Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5f455z/errorproof_entry) has announced the addition of the "Error-Proof Entry, Expert Positioning, and Exploding Growth in Embryonic Stem Cell Products" report to their offering.

Companies interested in developing human embryonic stem cell products have to navigate a risky product environment. Due to the long-standing and controversial patents held by the University of Wisconsins Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), companies have been largely hindered by the intellectual property (IP) environment restricting the development of embryonic stem cell products. However, going where competitors fear to tread means tremendous financial rewards are available for the companies that move boldly forward.

Human embryonic stem cells offer tremendous therapeutic potential, as they can develop into over 200 different cell types. However, up until now, WARF has had the power to largely control what companies can develop embryonic stem cell products and on what terms. With the release of BioInformants report Error-Proof Entry, Expert Positioning, and Exploding Growth in Embryonic Stem Cell Products, published June 2012, research supply companies can now receive clear guidance for navigating the hazards of embryonic stem cell product development.

The report reveals critical alternatives to traditional WARF licensing, such as moving research overseas, establishing collaborations with companies that are existing WARF licensees, structuring creative negotiating alternatives, developing products for other species and other breakthrough strategies. According to Lance Breastgoff, BioInformants Head of Project Management, The report informs research product companies about their options for functioning within this complex IP landscape and expands the range of options they have available.

BioInformants report Error-Proof Entry, Expert Positioning, and Exploding Growth in Embryonic Stem Cell Products also offers historical and future growth projections for the embryonic stem cell product market, competitive analysis of existing providers, and detailed assessment of creative strategies for developing high-demand products. This insight is possible, because BioInformant has been the global leader in stem cell industry data since 2006 and is the only producer of market intelligence data specific for the stem cell sector.

Asked about the edge their report will give to research supply companies over the competition, Breastgoff said, Over the past twelve months, we have witnessed an explosion of interest in bringing human embryonic stem cell products to market. For research product companies, the information in this report has the potential to save you thousands, or even millions of dollars, by allowing you to consider options other than WARF licensing or alternatively, to empower you with the knowledge to negotiate a better deal.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5f455z/errorproof_entry

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Research and Markets: What Everybody Ought To Know About Embryonic Stem Cell Product Development

UC Berkeley scientists have discovered a type of stem cell that appears to lie dormant in blood vessel walls for decades before waking up and causing the arterial hardening and clogging that are associated with deadly strokes and heart attacks.

The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications, go against the prevailing theory on the cause of heart disease - that the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels become damaged over time and are triggered to proliferate. Those smooth muscle cells were thought to build up like scar tissue and cause the blood vessels to become narrow or brittle.

The new theory suggests that the smooth muscle cells found in the blood vessel walls aren't to blame, but rather a small cluster of stem cells is. It's those stem cells that proliferate and cause damage, and they should be the target of drug therapies to treat, and potentially cure, heart disease, the UC Berkeley scientists say.

"We call them sleeping beauty or sleeping evil cells, because they don't do anything when they're dormant. The stem cells stay quiescent for decades before they start to grow and they make the blood vessels harden," said senior author Song Li, a bioengineering professor at UC Berkeley and a researcher at the Berkeley Stem Cell Center.

"These stem cells are probably less than 5 percent of the cells in the blood vessel when they're dormant," Li said. "But they can dominate. They can become the major cell."

Li and his team still believe that smooth muscle cells are to blame for much of the damage in the blood vessels. What's changed is where those cells come from.

Scientists have known for decades that the blood vessel damage associated with heart disease is caused by a buildup of smooth muscle cells. Those clumps of cells cause the blood vessel to become dangerously narrow, hindering the flow of blood, or they become brittle clots that break off and block vessels entirely.

When the blood flow is slowed or stopped completely, it can cause strokes or heart attacks, depending on the location of the blockage. Strokes and heart attacks are among the most common causes of death in the United States.

The stem cells, which Li and his team have named multipotent vascular stem cells, remained undiscovered because so few of them exist when they're dormant. It didn't help that after they become activated, they look very similar to the smooth muscle cells that scientists have long thought were the culprit in heart disease.

The prevailing theory has been that damage to the blood vessel caused the smooth muscle cells in the vessel walls to "de-differentiate," or revert to an earlier stage of development that allows them to reproduce and build the scar-like tissue. But there was no proof of it, Li and others noted.

