If I had end stage heart disease, I would think, take all my testes, all right? So it is a no-brainer,” he said.
The journal Nature has published Dr. Rafii’s research.
While the work is promising it will be some time before the results could be reproduced in humans said Peter Schofield, who is the executive director of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute in Sydney.
“I think there’s still quite a bit of experimental work to be done,” he said.
“The mouse experiments used a number of techniques which are possible in mouse embryology but would not in any way be translatable to potential human treatment today.”
“But the important thing is that the experiments showed was that it was possible.”
Creating non-embryonic stem cells carries a high level of interest says Professor Schofield.
“Certainly the comments that came out from the researchers’ labs in the United States perhaps are a little bit over-selling around the potential benefits of adult versus embryonic stem cells,” he said.
“I guess the situation here in Australia is that both of them are now permitted under various strong licensing regimes and the technology that delivers the clinical benefits will obviously be the one that works.”
“This is really important research because it shows that there is another possible way of reprogramming adult stem cells. In the mouse it shows that those cells were able to form important other organs.”
“There’s still a lot of steps before that could be done in a human situation, but the fact that it has been done is both very exciting and offers a lot of promise.”
For men, it is a possible breakthrough that will manifest itself in the future. But women should not be disappointed either says Dr. Rafii. They will also benefit.
“In women also this stem cell exists but the number is very, very low and we hope that eventually we can be able to get these stem cells from their ovaries as well,” he said.
“Also another point – some men can give stem cells to compatible, genetically compatible females so it still can be applied for women as well.”
September 5, 2007 by
Adult Stem Cells Continue to Deliver Breakthroughs
A new type of adult stem cell in blood vessels that can be harvested from a patient has been discovered by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A patient’s disease or muscle injury could be treated with these cells. There is no risk of immune rejection since the stem cells are derived from the patients themselves.
Individuals who are suffering from some types of muscular dystrophy, various sports-related injuries, and heart muscle damaged by heart attack could potentially be treated say doctors.
Using adult stem cells harvested from patients’ bone marrow, replacement heart valves and other heart tissue may be grown within the next three to five years said leading British heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub.
With the drawback of tissue rejection and replacement operations every 10 to 15 years, artificial heart valves or those taken from pigs is currently the only option for patients needing new heart valves. Using a patient’s own stem cells, the growth of an entire replacement heart is the ultimate vision Yacoub has in mind.
September 5, 2007 by
Muscle Repair Potential Discovered in Human Source of Adult Stem Cells
With the potential to treat muscle injuries and diseases such as muscular dystrophy and heart attack, scientists at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have discovered a unique population of adult stem cells derived from human muscle that can be used for this purpose for the first time.
Led by Johnny Huard, PhD, and Bruno P
September 2, 2007 by
Heart Valves and Muscle Tissue Grown from Own Stem Cells Soon to be Reality
On Monday, top cardiologists all concurred that by using a patients own stem cell, surgeons will soon be able to literally mend a broken heart using live tissue grown from these cells.
The procedure could become routine within three-to-five years. In as little as six weeks, the entire process of harvesting cells from bone marrow, growing tissue, and surgically implanting the heart muscle or valve could be accomplished.
The Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B in Britain published these findings in a recent special issue.
A massive muscle surrounds the four valves of the heart, controlling the body’s blood flow. One of the reasons heart attacks are so debilitating, even when they are not fatal, is that this muscle does not regenerate. Once tissue is damaged, it remains that way.
The muscle begins to wear out as it ages, and this is when most problems occur.
“But the highest medical need for tissue-engineered heart valves is in the treatment of congenital heart malformation,” which affects nearly one percent of all newborns, Simon Hoeurstrup, lead author of one of the studies, told AFP.
Leading to great suffering and higher death rates than in adults, artificial heart valves currently available must be periodically replaced as children grow.
Long considered the “holy grail” of cardiovascular medicine, bio-engineered heart muscle that could be grafted onto a patient’s living tissue without fear of rejection by the immune system could soon become a reality.
Artificial replacements “do the job and save people’s lives,” said celebrated heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub, who coordinated the 20-odd studies.
“But they cannot match the elegant, sophisticated functions of living tissues.”
Abnormalities in blood flow and an increased risk of bacterial infection in the hearts inner lining come along with the durability of mechanical hardware. Boosting the chances of internal bleeding and embolisms, patients must also take medication to prevent blood clots.
According to the World Health Organization, 17.5 million people were victim to cardiovascular disease in 2005, making it the number one killer in the world. Timely surgery to implant heart muscle or replacement valves could have potentially saved many of these individuals.
Serious drawbacks accompany the two mainstream techniques for making bio-prosthetic heart valves.
A tendency to wear out and differing structure are the main short coming of animal grafts; negative factors that outweigh their high level of availability. The short supply and susceptibility to immune rejection are drawbacks that comes with human valves from donors, despite the fact that they work better than animal grafts.
The patient’s own stem cells — taken from bone marrow — are isolated and expanded in the laboratory using standard cell culture techniques in the tissue engineering approach favored by Yacoub and Hoerstrup.
A special matrix is created in the shape of a heart valve, and the cells are “seeded” onto this. The matrix is placed in a “bioreactor” that coerces the cells to grow into the proper shape.
The patient is implanted with the living-tissue heart valves once they reach maturity. In only a matter of week, a patient can have a “real” heart valve.
Several years of follow up are required before it can be deemed effective and safe, but the procedure has provided powerful results in animal models using sheep.
Other hurdles include the scenario of concurrent conditions such as diabetes, which could compromise the suitability of harvested stem cells.
