Siriraj hospital doctors, that the discovery of stem cells

Faculty of medicine Siriraj hospital hospital said yesterday that succeeded it by creating the world's first pure stem cells from human amniotic fluid.

Dr. Charnchai Wanthanasiri, head of the Department of obstetrics, said that stem cells derived from the human body often have limitations, because researchers are usually able to take so much tissue organs development of cell cultures relevant research.

Dr. Charnchai said the Department provides services to birth and used tissues from umbilical cords and placentas of the delivery process. Provided the Department with suitable material in order to carry out research on stem cells.

Dr. Supakdi Julwichitpong, head of research, stem cell therapy, said that the results will be used to combat disease neuro degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson 's.

Dr. Thassanee Permthai, a researcher for the breakthrough, said that stem cells from amniotic fluid may be grown on several cell types of the body. Stem cells have a high degree of purity, are very fast and can be stored for a long time. They can be prepared quickly, using a new technique that is more efficient.

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Stem cell research shows promise

Now researchers at the New York stem cell Foundation, the laboratory developed a method that can help to recover lost ground.

Embryonic stem cells can generate all the tissues of the body. So if these cells can be developed from the cells of adult patient, it may be possible to make replacement cells for every patient tissue without fear of rejection.

At first it seemed that stem cells can be made of implantation of the nuclei of adult patient in an unfertilized human egg, or oocyte, whose nucleus has been removed. Mysterious factors in the body of the egg to adult cells to lose its specialist nature and back in its infancy where all fate open to him.

However, this method is highly inefficient and will require dozens or hundreds of eggs for each patient. A major step forward was made in 2007, when Shinya Yamanaka found a way to avoid using human eggs.

He guessed oocyte reprograms the inserted nucleus and showed that by injecting protein factors in only four cells of the adult patient, he could make it back to an embryonic State. Cells made by Dr. Yamanaka, called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. At first it seemed they are identical as hoped, embryonic cells made using the oocytes.

But as researchers examine them more closely, they found more and more anomalies, making the cells unsuitable for therapeutic use. In particular, iPS cells seem to preserve the memory, in the form of chemical signals in the material, which drives their DNA, their previous personality. This trace memory to prevent them from morphing into other types of cells when needed.

The team led by Scott Noggle and Dieter Egli, New York stem cell Foundation, now back to the basics, trying to improve on an original method of using eggs to create patient-derived embryonic stem cells.

Happy coincidence, as part of the management of the experiment they left the egg nucleus in place when they implanted the adult nucleus. They noticed that in the presence of a nucleus of ova, embryos from adult cell nucleus inserted developed much further than usual. They progressed, in fact, the blastocyst stage, the point at which embryonic stem cells can be collected, researchers report in Wednesday's issue of nature.

With several species including mice and cow cells to easily reach the blastocyst stage, and from there a donor you can clone when the blastocyst is implanted in the uterus. But despite all the worry about the cloning of people, in fact, it was nearly impossible to coax human eggs with the implanted nucleus to move to the stage of blastocysts. New York researchers say that they have not been able to repeat a claim that has been published.

Blastocysts, produced by New York triploidnyj, means that they have a normal diploid genome, or double inserted adults cells plus one oocyte genome. Triploidnyj cells are unstable and potentially cancerous and can never be put into patients. In addition, this process is too inefficient for therapeutic use is 63 oocytes were required to create a single normal set of embryonic cells.

"These cells are not therapeutically appropriate at this time," Dr. Noggle said.

Their relevance for research to study the process of the development of the blastocyst, and in particular to examine why the iPS cells is made by Dr. Yamanaka is reprogrammed. It may be that in addition to the four identified Dr. Yamanaka requires other factors. If these were to be identified, iPS cells can be put back on track as a starting point for therapy. Will remain the many difficult steps, like ensuring that the cells, which are created to restore the patient's tissues are programmed correctly, well behaved and benign.

Dr. Noggle and Dr. Egli also hope to adapt their way of getting useful blastocysts, the patient received. If the core of the human egg too early, it probably does not provide enough of the factors necessary to reprogram the nucleus. If it is after the first cell division, it merges with the inserted nucleus and can not be removed. You may be able to yank it at the last possible minute, when he made enough reprogramming job, and get a normal diploid blastocysts are formed from cells of the patient.

Research stands as a stepping stone to success, "Dr. George q. Daley, a stem cell expert at children's Hospital Boston, writes in a commentary in nature. He also calls "the provocative question," he said, of whether the patient received embryonic cells, made the old-fashioned way with ova can work better than the iPS cells.

Researchers from the New York stem cell Foundation, has the advantage of access to abundant oocytes because they worked with Columbia University program, which pays donors $ 8000. Many ethicists fear that payments to donors will lead to a market in organs, and they hoped that enough oocytes will be donated for free. The National Academy of Sciences has published guidelines for stem cell research, saying that donors should not be paid.

But oocyte donation is a difficult process, and stem cell researchers in many countries have been unable to find enough volunteers for their experiments to proceed. Starting in 2009, the State of New York has allowed donors to receive reasonable compensation for eggs donated for stem cell research.

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Artificial cornea gives the gift of vision

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October 05, 2012

Blindness is often caused by corneal diseases. The established treatment is a corneal transplant, but in many cases this is not possible and donor corneas are often hard to come by. In the future, an artificial cornea could make up for this deficiency and save the vision of those affected.

