Thursday, September 29, 2005

Adult stem cells aid recovery in animal model of cerebral palsy

Source: Medical College of Georgia
 Date: September 29, 2005
 
Summary:

Adult stem cell therapy quickly and significantly improves recovery of motor function in an animal model for the ischemic brain injury that occurs in about 10 percent of babies with cerebral palsy, researchers report. Within two weeks, treated animals were about 20 percent less likely to favor the unaffected side of their bodies and experienced about a 25 percent improvement in balance, compared to untreated controls, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

Source: Wired
Posted: September 29, 2005

Summary:

Wired reports on a new discovery of the abilities of mice to regenerate and possibly re-grow vital organs:

"Mice discovered accidentally at the Wistar Institute in Pennsylvania have the seemingly miraculous ability to regenerate like a salamander, and even regrow vital organs. Researchers systematically amputated digits and damaged various organs of the mice, including the heart, liver and brain, most of which grew back. The results stunned scientists because if such regeneration is possible in this mammal, it might also be possible in humans."

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Potential New Treatment For Insulin-dependent Diabetes

Source: Journal of Experimental Medicine
Date: Sptember 28, 2005

Summary:

Scientists in Japan have found a way to improve on a promising diabetes treatment. In the October 3 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Masaru Taniguchi and colleagues report that transplanted insulin-producing cells survive better when the activation of a specific type of immune cell is blocked.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Stem Cell Injections Repair Spinal Cord Injuries in Mice: Scientists Say Approach Is Not Ready for Testing in Humans

Source: Washington Post
Date: September 20, 2005

Summary:

The Washington Post reports on the results of a new experiment using human fetal stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries in mice:

"Mice with severe spinal cord injuries regained much of their ability to walk normally after getting injections of stem cells taken from the brains of human fetuses. The Research tracked mice injected with a kind of human stem cells called neurospheres. They are the laboratory-grown progeny of human cells retrieved from the brains of 16- to 18-week aborted fetuses."

Monday, September 19, 2005

Study: Stem Cells May Repair Cord Damage

Source: Associated Press
Posted: September 19, 2005 19:26 PDT

Summary:

The Associated Press reports on new research using stem cells to attempt to treat spinal cord injury:

"Injections of human stem cells seem to directly repair some of the damage caused by spinal cord injury, according to research that helped partially paralyzed mice walk again. The expirment suggested the connections that the stem cells form to help bridge the damaged spinal cord are key to recovery. The connections didn't just form new nerve cells. They also formed cells that create the biological insulation that nerve fibers need to communicate."

Adult Human Neural Stem Cell Therapy Successful In Treating Spinal Cord Injury

Source: University of California - Irvine
Date: September 19, 2005

Summary:

Irvine, Calif. -- Researchers at the UC Irvine Reeve-Irvine Research Center have used adult human neural stem cells to successfully regenerate damaged spinal cord tissue and improve mobility in mice. The findings point to the promise of using this type of cells for possible therapies to help humans who have spinal cord injuries. Study results appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Analyzing the Circuitry of Stem Cells

Source: New York Times
Date: September 13, 2005

Summary:

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass., have developed a technique for uncovering the interactions of transcription factors. These are the agents that switch genes on or off in the cell. By figuring out these interactions on a genomewide scale, they have reconstructed the top level of the controls that govern a human embryonic stem cell.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Gladstone Researchers Hone In On Differentiation Of Heart Stem Cells

Source: Gladstone Institutes
Date: September 12, 2005

Summary:

A team of scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) has identified a key factor in heart development that could help advance gene therapy for treating cardiac disorders. The findings could help cardiac stem cell researchers one day develop strategies for gene and cell- mediated cardiac therapies.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Researchers Discover Key To Human Embryonic Stem-cell Potential

Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Posted: September 11, 2005

Summary:

Researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research working with human embryonic stem cells have uncovered the process responsible for their ability to become just about any type of cell in the body, a trait known as pluripotency.