Category Archives: Nebraska Stem Cells

OMAHA When Bill Gannon went to the doctor complaining of back pain, he wasnt expecting the news he got.

In September 2011, the former president of Scotus Central Catholic a title he held from 1997 to 2006 was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Although the diagnosis was hard for his family to handle, Bill stayed strong.

He was very confident he was going to beat this, not once did he waver from a setback, said Chris Gannon, who describes his father as a determined, stoic, positive and stubborn man.

The Gannons turned to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), searching for answers, treatment options and information on this type of cancer.

We hadnt even heard of myeloma until the doctors sat us down and had a talk with us. LLS helped us understand everything from coping assistance to travel vouchers. They even showed us educational things, said Chris, a 1999 graduate of Scotus Central Catholic.

The Gannon family learned multiple myeloma attacks white blood cells. It's also rare, as fewer than 25,000 people are diagnosed with the cancer each year.

During his treatments, Bill continued teaching in Schuyler. He planned to finish the school year, but was forced to retire in October 2012 after a failed stem-cell transplant.

He never doubted he wouldnt beat it until the last two weeks of his life. He finally realized there was nothing left they could do, Chris said. It just got too aggressive, even though we had been trying everything at that point in time.

Bill lost his battle with cancer in January 2013.

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After losing father to cancer, Scotus graduate finds way to fight back

Jack Knispels list got a little shorter this month.

Numbered 1-50, the list is a collection of goals the 2011 Beatrice High School graduate composed his senior year of things he hoped to achieve in his life.

His parents held onto the list after Jack graduated, and are proud to say three of those items can now be crossed off:

27. Be someones hero.

46. Make my parents proud.

49. Make a difference in someones life.

I think that says a lot about our son and the kind of person he is, said his mother, Judy Knispel. If this saves somebodys life, its an awesome thing.

On Dec. 2, Jack underwent a peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) to save the life of a 74-year-old stranger.

Closely related to a bone marrow transplant without the need to harvest marrow from inside bone, Jack said the PBSCT consisted of extraction from his right arm in a similar fashion as giving blood. He donated a total of 12 liters, while blood was returned to his left arm. The process took a total of around four hours, but required a lot of preparation.

There were multiple blood tests to make sure the match was 100 percent.

Read the original here:
BHS grad donates to save a life

University of Nebraska Board of Regents candidates Steve Glenn and Rob Schafer squared off in a forum hosted by the Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce Tuesday night.

The two fielded 30 minutes of questions about everything from agriculture and accreditation to stem cell research and the hunt for the next university president.

Glenn, a Pawnee City property owner and owner of seven businesses across Nebraska, said his campaign focus was on making college affordable for students and improving the teaching, outreach and research aspects of the university.

Schafer, an attorney in Beatrice, said his goal is to make the university a worldwide leader in agriculture.

In April 2011, the University of Nebraska lost its accreditation with the American Association of Universities. The candidates were asked how they would help the university regain accreditation.

Schafer said a large part of the reason for losing accreditation was because the AAU did not include the University of Nebraska Medical Center in its assessment because of its distance from the UNL campus.

What I would like to see happen is that we be able to change how they determine membership so that we can include all the research, not just at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, but also the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Kearney campuses as well as Curtis, Schafer said.

Glenn said the university planned very poorly.

There are very specific metrics that define membership in the AAU and we did not look at those metrics and say, How do we plan and aggressively deal with that? Glenn said. We have to build a very specific plan that should be in writing, the metric should be defined and that should be held accountable for our administration.

The two both said lowering student debt upon graduation is part of the reason they are running for the Board of Regents, even though the position comes without a salary or benefits other than free football tickets.

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Board of Regents candidates offer their opinions

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Nebraska Stem Cell Treatment | Stem Cell Treatments

Blood and marrow transplantation is a special treatment procedure which may be appropriate for some cases of multiple myeloma, leukemia and lymphoma.

The Nebraska Medical Center stem cell transplantation program has been ranked as one of the busiest adult and pediatric stem cell transplantation programs in the world. The program, which was established in 1983, has been recognized internationally for pioneering autologous transplantation using peripheral stem cells as an alternative rescue product; conducting ground-breaking transplant studies; and performing transplants in alternate settings other than traditional inpatient hospital units.

The Nebraska Medical Center is the only hospital in the country with two physicians on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's (NCCN) board of directors and the only National Cancer Center (NCI) designated cancer center in this region of the country. Patients receiving care at The Nebraska Medical Center receive both the clinical expertise of our academic and private practice physicians and have access to new procedures and technology through the work of researchers performing blood and marrow clinical trials at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

While the transplant procedures take place in the hospital, a patient can move to The Lied Transplant Center for recovery and to participate in cooperative care once they are ambulatory, or able to move around. Cooperative care is a revolutionary approach that allows patients and their care partners to play an active role in the treatment and recovery process following transplantation, cancer care and treatment of other illnesses.

