Category Archives: Stem Cell Videos

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday promised a nationwide crackdown on unscrupulous stem cell clinics, following years of reports that some clinics have offered lofty claims of potential medical benefits with scant, if any, medical evidence.

These dishonest actors exploit the sincere reports of the significant clinical potential of properly developed products, as a way of deceiving patients and preying on the optimism of patients facing bad illnesses. This puts the entire field at risk, wrote FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who was appointed in May. Products that are reliably and carefully developed will be harder to advance if bad actors are able to make hollow claims and market unsafe science.

Gottliebs statement, published Monday on the FDAs website, highlighted a warning letter issued to one Florida stem cell clinic on Thursday and the direct seizure of products from another clinic in California on Friday. Gottlieb said the agency is aware of other cases where unproven stem cell treatments have clearly harmed patients, and he promised additional enforcement actions in the coming months.

At the same time, the FDA is planning to unveil new regulatory policy based on medical science and provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act that will allow legitimate research and treatments to be on the right side of the bright lines that the FDA is going to draw in the field. Legitimate researchers, including those at smaller companies, will be able to use a new process that is relatively quick and cheap by normal clinical research standards.

We must put in place the framework to separate the promising treatments from those products that pose significant risks or offer patients little to no chance of benefit, Gottlieb wrote.

Stem cells are the undifferentiated versions of human cells that have the potential to multiply rapidly and grow into other kinds of cells such as bone, blood and organ tissue. Though stem cell transplants are routinely used in hospitals to replace diseased bone marrow, several smaller clinics have cropped up in recent years offering stem cell injections derived from sources such as body fat to treat myriad health problems, from erectile dysfunction to blindness to cancer.

Critics including University of Minnesota bioethicist Leigh Turner have accused some smaller clinics of taking advantage of patients desperation to find new treatments for devastating diseases by charging high rates for unproven therapies.

Turner said some even resort to advertising questionable pay-to-participate research trials on a website run by the National Institutes of Health, even though the treatments carry significant risk and may have minimal oversight. He said he was cautiously optimistic about the FDAs announcements on Monday, but he wondered why it had taken so long.

Theres been about a five-year period where these companies have been making a wide array of claims about stem cell treatments, and doing it on their business websites, in news releases, YouTube videos, Twitter. ..., Turner said. So Im a little perplexed as to why its taken to this point in 2017 for the FDA to act. But I do think its important and it will be interesting to see if there is real enforcement activity.

Gottliebs post said that there are only a small number of unethical clinics today and that the new rules will ensure that the vast majority of responsible researchers understand the regulations governing the emerging field of regenerative medicine.

Its not clear to everyone that the FDA has jurisdiction over the whole field.

For example, some stem cell treatments involve cells taken from donors, while others use autologous cells taken from the patients own body. The FDA said it has jurisdiction over autologous stem cells when they are exposed to more than a minimal level of manipulation outside the body, because that process transforms the cells into a type of biologic drug.

Dr. Ronald Hanson, founder and chief medical officer of OrthoCure Regenerative Orthopedics clinic in Richfield, said some doctors and patients question why the FDA would have oversight over any process in which patients own cells are re-injected into their bodies. The FDA regulates medical products, but it does not control physicians practice of medicine.

From the physicians who have practiced for a long period of time, it seems fairly heavy-handed to call somebodys cells drugs, Hanson said. I have to tell you, 100 percent of the patients who I have told that to cringe that their government would classify their cells as drugs.

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FDA to crack down on 'unscrupulous' stem cell clinics - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Stem Cell Training, a subsidiary branch of the Global Stem Cells Group, an international network of professional doctors, researchers, and medical personnel that work together to advance the study of stem cells as they relate to our medical services today, this week excitedly announced they are overseeing onsite training at a facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The training, which will take place at the Ivan L. Goldsmith, MD Medical Office, will bring state of the art equipment, online resources, personalized theoretical information, stem cell protocols and applications, and training to the forefront of the establishment.

After attending Stem Cell Trainings last training in Miami on August 4, Dr. Goldsmith made the decision to carry the training program to his office for teaching protocols of regenerative medicine to his entire time.