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Type of stem cell may contribute to heart disease

A newly discovered type of stem cell may be one of the major driving forces behind heart attacks and other killer vascular diseases, according to a new study. The finding may provide a brand new target for future heart disease treatments, the researchers said.

While doctors have long thought that it was the smooth muscle cells within the blood vessel walls that combined with cholesterol and fat to clog the arteries--and developed treatments accordingly--the new research indicates the guilty party may actually be a previously unknown type of stem cell, called a multipotent vascular stem cell.

In a study conducted in mice, researchers found it was these stem cells, rather than muscle cells, that formed the scar tissue that blocks the flow of blood in the arteries and causes them to harden.

According to the researchers, because multipotent stem cells are capable of becoming multiple types of cells, including smooth muscle, nerve, cartilage, bone and fat cells, the ability of the stem cells to form bone or cartilage could explain how a soft artery calcifies and hardens.

?We are very confident that vascular stem cells play a much more important role than what was thought previously,? principal investigator Dr. Song Li, professor of bioengineering and researcher at the Berkeley Stem Cell Center, told FoxNews.com.

Li said these stem cells appear to be involved in most major vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis, or the clogging of the arteries. The researchers also believe the stem cells are involved the repair and diseases of all blood vessels.

The study could potentially lead to an entirely new area of heart disease treatment, as there are no therapies or medications that currently target stem cells.

?Previous therapies focused on cholesterol metabolism and killing smooth muscle cells,? Li said. ?This new finding opens a door to new therapies that target the vascular stem cells, not only to block the proliferation of the stem cells but also stop their differentiation into bone, cartilage, and even fat cells?It will be a new area for vascular biology, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.?

However, Li said it was important to note the stem cells aren?t all bad ? they appear to not only be involved with disease development but also in the regeneration of blood vessels after certain surgeries, such as bypass procedures.

?The stem cells can do good and bad things, and the fate needs to be controlled after we understand the mechanisms,? Li said.

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Stem cells may be to blame for clogged arteries

Public release date: 7-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Candice Debleu eularpressoffice@cohnwolfe.com 44-789-438-6425 European League Against Rheumatism

Berlin, Germany, June 7 2012: Initial results from an international, investigator-initiated, open label phase III trial were presented at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism. Data indicate that haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) results in better long term survival than conventional treatment for patients with poor prognosis early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

The ASTIS (Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation International Scleroderma) trial enrolled more than 150 patients between 2001 and 2009, and randomised patients to the HSCT arm or to intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide treatment. As of May 1, 2012, significantly more deaths have occurred in the conventional treatment group. Half of the deaths in the HSCT group occurred early and were deemed treatment-related according to an independent data monitoring committee. In the conventional treatment group in contrast, none of the deaths were deemed to be treatment-related; but more deaths occurred later and most were related to progressive disease.

"Systemic sclerosis is a debilitating disease that can lead to heart, lung or kidney failure and premature death, especially in patients who have the diffuse cutaneous form of the condition, where skin thickening is more generalised and involvement of vital organs more common. The ASTIS study shows that such patients may benefit from early intensive immunosuppressive treatment," said Professor Jaap van Laar from Newcastle University, Professor Dominique Farge, Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris (Sponsor in France, Paris 7 University) and Professor Alan Tyndall from Basel University, on behalf of their colleagues from the EBMT EULAR Scleroderma Study Group. "These initial results are very encouraging and will help identify patients who benefit from stem cell transplantation."

The ASTIS trial was a unique collaborative project of 27 multidisciplinary teams from 10 countries conducted under the auspices of two leading organisations in the respective fields, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT; http://www.ebmt.org) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR;www.eular.org). The primary endpoint of the trial was event-free survival, defined as survival until death or development of major organ failure.

Systemic sclerosis is a rare but severe autoimmune systemic connective tissue disease*. Increased fibroblast activity results in abnormal growth of connective tissue which causes vascular damage and fibrosis of the skin, gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other internal organs**. Characteristics of systemic sclerosis include vasomotor disturbances; fibrosis; subsequent atrophy of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscles, and internal organs and immunologic disturbances*. Systemic sclerosis is estimated to occur in 2.3-10 people per one million*. Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis cases make up 30% of all systemic sclerosis cases and involve the upper arms, thighs and trunk**. Lung fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension are important causes of mortality in these patients and there is no curative treatment available so far*.

