Category Archives: North Carolina Stem Cells

Your Transplant Team

Your transplant team will include board-certified hematologists and medical oncologists, clinical pharmacists, specially trained nurses,dieticians, and social workers. They meet regularly to discuss your care, collect opinions, and offer the best recommendations for your needs.Your transplant coordinator will facilitate the appointments and coordinate your care. We also assist you in finding nearby housing during your weeks-longtreatmentand help you navigate through any financial and insurance concerns.

If you are receiving a transplant from a donor, a search to identify a donor will take place on your behalf with immediate family members and the National Marrow Donor Program. Arrangements will be made for the cells to be harvested. If you are receiving an autologous transplant,your stem cells will be harvested and frozen for your use after your conditioning regimen.

Chemotherapy alone or with radiation therapy kills any cancer cells in your body. This conditioning regimen also makes room in your bone marrowfor the transplanted cells to grow.You receive your stem cell transplant after you complete the conditioning regimen. The transplanted cells enter your bloodstream in a method similar to a blood transfusion.

We are one of the only programs in North Carolina where you will receive the majority of your care in our day hospital as anoutpatient. This allows you to live in the comfort of your own homeor nearby temporary residence. If you are eligible to receive your own cells, you may spend no time in the main hospital asan inpatient. If you receive donor cells,youmay spend a portion of your time in the hospitaland undergo your remaining transplant care as anoutpatient. We are currently leading the nation's first clinical trial to offer bone marrow transplant care in the home.

Before, during, and after your treatment, our cancer support services help you minimize the side effects of treatment and cope with the emotional and psychological effects of diagnosis and treatment. Following your transplant, you will receive supportive care in our daily clinic with medicines, monitoring for side effects, and symptom management. You will be required to stay at Duke or live locally for 30-90 days following your transplant. This ensures a safe recovery following your treatment. You will also be required to have a caregiver with you at all times.

Once you complete your treatment, you will be discharged back to the care of your localdoctor.Periodically, you will undergo tests, either here or with your doctor, to monitor your response to therapy and your major organ function.

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Bone Marrow Transplant | Durham, Raleigh, North Carolina ...

The termis Americas 2017 Annual Conference and Exhibition, The Path Forward for Regenerative Medicine: Traversing the Lab to the Patient, was held in December 2017 in Charlotte, NC. The mission of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society meeting is to bring together experts across the globe interested in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The society helps promote the discussion of current challenges as well as benefits of applying tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Researchers are showing stem cell therapy to be beneficial for a number of degenerative diseases that are not adequately treated using currently approved medical therapies. There is a clear unmet medical need and the global sharing of information is essential for the benefit of patients.

Researchers at Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina, East Carolina University and Duke University are actively involved in stem cell research but are still in the early stages. Due to governmental regulations implemented in the United States, stem cell research has been slow to advance. It was not until 2009, when President Obama lifted the ban on stem cell research, that academic centers began to fully fund stem cell research programs. International meetings, such as the termis Americas Conference, help scientists in the United States stay up to date on research being conducted globally.

The only FDA approved stem cell treatments available in North Carolina are bone marrow stem cells for bone marrow transplants and cord blood stem cells for certain blood disorders. The research being conducted in universities in North Carolina and across the United states will be instrumental in forwarding regenerative medicine across the globe. However, patients that want government approved stem cell therapy today, need to look to clinics outside the United States.

The Stem Cells Transplant Institute in Costa Rica provides government approved stem cell therapy for; Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, aging, COPD, diabetes, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, critical limb ischemia, and erectile dysfunction.

Stem cell treatment at the Stem Cells Transplant Institute is a safe, non-invasive, same-day procedure that takes only a few hours. Patients from Charlotte, Durham, Salem and Chapel Hill, North Carolina can experience the potential benefits of stem cell therapy today by scheduling an appointment with the experts at the Stem Cells Transplant Institute. Contact us to see if stem cell therapy is right for you.

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Charlotte, North Carolina - Stem Cells Transplant Institute

Stem cell therapy has ended up being a popular dispute in the international medical scene. This highly controversial therapy has actually received mixed viewpoints from numerous stakeholders in the health care industry and has also attracted the attention of politicians, religious leaders and the general population at large. Stem cell treatment is thought about an advanced treatment for individuals dealing with a wide range of degenerative conditions. Some typical questions concerning this treatment are answered below.

Are you a stem cell therapy provider near Greensboro NC 27455? Contact us for more information about joining our website.

Stem cells can be referred to as blank state or non-specialized cells that have the capability to become specialized cells in the body such as bone, muscle, nerve or organ cells. This suggests that these special cells can be used to restore or develop a vast array of broken cells and tissues in the body. Stem cell therapy is therefore a treatment that targets at attaining tissue regeneration and can be utilized to treat health conditions and illnesses such as osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, spine injury, muscular degeneration, motor nerve cell disease, ALS, Parkinsons, heart problem and a lot more.

Being a treatment that is still under studio, stem cell therapy has not been fully accepted as a sensible treatment option for the above discussed health conditions and illnesses. A lot of research study is presently being performed by scientists and medical experts in numerous parts of the world to make this treatment viable and efficient. There are nevertheless various limitations imposed by federal governments on research involving embryonic stem cells.

Currently, there have not been many case studies carried out for this type of treatment. However, with the few case studies that have actually been conducted, among the significant issues that has been raised is the increase in a patients threat of establishing cancer. Cancer is brought on by the quick multiplication of cells that tend not to die so quickly. Stem cells have actually been associated with comparable growth elements that may lead to development of growths and other cancerous cells in clients.