Stem cell harvest and extraction is a complex process that requires hands-on experience and oversight to get it right, said Dr. Benito Novas, Founder and Owner of Stem Cell Training. As such, we are constantly looking for partners helping us advance our training stations around the world. We are incredibly excited to be partnering up with Dr. Goldsmith, and look forward to equipping his entire team with the stem cells skills they need moving forward.

Stem Cell Training delivers and sets up all the necessary equipment and supplies for the training session to take place, provides highly visual and interactive resources for extraction, isolation, and application of PRP, Adipose, and Bone Marrow Stem Cells, and administers high resolution step-by-step videos of procedures for future use and reference after the training is completed.

If you are interested in knowing about Stem Cell Trainings Onsite Regenerative Medicine Training, visit: https://www.stemcelltraining.net/onsitetraining/.

About Global Stem Cells Group

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Stem Celling Training to Oversee Onsite Training at Facility in Las Vegas - PRUnderground (press release)

Top Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy Nationwide (844) GET-STEM

Scottsdale, Arizona (PRWEB) August 07, 2017

After five years of offering top stem cell therapy treatments nationwide to thousands of patients, R3 Stem Cell has achieved Better Business Bureau accreditation. The company places immense quality assurance on patient satisfaction along with the quality of service, which has contributed to the BBB accreditation.

R3 Stem Cell's regenerative procedures have been used for all types of patient conditions such as degenerative arthritis, sports injuries, wound healing, tendonitis, systemic conditions and cosmetic procedures. Patients receive benefits the vast majority of the time, and no adverse events have been reported in thousands of cases.

Said CEO David Greene, "We put immense quality assurance on our amniotic stem cell products and the patient experience. Everything revolves around patient safety, quality service, first rate outcomes and satisfaction!"

The amniotic stem cell products utilized at R3 Stem Cell Centers of Excellence have no ethical issues. The products are obtained after scheduled c-sections by consenting donors and no embryonic cells are involved. R3 is now offering on demand webinars for prospective patients on its website along with having over 35 videos for education.

For top stem cell therapy nationwide, call R3 Stem Cell at (844) GET-STEM today!

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R3 Stem Cell Achieves Certification by the Better Business Bureau - PR Web (press release)

Saturday, July 8, 2017, Fo Niemi of Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations, right, listens at CRARR's Montreal offices as Pradel Content discussed his complaint that two Laval police officers violently arrested him without cause and erased a video of the incident from his cell phone on May 14, 2017. Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette

A disabled, black, English-speaking man has laid complaints against two Laval police officers for violently arresting him without cause and erasing a video of the incident from his cellphone.

Pradel Content, 39, took a video of two Laval police officers who made a U-turn on Highway 15 to tail his car on May 14.

Content, who lived in Florida for 17 years, said he was going for his daily Tim Hortons run and was heading towards a gas station to buy cigarettes in his Cadillac Escalade. The officers followed Content when he stopped at a gas station. Content then stepped out of his car, his cane in one hand and his cellphone in the other to videotape the police driving towards him.

One of the officers, Constable Michael Boutin, then stepped out of the police car and slapped the phone out of Contents hand, pushed him against the car and handcuffed him as Content protested that he was disabled and fragile, said Fo Niemi, executive director of Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations.

Content didnt mince words when he spoke at a press conference Saturday at CRARRs office.

I want my life back, he said, seated between Niemi and his mother, Marie Rose Thodore. Let me live.

Since the incident, his mother said she has been accompanying Content in public. She became increasingly upset speaking about the current situation with her son.

Im tired of the way hes treated, she said in French. He didnt do anything. He cant leave the house alone now. I need to go with him.

I want to be able to walk down the street, to walk down the street like everybody else, Content said.

The organization has filed complaints on Contents behalf with Quebecs Police Ethics Commission and Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission in connection with the incident, alleging the officers used excessive force to arrest him and illegally erased footage of the incident.

We hope this case will create a clear precedent and also a clear positive policy, Niemi said.

Niemi said surveillance video confirms Contents version of the incident by showing one officer slapping Contents phone out of his hand and shoving him.

