A group of top researchers is focusing on understanding how an embryo’s developing pancreas recognize which cells produce insulin and which ones have other functions.  This understanding is crucial in the use of stem cells, developed into beta cells that produce insulin, to treat type-1 diabetes.

Today, Lund University scientists have new discoveries to announce in this regard, and they will do it in the journal Cell, which is one of the top biomedical journals.

Diabetes researcher Henrik Semb’s team has been analyzing two vital scientific questions:

1.    How are tubes formed in organs where they fulfill vital functions?  For example, the tubes that filter urine in the kidneys, the tubes that carry blood in the blood vessels, and the tubes that carry air in the lungs.

2.    How is the differentiation of cells, the development of immature cells into various mature ones, related to the formation of tubes?

These two processes are known to happen simultaneously in an embryo, but it was not known if they were related, until now.  Henrik Semb’s research team can explain step by step how certain cells in the developing pancreas form miniature cavities that join together to create a system of tubes, and how cells that end up in different parts of this tube system are exposed to different environments, thus they develop in separate ways.  Some produce insulin, others, enzymes that digest food in the intestines, and yet others take part in the tube’s construction.

This research team also discovered that there is a critical gene related to these processes, it is called Cdc42.  They found this out through knock-out mice that had this gene removed.  The lack of Cdc42 blocks the formation of tubes in the pancreas, thus, the dominant environment is like the one around enzyme-producing cells instead of the most important insulin-producing beta cells one.

These discoveries provide knowledge that is critical for the future of medical treatments.  A new door has opened for the research on stem cell treatment for type-1 diabetes, given the new understanding of how immature cells grow into beta cells.  This knowledge will also be valuable for diseases where cyst formation in the tubes produces organ failure, for example, in kidneys and liver.

Every important article published in Cell requires committed and lengthy research, and this is exactly what the Lund scientists have done.  They have devoted years to studying tube formation, cell differentiation, and the role of Cdc42 in the mentioned processes.

Their secret resides in the team itself, formed by amazing scientists capable of keeping their passion alive and energy focused even when they were tempted to publish several partial findings in other journals.  They definitely knew better.

If you wish to know more about stem cell research and their future medical potential, talk to your pharmaceutical consultants; they should be on top of the latest developments and market opportunities.

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It has been proven through an FDA-approved clinical trial that treating heart attack patients with adult stem cells is safe and seems to repair damaged heart tissue.  The results of this study, which was conducted by Joshua M. Hare, M.D. and director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and sponsored by Osiris Therapeutics of Columbia, Maryland, were published in the December 8th issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The first phase of the trial intended to prove the safety and efficacy of injecting a formulation of adult mesenchymal stem cells, Prochymal, in patients right after they suffered a heart attack, to diminish the damage to the heart muscle.  The sample consisted of 53 patients who had suffered a heart attack between one to ten days before.  They were randomized to one of three doses of stem cells, each dose compared with placebo.  After six months, researchers analyzed the serious side effects that were related to the treatment and used echocardiography to measure the efficacy.

The study discovered that the patients treated with stem cells presented fewer side effects like cardiac arrhythmias and showed important improvements in their heart, lung, and global functions.  According to Dr. Hare, the echocardiography showed better heart function, especially in patients with lots of cardiac damage.  Up to date, damaged cardiac tissue cannot be repaired through any known scientific method, and close to a million United States’ citizens suffer heart attacks each year.

These results will put to rest some of the discussions in regards to clinical stem cell research for heart disease.  Although many think that it is too soon to test stem cells in patients, this study has proven the value of exact and controlled clinical trials. In doing so, it also establishes the basis for the development of novel cell heart therapies.

Many believe that this trial acts as a key point of reference for the advancement of these types of approaches. There are several advantages to mesenchymal stem cells as cell-based therapy; among these are:

-    Can be taken from donors that are genetically different
-    Are easy to prepare
-    Tend to gather around injured spots

It is certainly exciting to imagine what is ahead.  Each study will provide new information, new teachings, and new possibilities for the use of adult stem cell therapies to treat cardiac patients.

Contact your pharmaceutical consultancy firm for more information on stem cell research and the promising future it presents.

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Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a new stem cell technology to aid in the better and faster healing of complicated bone fractures.

This technology, which involves the isolation of stem cells from the bone marrow, has been already used successfully in the treatment of severe fractures in seven patients at the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem.

Up to today, the standard treatment in clinical orthopedics for serious bone loss has encompassed basically two options: amputation or long periods of disability.  Equally, prosthetic implants have proven inefficient in the long term.  When there is too much loss of bone, the fracture may not heal, and this is the case of more than a million people per year, just in the United States.

In the last years, there have been promising advances for biological therapy to treat complicated fractures and skeleton disorders, specifically by using mesenchymal or multipotent stem cells (MSC’s), which can differentiate between various cell types.  These cells are unique adult stem cells that can be rapidly isolated from various places in the body, mainly bone marrow and fat tissues, and used to repair different injured tissues like bone, cartilage, tendons, intervertebral discs, and even heart muscle.

The way in which MSC isolation is normally conducted is lengthy, expensive, and also harmful to the healing quality of the cells, because it requires long periods of growth inside incubators.  It was urgent to find a way that would allow for the immediate use of stem cells; the regenerative medicine field was begging for one, and the Hebrew University heard them.

The technology this group developed is called immuno-isolation.  Basically, MSC’s are sorted out in a bone marrow sample by using a specific antibody.  It was proven that this technique made it possible to immediately use the cells to create new bone tissue in lab animals.  After this discovery, several scientists from different interested parties joined forces to establish a clinical-grade protocol for the use of immuno-isolated MSC’s.