Our eyes are our window to the world. Thousands of people have lost their eyesight due to damages to the cornea, such as trauma, absent limbal stem cells or diseases. Transplantation of a donor cornea is the therapy of choice for a great number of those patients. Let alone the issue of scarce donor material, a sub-group of patients do not tolerate transplanted corneas, necessitating the employment of an alternative means of restoring eye sight. In Germany alone, around 7,000 patients are waiting to be treated. In close cooperation with the Aachen Centre of Technology Transfer, Dr. Storsberg and his team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer research IAP in Potsdam, are attempting to improve the situation by developing an artificial cornea. Scientific partners in the "ART CORNEA" project include the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, ACTO e. V. and the Ophthalmic Clinic Cologne-Merheim.

"We are in the process of developing two different types of artificial corneas. One of them can be used as an alternative to a donor cornea in cases where the patient would not tolerate a donor cornea, let alone the issue of donor material shortage," says IAP project manager Dr. Joachim Storsberg. The scientist has considerable expertise in developing and testing of next-generation biomaterials. Between 2005 and 2009 he collaborated with interdisciplinary teams and private companies to successfully develop an artificial cornea specifically for patients whose cornea had become clouded - a condition that is extremely difficult to treat. Such patients are unable to accept a donor cornea either due to their illness or because they have already been through several unsuccessful transplantation attempts. Dr. Storsberg was awarded the Josef-von-Fraunhofer Prize 2010 for this achievement. "A great many patients suffering from a range of conditions will be able to benefit from our new implant, which we've named ArtCornea®. We have already registered ArtCornea® as a trademark," reports Storsberg.

Ultima ratio patients regain vision

ArtCornea® is based on a polymer with high water-absorbent properties. Dr. Storsberg and his team have added a new surface coating to ensure anchorage in host tissue and functionality of the optic. The haptic edge was chemically altered to encourage local cell growth. These cells graft to the surrounding human tissue, which is essential for anchorage of the device in the host tissue. The researchers aimed to enlarge the optical surface area of the implant in order to improve light penetration beyond what had previously been possible - a tall order. "Once ArtCornea® is in place, it is hardly visible, except perhaps for a few stitches. It's also easy to implant and doesn't provoke any immune response," says Storsberg, highlighting the merits of this new development.

The specialists have also managed to make a chemically and biologically inert base material biologically compatible for the second artificial cornea, ACTO-TexKpro. Dr. Storsberg achieved this by selectively altering the base material, polyvinylidene difluoride, by coating the fluoride synthetic tissue with a reactive molecule. This allows the patient's cornea to bond together naturally with the edge of the implant, while the implant's inner optics, made of silicon, remain free of cells and clear. The ACTO-TexKpro is par-
ticularly suitable as a preliminary treatment, for instance if the cornea has been destroyed as a consequence of chronic inflammation, a serious accident, corrosion or burns.

The experiments were carried out in collaboration with Dr. Norbert Nass and Dr. Saadettin Sel, Senior consultant ophthalmologist at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. How well TexKpro and ArtCornea® are accepted by clinicians as an additional tool at their disposal was first tested by the doctors in the laboratory thereafter in vivo in several rabbits. After a six month healing process, the implanted prostheses were accepted by the rabbits without irritation, clearly and securely anchored within the eye. Tests carried out following the operation showed that the animals tolerated the artificial cornea well. Prof. Dr. Norbert Schrage will take charge of clinical trials that will soon commence at the Eye Clinic Cologne-Merheim. It is likely that the positive results of tests carried out thus far will be confirmed, and the co-operation partners rate the chances of success very highly. Their optimism is well founded: As early as 2009, several Ultima-Ratio patients received implants of a Kerato prosthesis specially developed for them because they had previously rejected human corneas. These patients have not suffered any complications and are still wearing their artificial corneas today.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Synthetic eye prosthesis
Donor corneas are a rarity: In Germany alone, each year roughly 7,000 patients wait for that miniscule piece of tissue. An implant made of plastic may soon offer patients - especially those facing their last resort - with the chance to see again.

Corneal transplant technique shows promise in children
For infants and children with blinding diseases of the cornea, a sophisticated new corneal transplantation technique offers the hope of improving vision while overcoming the technical difficulty and low success rate of traditional penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in children, according to reports in the current issue of the Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus).

Artificial cornea offers better results for infants, some blind patients
Infants and adults who are blind due to a cloudy or damaged cornea are seeing some remarkable results thanks to a new version of an artificial implant that takes the place of the cornea, the clear covering of the eye that serves as our window on the world.

An artificial cornea is in sight, thanks to biomimetic hydrogels
If eyes are "the windows of the soul," corneas are the panes in those windows. They shield the eye from dust and germs. They also act as the eye's outermost lens, contributing up to 75 percent of the eye's focusing power.

Artificial sight
An engineering team at the University of Dundee has just secured funding to work with European colleagues on the construction of artificial corneas which will allow all cornea replacements to go ahead without the patient having to wait for a donor. The Euro 2.4m project will help people who suffer from a number of diseases requiring corneal grafting including keratoconus - a thinning of the cornea. Instead of relying on donor corneas from an eye bank, the new technology invented by biochemists, tissue engineers and structural engineers will allow the European team to grow the cornea from human stem cells in a test tube. The team of structural engineers at the University of Dundee who will be More Artificial Cornea Current Events and Artificial Cornea News Articles
Artificial Cornea in Sight.(source of tissue for corneal transplants is cadavers)(white blood cells that fight infection): An article from: Transplant News
by Gale Reference Team (Author)

This digital document is an article from Transplant News, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2006. The length of the article is 508 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Artificial Cornea in Sight.(source of tissue for corneal transplants is cadavers)(white blood cells that fight infection)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Transplant News (Newsletter)
Date: November 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 16 Issue: 19

Distributed by Thomson...