In the police report, Boutin confirms that police erased video from Contents phone. Boutin reports that the officers began tailing Content after they noticed a fake Halloween-style hand coming out of the trunk of his car. Content said it was a Halloween prop that he has placed in his trunk year-long.

Content had to be handcuffed and placed in the police car. He cries constantly that he is handicapped, the police report says.

Content says he suffers fromarthritis in the neck, fibromyalgia, lumbar and thoracic problems, issues in both knees and a broken rib. Aside from the broken rib, his injuries stem from a previous car accident.

This is why I keep telling police officers you cant push me and slam me like that, he said. You cant slam me on the car and not think that Im not going to feel that. Leave me alone, let me live, got that?

Content said he was pushed into the police car without any regard for his disabilities. He said he was then told by officer Boutin that he was handicapped in the head. The officers gave Content a $127 ticket for using a cell phone while driving, which Content has contested.

Content realized the footage from his phone was gone after speaking with the gas station clerk, who asked Content about the incident. He wanted to show the clerk the video, which was no longer there. Initially panicked, Content asked the clerk if he could take a look at the surveillance footage at the gas station and was told to come back the next day when the clerks manager would be there.

This is not Contents first run-in with the cops. In 2014, police officers falsely identified him as a black male suspect they had been searching for. He was arrested and detained before they realized they had the wrong person.

Content said he has been trying to track the number of times police have stopped him since June 2016 but has stopped since the incident this past May. However, he said in the past, he would be stopped three times in a five-day span.

Moving forward, Content said he simply wants to go back to a normal life.

I want my voice to be heard, I want to be able to go out on the streets and live like a normal human being, he said. I mean like, this is not the first time, I know its not going to be the last time but Im hoping its the last time.

Earlier this year, two court rulings determined that police officers cannot legally erase video footage from peoples electronic devices. In Larochelle v. Sarno, the police ethics commission won an appeal overturning a decision initially stating that police officers didnt have to face any disciplinary action after they forced a man to give them his phone and delete videos of the officers on duty. The commission ruled the officers had no valid reason to detain the victim or use force. As to the the demand to delete the pictures, the officers had no legal basis to ask for the deletion of the pictures.

In Commissaire la dontologie policire v. Ledoux, a man was stopped for making an illegal U-turn, which police said was clearly marked by a sign on the road. The man took a photo of the sign to see what it said. The case states the officers request is to see the pictures in an aggressive manner and orders the photos to be deleted. However, it was determined the police officers didnt have the right to make that request because it violated the Quebec police ethics code.

On Wednesday, a Cte-des-Neiges man who was handcuffed and wrestled to the ground by Montreal police in a case of mistaken identity says he was angry that his complaint to the Quebec police ethics commission had been dismissed.

Errol Burke, a 54-year-old illustrator, said he entered a dpanneur to buy milk last February when police officers threw him to the ground, pointed their pistols at him and dragged him outside.

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Update: Laval police erased cellphone video of violent arrest, says disabled black man - Montreal Gazette

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are master cells that have the potential of becoming any type of cell in the body. One of the main characteristics of stem cells is their ability to self-renew or multiply while maintaining the potential to develop into other types of cells. Stem cells can become cells of the blood, heart, bones, skin, muscles,and brainetc. There are different sources of stem cells but all types of stem cells have the same capacity to develop into multiple types of cells.

Red Cells:Carry oxygen

Platelets:Promote clotting and wound healing

Umbilical cord blood is the blood that remains in the vein of the umbilical cord and placenta at the time of birth. Cord blood is rich in stem cells and Cryo-Cells umbilical cord blood stem cell service collects, processes and cryogenically preserves these stem cells for potential medical use. Cord blood stem cells have been used to treatnearly 80 diseases with over 30,000 transplants worldwide.

Characteristic 5 above is the reason why cord blood stem cells are dubbed privileged, for they are unexposed to most diseases and environmental pollutants, which can make bone marrow from an adult more difficult to use in transplants.

