Public release date: 9-Oct-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sally Garneski pressinquiry@facs.org 312-202-5409 American College of Surgeons

WASHINGTON, DCResearchers at the University of Michigan Department of Surgery have begun testing an alternative to embryonic stem cells that could one day regenerate muscle tissue for babies with congenital heart defects. A research-in-progress report on this new approach, which uses amniotic stem cells, was presented today at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Although this research is still in an early phase, this new approach has the potential to one day help thousands of babies born each year with congenital heart defects.

Typically, a pregnant woman can have a fetal ultrasound performed to find out the sex of her baby between 18 and 20 weeks gestation. But each year during pregnancy or after birth, 40,000 women also find out that their babies have birth defects in their hearts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.*

Babies with congenital heart defects often go through multiple heart operations or even a transplant before their first birthday. But Shaun Kunisaki, MD, a pediatric surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at the University of Michigan, and his surgical team are testing a new method of regenerating defective heart tissue so that one day these multiple operations may no longer be necessary.

"We know that the baby's heart cells are functioning, but the muscle has developed abnormally," lead study author Dr. Kunisaki said. "We have to find the right source of new cells to replace the damaged cells or generate new tissue to augment the damaged heart."

Stem Cell Shortfalls

Until now embryonic stem cells have shown potential to morph into various types of organ tissues, but the ethics surrounding the process of having to destroy the embryo to achieve this outcome has drawn controversy.

Stem cells from bone marrow have also seemed promising, but such cells are obviously hard to obtain from a fetus. Furthermore, getting bone marrow from a donor brings about the same risk as having a heart transplanthaving to suppress the newborn infant's immune system so that its body doesn't reject the foreign cells. "Also, bone marrow cells are not made to function like heart muscle cells, but rather to protect against inflammation," Dr. Kunisaki explained.

Cardiac stem cells, which are in the heart, have also been considered, but the heart contains a very limited number of these stem cells.

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Amniotic stem cells show promise in helping to repair cardiac birth defects

Stem Cells injected into Caleb #39;s spinal cord
This video was taken during the injection process of Caleb #39;s stem cell treatment. It was shot by Dr. Zannos Grekos on Friday, September 27, 2013 in the Domin...

By: Caleb Bartlett

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Stem Cells injected into Caleb's spinal cord - Video

A German government-funded research project is using laser tomography to help scale-up stem cell production for anticipated new therapies.

Work on the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)-backed Ultrasensitive Verification and Manipulation of Cells and/or Tissue and their molecular Substances started in July and will receive 4.1million over the course of three years.

Central to the project is a technique known as scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT), developed and patented by Laser Zentrum Hannover, while other project partners with optics expertise include the advanced microscopy specialist LaVision BioTec and lens maker Sill Optics.

The SLOT technique is used to monitor cell cultures consisting of so-called pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). Once isolated from an embryo, these cells have the ability to turn into virtually any cell type.

In the new TOMOSphere project, SLOT will, for the first time, be used to monitor quantitatively the absolute number of cells in cultured, endogenous groups. The results are expected improve understanding of the physiology of hPSC and other stem cells, as well continuous control of their characteristics.

Light combination LZH scientists have previously used SLOT to generate optical images similar to those produced by a familiar X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. Having already created detailed images of a rodents lung, they are also working to develop the technology for human use.

The technique is able to simultaneously record transmitted, scattered and fluorescent light, generating high-resolution, three-dimensional images. In a separate project, LZH and collaborators are working to speed up the image generation process to make SLOT more practically useful.

For the stem cell application, SLOT enables cell biologists to classify and then sort the aggregates into specific cell types.

The BMBF-funded project is working on an incubation system where SLOT will provide marker-free identification of intrinsic cell and tissue-specific characteristics. It also enables monitoring of the fluctuation of critical biological species, for example calcium ions, as well as imaging different types of micro- and nanoparticles in cell aggregates.