Contact us for more information about stem cell doctor close to Greensboro NC 27455

Stem cells can be drawn out from a young embryo after conception. These stem cells are typically referred to as embryonic stem cells. After the stem cells are extracted from the embryo, the embryo is terminated. This is generally among the major causes of controversy in the field of stem cell research study. Lots of people argue that termination of an embryo is unethical and unacceptable.

Stem cells can still be obtained through other ways as they can be discovered in the blood, bone marrow and umbilical cords of adult humans. Normal body cells can likewise be reverse-engineered to become stem cells that have restricted abilities.

New research study has actually however shown pledge as scientists target at establishing stem cells that do not form into tumors in later treatment phases. These stem cells can therefore successfully change into other kinds of specialized cells. This therapy is therefore worth researching into as many clients can benefit from this innovative treatment.

Find a stem cell provider near Greensboro NC 27455

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Main address:Greensboro, North Carolina, 27455

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Stem Cell Greensboro North Carolina 27455

A life of purpose

For more than two centuries, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has prepared the states lawyers, business leaders, journalists, teachers, politicians and doctors. But the University experience, Gov. Roy Cooper said, does more than just prepare students for the workforce. This University is second to none in preparing students to make a career

Carolinas University Day celebration will be available at 11 a.m.on Oct. 12 via livestream onunc.edu. University Day marks the 1793 laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the nations first state university building, and the beginning of public higher education in the United States. Chancellor Carol L. Folt will preside over the event. Gov. Roy

Dear Campus Community, Fall is always an exciting time on campus. We just launched the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Carolinas history, and tomorrow we will welcome Gov. Roy Cooper to deliver the keynote address at our celebration marking our Universitys 224thbirthday. In this video, I provide an overview of our bold $4.25 billion, university-wide

For the Ackland Art Museum, 2017 has already been a phenomenal year. In January, Carolina graduate Sheldon Peck and his wife, Leena, made a $25 million commitment to the Ackland Art Museum. That gift included an $8 million endowment and a $17 million art gift that included seven works by Rembrandt. The year got even

In this weeks episode, we look back on the founding of the University with history professor Jim Leloudis.

With the Institute for Convergent Science, Carolina will lead the world in bringing scientific expertise together to improve peoples lives, Chancellor Carol L. Folt said. The UNC Institute for Convergent Science will be at the heart of that vision, giving proven convergent thinkers both here and around the globe the tools and space they need

Both the children of career Marines, Steve and Debbie Vetter know the struggles facing Carolinas military dependents. We grew up as military brats and then came to the University, Debbie said. Our parents helped when they could, but we had to struggle to make it through financially working full time and going to school.

Shawn Hingtgen and his research team at Carolina developed a pioneering cancer treatment method that turns skin cells to cancer-fighting stem cells able to hunt down and eradicate tumor remnants. But Hingtgen wouldnt be here if Carolina hadnt first hunted him down at Harvard Medical School and convinced him to trade the Ivy League for

Carolina has launchedFor All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina, an ambitious fundraising drive that seeks to raise $4.25 billion over the next five years. Chancellor Carol L. Folt, along with Board of Trustees Chair Haywood Cochrane and Vice Chancellor for Development David Routh, announced the launch on Polk Place on Oct. 6, in a tent

One of the most destructive hurricanes in the past decade, Hurricane Matthew drenched North Carolina with 350 millimeters of rain over the course of just 24 hours. It caused $1.5 billion in flood damage to 100,000 houses, businesses and government buildings, took the lives of 28 North Carolinians, forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate,

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Spotlights Archive | The University of North Carolina at ...

Oct 03, 2017

Stem cell research is revolutionizing the way scientists study human disease in many ways. One of the most fascinating, is through the creation of human diseases in a dish, which are giving scientists a better way to study disease biology and test new drugs. Read how Dr. Kevin Eggan from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute is using this technology to better understand diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and schizophrenia.

Sep 07, 2017

Scientists and clinicians have long suspected and recently confirmed that a persons genetic makeup contributes to the likelihood of their having a heart attack. However, there has remained a gap between our knowledge of genetic indicators and medicine; a gap that Dr. Chad Cowan, of Harvard University, is trying to bridge with stem cell research.

Sep 07, 2017

The ISSCR celebrates Stem Cell Awareness Day on October 8 with a Stem Cells in Focus webcast entitled The Science of Regenerative Medicine, presented by PhD candidate Ben Paylor of the Canadian Stem Cell Network. The webinar will explore the basics of stem cell biology and will include three StemCellShorts*, voiced by stem cell experts Drs. Jim Till, Janet Rossant and Mick Bhatia, as well as a question and answer period.

Sep 07, 2017

This week, nations around the world recognize Remembrance Day and Veterans Day. The ISSCR is proud of the role stem cell research is playing in advancing the field of regenerative medicine, which stands to benefit wounded servicemen and women. Dr. Anthony Atala, director of Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, North Carolina, U.S.A., leads the consortium of researchers that make up the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). We spoke with him about the organization, which is working to develop advanced treatment options.

Sep 07, 2017

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have discovered a new way to model malaria using stem cells in a petri dish, which will allow them to test potential antimalarial drugs and vaccines.

Sep 07, 2017

Today, we welcome you to the blogs new home, the expanded Closer Look at Stem Cells website (www.closerlookatstemcells.org). The website is a perfect complement to the Stem Cells in Focus blog, housing informational pages on basic stem cell biology, the process by which science becomes medicine, clinical trials and the use of stem cells in understanding and potentially treating specific health conditions.

Sep 07, 2017

In the past few days, you may have heard about new research describing the editing of the DNA sequence in human embryos. This new research raises critical scientific, social, legal and ethical questions to be addressed by all of us.