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Abstract Number: LB0002

*Schwartz R A. (2011) Medscape Reference: Systemic Sclerosis. [Online] Available from: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1066280-overview [Accessed 8 May 2012]

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Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation increases survival in systemic sclerosis patients

ScienceDaily (June 6, 2012) One of the top suspects behind killer vascular diseases is the victim of mistaken identity, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who used genetic tracing to help hunt down the real culprit.

The guilty party is not the smooth muscle cells within blood vessel walls, which for decades was thought to combine with cholesterol and fat that can clog arteries. Blocked vessels can eventually lead to heart attacks and strokes, which account for one in three deaths in the United States.

Instead, a previously unknown type of stem cell -- a multipotent vascular stem cell -- is to blame, and it should now be the focus in the search for new treatments, the scientists report in a new study appearing June 6 in the journal Nature Communications.

"For the first time, we are showing evidence that vascular diseases are actually a kind of stem cell disease," said principal investigator Song Li, professor of bioengineering and a researcher at the Berkeley Stem Cell Center. "This work should revolutionize therapies for vascular diseases because we now know that stem cells rather than smooth muscle cells are the correct therapeutic target."

The finding that a stem cell population contributes to artery-hardening diseases, such as atherosclerosis, provides a promising new direction for future research, the study authors said.

"This is groundbreaking and provocative work, as it challenges existing dogma," said Dr. Deepak Srivastava, who directs cardiovascular and stem cell research at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, and who provided some of the mouse vascular tissues used by the researchers. "Targeting the vascular stem cells rather than the existing smooth muscle in the vessel wall might be much more effective in treating vascular disease."

It is generally accepted that the buildup of artery-blocking plaque stems from the body's immune response to vessel damage caused by low-density lipoproteins, the bad cholesterol many people try to eliminate from their diets. Such damage attracts legions of white blood cells and can spur the formation of fibrous scar tissue that accumulates within the vessel, narrowing the blood flow.

The scar tissue, known as neointima, has certain characteristics of smooth muscle, the dominant type of tissue in the blood vessel wall. Because mature smooth muscle cells no longer multiply and grow, it was theorized that in the course of the inflammatory response, they revert, or de-differentiate, into an earlier state where they can proliferate and form matrices that contribute to plaque buildup.

However, no experiments published have directly demonstrated this de-differentiation process, so Li and his research team remained skeptical. They turned to transgenic mice with a gene that caused their mature smooth muscle cells to glow green under a microscope.

In analyzing the cells from cross sections of the blood vessels, they found that more than 90 percent of the cells in the blood vessels were mature smooth muscle cells. They then isolated and cultured the cells taken from the middle layer of the mouse blood vessels.

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The real culprit behind hardened arteries? Stem cells, says landmark study

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Leading stem cell therapeutic and regenerative medicine company, AuxoCell Laboratories, Inc., today announced an agreement with CordVida, a Brazilian stem cell cryopreservation company, which will allow CordVida to expand its services. Families who select CordVida to store umbilical cord blood will now have the opportunity to bank stem cells from an additional source cord tissue. With this agreement, AuxoCell broadens its international reach to South America.

At AuxoCell, we are pleased by the opportunity to provide this groundbreaking technology to families around the globe, said Rouzbeh R. Taghizadeh, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of AuxoCell Laboratories, Inc. CordVida is Brazils premier cord blood bank and adheres to the highest quality standards. It is for that reason that we have selected them as our exclusive partner in Brazil.

Cord tissue has an abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Currently, there is a significant amount of research underway focused on mesenchymal stem cells extracted from cord tissue. MSCs are rapidly becoming the leading stem cell in regenerative medicine studies, and MSCs from a variety of sources are in use in over 150 clinical trials. The AuxoCell cord tissue technology represents the gold standard in the industry, as its technology prepares stem cells that are ready for immediate use, if needed.

CordVida is excited to be the first company in Brazil to offer storage of multiple kinds of stem cells, says Roberto Waddington, CEO for CordVida. Considering the enormous therapeutic prospects of cord tissue derived MSCs, our clients in the future will now rely on a much wider array of potential therapeutic applications.We are proud that AuxoCell selected CordVidaas its exclusive technology partner for all of Brazil.

Banking umbilical cord tissue stem cells offers clients a chance to reap the benefits of research that is being conducted on MSCs. Additionally, AuxoCells own studies have shown that a combination of cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells derived using AuxoCells validated processing SOPs and hematapoietic stem cells (HSCs) from the cord blood enhances the engraftment of the cord blood HSCs.