SLOT works by scanning cell aggregates inside a cuvette with a narrow beam. A projection image for each scanning position is generated from a combination of scattered, transmitted and fluorescent light that is collected.

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Laser tomography aids 'mass production' of stem cells

Miami, Florida (PRWEB) October 07, 2013

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. announced plans to attend 21st Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Aesthetic Medicine (a4m) at the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas, Dec. 15, 2013. The prestigious conference, hosted by the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine, will be attended by physicians and medical practitioners from around the world who will discuss practice management stem cell technology, certification, personalized lifestyle medicine, aesthetic medicine, pellet therapy, brain health, case studies and. Workshops on personalized lifestyle medicine and aesthetic medicine will also be held.

Joseph Purita, M.D., a lead trainer for Stem Cell Training, Inc. and a pioneer in the use of stem cell therapies in orthopedics, will be a featured speaker at the conference. Purita joins an illustrious group of speakers including: Author Judith Reichman, M.D., womens health care expert and specialist in gynecology, infertility and menopause; Travis Stork, M.D., ER physician and host of the Emmy Award-winning talk show, The Doctors; and Actress and Author Suzanne Somers, a dedicated health advocate and proponent of alternative and integrative medicine.

Global Stem Cells Group plans to promote its new postgraduate program, Studies in Cellular Therapy and Tissue Engineering, in partnership with Maimonides University, as well its newly formed alliance with EmCyte Corp. to promote in-office regenerative medicine solutions. Fort Myers, Florida-based EmCyte is a leading provider of biotechnology solutions in the United States, develops biological products for platelet rich plasma and bone marrow concentrate grafting procedures.

For more information on the World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Aesthetic Medicine, visit the a4m website, email bnovas(at)regenestem(dot)com or call 849.943.2988.

About the Global Stem Cell Group:

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. is the parent company of six wholly owned operating companies dedicated entirely to stem cell research, training, products and solutions. Founded in 2012, the company combines dedicated researchers, physician and patient educators and solution providers with the shared goal of meeting the growing worldwide need for leading edge stem cell treatments and solutions. With a singular focus on this exciting new area of medical research, Global Stem Cells Group and its subsidiaries are uniquely positioned to become global leaders in cellular medicine.

Global Stem Cells Groups corporate mission is to make the promise of stem cell medicine a reality for patients around the world. With each of GSCGs six operating companies focused on a separate research-based mission, the result is a global network of state-of-the-art stem cell treatments.

The Global Stem Cell Foundation was formed as a nonprofit charitable organization that aims to fund research on the expanding need for stem cell solutions for patients, and identify best practices between physicians engaged in stem cell treatments in the U.S. and around the world.

To learn more about Global Stem Cells Group, Inc., and for investor information, visit the Global Stem Cell Group website, email bnovas(at)regenestem(dot)com, or call 305-224-1858.

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Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. Announces Plans to Attend 21st Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and ...

Durham, NC (PRWEB) October 08, 2013

A new study released today in Stem Cells Translational Medicine shows that in rats, treating a heart attack with stem cells even weeks after the attack occurred can halt deterioration and help the heart regenerate itself. In addition, the doctors delivered the cells using a patch that resulted in a higher survival rate for the stem cells and more of them migrating into the damaged tissue, where they went to work creating new blood vessels.

The team, from the University of Louisvilles Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (Louisville, KY), had previously shown in rat studies that stem cell treatment immediately following an attack aided recovery by improving blood flow in the smallest vessels of the heart. This time the goal was to determine if the treatment was still effective if applied later in time.

We also were seeking a more efficient delivery method for the stem cells by utilizing the heart patch model. Most studies employing an injection of stem cells encounter swift cell death or cell washout from the target tissue, said Amanda LeBlanc, Ph.D., who led the investigation along with Stuart Williams, Ph.D., the institutes executive and scientific director.