Sep 07, 2017

You may have heard the news this week about exciting new developments in the field of stem cell research, published in the January 30 issue of Nature. A Japanese scientist, Dr. Haruko Obokata, and her colleagues demonstrated a new way to reprogram specialized stem cells from a newborn mouse to a pluripotent state; which is to say, the cells gained the ability to turn into any sort of cell in the body, much the same way embryonic stem cells can. Learn more about this discovery and its potential implications.

Sep 07, 2017

What if, in this dawning era of regenerative medicine, we could help the body heal itself? Not by replacing diseased or damaged cells, as is so often the paradigm in this field, but by stimulating the stem cells already present in a given tissue to differentiate and then repair the damage. No, this isnt science fiction, like using one of Dr. McCoys futuristic devices from Star Trek to heal the injured Captain Kirk. This approach is now being assessed as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Sep 07, 2017

Stem cell researchers are getting closer to a new treatment for sickle cell disease, moving promising laboratory research into human clinical trials. Millions of people worldwide suffer from this hereditary disease.

Sep 07, 2017

At the ISSCR public symposium in Stockholm, stem cell scientists from Germany, Sweden and the U.S. will explore during a moderated panel discussion the role of stem cells in the brain during our lives from development and through adulthood. Panelists will discuss how scientists are investigating what happens to these cells as we age, how this knowledge is being used to guide new strategies to boost brain health and to develop therapies utilizing stem cells to treat diseases of the brain.

Sep 07, 2017

Organoids, or miniature organs, are a relatively new model system that has emerged from stem cell research and are making a big impact. These laboratory-grown, three-dimensional, mini-organs are microscopically small and are started from stem cells. Within a specialized growth environment, the stem cells, either adult or embryonic, depending on the tissue needed, are stimulated to grow and specialize into specific types of organoids. Although they are not exact replicas of the adult organ, they do replicate many aspects and thus give us a model of human development that we would not otherwise have.

Sep 07, 2017

Summary of a panel discussion at the recent annual meeting of the International Society of Stem Cell Research in Stockholm, featuring international experts discussing the complex issues surrounding the sale and marketing of experimental stem cell treatments.

Sep 07, 2017

Professional guidelines provide a practical and ethical framework for decision making and instill a sense of responsibility and accountability. Learn more about the ISSCR's guidelines for stem cell research and clinical translation.

Sep 07, 2017

Sleep is important for our body. With modest sleep deprivation it can be a struggle to function at our highest level and long term sleep deprivation, or disruption, can have significant health effects. It turns out that your sleep deprivation may also impact others....if you are donating your hematopoietic stem cells.

Sep 07, 2017

Question: What part of the nervous system has over 500 million neurons - the cells that transmit electrical or chemical signals throughout the nervous system and beyond - and regulates important bodily functions? Sounds like the brain, right? What if you knew that this part of the nervous system also spans approximately 30 feet in an average adult? Thats right, its the enteric nervous system (ENS). Never heard of it?

Sep 07, 2017

Stem cell science is advancing at a pace greater than ever before, and researchers are making significant discoveries toward medical therapies to treat diseases and injuries - many of which currently have no cure. In May 2016, the ISSCR developed guidelines to help protect the integrity of stem cell research and assure the public that it will proceed efficiently and remain responsive to public interests.

Sep 07, 2017

The ISSCR joins organizations and individuals around the world in celebrating the cells that are the building blocks of life: stem cells. Unlike other cell types, stem cells are unspecialized cells uniquely capable of making copies of themselves (self-renewing), differentiating into specialized cell types, and helping to maintain some tissues in the human body.

Sep 07, 2017

I dont even know whats in the soup, was the shocking quote from the founder of a chain of clinics highlighted in a recent Associated Press article about the increasing prevalence of clinics offering unproven stem cell therapies. The soup referred to the mixture of cells and fluid he extracted from a patients fat for re-injection into the same patients knees, one of many stem cell procedures being tried for more than 20 diseases and conditions.

Sep 07, 2017

Bacteria. What do you think of when you hear this word? Germs, antibiotics, or bleach may come to mind, depending on the context. What about powerhouse of scientific discovery? Thats a string of words, but one that accurately describes the impact this single-celled organism is having on stem cell biology and human health.

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Stem Cells in Focus - Blog - Closer Look at Stem Cells

September 6, 2017 - By Clifton Ray

Avalon Advisors Llc decreased Comcast Corporation Cmn Class (CMCSA) stake by 3.04% reported in 2016Q4 SEC filing. Avalon Advisors Llc sold 4,568 shares as Comcast Corporation Cmn Class (CMCSA)s stock rose 3.16%. The Avalon Advisors Llc holds 145,911 shares with $10.08M value, down from 150,479 last quarter. Comcast Corporation Cmn Class now has $194.05B valuation. The stock increased 1.23% or $0.5 during the last trading session, reaching $41.17. About 14.24M shares traded. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has risen 28.96% since September 6, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 12.26% the S&P500.

Neuralstem, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The company has market cap of $13.81 million. The Firm is engaged in research, development and commercialization of central nervous system therapies based on its human neuronal stem cells and its stem-cell derived small molecule compounds. It currently has negative earnings. The Firm has approximately three assets: its NSI-189 small molecule program, its NSI-566 stem cell therapy program and its chemical entity screening platform.

