Category Archives: Stem Cell Treatments

ROYAL OAK, Mich., June 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Woodside Animal Hospital announced they have added both stem cell therapy and cold laser therapy to their suite of services. These two cutting edge treatments are done entirely in-house, no third-party lab work is required. Royal Oak veterinarian Dr. John Simon is the first Michigan veterinarian to provide pets with in-house adult stem cell therapy. The stem cells are derived from the pet's fat deposits and absolutely no embryonic tissue is used.

"As a holistic veterinarian, I am committed to providing high quality, cutting-edge care that combines traditional veterinary care with advanced holistic treatments," said Dr. Simon. "Our in-house stem cell therapy and cold laser therapy procedures alleviate pain in limping dogs and promote internal healing following an injury. I also recommend these procedures for pets with osteoarthritis."

Cold laser therapy is a non-surgical approach to pain management. Holistic equine veterinarians have used the procedure for over 20 years to treat injuries and joint pain. Today, veterinarians are using cold laser therapy to provide natural pain relief for injured pets.

According to Dr. Simon, cold laser therapy works by using a low-level energy beam to penetrate just below the skin's surface. Injured cells use the laser's energy to repair cellular damage. This provides relief for pain and swelling following a soft tissue injury, such as a ligament, tendon or muscle strain.

"Cold laser therapy is a revolutionary treatment for natural pain management in animals," said the Royal Oak veterinarian. "Laser therapy allows for advanced pain management, especially for pets suffering from chronic conditions or soft tissue injuries."

Woodside Animal Hospital also provides in-house pet stem cell therapy. This treatment uses adult stem cells collected from a dog's fat deposits to promote the growth of new soft tissue and cartilage. By performing the whole procedure in the clinic, the stem cells can be harvested and re-injected on the same day.

"Our in-house pet stem cell therapy is an affordable, same-day treatment that helps dogs suffering from joint pain, osteoarthritis, soft tissue injuries and hip dysplasia," said Dr. Simon. "As pets age, it's natural that their range of movement becomes restricted. While oral joint care supplements and prescription painkillers can help, medication alone cannot restore a full range of movement. Our treatments help restore activity and movement."

In addition to cold laser therapy and stem cell therapy, Dr. Simon also provides holistic treatments for cancer in dogs, cat and dog rashes, and dietary needs. The Royal Oak practice is a full-service animal hospital with wellness care, vaccinations and surgical procedures.

Dr. Simon is active in the greater Detroit veterinary community, serving as the past president of the Oakland County Veterinary Medical Association and as a board member for the Southeastern Michigan Veterinary Medical Association (SEMVMA).

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Royal Oak Veterinarian Dr. Simon First in Michigan to Offer In-House Adult Pet Stem Cell Therapy

Six new U-M stem cell lines now publicly available to help researchers find treatments for disease

Lines in US registry will help studies on Huntingtons disease, hemophilia & more

Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. Six new human embryonic stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan have just been placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Healths registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research.

U-M now has a total of eight cell lines on the registry, including five that carry genetic mutations for serious diseases such as the severe bleeding disorder hemophilia B, the fatal brain disorder Huntingtons disease and the heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes sudden death in athletes and others.

Researchers at U-M and around the country can now begin using the stem cell lines to study the origins of these diseases and potential treatments. Two of the cell lines are believed to be the first in the world bearing that particular disease gene.

The three U-M stem cell lines now in the registry that do not carry disease genes are also useful for general studies and as comparisons for stem cells with disease genes. In all, there are 163 stem cell lines in the federal registry, most of them without major disease genes.

Each of the lines was derived from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. The embryos carrying disease genes were created for reproductive purposes, tested and found to be affected with a genetic disorder, deemed not suitable for implantation and would have otherwise been discarded if not donated by the couples who donated them.

Some came from couples having fertility treatment at U-Ms Center for Reproductive Medicine, others from as far away as Portland, OR. Some were never frozen, which may mean that the stem cells will have unique characteristics and utilities.