They tested their theory by applying a patch seeded with stem cells harvested from the animals own adipose (fat) tissue and then cultured in the lab. They implanted the seeded patches into one group of rats two weeks after the animals had a heart attack, while another group received the patch without stem cells (to gauge whether any effects might be due to the body's response to a foreign material or whether the biomaterial itself was helping the heart pump more efficiently, regardless of cells). Two more groups of rats with induced heart attacks were given no treatment, and were carried out for two and six weeks as controls.

This approach allowed us to study the progressive and sometimes irreversible pathological changes that occur weeks to months following an attack, such as cellular death, the beginning of scar tissue formation and thinning of the outer left ventricle wall, Dr. Williams explained.

When they compared the results, they found that the cell patch treatment indeed stabilized the heart, preventing or halting any worsening of cardiac function and restoring blood flow to the small blood vessels. This is why I refer to our cell patch as a pause button, because once it was applied the heart didn't progress into worse function like the patch group without cells and the untreated six-week group, Dr. LeBlanc said.

That led us to conclude that the clinical potential of an autologous patch that is, a patch seeded with the patients own stem cells using adipose-derived cells is high, as the patch may be used in conjunction with existing heart attack therapies to promote small vessel survival and/or growth of new vessels following the attack, she added.

This study, and the authors previous research, both in rats, lays important groundwork in addressing such issues as the best delivery method of cells and how long after a heart attack treatment might be beneficial, said Anthony Atala, M.D., editor of Stem Cells Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

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Stem Cells Delivered by Patch Effective in Repairing Cardiac Damage Weeks After Heart Attack Occurs

Stem cells delivered by patch effective in repairing cardiac damage weeks after heart attack occurs

A new study released in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows that in rats, treating a heart attack with stem cells even weeks after the attack occurred can halt deterioration and help the heart regenerate itself. In addition, the doctors delivered the cells using a patch that resulted in a higher survival rate for the stem cells and more of them migrating into the damaged tissue, where they went to work creating new blood vessels.

The team, from the University of Louisvilles Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (Louisville, KY), had previously shown in rat studies that stem cell treatment immediately following an attack aided recovery by improving blood flow in the smallest vessels of the heart. This time the goal was to determine if the treatment was still effective if applied later in time.

We also were seeking a more efficient delivery method for the stem cells by utilizing the heart patch model. Most studies employing an injection of stem cells encounter swift cell death or cell washout from the target tissue, said Amanda LeBlanc, Ph.D., who led the investigation along with Stuart Williams, Ph.D., the institutes executive and scientific director.

They tested their theory by applying a patch seeded with stem cells harvested from the animals own adipose (fat) tissue and then cultured in the lab. They implanted the seeded patches into one group of rats two weeks after the animals had a heart attack, while another group received the patch without stem cells (to gauge whether any effects might be due to the body's response to a foreign material or whether the biomaterial itself was helping the heart pump more efficiently, regardless of cells). Two more groups of rats with induced heart attacks were given no treatment, and were carried out for two and six weeks as controls.

This approach allowed us to study the progressive and sometimes irreversible pathological changes that occur weeks to months following an attack, such as cellular death, the beginning of scar tissue formation and thinning of the outer left ventricle wall, Dr. Williams explained.

When they compared the results, they found that the cell patch treatment indeed stabilized the heart, preventing or halting any worsening of cardiac function and restoring blood flow to the small blood vessels. This is why I refer to our cell patch as a pause button, because once it was applied the heart didn't progress into worse function like the patch group without cells and the untreated six-week group, Dr. LeBlanc said.

That led us to conclude that the clinical potential of an autologous patch that is, a patch seeded with the patients own stem cells using adipose-derived cells is high, as the patch may be used in conjunction with existing heart attack therapies to promote small vessel survival and/or growth of new vessels following the attack, she added.

This study, and the authors previous research, both in rats, lays important groundwork in addressing such issues as the best delivery method of cells and how long after a heart attack treatment might be beneficial, said Anthony Atala, M.D., editor of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

STEM CELLS Translational Medicine

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Stem cells delivered by patch repair damage after cardiac arrest