Investors sentiment decreased to 1.01 in Q4 2016. Its down 11.82, from 12.83 in 2016Q3. It turned negative, as 58 investors sold CMCSA shares while 518 reduced holdings. 123 funds opened positions while 431 raised stakes. 1.89 billion shares or 0.35% more from 1.88 billion shares in 2016Q3 were reported. Quantitative Investment Mgmt Ltd Liability Co reported 0.19% in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). 88 were reported by Sun Life Incorporated. Moreover, Twin Tree Mngmt LP has 0.01% invested in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) for 15,085 shares. North Carolina-based Bb&T has invested 0.48% in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Wetherby Asset Mngmt owns 38,194 shares or 0.52% of their US portfolio. Fiduciary Wi has invested 4.13% of its portfolio in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Janus Capital Mgmt Limited Company has 18.62M shares for 1.08% of their portfolio. Roberts Glore Co Il invested in 5,382 shares or 0.26% of the stock. Tower Bridge Advsrs reported 65,524 shares or 0% of all its holdings. Van Hulzen Asset Mngmt Limited Liability has 274,360 shares. Pacad Inv accumulated 138,501 shares. Dumont & Blake Invest Advsr Lc stated it has 0.5% in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). The New Hampshire-based Tru Advisors Ltd has invested 3.17% in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Grisanti Mgmt Ltd Com reported 189,525 shares. Delphi Management Inc Ma invested in 32,962 shares.

Among 26 analysts covering Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), 21 have Buy rating, 1 Sell and 4 Hold. Therefore 81% are positive. Comcast Corporation had 56 analyst reports since July 27, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. As per Monday, January 4, the company rating was maintained by Macquarie Research. The stock of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) earned Buy rating by Pivotal Research on Thursday, January 26. Telsey Advisory Group maintained Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) on Tuesday, January 24 with Outperform rating. The firm has Buy rating given on Wednesday, May 4 by Goldman Sachs. The stock of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) earned Buy rating by Oppenheimer on Thursday, July 27. The stock has Buy rating by Macquarie Research on Wednesday, July 5. Nomura maintained Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) rating on Monday, June 27. Nomura has Buy rating and $73 target. The firm has Buy rating by Pivotal Research given on Tuesday, September 27. The stock of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) earned Buy rating by Wunderlich on Wednesday, September 16. Suntrust Robinson initiated the stock with Neutral rating in Wednesday, November 11 report.

Since March 20, 2017, it had 0 buys, and 6 selling transactions for $12.52 million activity. 20,572 shares valued at $762,193 were sold by BLOCK ARTHUR R on Wednesday, March 22. The insider BURKE STEPHEN B sold $10.07 million. On Thursday, May 25 BACON KENNETH J sold $303,713 worth of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) or 7,500 shares.

Avalon Advisors Llc increased Intl Business Machines Corp Cm (NYSE:IBM) stake by 65,901 shares to 239,076 valued at $39.68 million in 2016Q4. It also upped Chevron Corporation Cmn (NYSE:CVX) stake by 27,633 shares and now owns 377,867 shares. Asml Holding N V N Y Registry (NASDAQ:ASML) was raised too.

About 121,853 shares traded. Neuralstem, Inc. (CUR) has risen 3.35% since September 6, 2016 and is uptrending. It has underperformed by 13.35% the S&P500.

Ratings analysis reveals 100% of Neuralstems analysts are positive. Out of 2 Wall Street analysts rating Neuralstem, 2 give it Buy, 0 Sell rating, while 0 recommend Hold. CUR was included in 2 notes of analysts from August 29, 2016. The rating was initiated by Roth Capital with Buy on Monday, August 29. The rating was initiated by Aegis Capital on Monday, November 7 with Buy.

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Avalon Advisors Has Decreased Its Comcast Cmn Class (CMCSA) Position; Neuralstem (CUR)'s Sentiment Is 0 - High Point Observer

Mike Whaley mwhaley@fosters.com @mwhaley25

Greg Friel can deal with the pain, as bad as it can be. Its the uncertainty about his future well-being that makes life difficult.

A former basketball star at Oyster River High School and Dartmouth College, Greg, 38, was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in 2010.

This unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system has weakened his body, particularly his legs below the knees, to the point where he often has to get around with a cane, and sometimes a walker.

Im in constant pain, he said. Its terrible. But Ive got a beautiful wife. Ive got a business where Im my own boss. Its a challenge. If you know the Friels, were up for a challenge. But its scary.

Fortunately, for Greg, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Next month, he will fly to Russia with his Uncle Bob for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). After being on the waiting list for three-plus years, Greg was recently granted admission to the treatment program.

The catch is that the cost for travel and treatment will be around $100,000. The treatment is not covered by insurance, so Gregs wife, Anastagia, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to pay for the trip and treatment (https://www.gofundme.com/gregfrielhsct). As of Saturday morning, nearly $53,000 has been raised in three weeks.

Greg flies to Moscow on Sept. 24 for the month-long treatment, which begins on Sept. 26 at Piragov Hospital.

MS is so unpredictable, Anastagia said. Its hard to see my husband, a pillar of strength in the family, going through a weak time.

Hes such a positive person, she added. Hes charismatic. Theres such a light around him. Its hard to deny his charisma, and hes charming.

The treatment includes chemotherapy, where Greg said they shock your system down to zero. Good stem cells are injected, so basically its a stem cell rebirth.

It wasnt easy for Greg to reach out for help. An independent financial advisor in Boston, he was used to being the one helping out. It was in his nature to give.

My wife, my mom and my siblings told me I needed to open myself up, said Greg, who stands 6-foot-5. It was difficult. But if you get it early, you get proactive and you get things done, you can be in fine shape.

Thats the high-road approach Greg is taking.

Thats the athletic mentality, he said. Youre competitive because you care.

nnn

Greg comes from primo competitive stock. His dad, the late Gerry Friel, was the head mens basketball coach at the University of New Hampshire for 20 seasons (1969-89).

Greg is the middle child of five siblings. All of them played basketball at Oyster River and all five scored over 1,000 career points (Keith tallied over 2,000 points). They also all played Division I college basketball: Jennifer (UNH), Keith (Notre Dame, Virginia), Greg (Dartmouth), Jeremy (UNH) and Jilliane (UNH).

Greg and Keith starred at Oyster River in the mid-1990s, leading the Bobcats to back-to-back Class I championships in 1995 and 96.

