Category Archives: Utah Stem Cells

December 2012

We know the human body comprises many cell types (e.g., blood cells, skin cells, cervical cells), but we often forget to appreciate that all of these different cell types arose from a single cellthe fertilized egg. A host of sequential, awe-inspiring events occur between the fertilization of an egg and the formation of a new individual:

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are also called totipotent cells.

Stem cells also exist in adults and have varying abilities to self-renew.

In addition to embryonic stem cells, stem cells also exist in adults (adult stem cells) that allow specific tissues to regenerate throughout an individuals life. They also have the ability to self-renew and can give rise to a subset of differentiated cells depending upon the nature of the adult stem cell. Such adult stem cells and lineage-specific progenitor cells (with limited self-renewal ability) have long been known to exist in organs that continually regenerate, such as skin and blood. Some adult stem cells are active all the time (e.g., blood), and some only respond to injury (e.g., hair follicle stem cells) or physiological clues such as hormones (e.g., mammary stem cells).

More recently, however, stem cells have been identified in organs previously thought not to have regenerative capability, including reproductive organs. Female infants were previously thought to be born with a finite number of eggs, but a recent report identified egg stem cells in human ovarian tissue that can form egg cells, called oocytes, in the laboratory.1 Many tissues in the adult body (e.g., neural, muscle, and fat tissues) now appear to contain stem/progenitor cells.

The main use of stem cells in medicine is as a source of donor cells to be used as therapy to replace damaged or missing cells and organs. Stem cells are also useful for creating models of human disease and for drug discovery.

Stem cells can be obtained from several sources:

Scientists can obtain stem cells from multiple sources, including embryos, amniotic fluid, adult tissue, and even cadavers.

Adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are generally viewed as posing less of an ethical dilemma.

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Actionbioscience | Stem Cells for Cell-Based Therapies

Keeping in tradition with the Us commitment to advance the fields of medicine and surgery, our physicians are focusing on regenerative medicine as the next frontier in treating cardiovascular disease. Researchers within the Cardiovascular Center estimate cell therapy will be FDA-approved within three years. The goal of this therapy is to give cells back to the heart in order for it to grow stronger, work harder, and function more like a younger heart. Currently, studies include the potentiality of injecting cardiac repair cells into patients hearts to improve function.

This is the first trial of its kind in the United States, providing heart patients who have limited or no other options with a viable treatment. Using some of the best imaging technology, researchers have been able to see improvements in patients within six months after injecting their own cells directly into the left ventricle of the heart during minimally invasive surgery.

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Heart Stem Cell Therapy | University of Utah Health Care

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy? Hyperbaric oxygen is simply breathing oxygen in a high pressure environment. It involves having the patient lay on a hospital-type bed or gurney, rolling them into a large clear cylinder, and adding pressure with 100% oxygen for them to breath. The pressure reached is the equivalent of 30-40 feet under the ocean. Each treatment lasts about 90 minutes, and most people either sleep or watch a movie to pass the time.

How does it work? Air molecules are very far apart from one another at altitude (like Utah for example), and close together at sea level. They become even closer together below sea level, resulting in high concentrations of oxygen entering the lungs with each breath. If we then have the patient breath only oxygen at that pressure, not only is every red blood cell saturated but oxygen actually becomes dissolved in the plasma. This supplies oxygen to tissues where even red blood cells cannot go.

What do you treat with hyperbaric oxygen? There are 15 Medicare approved conditions. It is the primary therapy for: decompression illness or "the bends," as well as carbon monoxide poisoning.

It is a secondary or supporting therapy for the other conditions. These include: Delayed effects of radiation therapy Refractory diabetic foot ulcers with bone exposed, Chronic refractory osteomyelitis or a "bone infection," Compromised skin flaps and grafts, and other arterial insufficiencies Necrotizing infections like "flesh eating" bacteria, brain abscesses, certain types of hearing and vision loss

What is the most common condition you treat? The most common conditions we treat are late effects of radiation therapy. Techniques for radiation therapy are better than they once were, so people who underwent radiation treatment years to decades ago will present with tissue damage in those irradiated areas. This may include bleeding from colon, prostate or bladder irradiation. It may be non-healing wounds on the skin, jaw or mouth, or even breast pain related to radiation. Also, having surgery in any area with previous radiation therapy is risky, but can be pre-treated with hyperbaric oxygen to prevent complications as well.

