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Home > Blog > February 2011

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New hope for old friends

A Tauranga company is offering veterinary clinics a process for stem-cell treatment that improves healing and brightens – even lengthens – the lives of dogs, cats and horses.

The groundbreaking treatment is being applied to osteoarthritis, and ligament and tendon injuries affecting racehorses.

Stemvet New Zealand, established in September 2009, is committed to providing veterinarians with the knowledge and products to make stem-cell therapy an everyday treatment.

Your cherished pet is feeling the effects of old age ... it is suffering and may need to be put down. Enter stem-cell therapy.

It also wants to put New Zealand veterinarians at the forefront of developments in regenerative medicine.

“The treatment certainly relieves pain and slows the ageing process,” said Stemvet co-owner Gil Sinclair.

“The degree of improvement varies with each patient. But in most cases there’s dramatic improvement in the animal’s mobility and wellbeing.”

Dr Sinclair, a veterinarian who has four in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) laboratories in New Zealand and Australia, has been involved with animal reproduction for nearly 30 years. He has recently worked with researchers in Sydney on the development of stem-cell extraction technology and its application in veterinary clinics.

His enthusiastic business partner, Kerry Hitchcock, talks about a dog suffering from osteoarthritis that was “a doormat at home”.

The dog had an intravenous dose of stem cells and its condition improved. In a short time it was bouncing around.

Mr Hitchcock said an inquisitive neighbour asked the dog’s owner what had happened to the dog. “The neighbour was amazed in the change to the dog,” said Mr Hitchcock.

Early cases treated so far have been dogs – between 8 and 14 years – severely affected with osteoarthritis, and young racehorses that have suffered tendon injuries or have osteoarthritis.

Fat tissue containing dormant adult stem cells is taken from the rump of horses and from under the skin of dogs, and from other animals behind their ribs.

Each gram of fat can contain anything from 4.5 million to 28 million stem cells. The fat is digested in a water bath at 37C, then spun in a centrifuge, and the stem cells filtered out.

A platelet concentrate – containing natural stem-cell activators – is extracted from a blood sample. The platelet and other solutions are mixed with the “fat-extracted” stem-cell concentrate to activate the stem cells.

The mixture is then exposed to a photobiostimulator which provides extra activation. The whole process takes three and a half hours.

The now active adult stem cells are reintroduced to the same animal, mostly by direct injection into the affected joints or tissues. Some are administered intravenously and find their way through the blood system to the inflamed area.

“We are talking about adult stem cells that can be guided into promoting health,” said Dr Sinclair. “There is a huge concentration of them in the body but they are non-functional. By taking fat out of the animals and extracting the stem cells and activating them we can improve the healing process.”

Stemvet has become the exclusive New Zealand distributor for Australian-based MediVet stem-cell therapy products and equipment, which includes the water bath, centrifuge, photobiostimulator and extraction kit.

The package, including equipment and kit, costs $15,000 and in the past month six veterinary clinics, in Christchurch, Blenheim, Wellington, Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland, have signed up. Stemvet provides training, free of charge. Pet owners are charged about $2500 for the treatment – cheaper than the $4000 quoted by an overseas competitor.

Posted: 2/28/2011 9:40:49 AM by Don Margolis | with 0 comments

New Hope for Baby Boomers with Leukemia and Lymphomia

New Hope for Baby Boomers with Leukemia and Lymphomia

Loyola University Health System

2/17/2011

Newswise — MAYWOOD, Ill. — As the first baby boomers turn 65, Loyola University Hospital has begun offering stem cell transplants to leukemia and lymphoma patients who previously were too old to qualify.

Hospitals traditionally have not offered stem cell transplants to patients older than 60 due to potentially severe complications. But Loyola now offers this treatment to patients in their 60s and early 70s.

“A lot of seniors are taking very good care of themselves. They’re in excellent shape, even running marathons and half-marathons,” said Dr. Patrick Stiff, director of Loyola’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. “As they potentially could live another 15 or 20 years, we believe they are just as worthy of receiving transplants as people in their teens or 20s.”