Keith speaks fondly of those years playing with his brother. Greg was always two steps ahead and always competing. He did the little things, all the extra stuff that others didnt want to do. He loved to win, even if that meant diving for a ball or taking charges.

Greg was Wojo before Wojo, Keith said, referencing the feisty former Duke University guard of the late 1990s, Steve Wojciechowski. He was always firing up the other team, getting in their heads.

Plus he had that deadly 3-point stroke.

Greg graduated in 1997, attended New Hampton School for a post-graduate year where he counted future NBA star Darius Songaila (whos still a close friend) and Pistol Pete Maravichs son, Jason, among his teammates. Greg started for New Hampton and led them to the New England Class A prep championship game where they lost to Maine Central Institute.

Originally committed to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Greg decided to accept an offer from Dartmouth, coached by Somersworth native Dave Faucher, a former assistant at UNH under Gregs dad.

Two of Fauchers sons played at Lebanon High School, whom Oyster River beat in the 1995 Class I championship, 55-52. Greg set a tournament championship record with five 3-pointers in that game, a record he still shares 22 years later with two other players.

UNC-Wilmington would not let him out of his commitment, so he had to sit out a year before joining the Dartmouth team in the fall of 1999.

Greg played four years for the Big Green, serving as a captain as a senior. He graduated with a degree in economics and a minor in sociology.

As a player he got the chance to compete against both his brothers, although Jeremy laughs, I was on the bench while he was playing. I didnt get in.

Greg has been a financial advisor for 14 years, the last nine as his own man, running his own business.

He met his future wife while judging a beauty pageant in Las Vegas in 2009. A successful model, Anastagia has been Miss Teen Florida USA, Miss Florida USA and Miss Bahama Universe. She has also appeared in Sports Illustrateds swimsuit issue.

She actually didnt want to be at that particular pageant in 2009, but went at her moms behest and finished second.

They communicated on Facebook and it blossomed from there. Greg and Anastagia were married in May of 2014.

nnn

In 2010, when Greg was diagnosed with MS, it started with headaches.

I was feeling weak, he said. I was working 80-90 hours a week, so I was thinking it could have been that. I just kept getting weaker and weaker, my legs mostly. I was feeling lethargic. I didnt have any energy.

His legs hurt. He described it as a charley horse: You cant move, he said. Youre stuck in mud. It felt like youre cutting (to the basket) and someone knees your leg muscle. Thats what it felt like all the time.

At its worse, Greg said he couldnt move, couldnt walk, couldnt get out of bed.

Greg took a very aggressive drug called Tysabri for 4 years that cost $22,000 a month for an infusion and was partially covered by insurance. But it wasnt a cure and he didnt know the long-term effects. That was a concern since he and Anastagia want to have children.

Now theres hope with the Russian treatment.

Gregs cousin, Brendan Friel, who suffered from the same MS, went to Russia for treatment and is back in good health.

He just had his three-year stem cell anniversary, Greg said. And now hes working full-time.

Anastagia said they did their research. (The treatment) is invasive, but its got a good track record, she said.

What Greg finds irritating is that the procedure is covered by insurance for cancer, ALS and rheumatoid arthritis, but not MS.

Its crazy, he said.

As expected, its been difficult for his family.

Its heart-wrenching, said Joan, his mom. Its been more debilitating in the past year than ever. Hes going downhill since Thanksgiving of last year. Its one little setback after another this time. He has to do something; otherwise it will get so much worse.

Joan said shes there as a mom. Thats my job and I embrace it for all my children. Im a sounding board.

She added, I dont need to be intrusive. Im there if they need me and want me and, sometimes, if they dont.

Greg maintains an upbeat attitude.

Im good, he said. I try to stay positive. Ive always been a pretty positive person mentally.

nnn

The Friels have been touched by the outpouring of donations in such a short time, some from old adversaries or teammates Greg hasnt seen in 20 years.

Its not like one person wrote a check for $20,000, Greg said. Over 300 people have donated. Its very humbling. Its nice to see the support.

Later this month there will be a fundraiser at The Warehouse Bar & Grille, 40 Broad Street, in Boston to raise funds for Gregs treatment. It is being put together by a couple of old basketball opponents, Cliff Dever (Timberlane) and Marshall Chrane (Bishop Brady).

Chrane was on the Brady team that Gregs OR team beat in the 1996 Class I final, 58-49. Chrane returned the favor in 1997, hitting two foul shots with no time on the clock to beat Oyster River by a point in the tournament quarterfinals, Gregs last high school game.

The fundraiser will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Aug. 27.

There will be raffles, which include, among others, items donated by former pro and college football coach, Chip Kelly; UNH hockey coach Dick Umile and UMass-Amherst athletic director Ryan Bamford, Gregs old AAU teammate.

The journey to get Greg his treatment is certainly gaining momentum.

Were determined to get this right, he said.

Anastagia agrees.

I dont want anyone to be fighting alone, she said. Were committed to fighting this thing together.

Which is what good teammates do.

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Former basketball star Greg Friel in fight of his life - Fosters - Foster's Daily Democrat

A team of scientists from the UNC School of Medicine and North Carolina State University (NCSU), U.S. have developed promising research towards possible stem cell treatment for several lung conditions, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis, all of which are known to be fatal conditions. In the journal Respiratory Research, the scientists demonstrated that they could harvest lung stem cells from people using a relatively non-invasive, doctors office technique. They were then able to multiply the harvested lung cells in the lab to yield enough cells sufficient for human therapy.