Most importantly, cord blood stem cells from your baby are a perfect match for him/her in the event it should ever be needed, and has a 1-in-4 chance of matching a current or future sibling. It is important to note that a perfect match does not imply that the stem cells will be useful to treat all diseases.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), an unpredictable condition that happens when the donor's cells begin to attack the transplant recipient and can be fatal, is estimated to occur in 60-80 percent of transplants where the donor and recipient are not related.

The umbilical cord itself is a rich source of stem cells termed mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Mesenchymal stem cells have many unique functions including the ability to inhibit inflammation following tissue damage, to secrete growth factors that aid in tissue repair, and to differentiate into many cell types including neural cells, bone cells, fat cells and cartilage. MSCs are increasingly being utilized in regenerative medicine for a wide range of conditions including heart and kidney disease, ALS, wound healing and autoimmune diseases.

In order to preserve more types and quantity of umbilical cord stem cells and to maximize possible future health options, Cryo-Cells umbilical cord tissue service provides expectant families with the opportunity to cryogenically store their newborns umbilical cord tissue cells contained within substantially intact cord tissue. Should umbilical cord tissue cells be considered for potential utilization in a future therapeutic application, further laboratory processing may be necessary. Regarding umbilical cord tissue, all private blood banks activities for New York State residents are limited to collection, processing, and long-term storage of umbilical cord tissue stem cells. The possession of a New York State license for such collection, processing and long-term storage does not indicate approval or endorsement of possible future uses or future suitability of these cells.

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Cord Blood Stem Cells | What are Stem Cells? | Cryo-Cell

Every day we get a call from someone seeking help. Some are battling a life-threatening or life-changing disease. Others call on behalf of a friend or loved one. All are looking for the same thing; a treatment, better still a cure, to ease their suffering.

Almost every day we have to tell them the same thing; that the science is advancing but its not there yet. You can almost feel the disappointment, the sense of despair, on the other end of the line.

If its hard for us to share that news, imagine how much harder it is for them to hear it. Usually by the time they call us they have exhausted all the conventional therapies. In some cases they are not just running out of options, they are also running out of time.

Chasing hope

Sometimes people mention that they went to the website of a clinic that was offering treatments for their condition, claiming they had successfully treated people with that disease or disorder. This week I had three people mention the same clinic, here in the US, that was offering them treatments for multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Three very different problems, but the same approach was used for each one.

Its easy to see why people would be persuaded that clinics like this could help them. Their websites are slick and well produced. They promise to take excellent care of patients, often helping take care of travel plans and accommodation.

Theres just one problem. They never offer any scientific evidence on their website that the treatments they offer work. They have testimonials, quotes from happy, satisfied patients, but no clinical studies, no results from FDA-approved clinical trials. In fact, if you explore their sites youll usually find an FAQ section that says something to the effect of they are not offering stem cell therapy as a cure for any condition, disease, or injury. No statements or implied treatments on this website have been evaluated or approved by the FDA. This website contains no medical advice.

What a damning but revealing phrase that is.

Now, it may be that the therapies they are offering wont physically endanger patients though without a clinical trial its impossible to know that but they can harm in other ways. Financially it can make a huge dent in someones wallet with many treatments costing $10,000 or more. And there is also the emotional impact of giving someone false hope, knowing that there was little, if any, chance the treatment would work.

Shining a light in shady areas

U.C. Davis stem cell researcher, CIRM grantee, and avid blogger Paul Knoepfler, highlighted this in a recent post for his blog The Niche when he wrote:

Paul Knoepfler

Patients are increasingly being used as guinea pigs in the stem cell for-profit clinic world via what I call stem cell shot-in-the-dark procedures. The clinics have no logical basis for claiming that these treatments work and are safe.

As the number of stem cell clinics continues to grow in the US and morephysicians add on unproven stem cell injections into their practices as a la carte options, far more patients are being subjected to risky, even reckless physician conduct.

As if to prove how real the problem is, within hours of posting that blog Paul posted another one, this time highlighting how the FDA had sent a Warning Letter to the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center saying it had serious concerns about the way it operates and the treatments it offers.

Paul has written about these practices many times in the past, sometimes incurring the wrath of the clinic owners (and very pointed letters from their lawyers). Its to his credit that he refuses to be intimidated and keeps highlighting the potential risks that unapproved therapies pose to patients.