RESPONCE OF CHRYSOPERLA CORNEA ON DIFFERENT DIETS OF HONEY: COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF HONEY BASED ARTIFICIAL DIETS ON A FEW BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF CHRYSOPERLA CARNEA (STEPHENS)
by Haider Ali (Author), M. Ashfaq (T.I) (Author), Saeed Ahmad (Author)

The present research work was conducted in the Biological Control Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, during 2009. The objective of this study was, to enhance the longevity and fecundity of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), through improving the artificial diet of its adults. The experiment comprised seven treatments; of which six composed of honey, water and yeast, in a ratio of 1:1:1 and one that of control. The honey used in five of these, was collected from different plant sources, whereas, that employed in the one meant for the inclusion of Vitamin-E, was the common honey. The control treatment, however, comprised the pre-existing standard diet (common honey + water + yeast in 1:1:1 ...

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The eleventh edition of Principles of Anatomy and Physiology marks a new milestone in the publication of the phenomenally successful Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. Bryan Derrickson of Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida joins Jerry Tortora as a co-author, bringing his background and expertise in physiology in balance with Jerry's focus on anatomy. The authors have maintained in the text the superb balance between structure and function and continue to emphasize the correlations between normal physiology and pathophysiology, normal anatomy and pathology, and homeostasis and homeostatic imbalances. The acclaimed illustration program is now even better thanks to the input of hundreds of professors and students and the re-development of many of the figures depicting the...

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Dynamics of DNA packaging helps regulate formation of heart

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September 28, 2012

Findings hold promise for heart regeneration and understanding congenital heart defects

A new regulator for heart formation has been discovered by studying how embryonic stem cells adjust the packaging of their DNA. This approach to finding genetic regulators, the scientists say, may have the power to provide insight into the development of any tissue in the body - liver, brain, blood and so on.

A stem cell has the potential to become any type of cell. Once the choice is made, the cell and other stem cells committed to the same fate divide to form organ tissue.

A University of Washington-led research team was particularly interested in how stem cells turn into heart muscle cells to further research on repairing damaged hearts through tissue regeneration. The leaders of the project were Dr. Charles Murry, a cardiac pathologist and stem cell biologist; Dr. Randall Moon, who studies the control of embryonic development, and Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos, who explores the operating systems of the human genome.

The paper's lead author is Dr. Sharon Paige, a UW MD-PhD student who completed her Ph.D. in Dr. Murry's lab.

The results are published in the Sept. 28 edition of Cell.

Paige, an aspiring pediatric cardiologist, said, "By identifying regulators of cardiac development, this work has the potential to lead to a better understanding of the causes of congenital heart disease, thereby paving the way for therapeutic advances."

Previously UW researchers had examined the signals that prod cells to grow into various kinds of heart tissue. In this case, the researchers entered a relatively unexplored area. They decided to look at the genetic controls behind the transformation of stem cells into heart tissue.

Because stem cells keep their DNA code under wraps until needed, the scientists examined how this packaging is altered over time to permit reading of portions of the code and thereby produce changes in the cell.

DNA is wound up into a structure called chromatin. "DNA can be packaged as tightly closed, neutral or activated," Murry explained. The tightly closed state, he said, is analogous to setting the brakes on a car.

Like a child who clams up when asked, "What will you be when you grow up?" stem cells are protective of the genes that will determine their future cell type, or what scientists call their cell fate.

"We found that stem cells take great care to avoid turning on cell-fate regulating genes at the wrong time," Murry said. "These genes have their brakes on until they are needed." When the time is right, he said, "the brakes come off and the gas goes on."

He explained that the situation is different for genes that regulate cell functions, in contrast to those that regulate cell fate. Genes that control, for example, the production of proteins that allow the cell to contract or to generate electrical signals do not have such a complex braking system. Those genes can be more readily activated.

The researchers pointed out that it was already known that the patterns stem cells follow to modify their DNA packaging distinguished them from progenitor cells - cells prepared to begin a lineage of a particular type of cell - and also from cells that already had a working identity, such as blood or muscle cells.

However , the dynamics of the DNA packaging modifications - how the packaging is programmed to change over time-and how these dynamics influence which genes are "exposed" and activated to create, for example, heart muscle cells, was poorly understood.

The UW-led research team learned that, as human embryonic stem cells become heart cells, this differentiation is accompanied by distinctive dynamic alterations in DNA packaging. This tell-tale pattern enabled the scientists to distinguish the key regulators of heart development from other genes. The researchers referred to the carefully timed pattern of changes in the DNA wrapping as a "temporal chromatin signature."

Just as a bank robber leaves incriminating evidence in a handwritten note to the teller, the temporal chromatin signature gave the scientists the clues they needed to hunt down new genes that might be responsible for heart formation.

"We found a bunch of them," Murry said. Their system revealed the top candidate to be the homebox gene MEIS2. This gene seemed an unlikely choice because it had no previous record of participating in heart formation. However, when this gene was removed from a new generation of zebra fish, the developing fish embryos had heart tube formation defects and other heart abnormalities.

Murry and other members of the research team think patterns in DNA unwrapping could be broadly applicable to discovering the genes that regulate other aspects of tissue and organ formation beyond only the heart. Such a research approach might help reveal the major developmental decisions that occur inside of cells as an embryo forms and grows. These revelations could provide information useful to spurring stem cells to form specific tissues for organ repair later in life.