The full list of U-M-derived stem cell lines accepted to the NIH registry includes:

UM9-1PGD Hemophilia B UM17-1 PGD Huntingtons disease UM38-2 PGD - Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (MYBPC3) UM15-4 PGD - Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase 4 Deficiency, a rare hormone disorder UM11-1PGD - Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A UM4-6 no disease gene UM14-1 no disease gene UM14-2 no disease gene

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Six New U-M Stem Cell Lines Now Publicly Available

Lines in US registry will help studies on Huntington's disease, hemophilia & more

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Six new human embryonic stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan have just been placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research.

U-M now has a total of eight cell lines on the registry, including five that carry genetic mutations for serious diseases such as the severe bleeding disorder hemophilia B, the fatal brain disorder Huntington's disease and the heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes sudden death in athletes and others.

Researchers at U-M and around the country can now begin using the stem cell lines to study the origins of these diseases and potential treatments. Two of the cell lines are believed to be the first in the world bearing that particular disease gene.

The three U-M stem cell lines now in the registry that do not carry disease genes are also useful for general studies and as comparisons for stem cells with disease genes. In all, there are 163 stem cell lines in the federal registry, most of them without major disease genes.

Each of the lines was derived from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. The embryos carrying disease genes were created for reproductive purposes, tested and found to be affected with a genetic disorder, deemed not suitable for implantation and would have otherwise been discarded if not donated by the couples who donated them.

Some came from couples having fertility treatment at U-M's Center for Reproductive Medicine, others from as far away as Portland, OR. Some were never frozen, which may mean that the stem cells will have unique characteristics and utilities.

The full list of U-M-derived stem cell lines accepted to the NIH registry includes:

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Six new U-M stem cell lines now publicly available to help researchers find treatments for disease

Cryo-Save Group N.V. (Euronext: CRYO, `Cryo-Save`, or `the Group`), the leading international stem cell storage company and the largest family stem cell bank in Europe, announced today that it did not get the permission to process and store stem cells in France along with an update on the cost savings program.

In addition to the cessation of the Cryo-Lip activities in the US and the cutback of the Cryo-Lip activities in Europe as previously disclosed in the first quarter trading update, the Group decided to dismantle its French operations. After more than 3 years of disputes with the healthcare authorities in France, including several court cases, Cryo-Save recently got confirmed that it will not get the permission from the authorities to collect, process and store stem cells from umbilical cord blood. The decision includes laying-off the French employees, discontinuing the litigations and indemnity procedures and selling off the building in Lyon. Together with some other smaller implemented cost savings, the Group has currently realised sustainable cost savings of at least 2 million per annum. Further cost savings are being considered.

Arnoud van Tulder, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are certainly very disappointed that the French authorities take this negative position, which deviates from all other European countries. Expectant parents in France are now refrained from storing their stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue for their family, which is, beside France, allowed across the whole world.

We are truly convinced that the impact of the cost saving measures together with the restoration of the Cryo-Save business, which is well underway, will result in sustainably improved top- and bottom-line results as of the second half of the year."

Enquiries:

Free footage is available on http://www.videobankonline.com.

About Cryo-Save (www.cryo-save.com/group)

Cryo-Save, the leading international family stem cell bank, stores more than 200,000 samples from umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and adipose tissue. There are already many diseases treatable by the use of stem cells, and the number of treatments will only increase. Driven by its international business strategy, Cryo-Save is now represented in over 40 countries on 3 continents, with ultra-modern processing and storage facilities in Belgium, Germany, Dubai, India and South Africa.

The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

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Cryo-Save Group N.V: Further cost savings with closure of France

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (OSIR), announced today it has received consent from New Zealand to market its first-in-class stem cell therapy Prochymal (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children. With this decision New Zealand joins Canada, which last month became the worlds first internationally recognized regulatory authority to grant approval to a stem cell drug. Prochymal is also the first therapy approved for GvHD - a devastating complication of bone marrow transplantation that kills up to 80 percent of children affected, many within just weeks of diagnosis.