What are the therapeutic effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy?

Depends on the indication but generally speaking it: Improves function of white blood cells to fight infection Revitalizes tissues that receive poor blood flow Stimulates growth of new blood vessels, termed "angiogenesis" Mobilizes stem cells from bone marrow to wound sites Suppresses inflammatory mediators in irradiated tissues.

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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its benefits on wound treatment

A bone marrow transplant is done by transferring stem cells from one person to another. Stem cells can either be collected from the circulating cells in the blood (the peripheral system) or from the bone marrow.

Hematopoietic stem cells, or progenitor cells, are the very young or immature cells from which all blood cells are produced. The stem cells are formed in the bone marrow (the spongy cavity in the center of large bones). Each stem cell receives chemical signals that direct it to become a red cell, one of several kinds of white cell, or a small cluster of platelets. This growth process occurs in the bone marrow space, and normally only mature cells are released into the peripheral blood stream.

Hematopoietic stem cells may be harvested directly from the bone marrow, or collected from peripheral blood after the stem cells are mobilized from the bone marrow. The choice is determined by a number of factors such as the patients stage and type of disease, the treatment plan, or the donors age.

Peripheral blood stem cells are collected by apheresis, a process in which the donor is connected to a special cell separation machine via a needle inserted in the vein. Blood is taken from one vein and is circulated though the machine which removes the stem cells and returns the remaining blood and plasma back to the donor through another needle inserted into the opposite arm. Several sessions may be required to collect enough stem cells to ensure a chance of successful engraftment in the recipient.

Bone marrow harvesting involves collecting stem cells with a needle placed into the soft center of the bone, the marrow. Most sites used for bone marrow harvesting are located in the hip bones and the sternum. The procedure takes place in the operating room. The donor will be anesthetized during the harvest and will not feel the needle. In recovery, the donor may experience some pain in the areas where the needle was inserted.

Autologous donors are treated with appropriate therapy by their oncology doctor, and then referred to the bone marrow transplant program for evaluation and collection. Allogeneic donors, when needed, are identified by tissue typing and matching with the recipients tissue type.

A workup is done on all donors to assess their health status. The routine workup includes a physical examination, health history questions, blood tests, chest x-ray, and electrocardiogram (EKG). Regulations require that stem cell donors be tested for the same infections diseases as any other blood donor. These tests are for hepatitis, HIV (AIDS), Human T-cell leukemia (HTLV), syphilis, and other viral diseases such as cytomegalovirus, herpes, and West Nile. A sample from the donor must be tested within 30 days of each collection. The results are reviewed by the transplant physician, and the donor is given the opportunity to discuss the workup and ask questions prior to giving consent for the stem cell collection. The donor is then scheduled for mobilization and collection.

Mobilization, or priming, is the process used to stimulate the donors marrow to produce extra stem cells and release them into the peripheral blood. This is done by giving injections or shots of a growth factor called Neupogen or G-CSF. Autologous donors may receive a combination of chemotherapy plus growth factor, or growth factor alone. Allogeneic donors receive growth factor only. Priming is required for peripheral stem cell collections and generally not used for bone marrow harvest collections.

Autologous donors may have a widely variable response to priming. When chemotherapy plus growth factor is used, the last day of chemotherapy is called day 1, Neupogen shots start on day 6, and the average time to begin collection is day 1012. However, a longer time or additional growth factors may be required for adequate mobilization. Priming with growth factor alone is usually done for 4 days and collections begin on day 5.

The priming for allogeneic donors is usually scheduled to coincide with the recipients treatment so that the collections occur when the patient is ready to receive the stem cells. The donor receives G-CSF for 3 or 4 days, depending upon the patients treatment plan, prior to start of collection on day 4 or 5.

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Stem Cell Collection - University of Utah Internal ...