The median age of patients who are diagnosed with leukemia is between 65 and 68. For patients older than 60 who have aggressive forms of leukemia and undergo conventional therapy, the five-year survival rate is less than 5 percent.
But six of the first seven plus-60 patients who have undergone umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants at Loyola have survived. “They’re doing much better than we anticipated,” Stiff said.

William Karris of Carol Stream, Il. was 65 when he received a cord blood transplant at Loyola for an aggressive form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Without the transplant, Karris was expected to live only about six months. The transplant was successful, and Karris now is in remission more than a year and a half after transplant. The chances of a relapse are less than 2 percent, Stiff said.

Karris now plans to go ahead with a delayed knee-replacement surgery, and then return to work as a Bellwood police officer. “I feel pretty good,” he said.

A stem cell transplant can be a grueling and risky procedure. The patient undergoes high-dose chemotherapy, and sometimes high-dose radiation, to kill cancer cells. The treatment also destroys the patient’s immune system cells. To compensate, the patient receives an infusion of donor stem cells, which develop into healthy immune cells.

In addition to the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, a patient is at risk for severe infections until the new immune system takes hold. And once established, the new immune system can attack the patient’s own body, a condition called graft-vs.-host disease. In such cases, the patient receives drugs to suppress the immune system, which in turn can increase the risk of infections.

Donor cells can come from a donor’s bone marrow or from a newborn’s umbilical cord blood. Stiff said cord blood transplants are easier on elderly patients than bone marrow transplants. Less than 10 percent of cord blood transplant patients experience significant graft-vs.-host disease, compared with about 50 percent of patients who receive bone marrow transplants.

Loyola has treated more than 3,000 patients with stem cell transplants, more than any other center in Illinois, and has one of the largest unrelated donor transplant programs in the world. Loyola physicians are currently focusing on umbilical cord blood transplants and have a number of novel therapies available for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma who otherwise can not find a donor elsewhere.

Loyola has performed more than 90 cord blood transplants, and a new study has shown that a center’s experience is indeed an important factor in patient outcomes. Researchers examined records of 514 cord blood transplant patients in North America and Europe. They found that, 100 days after the transplant, the mortality rate was more than twice as high at centers with limited experience (fewer than 10 transplants). The study is published in the January, 2011 issue of the journal Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Posted: 2/25/2011 9:47:30 AM by Don Margolis | with 0 comments

Umbilical cord stem cells accelerate diabetic wound healing

Umbilical cord stem cells accelerate diabetic wound healing

Korean scientists have found that transplanting human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) ‘significantly accelerate’ wound closure in diabetic mouse models.

Diabetes is often associated with impaired wound healing, according to study’s corresponding author, Wonhee Suh of the CHA University Stem Cell Institute.

“EPCs are involved in revascularization of injured tissue and tissue repair,” said Suh.

“Wounds associated with diabetes that resist healing are also associated with decreased peripheral blood flow and often resist current therapies.

“Normal wounds, without underlying pathological defects heal readily, but the healing deficiency of diabetic wounds can be attributed to a number of factors, including decreased production of growth factors and reduced revascularization,” he said.

For the study, the researchers transplanted EPCs into an experimental group of mice modeled with diabetes-associated wounds, but did not transplant EPCs into a control group.

They found that the EPCs “prompted wound healing and increased neovascularization” in the experimental group.

“The transplantation of EPCs derived from human umbilical blood cells accelerated wound closure in diabetic mice from the earliest point,” said Suh.

The researchers found that growth factors and cytokines (small proteins secreted by specific cells of the immune system) were “massively produced” at the wounded skin sites and contributed to the healing process.

The study has been published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation. (ANI)

Posted: 2/24/2011 9:46:53 AM by Don Margolis | with 0 comments

Couples are opting for stem cell banking

An increasing number of couples are opting for stem cell banking,

discovers Zeenia F Baria

Stem Cell Expert Dr Satyen Sanghavi says that stem cells are cells found in all multi cellular organisms. They’re found throughout the body, but especially in bone marrow, in the peripheral blood (your circulating blood) and in the umbilical cord. “They are characterised by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiate into a diverse range of specialised cell types. Stem cells divide themselves many times to make new stem cells. They can also transform into specific cells needed by the body to heal itself. Stem cells for transplantation can come from yourself/ your own body (an autologous transplant) or, more commonly from a donor (an allogeneic transplant). Stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialised cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Highly plastic adult stem cells from a variety of sources, including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow, are routinely used in medical therapies,” says Dr Sanghavi.