"With each of our approvals it becomes clearer that the time for life-saving stem cell therapies in the practice of medicine has arrived, and we are humbled to have a leading role, said C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Osiris. I would like to thank the professionals at Medsafe for their thoughtful and expeditious review of this complex application. I would also like to thank the team at Osiris that continues to do an outstanding job of making Prochymal available to children around the world suffering from the devastating effects of GvHD."

Osiris submitted a New Medicine Application (NMA) to Medsafe(New Zealand's medical regulatory agency) in May of 2011, and was granted Priority Review in June of 2011. Priority review provides expedited review for new drugs which offer a significant clinical advantage over current treatment options. Prochymal was granted provisional consent under Section 23 of the Medicines Act 1981.

"The incidence of GvHD is likely to rise as the demographic profile of our transplant population evolves," said Hans Klingemann, M.D., Ph.D., a Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Bone Marrow & Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program at Tufts University School of Medicine. "Effective strategies to manage the often lethal consequences of GvHD reduce the overall risk to transplantation and provide the transplant physician with better options when approaching their most difficult cases.

Clinical trials have shown that Prochymal is able to induce an objective, clinically meaningful response in 61-64 percent of children with GvHD that is otherwise refractory to treatment. Furthermore, treatment response with Prochymal resulted in a statistically significant improvement in survival.

As a mother who watched my son Christian suffer and die from the horrifying effects of GvHD, while waiting for the regulatory approvals necessary to allow him access to Prochymal, words cannot express how happy I am that significant progress is finally being made, said Sandy Barker, President and Co-founder of the Gold Rush Cure Foundation. We are proud to stand side-by-side with Osiris in this historic battle for our children around the world. Our motto is 'not one more child, not one more family' and when it comes to GvHD mortality, zero is the only acceptable number.

Prochymal is now approved in Canada and New Zealand, and is currently available in seven other countries including the United States under an Expanded Access Program (EAP). It is expected that Prochymal will be commercially available in New Zealand later this year.

About GvHD

GvHD represents a major unmet medical need with no approved treatment until Prochymal. GvHD is the leading cause of transplant related mortality, in which immune cells contained within the transplanted marrow recognize the recipient as foreign and mount an immunologic attack. Severe GvHD can cause blistering of the skin, intestinal hemorrhage and liver failure. Severe GvHD is extremely painful and fatal in up to 80 percent of cases. Currently, steroids are used as first-line therapy with a success rate of only 30-50 percent. When steroids fail, treatment options are limited to immunosuppressive agents used off-label with little benefit and significant toxicities.

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Osiris Receives Second Approval for Life-Saving Stem Cell Drug; Prochymal Granted Marketing Consent by New Zealand

US-Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds, who created the Linux open source operating system, and Japanese stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka on Wednesday won a 1.2-million-euro technology prize in Finland.

"Today, millions use computers, smartphones and digital video recorders that run on Linux. Linus Torvalds's achievements have had a great impact on shared software development, networking and the openness of the web,'' the Millennium Technology Prize organisers said in a statement.

Yamanaka meanwhile won for "his discovery of a new method to develop induced pluripotent stem cells for medical research,'' the prize jury said, adding that it was the first time that the award has been split between two scientists.

"Using (Yamanaka's) method to create stem cells, scientists all over the world are making great strides in research in medical drug testing and biotechnology,'' it said.

"This should one day lead to the successful growth of implant tissues for clinical surgery and combating intractable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's.''

Yamanaka himself vowed in the statement to "continue to work hard to achieve our goals of developing new drugs and medical treatments to intractable diseases by using iPS cell technology.''

Finnish President Sauli Niinistoe presented the prize to the two laureates at a ceremony at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki Wednesday.

The two men shared the prize equally, each receiving 600,000 euros ($751,500).

The Millennium Technology Prize, created in 2002 and funded by the Finnish state and the Technology Academy of Finland, is awarded every two years as a "tribute to developers of life-enhancing technological innovations''.