Stem cells are a rapidly advancing field of biological research. Since Dr. James Thomson first cultivated human embryonic stem cells at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in the late 1990s, this field of researched has exploded with potential. The links below provide access to a curriculum developed under the supervision of Dr. Thomson as well as the co-directors and staff of the UW Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center. The material has been reviewed for accuracy by the scientists actually conducting the research and was compiled and formatted by Craig Kohn, a high school teacher with research experience, for a high school audience. The PowerPoint presentation works in conjunction with the notesheet, allowing for students to work independently if preferred. More information about specific instructional practices can be found below in Teacher Notes.

PowerPoint: http://bit.ly/ted-stemcells

Notesheet: http://bit.ly/ted-stemcellsnotesheet

Quiz: http://bit.ly/ted-stemcellsquiz

Additional resources about stem cells can be found at:

http://www.stemcells.wisc.edu/node/386

http://stemcells.nih.gov/Pages/Default.aspxhttp://www.stemcellschool.org/http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/750/25-best-blogs-for-following-stem-cell-research/

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What are stem cells? - Craig A. Kohn | TED-Ed

Stem cell research has been hailed for the potential to revolutionize the future of medicine with the ability to regenerate damaged and diseased organs. On the other hand, stem cell research has been highly controversial due to the ethical issues concerned with the culture and use of stem cells derived from human embryos. This article presents an overview of what stem cells are, what roles they play in normal processes such as development and cancer, and how stem cells could have the potential to treat incurable diseases. Ethical issues are not the subject of this review.1

In addition to offering unprecedented hope in treating many debilitating diseases, stem cells have advanced our understanding of basic biological processes. This review looks at two major aspects of stem cells:

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have two defining properties: the ability to differentiate into other cells and the ability to self-regenerate.

The ability to differentiate is the potential to develop into other cell types. A totipotent stem cell (e.g. fertilized egg) can develop into all cell types including the embryonic membranes. A pleuripotent stem cell can develop into cells from all three germinal layers (e.g cells from the inner cell mass). Other cells can be oligopotent, bipotent or unipotent depending on their ability to develop into few, two or one other cell type(s).2

Self-regeneration is the ability of stem cells to divide and produce more stem cells. During early development, the cell division is symmetrical i.e. each cell divides to gives rise to daughter cells each with the same potential. Later in development, the cell divides asymmetrically with one of the daughter cells produced also a stem cell and the other a more differentiated cell.

Differentiation Potential

Number of cell types

Example of stem cell

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What Are Stem Cells? - CSA

He said Nadal is expected to return to training in early December.

Several NFL players and baseball players have received stem cell treatment. Nadals fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol, center of the Chicago Bulls, received stem cell treatment on his knee in 2013.

Nadal experienced severe back pain during the final of the Australian Open in January when he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka.

"(Nadal) has a problem typical in tennis with a back joint, he had it at the Australian Open, and we have decided to treat it with stem cells," Ruiz-Cotorro said.

He said that stem cells were recently extracted from Nadal for a cultivation process to "produce the necessary quantities."

"When we have them we will put them in the point of pain," he said, with the goal of "regenerating cartilage, in the midterm, and producing an anti-inflammatory effect."

Nadal, now 28, won a record ninth French Open along with three other titles this season before a stunning loss to teenager Borna Coric at the Swiss Indoors in October dropped him to No. 3 in the ATP rankings. That tournament was only his third since Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.

The Mallorca island native has struggled with injuries over recent years.

A knee injury caused him to miss several months in 2012 before coming back to full strength to win 10 titles in 2013, including the U.S. Open and again dominating at Roland Garros.

Nadals 14 Grand Slam titles ties him with Pete Sampras on the all-time list led by Roger Federer and his 17 victories.

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Tennis: Rafael Nadal to receive stem cell treatment for ...

There are many serious and debilitating diseases that seem to have no easy treatment or any treatment at all. For several of this type of ailments, the advancements in stem cell therapy could be the answer people are looking for.Unfortunately, stem cell therapy remains controversial, and is yet to be offered in many places. And in most developed countries, the prices for the treatment are beyond the reach of many people. However, a cheaper, more affordable alternative exists in the form of stem cell treatment in India, giving more people a chance to get better.