Making progress

As stem cell science advances we are now able to tell some patients that yes, there are promising therapies, based on good scientific research, that are being tested in clinical trials.

There are not as many as we would like and none have yet been approved by the FDA for wider use. But those will come in time.

For now we have to continue to work hard to raise awareness about the need for solid scientific evidence before more people risk undergoing an unproven stem cell therapy.

And we have to continue taking calls from people desperate for help, and tell them they have to be patient, just a little longer.

***

If you are considering a stem cell treatment, the International Society for Stem Cell Research had a terrific online resource, A Closer Look at Stem Cells. In particular, check out the Nine Things to Know about Stem Cell Treatments page.

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stem cell tourism | The Stem Cellar

Cells in animals and in plants that are capable of becoming any other type of cell in that organism and then reproducing more of those cells. Despite the fact that stem cell research is in its infancy, many cosmetics companies claim they are successfully using plant-based or human-derived stem cells in their anti-aging products. The claims run the gamut, from reducing wrinkles to repairing elastin to regenerating cells, so the temptation for consumers to try these products is intense.

The truth is that stem cells in skincare products do not work as claimed; they simply cannot deliver the promised results. In fact, they likely have no effect at all because stem cells must be alive to function as stem cells, and by the time these delicate cells are added to skincare products, they are long since dead and, therefore, useless. Actually, its a good thing that stem cells in skincare products cant work as claimed, given that studies have revealed that they pose a potential risk of cancer.

Plant stem cells, such as those derived from apples, melons, and rice, cannot stimulate stem cells in human skin; however, because they are derived from plants they likely have antioxidant properties. Thats good, but its not worth the extra cost that often accompanies products that contain plant stem cells. Its also a plus that plant stem cells cant work as stem cells in skincare products; after all, you dont want your skin to absorb cells that can grow into apples or watermelons!

There are also claims that because a plants stem cells allow a plant to repair itself or to survive in harsh climates, these benefits can be passed on to human skin. How a plant functions in nature is completely unrelated to how human skin functions, and these claims are completely without substantiation. It doesnt matter how well the plant survives in the desert, no matter how you slather such products on your skin, you still wont survive long without ample water, shade, clothing, and other skin-protective elements.

Another twist on the stem cell issue is that cosmetics companies are claiming they have taken components (such as peptides) out of the plant stem cells and made them stable so they will work as stem cells would or that they will influence the adult stem cells naturally present in skin. In terms of these modified ingredients working like stem cells, this theory doesnt make any sense because stem cells must be complete and intact to function normally. Using peptides or other ingredients to influence adult stem cells in skin is something thats being explored, but to date scientists are still trying to determine how that would work and how it could be done safely. For now, companies claiming theyve isolated substances or extracts from stem cells and made them stable are most likely not telling the whole story. Currently, theres no published, peer-reviewed research showing these stem cell extracts can affect stem cells in human skin.

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stem cells - Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary: Cosmetics Cop ...

Stems cells have the ability to ___ and ___ themselves.

divide and renew

remain undifferentiated

specialized

totipotent

pluripotent

multipotent

totipotent

pluripotent

multipotent

isolate, rejection

ethical

pluripotent, grow

leukemia and lymphoma

disease, replace

drug

inner cell mass

all

multiple, stem

not yet determined

ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm

growth, maintenance, and repair

Both; some wait for signal, others constantly replace cells that are lost through wear and tear

few

blood-related diseases

multiple diseases (since they can become any cell type)

multiple diseases (since they can become any cell type) and won't be rejected since they're from your own cells

a human being is cloned (nucleus from somatic cell replaces nucleus in egg) but then the embryo is destroyed; requires human egg donor

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Stem Cells flashcards | Quizlet

Stem cells: Cells that are able to (1) self-renew (can create more stem cells indefinitely) and (2) differentiate into (become) specialized, mature cell types.

Embryonic stem cells: Stem cells that are harvested from a blastocyst. These cells are pluripotent, meaning they can differentiate into cells from all three germ layers.