Acknowledging the limitations of a lab system in mimicking what happens inside living cells in the early stages of organ formation in humans, Murry said, "The use of the temporal chromatin signature to discover regulatory genes could give us new insights into human development and new tools to control cell fate."

###

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health P01 GMO081719, U01 HL100405, P01 HL094374, R01 HL084642, R01 HL64387, R03 AR057477, and the UW ENCODE Center (U54HG004592). Randal Moon is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

University of Washington

Protein could be key for drugs that promote bone growth
Georgia Health Sciences University researchers have developed a mouse that errs on the side of making bone rather than fat, which could eventually lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists develop stem cell model for hereditary disease
A new method of using adult stem cells as a model for the hereditary condition Gaucher disease could help accelerate the discovery of new, more effective therapies for this and other conditions such as Parkinson's, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Study suggests how expanding waistlines may contribute to cancer
Fat progenitor cells may contribute to cancer growth by fortifying the vessels that provide needed blood to tumors, according to preclinical research findings by investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Realizing the potential of stem cell therapy
New animal studies provide additional support for investigating stem cell treatments for Parkinson's disease, head trauma, and dangerous heart problems that accompany spinal cord injury, according to research findings released today.

Scientists identify mammal model of bladder regeneration
While it is well known that starfish, zebrafish and salamanders can re-grow damaged limbs, scientists understand very little about the regenerative capabilities of mammals.

Stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have taken the first steps to create neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue in animals.

Safety results of intra-arterial stem cell clinical trial for stroke presented
Early results of a Phase II intra-arterial stem cell trial for ischemic stroke showed no adverse events associated with the first 10 patients, allowing investigators to expand the study to a targeted total of 100 patients.

Human neural stem cells study offers new hope for children with fatal brain diseases
Physician-scientists at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital have demonstrated for the first time that banked human neural stem cells - HuCNS-SCs, a proprietary product of StemCells Inc. - can survive and make functional myelin in mice with severe symptoms of myelin loss.

UCSF study shows evidence that transplanted neural stem cells produced myelin
A Phase I clinical trial led by investigators from the University of California, San Francisco and sponsored by Stem Cells Inc., showed that neural stem cells successfully engrafted into the brains of patients and appear to have produced myelin.

New function of a protein involved in colon cancer is identified
Researchers from IMIM, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, have succeeded in determining the function of a new variant of enzyme IKKalpha (IKKα) to activate some of the genes taking part in the tumor progressions of colorectal cancer. More Stem Cells Current Events and Stem Cells News Articles
Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction
by Jonathan Slack (Author)

Embryonic stem cells have been hot-button topics in recent years, generating intense public interest as well as much confusion and misinformation. In this Very Short Introduction, leading authority Jonathan Slack offers a clear and informative overview of stem cells--what they are, what scientists do with them, what stem cell therapies are available today, and how they might be used in the future. Slack explains the difference between embryonic stem cells, which exist only in laboratory cultures, and tissue-specific stem cells, which exist in our bodies, and he discusses how embryonic stem cells may be used in the future to treat such illnesses as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, spinal trauma, and retinal degeneration. But he stresses that, despite important advances, the...

Stem Cells For Dummies
by Lawrence S.B. Goldstein (Author), Meg Schneider (Author)

The first authoritative yet accessible guide to this controversial topicStem Cell Research For Dummies offers a balanced, plain-English look at this politically charged topic, cutting away the hype and presenting the facts clearly for you, free from debate. It explains what stem cells are and what they do, the legalities of harvesting them and using them in research, the latest research findings from the U.S. and abroad, and the prospects for medical stem cell therapies in the short and long term.Explains the differences between adult stem cells and embryonic/umbilical cord stem cellsProvides both sides of the political debate and the pros and cons of each side's opinionsIncludes medical success stories using stem cell therapy and its promise for the futureComprehensive and unbiased, Stem...

Essentials of Stem Cell Biology, Second Edition
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The Stem Cell Hope: How Stem Cell Medicine Can Change Our Lives
by Alice Park (Author)

A landmark book by the senior science writer at Time magazine introduces us to a medical breakthrough that can save our lives.

Few people know much about stem cell research beyond the ethical questions raised by using embryos. But in the last decade, stem cell research has made huge advances toward eliminating some of our most intractable diseases. Now this sweeping and accessible book introduces us to this cutting-edge science that will revolutionize medicine and change the way we think about and treat disease.

Alice Park takes us from stem cell's controversial beginnings to the recent electrifying promise of being able to create the versatile cells without using embryos at all. She shows us how stem cells give researchers an unprecedented ability to study disease while...

Human Stem Cell Technology and Biology: A Research Guide and Laboratory Manual
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Human Stem Cell Technology & Biology: A Research Guide and Laboratory Manual integrates readily accessible text, electronic and video components with the aim of effectively communicating the critical information needed to understand and culture human embryonic stem cells.Key Features:An authoritative, comprehensive, multimedia training manual for stem cell researchersEasy to follow step-by-step laboratory protocols and instructional videos provide a valuable resourceA must-have for developing laboratory course curriculums, training courses, and workshops in stem cell biologyPerspectives written by the world leaders in the fieldIntroductory chapters will provide background informationThe volume will be a valuable reference resource for both experienced investigators pursuing stem cell and...