The head of orthopedics at Hadassah University Hospital, the Good Manufacturing Practice facility at Hadassah, and the Gazit group at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, conducted a clinical trial in order to establish the foundation for the use of immuno-isolated MSC’s in orthopedic surgery.

Seven patients have benefited so far from the treatment of combining their own immuno-isolated MSC’s and blood products.  The procedure lasted a few hours and didn’t require the growing of cells in a lab.

This success is expected to touch other skeleton injuries, like degenerated intervertebral disks and torn tendons.  It is expected that this treatment will help tackle morbidity in patients with skeletal fractures and diseases, and will help re-establish function and quality of life for many people.

In hopes of making this technology available to many more, the university has licensed the immuno-isolation technology to TheraCell Inc. in California since July 2009.  This organization will develop and commercialize this technology thoroughly for advanced regenerative medical purposes, like spinal fusion.

The mission of life sciences consulting firms is to help pharmaceutical companies land opportunities like this one, where they are able to change lives for the better, showing care and respect for patients in need, while staying at the head of innovation.

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As the debate on whether to use stem cells, or not to use stem cells continues to rage, many people are starting to look to the potential upside of using stem cells as a deciding factor.  Stem cells have remarkable potential to be used to test new drugs, cure previously thought of as incurable diseases, and possibly cure many different types of cancer.  But the application of stem cell research has caused a heated debate over the last 20 years, and much of stem cell research was illegal until only recently.  So what are the reasons for this heated debate about stem cell research, and what are the possible applications of stem cells in the future.

You may wonder why there is any debate at all, over a medical treatment method, which may be able to cure some diseases that 20 years ago were thought of as altogether incurable.  But, as it often is, the discussion is much more complicated than it seems.  At the heart of the stem cell debate is the battle over abortion.  According to many opponents of stem cell research, using living stem cell tissue, usually from living embryos, is likened to abortion, since the embryo will be destroyed after testing.  On the other side of the argument, stem cells hold great promise for millions of families and patients thorough out the world, to cure previously incurable diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and even some forms of cancer.  But what exactly are stem cells, and how can they be used to cure diseases?

Stem cells are found all over our body in differentiated tissue and organ cells.  Stem cells are primarily used in the body to maintain and repair tissue cells, and only divide and repair when needed in case of disease or injury.  Stem cells can be found in bone marrow, brain cells, skeletal cells, blood vessels, even teeth.  Only until recently, scientists have been able to reprogram living stem cells, which provides very promising treatment options for the future.  By being able to reprogram adult stem cells the treatment of serious diseases such as cancer, and even curing blindness, are now thought to be within reach.  Even pharmaceutical firms and pharmaceutical consultancy firms are even coming out openly saying that the application of stem cells to cure disease is a real possibility and needs to be further examined.

However, there may be compromises available that will help stem cell research to move forward and into practical use.  Another method of extracting stem cells is through the process of taking adult stem cells from living blood or organs of healthy adults.  This would end the abortion issue about stem cells, and help research to move forward.  The only problem with this method is that many scientists are finding adult stem cells to be marginally helpful to scientists, and do not show the same promise as using living embryos.

Regardless of the debate over stem cell research, the practical usage of stem cells could ultimately be revolutionary in the field of medicine.  Stem cells could be used to test new drugs, they would allow for a wider range of drug testing for all kinds of drugs, including anti-tumor drugs in cancer cases.  They can be used to regenerate damaged cell tissue or even completely replace damaged tissue in the body.  It could help in the treatment, or possibly cure such diseases as Alzheimer’s disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, strokes, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and heart disease.  Only time will tell what the future use of stem cells will bring to our society as a whole, but at this point many are seeing the possible, future benefit of using stem cells, outweighing any negative stigma regarding stem cell research.

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Regenerative medicine is finally enjoying advancements at least equivalent to those of other areas. Given that its subject matter is the reduction of degeneration and increase of tissue repair, this area of medicine required a lot more research before it began to show any results. In particular, the discovery of stem cells was of great importance.

Stem cells are unprogrammed cells that can divide forever and become specialized as any kind of tissue. They can be found in embryos and in some adult tissues such as bone marrow.

The promise of regenerative medicine is quite remarkable: to heal injuries and cure disease by growing and replacing body tissues. The claim that this can be achieved is not made lightly, and where money starts flowing one can expect there to be reasonable probability of success. One such instance can be found in the investment announced by Pfizer, the U.S. drugs group last April.  Pfizer cash is going into backing University College London research into a stem-cell project to treat a common cause of blindness, age-related macular degeneration. This revived Intercytex, a struggling biotech that put itself up for sale this year. “Intercytex rose 4p to 9.875p as investors noted that its subsidiary supplies stem cells for the project and should benefit from royalty payments if Pfizer manages to bring a treatment into clinics.”, reported the London Times.

To be sure, such treatments becoming commercially available will mean a bonanza to the health industry – not to mention the unequaled advancement in human well-being.

Even in its infancy, stem cell based treatment research is already getting the financial markets and pharmaceutical industry excited, and while there will be winners and losers, all seems to indicate that research is showing promise that is tangible enough to put cash behind it.

Advancements keep coming; Alpha Med Press published a paper on May 1, 2009 that University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center scientists put out, where they announced having found functional evidence that the embryonic stem cell self-renewal gene NANOG, which is purportedly expressed in some epithelial cancer cells, can also be found expressed as a functional variant in cultured cancer cells, xenograft and human prostate cancer cells. Functional studies have found that RNA interference mediated NANOG knockdown inhibits tumor development.