Sunday, September 30, 2007

OFF TO THE STEM CELL SUMMIT!

To All Readers of Ben's Stem Cell News:

I will be away at The Stem Cell Summit in Boston this week and will have limited internet access, so I will be blogging sporadically for the next few days. I will continue with the same quality updates on the latest stem cell research and science news when I return later this week.

Ben Kaplan
Publisher
Ben's Stem Cell News

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Stem-cell treatment for MS tested

Source: United Press International
Posted: September 29, 2007 at 12:31 AM EDT

Summary:

A clinical trial in Britain is testing a new stem-cell treatment researchers hope will undo central nervous system damage in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Stem cell injection trial 'raises hope of MS cure'

Source: Daily Mail
Posted: 28 September 2007 10:18am BST

Summary:

The Daily Mail reports on a new trial in Britain using bone marrow stem cells to treat multiple sclerosis:

"A pioneering new treatment which could help thousands of multiple sclerosis suffers "recover" from the incurable disease is being trialled for the first time at a British hospital. The patients will be injected with bone marrow stem cells, which researchers hope will repair damaged areas of the brain and spinal cord and 'reverse' their physical decline."

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Stem cell trials raise multiple sclerosis hopes

Source: Daily Telegraph
Posted: 28 September 2007 12:54am BST

Summary:

The Daily Telegraph reports on a new trial using adult bone marrow stem cells to attempt to treat Multiple Sclerosis:

"Tens of thousands of patients with MS could benefit from the revolutionary treatment if the tests taking place at the Frenchay hospital, near Bristol, are successful. Patients are injected with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow, not from umbilical cords The procedure involves patients being injected with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow, in the hope that they will travel to damaged parts of the brain and repair them."

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Study of bone marrow stem cells in multiple sclerosis

Source: University of Bristol
Date: September 26, 2007

Summary:

A new pilot clinical trial to test bone marrow stem cell therapy with a small group of patients with multiple sclerosis has started at Frenchay Hospital. The aim of the trial, conducted by the University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust, is to find out what effects, good or bad, it has on patients with MS, and their disability.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Stem cell therapy 'could cut liver transplants'

Source: Daily Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:38am BST 26/09/2007

Summary:

The Daily Telegraph reports scientists have developed a new way to treat liver failure using stem cells:

"Scientists have discovered a new way of treating liver failure that could save the lives of thousands of patients on transplant waiting lists. The technique involves inserting stem cells into the damaged organ so that it is encouraged to repair itself and create new tissue. According to the researchers, the treatment will allow patients to live long enough for a new organ to found and could even enable the liver to completely heal itself so a transplant is no longer needed."

Immune system modulation can halt liver failure in animals

Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
Date: September 25, 2007

Summary:

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have a developed a totally new approach to treating liver failure – manipulating the immune response. If the results of the animal study can be applied in human patients, the approach may be able to keep patients alive until donor organs become available or to support liver function until the organ can regenerate itself, eliminating the need for a transplant. The findings are being reported in the journal PLOS One.

Stem Cells Show Promise For Treating Huntington's Disease

Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
Date: September 25, 2007

Summary:

Paying close attention to how a canary learns a new song has helped scientists open a new avenue of research against Huntington’s disease – a fatal disorder for which there is currently no cure or even a treatment to slow the disease. In a paper published Sept. 20 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have shown how stem-cell therapy might someday be used to treat the disease. The team used gene therapy to guide the development of endogenous stem cells in the brains of mice affected by a form of Huntington’s. The mice that were treated lived significantly longer, were healthier, and had many more new, viable brain cells than their counterparts that did not receive the treatment.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Scientists discover how cancer may take hold

Source: Carnegie Institution
Date: September 24, 2007

Summary:

A team, led by researchers at the Carnegie Institution, has found a key biochemical cycle that suppresses the immune response, thereby allowing cancer cells to multiply unabated. The research shows how the biomolecules responsible for healthy T-cells, the body’s first defenders against hostile invaders, are quashed, permitting the invading cancer to spread. The same cycle could also be involved in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The work is published in the September 25, 2007 issue of PLoS Biology.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Study: Sibling umbilical blood transplant cures sickle-cell kids

Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Date: September 21, 2007

Summary:

Children with sickle cell disease were cured following umbilical cord blood transplants from their siblings, according to findings reported Thursday in Washington, D.C., by doctors from Children's Hospital Oakland.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Testicles yield stem cells in science breakthrough

Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Posted Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:18pm AEST
Updated Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:25pm AEST

Summary:

Scientists say they have isolated stem cells from the testes of male mice, extract them and reprogram them into blood vessels, heart cells and tissue. They say if the results can be reproduced in humans, the technology could help get around the ethical concerns associated with the use of embryonic stem cells and could be used to help treat Parkinson's, heart disease, strokes and cancer.