In a second study, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, the team showed that in rodents they could use the same type of lung cell to successfully treat a model of IPF a chronic, irreversible, and ultimately fatal disease characterised by a progressive decline in lung function. These diseases of the lung involve the build-up of fibrous, scar-like tissue, typically due to chronic lung inflammation. As this fibrous tissue replaces working lung tissue, the lungs become less able to transfer oxygen to the blood. Patients ultimately are at risk of early death from respiratory failure. In the case of IPF, which has been linked to smoking, most patients live for fewer than five years after diagnosis.

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Lung fibrosis? Stem cell therapy holds promise - The Hindu - The Hindu

Researchers have taken a step towards a possible treatment for several often-fatal lung conditions that affect millions of Americanssuch as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosisby harvesting and using lung stem cells.

In research appearing in the journal Respiratory Research, the scientists demonstrated that they could harvest lung stem cells from people using a relatively non-invasive, doctors-office technique. They were then able to multiply the harvested lung cells in the lab to yield enough cells sufficient for human therapy.

In a second study, which appears in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, the team showed that, in rodents, they could use the same type of lung cell to successfully treat a model of IPFa chronic, irreversible, and ultimately fatal disease characterized by a progressive decline in lung function.

The researchers have been in discussions with the FDA and are preparing an application for an initial clinical trial in patients with IPF.

This is the first time anyone has generated potentially therapeutic lung stem cells from minimally invasive biopsy specimens, says co-senior author of both papers Jason Lobo, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and medical director of lung transplant and interstitial lung disease.

We think the properties of these cells make them potentially therapeutic for a wide range of lung fibrosis diseases.

Co-senior author Ke Cheng, an associate professor in North Carolina State Universitys molecular biomedical sciences department and UNC/NCSUs joint biomedical engineering department, says, We think the properties of these cells make them potentially therapeutic for a wide range of lung fibrosis diseases.

These diseases of the lung involve the buildup of fibrous, scar-like tissue, typically due to chronic lung inflammation. As this fibrous tissue replaces working lung tissue, the lungs become less able to transfer oxygen to the blood. Patients ultimately are at risk of early death from respiratory failure.

In the case of IPF, which has been linked to smoking, most patients live for fewer than five years after diagnosis.

The two FDA-approved drug treatments for IPF reduce symptoms but do not stop the underlying disease process. The only effective treatment is a lung transplant, which carries a high mortality risk and involves the long-term use of immunosuppressive drugs.

Scientists have been studying the alternative possibility of using stem cells to treat IPF and other lung fibrosis diseases. Stem cells are immature cells that can proliferate and turn into adult cells in order to, for example, repair injuries. Some types of stem cells have anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis properties that make them particularly attractive as potential treatments for fibrosis diseases.

Cheng and Lobo have focused on a set of stem cells and support cells that reside in the lungs and can be reliably cultured from biopsied lung tissue. The cells are called lung spheroid cells for the distinctive sphere-like structures they form in culture.

As the scientists reported in an initial paper in 2015, lung spheroid cells show powerful regenerative properties when applied to a mouse model of lung fibrosis. In their therapeutic activity, these cells also outperform other non-lung-derived stem cells known as mesenchymal stem cells, which are also under investigation to treat fibrosis.

In the first of the two new studies, Lobo and his team showed that they could obtain lung spheroid cells from human lung disease patients with a relatively non-invasive procedure called a transbronchial biopsy.

We snip tiny, seed-sized samples of airway tissue using a bronchoscope, Lobo says. This method involves far less risk to the patient than does a standard, chest-penetrating surgical biopsy of lung tissue.

Cheng and his colleagues cultured lung spheroid cells from these tiny tissue samples until they were numerous enoughin the tens of millionsto be delivered therapeutically. When they infused the cells intravenously into mice, they found that most of the cells gathered in the animals lungs.

These cells are from the lung, and so in a sense theyre happiest, so to speak, living and working in the lung, Cheng says.

For the second study, the researchers first induced a lung fibrosis condition in rats. The condition closely resembled human IPF. Then the researchers injected the new cultured spheroid cells into one group of rats. Upon studying this group of animals and another group treated with a placebo, the researchers saw healthier overall lung cells and significantly less lung inflammation and fibrosis in the rats treated with lung spheroid cells.

Our vision is that we will eventually set up a universal cell donor bank

Also, the treatment was safe and effective whether the lung spheroid cells were derived from the recipients own lungs or from the lungs of an unrelated strain of rats, Lobo says. In other words, even if the donated stem cells were foreign, they did not provoke a harmful immune reaction in the recipient animals, as transplanted tissue normally does.

Lobo and Chen expect that when used therapeutically in humans, lung spheroid cells initially would be derived from the patient to minimize any immune-rejection risk. Ultimately, however, to obtain enough cells for widespread clinical use, doctors might harvest them from healthy volunteers, as well as from whole lungs obtained from organ donation networks. The stem cells could later be used in patients as-is or matched immunologically to recipients in much the same way transplanted organs are typically matched.

Our vision is that we will eventually set up a universal cell donor bank, Cheng says.

Cheng, Lobo, and their teams are now planning an initial study of therapeutic lung spheroid cells in a small group of IPF patients and expect to apply later this year for FDA approval of the study. In the long run, the scientists hope their lung stem cell therapy will also help patients with other lung fibrosis conditions of which there are dozens, including COPD, cystic fibrosis, and fibro-cavernous pulmonary tuberculosis.

Additional researchers contributing to this work are from UNC, NC State, the joint UNC-NC State biomedical engineering department, and two hospitals in Shijiazhuang, China. The National Institutes of Health, the UNC General Assembly Research Opportunities Initiative, and the NC State Chancellors Innovation Fund funded this research.