Care partners, usually a family member or friend, assist in all aspects of the recovery process including administering medications, monitoring health changes, attending informational classes and more. The cooperative care environment allows patients and care partners to learn the skills they will need when they return home. Care partners and patients stay in a comfortable home-like suite that includes a private bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchenette and two televisions. Support groups are also available for those in need of support during and after cancer treatment.

Make an appointment with blood and marrow transplant specialists by calling 800-922-0000. For clinic location and hours use the Find a Physician link.

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside the bones, which produces many cells of the blood. In diseases involving the bone marrow, such as leukemia and aplastic anemia, normal bone marrow production has been altered. The bone marrow produces abnormal numbers or abnormal types of blood cells. In other diseases such as lymphoma, testicular cancer and breast cancer, the marrow may or may not be directly affected, but the cancer does involve other cells in the body.

The process of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) is a type of transfusion, not a surgical procedure. In transplantation, the transfusion consists of collecting special cells from the marrow or the blood, called stem cells. These stem cells are an early form of blood cell that produces red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and additional stem cells. Normally in cancer treatment, the effect of therapy on the bone marrow limits the amount of treatment that can be given. When we give stem cells from the marrow or peripheral blood as a rescue transfusion, it is possible to give higher doses of therapy. This, of course, increases the chances of a good response to the therapy.

The stem cells used for the rescue or recovery are collected from the patient or a donor and then given to the patient after the cancer therapy has been administered. There are different types of transplants; each is named according to the donor of the stem cells. Blood and marrow stem cell transplants are grouped into several categories based on how the stem cells are collected. These include:

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Blood and Marrow Transplant - The Nebraska Medical Center ...

Nebraskas history of biomedical research in the academic and medical fields has brought the state national recognition for work such as that of researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who in 1997 injected liver cells into diseased tissue, resulting in improved function and in the patient no longer needing a liver transplant. However, developments in the legislative area resulting from ethical and social debate may hinder both future innovation and the attracting of top researchers in stem cell research if a research ban and penalty for such research is approved.

As no federal legislation in the United States regulates stem cell research (except by an executive order to not allow federal funding to be used for embryonic stem cell research except on human embryonic stem cell lines created before August 9, 2001), each state is responsible for determining policy and funding for stem cell research. Nebraska law also limits the use of state funds from the tobacco settlement to the state healthcare cash fund from being used for human embryonic stem cell research.

A bill was introduced in 2007 and carried over into 2008 that would ban both human reproductive and therapeutic cloning using somatic cell nuclear transfer. In addition to the ban, the bill seeks to classify this type of research activity as a felony with harsh penalties. Funding for research is available through the National Institutes of Health, state funding, and private foundations and research grants.

Research in the department of virology at the University of Nebraska includes the interaction between the neurological and immune systems and the laboratorys discovery that T cells mount a spontaneous response to protect injured neurons. Their research also includes central nervous system regeneration of damaged retina in a mouse model using rodent embryonic progenitor cells. The long-term goals include returning vision in cells that do not naturally regenerate.

The stem cell and bone marrow transplantation team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is involved in over 400 research protocols and clinical trials for cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disease, and other illnesses. In addition to treatment, the centers research is conducted to improve post-transplant quality of life by reducing transplant-related complications. One such study follows peripheral stem cell transplant patients for sleep disturbances, fatigue, and pain and compares the biological indicators of sleep quality and cycles, as well as determining the effect on caregivers sleep quality and cycles.

After the success in 1997 of injecting liver cells, researchers have turned to studying the possibility of using human embryonic stem cells to create liver cells. The scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center are working with National Institutes of Health-approved stem cell lines in mouse models. As with all research, preliminary testing is necessary before federal grant money can be requested, as federal money is limited to research that has been shown to be viable, and even then, funding is very competitive.

The Nebraska Center for Cellular Signaling, established in 2003 through National Institute of Health funding, created a center of biomedical research in Nebraska. The center is the result of collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton Medical School, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The centers mission is to improve oral and dental health. To meet this goal, researchers focus on cellular biology (adhesion and motility and cancer biology), with projects on oral and colon cancer, DNA damage, ubiquitin ligases, and signaling.

Nebraskans for Research was formed in 2000 as an advocacy and public education group to support medical research within the state, including stem cell research. The organizations goals are to gain increased funding for biomedical research for economic growth and improved medical treatments for human disease and illnesses, as well as attracting top researchers to the state. To meet this goal, the organization promotes the successes of Nebraska researchers to the public through online content, media coverage, and conferences or lectures showcasing a variety of topics from ethics, to basic research, to accomplishments. With a goal of training future scientists, the group also develops programs for science teachers to use in their classes.

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Nebraska (Stem Cell) - what-when-how