It was first awarded in 2004 to Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, and last time, in 2010, it went to Swiss professor Michael Graetzel for developing a low-cost solar power cell using cheap materials such as dye squeezed from berries.

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Linux creator wins big tech prize

Researchers have found a way to delay the aging of stem cells a discovery that could pave the way for new strategies to treat age-related diseases.

Experts at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that the stem cells surroundings, known as niches, are linked to age-related loss of stem cells. These cells are essential to all life, both human and not, because they divide and renew themselves throughout life, helping cells of both young and old. The niche signals to the cells when help is needed to renew tissue. But as the stem cells age, they lose effectiveness.

This latest discovery could help aging stem cells retain their effectiveness. Researchers focused on the niches and found that restoring the signals helped reverse the cells aging. A protein in the niche, known as lmp, could play a part in the cells age-reversal process. Treatments in the future could be aimed at upping the production of lmp.

This research opens new avenues for drug development aimed at stimulating a patient's own stem cells to overcome the consequences of aging," said Hila Toledano, a lead author of the study and a former Salk researcher now at the University of Haifa in Israel.

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Major Stem-Cell Discovery

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2012) When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive.

"Altruism has been reported among bacterial populations and among humans and other animals, like monkeys and elephants," said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, MBBS, PhD. "But in mammalian cells -- at the cellular level -- the idea of altruism has never been described before." Das is the lead author of a paper, published online June 11 in Stem Cells, documenting altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs.

While altruism is generally thought of as a virtue, it can have a downside for hESCs: The altruistic cells appear to be more prone to accumulating mutations, a sign that they could lead to cancers. A better understanding of hESC altruism could provide new insights into cancer therapies, as well as improving scientists' ability to develop safe and effective stem cell treatments for other diseases.

The finding arose from Das' research into how hESCs react to low-oxygen environments, important because many cancerous tumors are low in oxygen. Embryonic stem cells have the capability to develop into many different cell types through a process called differentiation. Das found that when hESCs were placed for 24 hours in an environment with only one-tenth of a percent of oxygen (the air we breathe, by comparison, is almost 21 percent oxygen), free-radical molecules were generated that began causing internal damage in some cells. Ninety percent of the hESCs differentiated into other cell types or died, with only 10 percent maintaining their so-called "stemness," meaning they retained their ability to develop into any type of cell.

Das wanted to know what set these more hearty cells apart and so began sorting them based on what molecules they contained.

Das and his colleagues discovered that of the embryonic stem cells that had survived the oxygen deprivation, half had high levels of HIF2-alpha (a protein that turns up the production of antioxidant molecules) and low levels of p53 (a protein that normally encourages cells to die when they have too much DNA damage). These levels of HIF2-alpha and p53 are enough, Das showed, to keep the cells from differentiating by turning off cellular pathways typically involved in the process.

But the other half of the stem cells that had kept their "stemness" had relatively normal levels of HIF2-alpha and p53, he and his colleagues report in their paper. There was no clear explanation as to how they would remain undifferentiated without the help of high HIF2-alpha and low p53 -- unless the other cells were helping them out.

"When I saw this data, I began to suspect that maybe there was altruism going on," said Das.

To test the theory, Das and his colleagues at the University of Toronto, where he began the work as a graduate student, let the cells with high levels of HIF2-alpha and low levels of p53 soak in a cell culture medium for 24 hours. Then, he removed the cells and added the other half -- those that didn't have high HIF2-alpha and low p53. Sure enough, when the mixture was deprived of oxygen, the cells retained their stemness. Molecules in the liquid had some property that kept them from differentiating. The team discovered that the important molecule in the liquid is an antioxidant called glutathione.

Scientists had previously shown that when embryonic stem cells are under stress, levels of HIF2-alpha and p53 increase and most cells differentiate or die. What makes this study unusual is that Das and colleagues were able to isolate the altruistic cells that exhibit low levels of p53, which helps them to escape death or differentiation.