August 5, 2007 by
Self-Repairing Hearts – Scientists Achieve World First
With the potential to save millions of lives worldwide, Australia’s top heart specialists believe they have found a treatment to stop heart disease in its tracks.
The groundbreaking discovery which involves using adult stem cells from patients to repair their own hearts will be revealed today by experts from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital.
With the ability to repair dead tissue in the heart as well as generate new blood vessels, the treatment is a world-first.
The changes appear to be permanent.
Claiming 17 million lives each year, heart disease is the world’s #1 killer.
Accounting for 35% of all deaths in Australia, 50,000 of the 3.5 million sufferers die annually.
In order to release beneficial stem cells from bone marrow into the bloodstream the new treatment involves injecting patients with a hormone to accomplish this task.
The cells restore circulation and create new blood vessels in the heart to boost heart function.
July 30, 2007 by
Woman’s Heart Rebuilt with Stem Cells
She was at a wedding last summer when she suffered her fourth heart attack. Carron was hanging Japanese lanterns as part of her job when the 58-year-old event planner and mother of two felt the familiar pain in her chest. The doctor told her that she was on her last string and the next time could be her last. An evaluation showed that she was getting less than 50% efficiency from the right side of her heart. Stents didn’t work so they tried a defibrillator. When those measures proved unsuccessful, a heart transplant list got another name.
“All I could do was cry,” she says. “I just thought, ‘I’m about to die.’ There’s 100,000 people waiting for a heart.”
As autumn approached, her condition worsened.
“I couldn’t walk 20 feet without being on somebody’s arm,” Morrow says. “I couldn’t go to the mall. My legs just wouldn’t carry me. I knew I had really gotten worse.”
Her church rallied and offered support.
“Each time I’ve had one of these heart attacks, the church has surrounded me in prayer,” she says.
Carron’s health records were eventually sent to Texas thanks to her nurse. She had been researching adult stem cell therapy and had watched over Carron since her third heart attack. It was during her research that she learned of a groundbreaking study at the Texas Heart Institute.
“Within a month’s time, I was in Texas,” she says.
But the study would be limited, with only 30 people admitted. There would be 10 placebo patients, and 20 stem cell patients.
“I started praying,” Morrow says. “They called me at a quarter to five.”
More than a decade ago, the research began in Brazil, and now Carron would be involved with it.
The treatment was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and for the surgery to take place, she had to sign liability papers.
“My next choice was just to drop dead, so I signed everything,” she says, “and had full confidence in that group.”
Carron when into surgery on October 14th, 2006 – her birthday. From her left hip, 50cc of bone marrow was removed and stem cells were cultivated from the tissue. She was back in surgery only four hours later, and the right side of her heart was injected with 30 million stem cells.
Carron had a great deal of traveling to do after the procedure. She remained in Texas for nine days, but had to return every two weeks until January. All her plane trips were paid for by a local businessman who as a catering client of hers.
“I knew within two months something was going on,” Morrow says. “I could sing a whole song at church.”
By December, she “was plating food as hard as any other chef there.”
In April, “I had a huge wedding in Jackson, Mississippi. We put in 80 hours that week. My sister said, ‘Carron, you know you have the stem cells.'”
It was confirmed the following week in Texas: “This little bitty envelope had ‘stem cell’ in it.”
To measure her progress, she had another CT scan performed on her heart. She went to the University of Alabama for the scan this month, the same place where she was informed of her bleak outlook only a year ago.
“The doctor calls and says, ‘Ma’am, the right side of your heart is normal.'”
She had the scan results faxed to Montgomery because she was sure there had been a mistake.
“I was in la-la land for several days.”
On June 7th, she was on PBS in a featured documentary.
“I told the doctor, ‘I don’t understand why we have this huge political mess going on about stem cells,'” Morrow says. “I’m living proof that adult stem cells work far better than embryonic. And why should embryonic even be in discussion?”
“I’m here to say, ‘I’m living proof. It saved my life.”
“I’m just doing great.”
Her defibrillator is no longer needed, an $85,000 remedy that completely failed. Less than $600 was needed to culture Carron’s stem cells.
“This is going to revolutionize heart disease.”
“This community has been such a strength for me,” she says. “I am just so blessed. I feel so undeserving. I am not a perfect person. I just am overwhelmed with how good God is to me.”
“I have been given an opportunity
June 27, 2007 by
Pope Supports Adult Stem Cell Research
On the condition that the work does not involve human embryos, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated the Roman Catholic Church’s support for stem-cell research.
Adult stem cells exist in tiny numbers within developed organs. This was the topic of discussion at a conference at Rome’s La Sapienza University on research into the treatment of heart disease with so-called adult stem cells. The pontiff directed his comments at delegates attending the conference as he held his traditional weekly general audience at the Vatican.
The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial because harvesting the cells involves the destruction of a human embryo. The cells are created shortly after conception.
The church’s position is “clear,” the German-born pope said. “Scientific research should be rightly encouraged and promoted as long as it doesn’t hurt human beings whose dignity is inviolable from the very first stages of existence,” he said.
Based on a conviction that an embryo is a human being from conception and therefore its life cannot be interrupted, the church’s objections to embryonic stem-cell research are the same as its arguments against abortion.
Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, outlined the Vatican’s position in a 1995 encyclical, “The Gospel of Life,” saying, “Human embryos obtained in vitro are human beings and are subjects with rights; their dignity and right to life must be respected from the first moment of their existence. It is immoral to produce human embryos destined to be exploited as disposable `biological material.”