Source: UNC-Chapel Hill

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Stem cells may treat lung fibrosis diseases - Futurity: Research News

04 Aug 2017

Scientists have used the CRISPR-Cas9 precision gene-editing system to snip a disease-causing mutation right out of viable human embryos. They did so without accidentally cutting DNA elsewhere, or inducing a heretofore common problem with editing human DNA known as mosaicism, where embryos end up with a mix of edited and unedited cells. Further improvements will be needed before any embryos are implanted for pregnancy, but the research offers hope that this and some other autosomal-dominant mutations can be erased from futuregenerations.

The August 3 Nature paper was led by an international team of researchers, including Paula Amato, Sanjiv Kaul, and Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, along with Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, and Jin-Soo Kim at the Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. The news made headlines across the news media (see, e.g., The New York Times;The Atlantic; and Wired).

Two days after fertilization and injection with CRISPR-Cas9, early embryos grow without a disease-causing mutation. The embryos were not implanted. [Courtesy ofOHSU.]

This study is paving the way to CRISPRCas9 reaching the clinic in the future, wrote Nerges Winblad and Fredrik Lanner at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, in an accompanying News and Views. They added that although the technique is promising, further studies and optimization will be needed before it is considered safe for therapy. The authors readilyagree.

The study has direct implications for familial Alzheimers disease, but we are not ready for prime-time use of CRISPR in AD, said Murali Doraiswamy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, who was not involved in the study.Other AD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) experts echoed the caution, saying the technique is promising for autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorders, but limited at the moment (see image above). For starters, the Alzforum mutations database lists about 320 different pathogenic mutations in APP, PS-1, PS-2, and tau known to cause dominantly inherited AD or other tauopathies, respectively. Scientists would have to target each one and study how well CRISPR repairs it. Pouring a bit more cold water on any excitement that may be heating up in the AD community, the authors themselves note that correcting point mutations, which make up a large majority of those that cause neurodegenerative diseases, is hard with the currenttechnology.

To inform public debate about the ethics of editing germline DNA, the American Society of Human Genetics issued a position statement timed to the appearance of thispaper.

Editing the Human GenomeSince its discovery in 2013, CRISPR-Cas9 has taken the research community by storm (Sep 2014 news series).Based on a bacterial defense system, this DNA-cutting technology directs a Cas9 enzyme to a particular spot on the genome using a matching guide RNA and creates a double-strand break there. The break is fixed either by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), which introduces random insertions and deletions to turn off the gene, or by homology-directed repair (HDR), which uses a new piece of DNAusually introduced along with CRISPRas a template to insert a new sequence. CRISPR has been used three times before to edit germline DNA in human embryos (see Liang et al., 2015; Kang et al., 2016; Tang et al., 2017). Two of those studies used nonviable embryos; all three saw extensivemosaicism.

In the present study, first authors Hong Ma and Nuria Marti-Gutierrez at OHSU, Sang-Wook Park in Daejeon, and Jun Wu at the Salk wanted to see if CRISPR-Cas9 could correct a pathogenic mutation in viable human embryos without causing mosaicism. They reasoned that this could improve preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), an extension of in vitro fertilization that doctors already use in rare cases to ensure that parents who carry dominant mutations have healthy children. With PDG, doctors test whether fertilized embryos have a genetic mutation, such as those for familial Alzheimers or Huntingtons disease, then implant only unaffected ones (July 2014 news series). What if affected embryos could be repaired to become implantable? That could reduce the number of rounds of in vitro fertilization cycles women have to endure before getting pregnant with an unaffected baby, Amato said at a pressbriefing.

To see if it was possible, the researchers chose to work on the gene encoding cardiac myosin-binding protein C. Mutations in MYBPC3 are a common cause of autosomal-dominant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In this disease, the heart muscles thicken, often unbeknownst to the victim, and can result in sudden death, most prominently in athletes. As in dominantly inherited AD and certain tauopathies, a single copy of the mutated allele suffices to causedisease.

A man with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy served as a donor in the experiments. The researchers derived induced pluripotent stem cells from his fibroblasts, used them to ascertain his exact mutation, then developed a guide RNA to match, and created a single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) to serve as a corrected template for HDR. The CRISPR-Cas9 system they came up with cut DNA in 27 percent of the iPSCs grown in culture. About 40 percent of those were repaired by HDR and the ssODN, while NHEJ took care of therest.

The researchers then used the patients sperm to fertilize eggs from 12 healthy egg donors, simultaneously injecting the CRISPR-Cas9 complex and the ssODN into half of the eggs. After three days, they tested each cell in every embryo to learn how many had two copies of the wild-type allele. About half of the untreated controls were homozygous for the wild-type allele, as would be expected in ordinary PGD. By contrast, 72 percent of the treated embryos had a double wild-type allele; this meant some of the affected ones had been repaired by HDR. The remaining 16 treated embryos showed signs of NHEJ, which is unhelpful for gene editing. Allowed to grow for five days, the embryos developed as they normallywould.

Exploring the mechanism of repair yielded a surprise. These human embryos almost always used the wild-type strand on the healthy allele to guide the repair, rather than the introduced ssODN. In mice, its the opposite, where embryos more frequently use the ssODN as a template in HDR (Wu et al., 2013). The scientists could tell the difference because the ssODN included unique nucleotides that distinguished it from wild-type. This suggests humans and mice use different repair mechanisms in their embryos. The embryos mechanisms also appear to differ from iPSCs, which tended to use the ssODN forHDR.

Importantly, the researchers found that injecting the CRISPR-Cas9 complex at the same time as the sperm prevented mosaicism almost completely. They guessed that doing so ensured the gene editing would occur before the first division. By contrast, if CRISPR is injected even a short while after fertilization, it may operate after the zygote has already started dividing, correcting the mutation in only a subset of cells (see imagebelow).

Mosaic Work-Around: CRISPR injected after fertilization operates after the first division and results in a subset of cells being fixed. Injecting CRISPR and sperm together ensures that repair occurs before the zygote has time to split. [Courtesy of Winblad and Lanner,Nature.]