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Unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer identified

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Krista Conger kristac@stanford.edu 650-725-5371 Stanford University Medical Center

STANFORD, Calif. When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive.

"Altruism has been reported among bacterial populations and among humans and other animals, like monkeys and elephants," said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, MBBS, PhD. "But in mammalian cells at the cellular level the idea of altruism has never been described before." Das is the lead author of a paper, to be published online June 11 in Stem Cells, documenting altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs.

While altruism is generally thought of as a virtue, it can have a downside for hESCs: The altruistic cells appear to be more prone to accumulating mutations, a sign that they could lead to cancers. A better understanding of hESC altruism could provide new insights into cancer therapies, as well as improving scientists' ability to develop safe and effective stem cell treatments for other diseases.

The finding arose from Das' research into how hESCs react to low-oxygen environments, important because many cancerous tumors are low in oxygen. Embryonic stem cells have the capability to develop into many different cell types through a process called differentiation. Das found that when hESCs were placed for 24 hours in an environment with only one-tenth of a percent of oxygen (the air we breathe, by comparison, is almost 21 percent oxygen), free-radical molecules were generated that began causing internal damage in some cells. Ninety percent of the hESCs differentiated into other cell types or died, with only 10 percent maintaining their so-called "stemness," meaning they retained their ability to develop into any type of cell.

Das wanted to know what set these more hearty cells apart and so began sorting them based on what molecules they contained.

Das and his colleagues discovered that of the embryonic stem cells that had survived the oxygen deprivation, half had high levels of HIF2-alpha (a protein that turns up the production of antioxidant molecules) and low levels of p53 (a protein that normally encourages cells to die when they have too much DNA damage). These levels of HIF2-alpha and p53 are enough, Das showed, to keep the cells from differentiating by turning off cellular pathways typically involved in the process.

But the other half of the stem cells that had kept their "stemness" had relatively normal levels of HIF2-alpha and p53, he and his colleagues report in their paper. There was no clear explanation as to how they would remain undifferentiated without the help of high HIF2-alpha and low p53 unless the other cells were helping them out.

"When I saw this data, I began to suspect that maybe there was altruism going on," said Das.

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Stanford researcher identifies unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -06/08/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation, (HAIR) (HAIR) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, today reported that it has engaged Acropolis Inc. http://www.acropolisinc.com, a full-service advertising agency located in Orlando, Florida, to lend their expertise in brand building, marketing, and advertising development and placement.

Biostem Chief Executive Officer Dwight Brunoehler stated, "After several months of interviewing prospective agencies, we have come to the conclusion that Acropolis is the one to assist us in executing our plans. Their notable work in multiple media areas is impressive, to say the least. Their client list including The University of Florida, Arby's Restaurants, and the City of Orlando, speaks for itself."

Acropolis Principal, Scott Major, said, "This is a great fit for Acropolis. Our entire team loves the Biostem business approach in the incredible field of regenerative medicine. The hair re-growth field in which we will be marketing the Biostem technology is enormous. We are pleased to be a part of Biostem's expansion."

About Biostem U.S. CorporationBiostem U.S., Corporation is a fully reporting Nevada corporation with offices in Clearwater, Florida. Biostem is a technology licensing company with proprietary technology centered on providing hair re-growth using human stem cells. The company also intends to train and license selected physicians to provide Regenerative Cellular Therapy treatments to assist the body's natural approach to healing tendons, ligaments, joints and muscle injuries by using the patient's own stem cells. Biostem U.S., Corporation is seeking to expand its operations worldwide through licensing of its proprietary technology and acquisition of existing stem cell related facilities. The company's goal is to operate in the international biotech market, focusing on the rapidly growing regenerative medicine field, using ethically sourced adult stem cells to improve the quality and longevity of life for all mankind.

For further information, contact Fox Communications Group at 310-974-6821, or view the Biostem website at http://www.biostemus.com.

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Biostem U.S., Corporation Engages Acropolis Agency to Assist in Implementing Its International Marketing Plan