Stem Cells Derived from Adult Testes Produce Wide Range of Tissue Types for Therapeutic Organ Regeneration

Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Date: September 20, 2007

Summary:

After a decade of research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have succeeded in reprogramming adult stem cells from the testes of male mice into functional blood vessels and contractile cardiac tissue. The research offers a promising new source of stem cells for use in organ regeneration studies.

Scientists Find Less Controversial Stem Cell

Source: NPR
Date: September 20, 2007

Summary:

Scientists in New York say they may have found cells that are just as promising, but do not start with an embryo. An NPR radio broadcast accompanies this story.

Human testicles can provide stem cells

Source: United Press International
Published: September 20, 2007 at 9:28 AM EDT

Summary:

U.S. scientists said adult stem cells found in human testicles might be used in place of controversial embryonic stem cells to help fight diseases.

Using testicles to fix the brain, heart and blood

Source: The Globe and Mail
Posted: September 20, 2007 at 4:19 AM EDT

Summary:

Men have a source of potentially life-saving stem cells between their legs. A team of American researchers has found a way to easily identify stem cells in the testicles of adult mice that can be coaxed to turn into brain cells, muscle cells, heart cells, blood cells and even blood vessels. One day, they say, male patients may be able to turn to their own testicles as a source of stem cells to repair an ailing heart or kidney or to fix the brain damage caused by Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Obtaining Stem Cells From Adult Testicles, An Alternative To Embryonic Stem Cells, actually expanding the small population o

Source: Medical News Today
Article Date: 19 September 2007 - 16:00 PDT

Summary:

Adult testicles could one day become a common source for stem cells to cultivate a host of tissue types to combat disease, while at the same time avoiding the ethical resistance to embryonic stem cells, say researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College. Using SPCs (spermatogonial progenitor stem cells) which came from the testes of mice, the scientists were able to tweak them in the lab to form MASCs (multi-potent adult spermatogonial-derived stem cells). These cells were developed into endothelial (working blood vessel) cells and tissue, cardiac cells, brain cells and a range of other cell types.

Global Breakthrough In Animal Experiment: Stem Cells To Repair The Lungs, Highly Promising Results From British Team

Source: European Respiratory Society
Article Date: 19 September 2007 - 15:00 PDT

Summary:

Researchers from London's Imperial College have successfully implanted lung cells grown from embryonic stem cells into the lungs of mice. This worldwide breakthrough, presented to the annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) in Stockholm, opens up exciting new horizons for the treatment of lung disease.

Testicular Stem Cells Show Their Spots: Tracking down powerful adult stem cells in mouse testes may benefit humans, too

Source: Scientific American
Date: September 19, 2007

Summary:

Researchers say they have found a way to pluck out a potent type of stem cell from the testes of adult mice and transform it into other kinds of tissue, including heart muscle and blood vessels.

Stem Cells From Testes Produce Wide Range of Tissue Types

Source: HealthDay News
Posted: September 19, 2007; 4:00 PM EDT

Summary;

HealthDay News reports researchers have turned adult stem cells from male mice testes into functioning cell types:

"U.S. researchers say they've successfully reprogrammed adult stem cells from the testes of male mice into a wide variety of cell types, including functional blood vessels, contractile cardiac tissue, and brain cells. If the same can be done with adult testes stem cells from humans, they may offer a source of new therapies to treat men with health problems such as heart disease, vascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and even cancer, the researchers said."

Male sex organ new source of stem cells

Source: Agence France Presse (AFP)
Posted: September 19, 2007 3:22 PM EDT

Summary:

Agence France Presse (AFP) reports researchers isolated adult stem cells in mouse testicles:

"A man's testicles could one day provide a plentiful and accessible supply of adult stems cells to help him fight off disease or regenerate damaged organs, according to a study published Wednesday. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York have already isolated the multi-purpose cells in mice, and successfully coaxed them to grow into cardiac cells, brain cells and working blood vessel tissue."