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by Eapen Cherian (Author), G. Nandhini (Author), Anil Kurian (Author), K. Rajkumar (Foreword) Stem Cells: Scientific Facts and Fiction
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In the past decades our understanding of stem cell biology has increased tremendously. Many types of stem cells have been discovered in tissues of which everyone presumed were unable to regenerate in adults; these include particularly the heart and the brain. There is vast interest in stem cells from biologists and clinicians who see the potential for regenerative medicine and future treatments for chronic diseases like Parkinson, diabetes and spinal cord lesions based on the use of stem cells and entrepreneurs in biotechnology who expect new commercial applications ranging from drug discovery to transplantation therapies. As is often the case in science, many early claims turned out to be different from those expected. Embryonic stem cell therapies have not moved rapidly into clinical...

Essential Stem Cell Methods (Reliable Lab Solutions)
by Robert Lanza (Editor), Irina Klimanskaya (Editor)

As part of the Reliable Lab Solutions series, this volume offers an abridged and comprehensive update of selected chapters that first appeared in the three-volume stem cell series published in Methods in Enzymology. Currently, stem cells are of great interest to scientists and clinicians due to their unique ability to differentiate into various tissues of the body, making them a promising source of cells for regenerative medicine and drug discovery as well as an excellent model of vertebrate development. Essential Stem Cell Methods features a detailed set of protocols written by experts in the field and hand-selected by the editors to help researchers drive advances in this fast-moving field. The result is a clear set of step-by-step methods which steer the reader through the...

Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave: A Quantum Leap in Medical Science

Roger M. Nocera, M.D., a world leader in stem cell therapy research, announces a breakthrough medical science discovery that will revolutionize health care as we know it.

In his new book "Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave: A Quantum Leap in Medical Science," Dr. Nocera reveals that a medical science discovery made in 2003 has been developed in medical clinics around the world and proven to be effective in the treatment of many heretofore incurable diseases.

Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave explains how this medical science discovery is on a par with Immunology discovered two centuries ago with the smallpox vaccine, and with the discovery of antibiotics a century later.

Dr. Nocera’s book is a primer on how this amazing new medical...

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Realizing the potential of stem cell therapy

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October 16, 2012

Animal research shows promise for treating Alzheimer's disease, brain damage, and heart problems resulting from spinal cord injuries

NEW ORLEANS - New animal studies provide additional support for investigating stem cell treatments for Parkinson's disease, head trauma, and dangerous heart problems that accompany spinal cord injury, according to research findings released today. The work, presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health, shows scientists making progress toward using stem cell therapies to repair neurological damage.

The studies focused on using stem cells to produce neurons - essential, message-carrying cells in the brain and spinal cord. The loss of neurons and the connections they make for controlling critical bodily functions are the chief hallmarks of brain and spinal cord injuries and of neurodegenerative afflictions such as Parkinson's disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Today's new findings show that:

- Neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells implanted in monkeys displaying symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear to have matured into healthy, dopamine-producing neurons without causing any adverse effects (Dustin Wakeman, PhD, abstract 314.11, see attached summary).

- Life-threatening heart problems caused by spinal cord injury were partially remedied in rats treated with stem cells derived from the fetal brainstem. The findings suggest new avenues of research for repairing cardiovascular damage in human patients with spinal cord injuries (Armin Blesch, PhD, abstract 637.10, see attached summary).

- Experiments in mice indicate it may be possible to activate dormant stem cells in the adult prompting the production of new neurons that might help repair damage caused by injury (Nathaniel Hartman, PhD, abstract 823.07, see attached summary).

Other recent findings discussed show that:

- Scientists believe they have isolated a protein that can signal the adult brain to produce more neurons, raising the possibility that boosting production of the protein could help patients recover neurons lost to degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and ALS, or to trauma, such as spinal cord injury (Anthony Conway, abstract 823.04, see attached speaker's summary).

"As the fields of developmental and regenerative neuroscience mature, important progress is being made to begin to translate the promise of stem cell therapy into meaningful treatments for a range of well-defined neurological problems," said press conference moderator Jeffrey Macklis, MD, of Harvard University and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, an expert on development and regeneration of the mammalian central nervous system. "Solid, rigorous, and well-defined pre-clinical work in animals can set the stage toward human clinical trials and effective future therapies."

Society for Neuroscience

Social contact can ease pain related to nerve damage, animal study suggests
Companionship has the potential to reduce pain linked to nerve damage, according to a new study.

New findings could help speed recovery, alleviate pain associated with spinal cord injury
Research released today demonstrates how new scientific knowledge is driving innovative treatments for spinal cord injuries.

Scientists identify mammal model of bladder regeneration
While it is well known that starfish, zebrafish and salamanders can re-grow damaged limbs, scientists understand very little about the regenerative capabilities of mammals.

Stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have taken the first steps to create neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue in animals.

Transplantation of Embryonic Neurons Raises Hope for Treating Brain Diseases
The unexpected survival of embryonic neurons transplanted into the brains of newborn mice in a series of experiments at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) raises hope for the possibility of using neuronal transplantation to treat diseases like Alzheimer's, epilepsy, Huntington's, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

Researchers a step closer to controlling inflammation in MS
A University of Adelaide researcher has published results that suggest a possible new mechanism to control multiple sclerosis (MS).

Study shows benefits, drawbacks, for women's incontinence treatments
Oral medication for treating a type of incontinence in women is roughly as effective as Botox injections to the bladder, reported researchers who conducted a National Institutes of Health clinical trials network study, with each form of treatment having benefits and limitations.

New research model to aid search for degenerative disease cures
Efforts to treat disorders like Lou Gehrig's disease, Paget's disease, inclusion body myopathy and dementia will receive a considerable boost from a new research model created by UC Irvine scientists.