Lastly, the authors scoured the rest of the embryos genes with whole-genome and exome sequencing, finding no evidence that the CRISPR complex had cut anywhere else. These off-target cleavages have been a big concern withCRISPR-Cas9.

Much work remains to be done before researchers can implant these embryos to result in pregnancy. For example, the technique needs to approach 100 percent efficiency, said Mitalipov. He plans to try small molecules that downregulate NHEJ and upregulate HDR, but needs to study whether embryos exposed to those compounds develop normally. Once such safety data is in hand, regulators will decide whether researchers can go ahead with clinical trials, Mitalipovsaid.

For now, the National Institutes of Healthdoes not support research on gene editing in human embryos. Neither can the Food and Drug Administration consider clinical trials that deal with germline genetic modification. A 2017 reportby the U.S National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine stipulated that germline gene editing should only happen in cases where there are no reasonable alternatives, such as PGD. Mitalipov hopes committees will loosen their restrictions once they see more evidence that the problems of mosaicism and off-target DNA changes have beensolved.

Coinciding with Mitalipovs paper, the American Society of Human Genetics released a statement saying that it is too early to perform germline editing that will result in pregnancy in people (Ormond et al., 2017). Ten other international organizations are part of the report, including the National Society of Genetic Counselors, the Human Genetics Society of Australasia, the Southern African Society for Human Genetics, and the Asia Pacific Society of Human Genetics. However, the groups consensus supports germline genome editing research, with appropriate oversight and consent, that explores the relevant questions. Importantly, it supports public funding for suchresearch.

What About Neurodegenerative Disease?Will this technique work for other autosomal-dominant mutations? Eventually, yes, said Mitalipov, citing the breast and ovarian cancer mutations BRCA1 and 2 as examples. The specificity of CRISPR-Cas9 will depend on each individual mutation and the donors genetic background. Off-target effects likely will be more common for mutations that look similar to their wild-typealleles.

Kim cautioned that single nucleotide mutations are more challenging to correct than larger insertions or deletions such as the one targeted in this paper. Since the error in single base pair substitutions is so small in size, it will be difficult for Cas9 to home in on the mutant allele. This pertains in particular to neurodegeneration. The report provides some clear translatability to many autosomal dominant Alzheimers disease (ADAD) mutations, wrote Eric McDade, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, to Alzforum. However, the mutation that was the focus of this research was a deletion, and most ADAD-causing mutations are single base pair substitutions. (See McDades full commentbelow.)

What about other neurodegenerative diseases? This new success could be relevant for dominantly inherited ALS and FTD, wrote Ronald Klein, LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, to Alzforum. Between 10 and 20 percent of ALS and FTD cases are considered to be heritable, and most of the underlying mutations are dominant, Klein said. Of those, it might be promising to explore gene editing for C9ORF72 hexanucleotide repeats; also for ALS mutations in the genes NEK1, SOD1, TDP-43, FUS, and others; as well as FTD mutations in tau, progranulin, VCP, CHMP2B and other genes. As in Alzheimers, however, most ALS and FTD mutations are single nucleotide substitutions, Klein cautioned. Removing extra stretches of disease-causing repeats by CRISPR-Cas9 might work better, heagreed.

Not many ADAD families know about DNA repair with CRISPR just yet; however, McDade says he expects interest to grow in the near future, and Mitalipovs paper is already being posted on private familial AD discussion groups. If the procedure becomes more efficient, less expensive, and is proven in models to lead to normal development, it will become more attractive, he said. Some families with ADAD mutations are using IVF/PGDalready.

On the other hand, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Kings College London, who studies the human genetics of ALS, pointed out that PGD is simpler and still comes up with about half the embryos being healthy. Merit Cudkowicz, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, noted that if some of the allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) and gene therapies for ALS that are already going into people in clinical trials are effective, then families and clinicians may not need advanced PGD approaches employingCRISPR-Cas9.

This paper is an important milestone in using CRISPR for genome editing of familial disease mutations in the germline, said Martin Kampmann, University of California, San Francisco. Ahmet Yildiz, University of California at Berkeley, agreed. This technique has great power to repair genetic diseases, and I believe we have to make the best use of it for health, he said. Both Kampmann and Yildiz emphasized that ethical and safety standards have to be developed before this technology can be applied topatients.

For safety, limiting off-target cleavage by Cas9 will be critical. On this front, Yildiz, working with CRISPR-Cas9 co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna, also at Berkeley, on August 4 described in Science Advances why CRISPR-Cas9 cuts at specific target sequences in the genome, and where the tendency for off-target binding comes from. First authors Yavuz Dagdas and Janice Chen found that Cas9s cutting region, the HNH domain, takes one conformation when it binds its guide RNA, and another when it cleaves DNA. It passes through a checkpoint intermediate to get from point A to point B, and has to break free of that intermediate before it can adopt its cleaving form. If CRISPR-Cas9 binds DNA with more than three mismatches to its guide RNA, the HNH domain cannot overcome this energy hump to cut. Our work explains why Cas9 binds to many off-target sites but cleaves only a subset of them, Yildiz wrote toAlzforum.

One way to improve that accuracy would be to adjust the guide RNA. While Cas9 with a guide RNA of 20 nucleotides tolerates several mismatches on the DNA, one with 17 is more sensitive to them, and so binds fewer off-target sequences. Scientists are also engineering Cas9 to make it more specific. While these approaches significantly reduce off-target editing, none of them can fully eliminate cleavage of off-targets with a single mismatch at the moment, Yildiz said. He agreed that variations of just a single base pair may not be trivial to edit with the current CRISPR technology.Gwyneth DickeyZakaib

The rest is here:
CRISPR Edits Genome of Human Embryos - Alzforum