About AuxoCell

AuxoCell Laboratories, Inc. (AuxoCell) is a leading stem cell therapeutic and regenerative medicine company located in Massachusetts. AuxoCell's primary research focus is to develop the enormous therapeutic potential of the primitive stem cells found in the Wharton's Jelly of the human umbilical cord. With exclusive patent rights and proprietary processing protocols, AuxoCell is uniquely situated to offer the very best in cord tissue stem cell banking. Through strategic partnerships with both private and public cord blood banks, stem cell centers, and research laboratories around the world, AuxoCell strives every day to bring novel stem cell therapies from the bench to the bedside. Additional information is available through HYPERLINK http://www.auxocell.com or at (617) 610-9000.

About CordVida

Founded in 2004, CordVida is the premier stem cell cryopreservation company in Brazil with 10.000 umbilical cord blood units stored. It is the cord blood bank of choice for key doctors in Brazil. Committed to the highest global quality standards, CordVida has been AABB accredited since 2008. Half of the transplants made in Brazil using private cord blood units have been made with units stored in CordVida.

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AuxoCell Laboratories Licenses Umbilical Cord Tissue Stem Cell Service to Brazil’s CordVida

Public release date: 5-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Eve celltransplantation@gmail.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Tampa, Fla. (June 5 , 2012) A study characterizing the multipotency and transplantation value of olfactory stem cells, as well as the ease in obtaining them, has been published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:11/12), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/.

"There is worldwide enthusiasm for cell transplantation therapy to repair failing organs," said study lead author Dr. Andrew Wetzig of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "The olfactory mucosa of a patient's nose can provide cells that are potentially significant candidates for human tissue repair."

According to the study authors, olfactory neural stem cells can be derived from a patient's own cells, they are readily available by a minimally invasive biopsy technique, and they can be expanded in vitro. The cells are plentiful because the olfactory epithelium undergoes neurogenesis and continual replacement of sensory neurons throughout adult life.

"Using the rat as our animal model source, we examined the basic aspects of olfactory neural stem cell biology and its potential for self-renewal and phenotypic expression in various circumstances," said Dr. Wetzig. "Previously, we found that they have performed well in pre-clinical models of disease and transplantation and seem to emulate a wound healing process where the cells acquire the appropriate phenotype in an apparently orderly fashion over time."

The researchers concluded that the olfactory neurospheres contain stem cells whose capacity for differentiation is triggered by signals from the immediate environmental niche.

"Stem cell numbers were shown to be enriched by our culture methods," explained Dr. Wetzig. "We also demonstrated that when adult olfactory stem cells are transplanted into an environmental niche different from that of their origin, they demonstrate multipotency by acquiring the phenotype of the resident cells."

"This study highlights another potential source of stem cells that has shown some degree of promise in a number of studies" said Dr. John Sladek, professor of neurology and pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Their relatively easy accessibility and multipotent properties are important factors that could rank these cells competitively with other stem cells thus giving them a potential impact as an excellent source for cell therapy".

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The potential impact of olfactory stem cells as therapy reported in Cell Transplantation

ALPHARETTA, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (SNWV), today announced the publication of peer-reviewed, preclinical research that demonstrates the ability of the Companys Extracorporeal Shock Wave Technology (ESWT) to stimulate proliferation of periosteal adult stem cells (cambium cells) within the body and subsequently form bone. In addition, the combination of ESWT-proliferated adult stem cells and a bioactive scaffold regenerated more bone than a bioactive scaffold alone.

The publication, titled The Use of Extracorporeal Shock Wave-Stimulated Periosteal Cells for Orthotopic Bone Regeneration, appeared in the online edition of Tissue Engineering, Part A as an ePublication ahead of print. The abstract of the publication can be viewed online at: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ten.TEA.2011.0573.

Led by Myron Spector, M.D., a professor and researcher at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, the authors stated, This study investigated a novel approach for treatment of bone loss, which has potential for many clinical situations where bone apposition is required (e.g., vertical ridge augmentation, regrowing bone following tumor resection, and regenerating bone lost at sites of osteolysis or bone degeneration).