What is Stem Cell Banking?
A stem cell bank is a facility, which stores stem cells for future use. Umbilical cord blood is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is obtained from the umbilical cord at the time of childbirth, after the cord has been detached from the newborn. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, including hematopoietic cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders. Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood – red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. But it is also rich in hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow. This is why cord blood can be used for transplantation as an alternative to bone marrow.

Why is it recommended?
Infertility Specialist, Dr Nandita Palshetkar says that stem cell banking is a simple, safe and painless procedure and happens immediately after birth after cutting the cord. “The cord blood collected is then transferred to the laboratory and frozen in cryogenic storage tanks for long-term preservation. Nowadays, the umbilical cord is also stored. Stem cells represent an exciting area in medicine because of their potential to regenerate and repair damaged tissue. Some current therapies, such as bone marrow transplantation, already make use of stem cells and their potential for regeneration of damaged tissues. Other therapies are under investigation that involve transplanting stem cells into a damaged body part and directing them to grow and differentiate into healthy tissue,” says Dr Palshetkar.

Benefits
Storing your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells is an investment towards the future health of the family. “It ensures an exact match for the child and a more likely match for another blood-related family member, should the stem cells be needed for treatment. Unfortunately, if a stem cell treatment is indicated, families that have not privately banked their child’s cord blood stem cells end up searching for an appropriate source of compatible stem cells – searches, which can take months and still be unsuccessful. Cord blood stem cells from a family member are much more likely to be successfully transplanted than those from an unrelated donor,” says Dr Sanghavi.

Difference between stem cells from cord blood v/s bone marrow
Both bone marrow and cord blood stem cell transplants are designed to replace unhealthy cells with healthy ones. “Cord blood is blood that is collected from an infant’s umbilical cord after delivery, so that it may be tested, frozen and subsequently stored in a cord blood bank for future use. A bone marrow transplant, on the other hand, involves the use of bone marrow that is transplanted from a donor into the recipient in order to cultivate new stem cells. Stem cells are available in greater proportion from the umbilical cord as compared to bone marrow. Cord blood cells are have more generative capacity as compared to bone marrow cells. Cord blood cells can be used for those with lung, heart and kidney diseasewhere bone marrow cells are to be avoided,” says Dr Palshetkar.

Conclusion
Gynaecologist Dr Sonal Kumta says that more parents should opt for stem cell banking. “Cord blood can be stored by cryopreservation for future use for your child or any other family member. The baby will have a 100 per cent match with these cells and siblings will have 25 per cent match. This once in a lifetime opportunity helps preserve a biological resource for future use. It helps protect one from incurable diseases like leukemia and thalassemia while trials are in progress for Alzheimers, cartilage regeneration, diabetes, heart diseases, liver diseases, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury and even strokes.

Posted: 2/23/2011 9:48:12 AM by Don Margolis | with 0 comments

Stem Cells To The Rescue!

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For first time in the United States, one man’s heart has been saved by his own stem cells.

It’s an amazing medical breakthrough. The science behind the technique made it possible for a man to literally save his own life through his stem cells.

John Christy is the first person in the U.S. to have his own bone marrow stem cells injected into his heart to save his heart.

“All you’re doing is giving back to yourself something you already have,” said Christy

A Vietnam veteran was suffering from severe coronary artery disease.

“I was just thinking, ‘You’re getting old, you’re just tiring out and getting weary bones.’ I felt tingling. My legs had been swelling a little bit,” said Christy.

In one procedure, cardiothoracic surgeon Joseph Woo at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is taking science from bench to bedside. After five years of research in animals, he is now retrieving stem cells from Christy’s bone marrow and using them to grow blood vessels around the heart.

“They form brand new micro blood vessels and deliver blood flow to the heart muscle,” said Woo.

He has started the first U.S. trial where stem cells are harvested during surgery, prepped and then re-inserted back into the patient’s own heart.