Youve probably heard of stem cells one time or another its a hot topic when it comes to medicine, after all. But what are stem cells anyway? According the U.S. National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research, stem cells are cells not specific to any bodily function, and have the capability to divide, and hence multiply even after long periods of inactivity.

Also, they can be induced to transform into cells for tissues or organs a function that makes them ideal for treatment of various diseases. This ability means the stem cells can heal injured human body parts the reason why stem cells have been called the holy grail of medicine before. Scientists have worked with two kinds of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

These stem cells are then cultured and grown in laboratories to be used for treatment later on. Stem cell treatment entails introduction of the stem cells into the body of a person. The nature of the cells enables them to divide and heal tissues or organs for treatment.

When it comes to procedures related to stem cells, India is one of the popular destinations. According to Forbes India, the countrys government, recognizing the importance of stem cells in medicine, allocated more than $66 million toward stem cell research in India. The research was geared toward understanding stem cells more, and conducting clinical trials to test a therapys effectiveness.

Like the other services offered by the countrys medical tourism industry, stem cell transplant in India is offered at a price a lot lower than the prices in developed countries. Besides the lower costs of stem cell transplant, India offers some treatments that may not be available in other locations.

There are many diseases and ailments that could possibly be cured by stem cells diseases which were previously thought to be incurable, leading to terminal illnesses that ultimately result in death. A common example would be leukemia. According to the University of Utahs Genetic Science Learning Center, doctors opt for bone marrow transplants whenever chemotherapy alone cannot eliminate all the abnormal leukocytes in a patient with leukemia.

Aside from cancer and leukemia, stem cell treatment in India also addresses various other diseases such as multiple sclerosis and several other degenerative disorders of the brain including metabolic disorders, Parkinsons disease, cerebral palsy, and cerebellar degeneration. Stem cell therapy in India commonly uses adult stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells, which are cells that can turn into bone cells, cartilage cells, and fat cells.

Doctors from India could get these mesenchymal stem cells from a patients iliac crest, which is a part of the human pelvis. Extraction of these cells do not require full surgery a minimally invasive procedure the entails the usage of needles is utilized. Other options exist such as bone grafting and the usage of bone morphogenic protein, but the former is painful and the latter is extremely expensive. Mesenchymal stem cells used in India would therefore seem a more appealing and more financially feasible option.

Many Indian doctors doing stem cell therapy have extensive experience in the field, some having trained in the United States for years. These doctors have been doing the procedure for long stretches of time already. Besides the doctors themselves, there are Indian hospitals offering stem cell treatment that have NLAB-accredit laboratories. NLAB or National Laboratories Accreditation Bureau is an organization that recognizes the technical competence of laboratories. All procedures offered to the patients have been duly analyzed and tested on pre-clinical studies.

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Stem Cells in India | Stem Cell Therapy in India | Quality ...

Banking your baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells

If you or someone you know is expecting a child, now is the time to learn more about the benefits of umbilical cord blood banking. A safe and painless procedure performed by your physician or midwife after the delivery of your child can turn what would otherwise be discarded into a potentially life-saving medical tool that you can choose how to use. Unlike other cord blood banks, Utah Cord Bank clients own their privately stored stem cells. It costs only $48 to order your kit today and get started -- there are no other costs or commitments until after your stem cells are safely stored in liquid nitrogen. And, when you compare bottom line prices, Utah Cord Bank charges a third as much as many other banks and has the lowest yearly storage fee in the nation.

Reducing transit time and wait time before processing increases stem cell yield and viability. Utah Cord Bank is the only local company able to provide this service. Whether you deliver your baby at 1:00 in the morning or 1:00 in the afternoon a trained Utah Cord Bank courier will arrive within 2 hours to retrieve your umbilical cord blood. The stem cell extraction and cryogenic preservation processes begin immediately after we receive your cord blood -- not the next day. Finally your cells are safely stored at our local storage facility until you decide to use them. Explore this site or give us a call at 1-877-822-7836 to learn more about the benefits of umbilical cord blood banking today.

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Utah Cord Bank | 1-877-UCB-STEM |