The cambium cells of the periosteum (outer membrane covering bone) currently have limited suitability for clinical applications in their native state due to their low cell number (only 2 to 5 cells thick). However, ESWT has been shown to cause a rapid increase in periosteal cambium cell numbers and subsequent periosteal osteogenesis (bone formation). The advantages of adding a scaffold as we did in this study are threefold: the scaffold contours the new bone, it helps maintain bone at the implant site, and it creates a space to allow the periosteal cells to further proliferate and fill the scaffold.

The authors concluded, The ESWT-stimulated samples of tibial bone outperformed the control group in all key outcome variables, and the study results therefore demonstrated the efficacy of ESWT-stimulated periosteum for bone generation. These results successfully demonstrated the efficacy of periosteum stimulated by ESWT technology for bone generation.

In the first phase of this research, the authors successfully demonstrated that ESWT increased the thickness of the cambium layer surrounding bone and the number of cambium cells within that layer. This proliferation of adult stem cells is an important part of many tissue engineering strategies. Then, in a novel second phase, the authors combined the ESWT-proliferated adult stem cells with a porous calcium phosphate scaffold that is commonly utilized in clinical applications to stimulate bone regeneration. A comparator control group received the scaffold alone with no prior ESWT treatment. The results were statistically significant and favored the ESWT group. In fact, at two weeks post-surgery, there was a significant increase in all key outcome variables for bone growth favoring the group that received ESWT prior to being combined with a scaffold compared with the group that received only the scaffold.

Summary of Key Study Findings

About SANUWAVE Health, Inc. SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (www.sanuwave.com) is an emerging regenerative medicine company focused on the development and commercialization of noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of tissue, musculoskeletal and vascular structures. SANUWAVEs portfolio of products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, including new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, helping to restore the bodys normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE intends to apply its PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE, is CE marked and has Canadian device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue. In the U.S., dermaPACE is currently under the FDAs Premarket Approval (PMA) review process for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved Ossatron device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its Ossatron, Evotron and orthoPACE devices in Europe.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the marketing of the Companys product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Companys ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

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SANUWAVE Technology Shown to Proliferate Stem Cells and Form Bone

Stem Cell research at U of M may help patients with Lou Gehrigs disease. (File Photo)

LANSING (WWJ) The University of Michigan would be required to report on its embryonic stem cell research program as part of the states new higher education budget.

WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick reports the Michigan Senate will vote this week on legislation that would order the University of Michigan to provide more data on its stem cell research. The House passed the legislation last week; the Senate is set to vote Tuesday.

Its good news forMichigan Right to Life, which says it wants a closer look at what the university is doing.

(What) They are doing is very controversial research some researchers get off into a corner and start doing things and if you are not making sure what it is they are up to then they can get off track just kind of a renegade, says Michigan Right To Life lobbyist Ed Rivet.

Cynthia Wilbanks, a U-M vice president for government relations, told the Detroit Free Press the university has worked with lawmakers on the reporting requirement and believed it to be workable. Wilbanks added the report will include information that is already publicly available, but it will now be packaged in a way that meets the legislatures guidelines.

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Right To Life Researchers Want U-M’s Stem Cell Data

Hyderabad, June 2:

Picking stem cells from a patients body, sending it to a sophisticated laboratory to culture a tissue and then implanting it are pass.

A team of doctors at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute has used the tea bag or sprinkler approach to regenerate stem cells. The organisation has developed a lab-free technique that could be available off-the-shelf. This allows eye surgeons with usual facilities to perform the procedure.

The team, led by Dr Virender Singh Sangwan, used this technique to treat those who suffered chemical injuries, resulting in bleeding in the cornea.

Instead of sending stem cells to the lab for culture, the doctor picked the required number of stem cells around the cornea and sprinkled on the damaged area and then put a contact lens. In 15 days, he sees development of a good layer in the place of injured area, Prof. Balasubramanian, Head of Research at LVPEI, said.

A winner of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize, Dr Sangwan said he had conducted the procedure on about 25 patients with good results. This had been published in international scientific magazines.

He is now in the process of developing tools to help doctors.

Leber Congenital Amaurosis

Children down with the rare ocular disorders that result in gradual loss of sight can hope for a cure. Doctors are working on a gene therapy to correct this problem caused by consanguineous marriages.

Though this therapy is in vogue abroad, LVPEI says it is the first centre to carry out research on this procedure. Technically called LCA or Leber Congenital Amaurosis, doctors would refer patients to a gene analysis after studying them for indications.

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Stem cell therapy for cornea treatment