Therapeutic time window important factor for cord blood cell transplantation after stoke
A research team from Germany has found that optimal benefit and functional improvement for ischemic stroke results when human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB MNCs) are transplanted into rat stroke models within 72 hours of the stroke.

Low vitamin D levels linked to more severe multiple sclerosis symptoms
Low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased number of brain lesions and signs of a more active disease state in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study finds, suggesting a potential link between intake of the vitamin and the risk of longer-term disability from the autoimmune disorder. More Spinal Cord Current Events and Spinal Cord News Articles
The Spinal Cord: A Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Text and Atlas
by Charles Watson (Editor), George Paxinos (Editor), Gulgun Kayalioglu (Editor)

Many hundreds of thousands suffer spinal cord injuries leading to loss of sensation and motor function in the body below the point of injury. Spinal cord research has made some significant strides towards new treatment methods, and is a focus of many laboratories worldwide. In addition, research on the involvement of the spinal cord in pain and the abilities of nervous tissue in the spine to regenerate has increasingly been on the forefront of biomedical research in the past years. The Spinal Cord, a collaboration with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, is the first comprehensive book on the anatomy of the mammalian spinal cord. Tens of thousands of articles and dozens of books are published on this subject each year, and a great deal of experimental work has been carried out on...

Spinal Cord Medicine
by Denise I. Campagnolo (Editor), Steven Kirshblum MD (Editor), Mark S. Nash PhD FACSM (Editor), Robert F. Heary MD (Editor), Peter H. Gorman MD (Editor)

Spinal Cord Medicine is the perfect resource for the medical specialist treating persons with spinal cord injuries.  This comprehensive and practical resource provides detail about all aspects of spinal cord injury and disease.  The initial seven chapters present the history, anatomy, imaging, epidemiology, and general acute management of spinal cord injury. The next eleven chapters deal with medical aspects of spinal cord damage, such as pulmonary management and the neurogenic bladder. Chapters on rehabilitation are followed by nine chapters dealing with diseases that cause non-traumatic spinal cord injury. A comprehensive imaging chapter is included with 30 figures which provide the reader with an excellent resource to understand the complex issues of imaging the spine and spinal...

Basic and Clinical Anatomy of the Spine, Spinal Cord, and ANS, 2e
by Gregory Cramer (Author), Susan Darby (Author)

This one-of-a-kind text describes the specific anatomy and neuromusculoskeletal relationships of the human spine, with special emphasis on structures affected by manual spinal techniques. A comprehensive review of the literature explores current research of spinal anatomy and neuroanatomy, bringing practical applications to basic science.A full chapter on surface anatomy includes tables for identifying vertebral levels of deeper anatomic structures, designed to assist with physical diagnosis and treatment of pathologies of the spine, as well as evaluation of MRI and CT scans.High-quality, full-color illustrations show fine anatomic detail.Red lines in the margins draw attention to items of clinical relevance, clearly relating anatomy to clinical care.Spinal dissection photographs, as well...

Spinal Cord Injury: Functional Rehabilitation (3rd Edition)
by Martha Freeman Somers MS PT (Author)

Compltely updated in a new edition, this unique reference is an in-depth examination of the central role of the physical therapist in rehabilitation following spinal cord injury. This book encompasses all of the elements involved in a successful rehabilitation program. It includes a basic understanding of spinal cord injuries and issues relevant to disability, as well as knowledge of the physical skills involved in functional activities and the therapeutic strategies for acquiring these skills. It also presents an approach to the cord-injured person that promotes self-respect and encourages autonomy. Comprehensive information equips readers with a broad foundation of knowledge including topics relevant to spinal cord injury, its pathological repercussions, and medical and rehabilitative...

Spinal Cord Medicine: Principles and Practice
by Vernon Lin MD PhD (Editor), Christopher Bono MD (Editor), Diana Cardenas MD MHA (Editor), Frederick Frost MD (Editor), Margaret Hammond MD (Editor), Laurie Lindblom MD (Editor), Inder Parkash MD MS FRCS FACS (Editor), Stevens Stiens MD MS (Editor), Robert Woolsey MD (Editor)

The thoroughly revised Second Edition of this authoritative reference continues to define the standard of care for the field of spinal cord medicine. Encompassing all of the diseases and disorders that may affect the proper functioning of the spinal cord or spinal nerves, this comprehensive volume provides a state of the art review of the principles of care and best practices for restoring function and quality of life to patients with spinal cord injuries. Expert contributors from multiple disciplines cover topics ranging from acute medical and surgical management of specific problems to cutting-edge research, bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction, neurologic and musculoskeletal issues, advanced rehabilitation techniques and technologies, functional outcomes, and psychosocial care. While...

Essentials of Spinal Cord Injury: Basic Research to Clinical Practice
by Michael G. Fehlings (Editor), Alexander R. Vaccaro (Editor), Maxwell Boakye (Editor), Serge Rossignol (Editor), John Ditunno (Editor), Anthony S. Burns (Editor)

Essentials of Spinal Cord Injury is written for the spinal cord injury (SCI) team and reflects the multidisciplinary nature of treating patients with SCI. It integrates emerging medical and surgical approaches to SCI with neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuroimaging, neuroplasticity, and cellular transplantation. This comprehensive yet concise reference will enable neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and allied health professionals caring for SCI patients to translate research results into patient care. It is also an excellent resource for those preparing for the board exam in SCI medicine.Key Features:Material is cross-referenced to highlight relationships between the different areas of SCIChapters are concise, focused, and include key points, pearls, and pitfallsAn...