Embryonic stem cells are isolated from cells in a blastocyst, a very early stage embryo. Once isolated from the blastocyst, these cells form colonies in culture (closely packed groups of cells) and can become cells of the three germ layers, which later make up the adult body.

Adult stem cells (or Somatic Stem Cell): Stem cells that are harvested from tissues in an adult body. These cells are usually multipotent, meaning they can differentiate into cells from some, but not all, of the three germ layers. They are thought to act to repair and regenerate the tissue in which they are found in, but usually they can differentiate into cells of completely different tissue types.

Adult stem cells can be found in a wide variety of tissues throughout the body; shown here are only a few examples.

The Three Germ Layers: These are three different tissue types that exist during development in the embryo and that, together, will later make up the body. These layers include the mesoderm, endoderm, and ectoderm.

The three germ layers form during the gastrula stage of development. The layers are determined by their physical position in the gastrula. This stage follows the zygote and blastocyst stages; the gastrula forms when the embryo is approximately 14-16 days old in humans.

Endoderm: One of the three germ layers. Specifically, this is the inner layer of cells in the embryo and it will develop into lungs, digestive organs, the liver, the pancreas, and other organs.

Mesoderm: One of the three germ layers. Specifically, this is the middle layer of cells in the embryo and it will develop into muscle, bone, blood, kidneys, connective tissue, and related structures.

Ectoderm: One of the three germ layers. Specifically, this is the outer layer of cells in the embryo and it will develop into skin, the nervous system, sensory organs, tooth enamel, eye lens, and other structures.

Differentiation, Differentiated: The process by which a stem cell turns into a different, mature cell. When a stem cell has become the mature cell type, it is called differentiated and has lost the ability to turn into multiple different cell types; it is also no longer undifferentiated.

Directed differentiation: To tightly control a stem cell to become a specific mature cell type. This can be done by regulating the conditions the cell is exposed to (i.e. specific media supplemented with different factors can be used).

The differentiation of stem cells can be controlled by exposing the cells to specific conditions. This regulation can cause the cells to become a specific, desired mature cell type, such as neurons in this example.

Undifferentiated: A stem cell that has not become a specific mature cell type. The stem cell holds the potential to differentiate, to become different cell types.

Potential, potency: The number of different kinds of mature cells a given stem cell can become, or differentiate into.

Totipotent: The ability to turn into all the mature cell types of the body as well as embryonic components that are required for development but do not become tissues of the adult body (i.e. the placenta).

A totipotent cell has the ability to become all the cells in the adult body; such cells could theoretically create a complete embryo, such as is shown here in the early stages.

Pluripotent: The ability to turn into all the mature cell types of the body. This is shown by differentiating these stem cells into cell types of the three different germ layers.

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells isolated from an early stage embryo, called the blastocyst. These isolated cells can turn into cells representative of the three germ layers, all the mature cell types of the body.

Multipotent: The ability to turn into more than one mature cell type of the body, usually a restricted and related group of different cell types.

Mesenchymal stem cells are an example of multipotent stem cells; these stem cells can become a wide variety, but related group, of mature cell types (bone, cartilage, connective tissue, adipose tissue, and others).

Unipotent: The ability to give rise to a single mature cell type of the body.

Tissue Type: A group of cells that are similar in morphology and function, and function together as a unit.

Mesenchyme Tissue: Connective tissue from all three germ layers in the embryo. This tissue can become cells that make up connective tissue, cartilage, adipose tissue, the lymphatic system, and bone in the adult body.

Mesenchyme tissue can come from all three of the germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm) in the developing embryo, shown here at the gastrula stage. The mesenchyme can become bone, cartilage, connective tissue, adipose tissue, and other components of the adult body.

Hematopoietic Stem Cells: Stem cells that can create all the blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets). These stem cells reside within bone marrow in adults and different organs in the fetus.

Hematopoietic stem cells can become, or differentiate into, all the different blood cell types. This process is referred to as hematopoiesis.

Bone marrow: Tissue within the hollow inside of bones that contains hematopoietic stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells.

Development: The process by which a fertilized egg (from the union of a sperm and egg) becomes an adult organism.