Results for Christy were seen almost immediately.

“I noticed two days after my surgery, I had much more ‘umph,’” said Christy.

It’s the same process that saved 76-year-old Christina McDonald, only it wasn’t arteries in her heart that were damaged. McDonald’s problem was in her legs.

“Sort of like a charley-horse where the muscles stiffen up,” said McDonald.

The arteries in her leg were clogged with plaque, putting her at risk for heart attack, stroke and amputation.

Traditionally, doctors treat it with stents, angioplasties or bypasses. But now they’re using stem cells.

“We basically take stem cells from their hips to help grow blood vessels. It creates new, smaller blood vessels that give blood supply to the limb,” said Dr. Randall Franz, a vascular surgeon at Grant Medical Center.

It worked for McDonald. Three months later, her pain is gone.

The same goes for Christy. His only wish is that science was working faster. He lost his wife to heart disease one year ago.

“I wish that she could have had this,” said Christy.

A similar procedure is being done in Europe. The difference is Woo does his in one short surgery.

In Europe, it takes at least two procedures, weeks apart.

Woo says any patient who is a candidate for coronary bypass surgery is a good candidate for his stem-cell transplant.

Stem Cells To The Rescue! — Research Summary

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE:
Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart’s ability to efficiently pump is impaired by a destruction or dysfunction of its muscle cells. The condition is a major health problem, affecting 4.8 million people — a figure that is rapidly growing as 400,000 new patients arise each year. A common cause of this condition is a heart attack, which strikes over a million people in the U.S. annually. Although many surgical, medical and technological methods exist to help treat patients with congestive heart failure, over half of the patients die within five years of their primary diagnosis. (SOURCE: stemcells.nih.gov)

STEM CELL POTENTIAL:
Restoring the functionality of hearts damaged by congestive heart failure and heart attacks is one of the most challenging tasks doctors and surgeons face. Now, research has provided hope that adult and embryonic stem cells have the potential to replace the heart’s damaged muscle cells, as well as create blood vessels to route a steady supply of blood to them. To do this, heart muscle cells, such as the cardiomyocyte, which serve to push blood out of the ventricle, must be developed in order to improve blood flow and the transportation of oxygen and nutrients.

If extremely specific growth conditions are achieved in labs, then it is possible to leverage stem cells to develop new heart muscle cells. To test this concept, researchers forced a heart attack in lab rats and mice by attaching a ligature around a key blood vessel of their hearts in order to restrict the flow of nutrients and oxygen. Next, they tested the efficacy of a specific group of adult primitive bone marrow cells by injecting them directly into the damaged ventricle. To the researchers’ satisfaction, new cardiomyocytes, among other crucial heart muscle cells, began to form, leading the way for the development of a brand new system of coronary arteries, arterioles and capillaries. When compared to the control mice that also suffered heart attacks, but did not receive a stem cell treatment, the treated mice were found to be much more likely to survive. Research has shown high hopes that similar effects will blossom from human embryonic stem cells. Since embryonic cells can be coaxed into developing into any type of adult body cell, researchers hope to leverage them to take on the properties of cardiomyocytes and other cells. Embryonic cells aren’t the only solution, however. Under the right conditions, human hematopoietic stem cells are also able to transform into desired tissue types such as cardiac muscle. (SOURCE: stemcells.nih.gov)

A STEM CELL FIRST:
Y. Joseph Woo, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine performed a first-of-its-kind procedure in the United States. He took stem cells from a patient’s bone marrow (known as endothelial progenitor stem cells) and injected them into his heart during coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The patient felt relief almost immediately. A similar procedure is being done in Europe, but doctors there retrieve the cells while the patient is awake, which can be painful.

“To find the best stem cell treatment facility in the world for your particular condition; fill out the treatment request form at the Repair Stem Cell Institute website:http://repairstemcells.org/Treatment/Treatment-Request.aspx?d=Heart%20Disease You will then be guided to the top treatment center(s) in the world for treating heart disease and educated regarding information, costs, etc. There is no cost for treatment request and info.”

Posted: 2/22/2011 9:49:48 AM by Don Margolis | with 0 comments

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