How I Roll: Life, Love, and Work After a Spinal Cord Injury
by J. Bryant Neville Jr. (Author)

“An unflinching look at what it's like to be a quadriplegic.” – Dan Gottlieb, PhD
This is the inspiring story of a Virginia country boy—J. Bryant Neville, Jr.—who became a quadriplegic thirty years ago after a car wreck, and how he refused to accept the medical sentence of a life unrealized. Hard work, devoted family, a caring community, and a determination to live as fiercely as his body would allow helped Bryant Neville earn two college degrees, become a respected banking executive, a loving husband and provider, an adoptive parent, and a biological father. Some 250,000 Americans live with spinal cord injury and impairment. On average, thirty more sustain a spinal cord injury every day. Bryant Neville’s story is a beacon of hope for anyone facing a physical setback who...

Spinal Cord Injuries: Management and Rehabilitation, 1e
by Sue Ann Sisto PT MA PhD (Author), Erica Druin MPT (Author), Martha Macht Sliwinski PT MA PhD (Author)

From a hospital admittance to discharge to outpatient rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injuries addresses the wide spectrum of rehabilitation interventions and administrative and clinical issues specific to patients with spinal cord injuries. Comprehensive coverage includes costs, life expectancies, acute care, respiratory care, documentation, goal setting, clinical treatment, complications, and activities of daily living associated with spinal cord patients. In addition to physical therapy interventions and family education components, this resource includes content on incidence, etiology, diagnosis, and clinical features of spinal cord injury.Case Studies with clinical application thinking exercises help you apply knowledge from the book to real life situations.Thoroughly referenced,...

Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury: Moving Ahead with Your Life
by The Mayo Clinic (Author)

Traumatic spinal cord injuries have become increasingly common, with nearly a quarter of a million Americans dealing with the condition and another 10,000 new cases each year. The need for a simple, authoritative guide to this disability has never been greater. The Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury addresses that need. With all the information written, vetted, and endorsed by the world’s most prestigious medical clinic, the book enables sufferers to return to an active and productive life within the limits of their disability. Here the Clinic’s leading experts offer advice on everything from emotional adjustments to skin care to modifying homes and cars. This independence-granting book encourages readers to resume their favorite hobbies, participate in athletic...

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Protein could be key for drugs that promote bone growth

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October 16, 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Georgia Health Sciences University researchers have developed a mouse that errs on the side of making bone rather than fat, which could eventually lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Drugs commonly used to treat those types of conditions - called glucocorticoids - work by turning down the body's anti-inflammatory response, but simultaneously turn on other pathways that lead to bone loss. The result can lead to osteoporosis and an accumulation of marrow fat, says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the GHSU Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics.

The key to the body developing bone instead of fat, a small protein called GILZ, was shown in cell cultures in 2008. Now, with work by GHSU Graduate Student Guodong Pan, the work has been replicated in an animal model. Pan received the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research's Young Investigator Award for his work at the society's annual meeting Oct. 12-15 in Minneapolis.

Bone and marrow fat come from the same biological precursor - mesynchymal stem cells. "The pathways for bone and fat have a reciprocal relationship, so we needed to find the key that disrupts the fat production pathway, which would then instead encourage bone growth," Shi says.

GILZ, Shi and Pan say, was already a known mediator of the anti-inflammatory response of glucocorticoids, and the protein also mediates bone production. Shi's early research had shown that glucocorticoids enhance bone formation in the lab because of a short "burst" of GILZ.

The protein works by inhibiting the way cells regulate fat production and turn on fat-producing genes, Shi says. "When you permanently express GILZ, the fat pathway is suppressed, so the body chooses to produce bone instead."

"We found that when we overexpressed the protein in these mice, it increased bone formation," Pan added. "This supports our original hypothesis that GILZ mediates the body's response to glucocorticoids and encourages bone growth." In fact, the genetically modified mice showed a significant increase in bone mineral density and bone volume as well, he found.

"That means GILZ is a potential new anti-inflammatory drug candidate that could spare people from the harmful effects associated with glucocorticoid therapy," Pan said

Long-term goals, Shi said, are developing the GILZ-like pill that is anti-inflammatory and protects or even increases bone production.

Georgia Health Sciences University

Stress hormones: Good or bad for posttraumatic stress disorder risk?
Glucocorticoids, a group of hormones that includes cortisol, are considered stress hormones because their levels increase following stress.

Controlling inflammatory and immune responses
Researchers at the IRCM, led by geneticist Dr. Jacques Drouin, recently defined the interaction between two essential proteins that control inflammation.

Too few salmon is far worse than too many boats for killer whales
Not having enough Chinook salmon to eat stresses out southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest more than having boatloads of whale watchers nearby, according to hormone levels of whales summering in the Salish Sea.

Lower GI problems plague many with rheumatoid arthritis, Mayo Clinic study finds
Add lower gastrointestinal (GI) problems such as ulcers, bleeding and perforations to the list of serious complications facing many rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Taking oral glucocorticoids for 3 months or longer? Beware of osteoporosis!
Millions of people around the world are prescribed glucocorticoids for a wide variety of inflammatory conditions, including, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Salk discovery may lead to safer treatments for asthma, allergies and arthritis
Scientists have discovered a missing link between the body's biological clock and sugar metabolism system, a finding that may help avoid the serious side effects of drugs used for treating asthma, allergies and arthritis.