Zygote: The single cell that results from a sperm and egg uniting during fertilization. The zygote undergoes several rounds of cell division before it becomes an embryo (after about four days in humans).

When an egg is fertilized by a sperm, the resultant single cell is referred to as a zygote.

Blastocyst: A very early embryo (containing approximately 150 cells) that has not yet implanted into the uterus. The blastocyst is a fluid-filled sphere that contains a group of cells inside it (called the inner cell mass) and is surrounded by an outer layer of cells (the trophoblast, which forms the placenta).

The blastocyst contains three primary components: the inner cell mass, which can become the adult organism, the trophoblast, which becomes the placenta, and the blastocoele, which is a fluid-filled space. The blastocyst develops into the gastrula, a later stage embryo.

Inner Cell Mass: A small group of cells that are attached inside the blastocyst. Human embryonic stem cells are created from these cells in blastocysts that are four or five days post-fertilization. The cells from the inner cell mass have the potential to develop into an embryo, then later the fetus, and eventually the entire body of the adult organism.

Cells taken from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst (a very early stage embryo) can become embryonic stem cells.

Embryo: The developing organism from the end of the zygote stage (after about four days in humans) until it becomes a fetus (until 7 to 8 weeks after conception in humans).

Models: A biological system that is easy to study and similar enough to another, more complex system of interest so that knowledge of the model system can be used to better understand the more complex system. Such systems can include cells and whole organisms.

Model organism: An organism that is easy to study and manipulate and is similar enough to another organism of interest so that by understanding the model organism, a greater understanding of the other organism may be gained. For example, rats and mice can be used as model organisms to better understand humans.

Shown are several different model organisms frequently used in laboratory studies.

Severe Combined Immune-Deficient (SCID) mouse: A mouse lacking a functional immune system, specifically lacking or abnormal T and B lymphocytes. This is due to inbreeding or genetic engineering. They are extensively used for tissue transplants, because they lack an immune system to reject foreign substances, and for studying an immunocompromised system.

Cellular models: A cell system that can be used to understand normal, or diseased, functions that the cell has within the body. By taking cells from the body and studying them outside of the body, in culture, different conditions can be manipulated and the results studied, whereas this can be much more difficult, or impossible, to do within the body.

Stem cells obtained from different tissues of the body can be used as models to study normal, or diseased, cells in these tissues.

Cell Types:

Somatic Cell: Any cell in the body, developing or adult, other than the germline cells (the gametes, or sperm and eggs).

Gametes: The cells in the body that carry the genetic information that will be passed to the offspring. In other words, these are the germline cells: an egg (for females) or sperm (for males) cell.

Other terms:

Regenerative Medicine: A field of research that investigates how to repair or replace damaged tissues, usually by using stem cells. In this manner, stem cells may be differentiated into, or made to become, the type of cell that is damaged and then used in transplants. Also see clinical trials.

Clinical trials: A controlled test of a new drug or treatment on human subjects, normally performed after successful trials with model organisms. ClinicalTrials.gov lists many stem cell clinical trials.

Stem cells have great potential to treat a wide variety of human diseases and medical conditions.

Cell Surface Marker proteins, or simply Cell Markers: A protein on the surface of a cell that identifies the cell as a certain cell type.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT): A technique that uses an egg and a somatic cell (a non-germline cell). The nucleus, which contains the genetic material, is removed from the egg and the nucleus from the somatic cell is removed and combined with the egg. The resultant cell contains the genetic material of the nucleus donor, and is turned into a totipotent state by the egg. This cell has the potential to develop into an organism, a clone of the nucleus donor.

Dolly the sheep was cloned through somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). An adult cell from the mammary gland of a Finn-Dorset ewe acted as the nuclear donor; it was fused with an enucleated egg from a Scottish Blackface ewe, which acted as the cytoplasmic (or egg) donor. An electrical pulse acted to fuse the cells and activate the oocyte after injection into the surrogate mother ewe. A successfully implanted oocyte developed into the lamb Dolly, a clone of the nuclear donor, the Finn-Dorset ewe.

Clone: A genetic, identical copy of an individual organism through asexual methods. A clone can be created through somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Other stem cell glossaries:

Image credits Images of Endoderm, Mesoderm, Ectoderm, Bone Marrow, Neurons, Cartilage, Hand Skeleton, Connective and Adipose Tissue, Gastrula, Clinical Trials, Mouse, Rat, Drosophila, C. Elegans, Arabidopsis, Sea Urchin, Xenopus, Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer to Create Dolly and other images were taken from the Wikimedia Commons and redistributed and altered freely as they are all in the public domain. The image of Hematopoiesis was also taken from the Wikimedia Commons and redistributed according to the GNU Free Documentation License.

2009. Teisha Rowland. All rights reserved.

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Stem cells are a renewable source of tissue that can be coaxed to become different cell types of the body. The best-known examples are the embryonic stem (ES) cells found within an early-stage embryo. These cells can generate all the major cell types of the body (they are pluripotent). Stem cells have also been isolated from various other tissues, including bone marrow, muscle, heart, gut and even the brain. These adult stem cells help with maintenance and repair by becoming specialized cells types of the tissue or organ where they originate. For example, special stem cells in the bone marrow give rise to all the various types of blood cells (similar blood cell-forming stem cells have also been isolated from umbilical cord blood).

Because adult stem cells become more committed to a particular tissue type during development, unlike embryonic stem cells, they appear to only develop into a limited number of cell types (they are multipotent).

In addition to ES cells, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, discovered in 2007, represent an important development in stem cell research to treat diseases like Parkinsons disease. Essentially, iPS cells are man-made stem cells that share ES cells' ability to become other cell types. IPS cells are created when scientists convert or "reprogram" a mature cell, such as a skin cell, into an embryonic-like state. These cells may have potential both for cell replacement treatment approaches in patients and as disease models that scientists could use in screening new drugs.

IPS cell technology is somewhat related to a previous method called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) or therapeutic cloning (the technology that gave us Dolly the Sheep). Unlike the iPS cell approach, which converts adult cells directly into stem cells, SCNT involves transferring the genetic material of an adult cell into an unfertilized human egg cell, allowing the egg cell to form an early-stage embryo and then collecting its ES cells (which are now genetic clones of the person who donated the adult cell). To date, however, this has not been successfully demonstrated with human cells and iPS cell methods may be replacing SCNT as a more viable option.

A potentially exciting use for iPS cells is the development of cell models of Parkinsons disease. In theory, scientists could use cells from people living with Parkinsons disease to create iPS cell models of the disease that have the same intrinsic cellular machinery of a Parkinsons patient. Researchers could use these cell models to evaluate genetic and environmental factors implicated in Parkinsons disease.

Stem cell research has the potential to significantly impact the development of disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson's disease, and considerable progress has been made in creating dopamine-producing cells from stem cells. The development of new cell models of Parkinsons disease is a particularly promising area of stem cell research, as the current lack of progressive, predictive models of Parkinsons disease remains a major barrier to drug development. Cell models of Parkinsons disease generated from stem cells could help researchers screen drugs more efficiently than in currently available animal models, and study the underlying biological mechanisms associated with Parkinsons disease in cells taken from people living with the disease.

However, there are many challenges that need to be overcome before stem cell-based cell replacement therapies for Parkinsons disease are a reality. Work is still needed to generate robust cells, in both quality and quantity, that can also survive and function appropriately in a host brain. Although ES (and now iPS) cells hold great potential, we do not yet know which stem cell type ultimately holds the greatest promise. Thus, researchers require scientific freedom to pursue research on all types including ES, adult and IPS cells in order to yield results for patients.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation played an early role in supporting work in stem cell research for Parkinsons disease, including funding the original proof of principle demonstrating that ES cells could provide a robust source of dopamine neurons. Since that time, significant other funding resources at both the state and federal levels have been unleashed to support the whole field, allowing the Foundation to continue to target strategic funding in other critical areas of developing therapies for Parkinsons disease. The Foundation will continue to monitor Parkinsons disease specific stem cell developments for opportunities where the Foundation can help in advancing this research.

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