Inhaled glucocorticoids during pregnancy and offspring pediatric diseases
Inhaled glucocorticoids for the treatment of asthma during pregnancy are not associated with an increased risk of most diseases in offspring, but may be a risk factor for endocrine and metabolic disturbances, according to a new study.

Salk breathes new life into fight against primary killer of premature infants
A discovery by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies might explain why some premature infants fail to respond to existing treatments for a deadly respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and offers clues for new ways to treat the breathing disorder.

Children of depressed mothers have a different brain
Researchers think that brains are sensitive to the quality of child care, according to a study that was directed by Dr. Sonia Lupien and her colleagues from the University of Montreal published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

New Use for an Old Drug: Chloroquine Finding May Lead to Treatments for Arthritis, Cancer, and Other Diseases
In a study published recently in the journal Science Signaling Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists demonstrate on the molecular level how the anti-malaria drug chloroquine represses inflammation, which may provide a blueprint for new strategies for treating inflammation and a multitude of autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancers. More Glucocorticoids Current Events and Glucocorticoids News Articles
Glucocorticoid Receptor: Webster's Timeline History, 1971 - 2007
by Icon Group International (Author)

Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Glucocorticoid Receptor," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Glucocorticoid Receptor in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Glucocorticoid Receptor when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including...

Glucocorticoids (Milestones in Drug Therapy)
by N.J. Goulding (Editor), R.J. Flower (Editor)

Following 50 years of glucocorticoid use in a clinical setting, an international body of expert scientists and physicians presents the most expansive survey of glucocorticoid pharmacology to date. This work traces the history of glucocorticoid biology from the seminal description of glucocorticoid insufficiency by Thomas Addison in the mid-19th century, up to current advances in elucidating the molecular basis of glucocorticoid action. Important discoveries are presented, as well as milestones in drug development, a survey of current clinical practice, and prospects for novel glucocorticoid-based therapeutics. Scientists and clinicians will appreciate the scope of this work, which is of special interest to workers in the fields of endocrinology, inflammation and...

Glucocorticoids and Mood: Clinical Manifestations, Risk Factors and Molecular Mechanisms (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)
by Lewis L. Judd (Editor), Esther M. Sternberg (Editor)

This volume explores the effects of glucocorticoids on mood and the mechanisms mediating these effects, including aspects of the clinical effects of glucocorticoids in a variety of illnesses and in health, including molecular mechanisms, glucocorticoid resistance and sensitivity, glucocorticoid receptor polymorphisms, and implications for therapy. In light of the important clinical implications for treatment of a wide range of diseases with glucocorticoids and the potential serious side effects of depression and suicidality, it is timely that this subject be re-visited due to new research. The topics addressed include a survey of clinical features of glucocorticoid treatment and molecular and genetic factors in glucocorticoid resistance and sensitivity and are of relevance to many medical...

Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis (Frontiers of Hormone Research)
by Andrea Giustina (Editor), Alberto Angeli (Editor), Ernesto Canalis (Editor), Filippo Manelli (Editor)

Osteoporosis is one of the most clinically relevant disabling chronic disease encountered in clinical practice. A common cause of osteoporosis is glucocorticoid excess, as glucocorticoids may increase bone resorption, inhibit bone formation, have indirect actions on bone by decreasing intestinal calcium absorption and induce hypercalciuria. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the effects of glucocorticoids on bone metabolism and structure and on the diagnosis and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. It aims at providing updated information on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of this often dramatic complication of glucocorticoid excess. Being one of the few publications completely devoted to glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis it will heighten the awareness...

ASSESSMENT OF ADRENAL GLUCOCORTICOID FUNCTION: Which tests are appropriate for screening? (Postgraduate Medicine)
by JTE Multimedia

Overproduction or underproduction of adrenal hormones raises sticky diagnostic problems for primary care physicians. Fortunately, assessment of hypoadrenalism has been greatly simplified. On the other hand, evaluation of patients with suspected hyperadrenalism (Cushing's syndrome) can be difficult, confusing, and frustrating. Dr Hasinski reviews the options for testing these critical adrenal functions and provides up-to-date information on interpreting test outcomes and pursuing a diagnosis.

Original Publication Date: July 1998

Evidence on Ergogenic Action of Glucocorticoids as a Doping Agent Risk (The Physician and Sportsmedicine)
by JTE Multimedia

Systemic administration of glucocorticoids (GCs) is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) during competition. Few studies have examined the effects of GCs on exercise performance, but increasing evidence has shown that short-term GC intake enhances performance in animals and humans. However, there are many health risks associated with GC use. Based on the available evidence, as presented in this article, I conclude that GCs are doping agents and should remain on the WADA’s list of banned products. Because of the complexity of GCs, however, determining the boundaries between their medical use and abuse (eg, in sports) is a constant challenge for the WADA.

Recent Advances in Glucocorticoid Receptor Action
by A. Cato (Editor), H. Schaecke (Editor), K. Asadullah (Editor)

The long-term use of glucocorticoids is associated with several deleterious effects. Attempts to separate the beneficial from the adverse effects of these compounds have met with varying degrees of difficulty. The discovery of distinct modes of action of the glucocorticoid receptor, the protein that mediates glucocorticoid action has opened up many possibilities for improving glucocorticoid therapy. This book provides an in-depth overview of the molecular actions of the glucocorticoid receptor and discusses the chances of an imminent identification of selective glucocorticoid agonists. Such componds should fulfill all the criteria of a glucocorticoid but should lack the sideeffects so far linked with classical glucocorticoids.

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