Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Stem Cell Research News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/stem_cell/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156357.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156357.php New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukemia. Lymphoma / Leukemia Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156364.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156364.php More than 40 scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and science journal editors are calling on their colleagues, policy makers and the public to begin developing guidelines for the research and reproductive use of stem cell-derived eggs and sperm, even though such use may be a decade or more away. "Science has always moved faster than social debate or society's ability to grapple with these issues," says Debra Mathews, Ph.D. Stem Cell Research Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156365.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156365.php UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another. The data from the study suggest that embryonic stem cells and the reprogrammed cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, have overlapping but still distinct gene expression signatures. Stem Cell Research Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156236.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156236.php A molecule called telomerase, best known for enabling unlimited cell division of stem cells and cancer cells, has a surprising additional role in the expression of genes in an important stem cell regulatory pathway, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The unexpected finding may lead to new anticancer therapies and a greater understanding of how adult and embryonic stem cells divide and specialize. Cancer / Oncology Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156218.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156218.php The frontiers of cell transplantation for cardiac repair are discussed in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 18 No.3), now available on-line without charge at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156231.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156231.php The joint research, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Society as well as the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Cambridge and was published in the journal Genes and Development. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156191.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156191.php A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. Haley Hospital found. Alzheimer's / Dementia Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156089.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156089.php Despite rapid advances using a child's own cord blood stem cells in regenerative therapies to repair damaged tissue due to injury or disease, most pregnant women today don't learn about the ability to save their newborn's cord blood. According to research published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 3 out of every 4 pregnant women consider themselves only "minimally informed. Stem Cell Research Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156014.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156014.php Neural stem cells represent the cellular backup of our brain. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. Astrocytes have supportive functions in the environment of neurons, while oligodendrocytes form the myelin layer around axons in order to accelerate neuronal signal transmission. Stem Cell Research Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155992.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155992.php Australia's premier research centre for all aspects of oral health will be established at the University of Adelaide thanks to a $2.4 million Federal Government grant. The new Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) for Oral Health, which will be part of the University's School of Dentistry, is being funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Dentistry Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155946.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155946.php Bio-Matrix Scientific Group, Inc. (OTCBB:BMSN), a San Diego-based biotechnology company, announced today the launch of a national marketing program aimed at hospitals in need of storing umbilical cord blood specimens for future transplantation. The firm's state-of-the-art 15,000 square foot cryogenic banking and processing facility serves a niche in the "storage" of adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood of patient donors' specimens. Transplants / Organ Donations Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155908.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155908.php Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute announced today the completion of the first procedure in which a patient's own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells that were then injected back into the patient's heart in an effort to repair and re-grow healthy muscle in a heart that had been injured by a heart attack. The minimally-invasive procedure was completed on the first patient on Friday, June 26. Heart Disease Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155915.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155915.php Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute announced today the completion of the first procedure in which a patient's own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells that were then injected back into the patient's heart in an effort to repair and re-grow healthy muscle in a heart that had been injured by a heart attack. The minimally-invasive procedure was completed on the first patient on Friday, June 26. Heart Disease Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155936.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155936.php Doctors at a heart center in the US announced yesterday that the first of 24 heart attack patients taking part in a clinical trial has successfully undergone a procedure where his own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells that were then injected back into his heart where it is hoped they will repair and regenerate healthy heart muscle in place of that injured by heart attack. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155740.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155740.php DOR BioPharma, Inc. Transplants / Organ Donations Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155603.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155603.php New York's Empire State Stem Cell Board earlier this month decided to allow embryonic stem cell researchers who receive state funding to compensate women for donating their eggs for use in research, making New York the first state to enact such a policy, the Washington Post reports (Stein, Washington Post, 6/26). Stem Cell Research Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155642.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155642.php The Stowers Institute's Xie Lab has revealed how the BAM protein affects germline stem cell differentiation and how it is involved in regulating the quality of stem cells through intercellular competition. The work was published by PNAS Early Edition. Maintaining the proper balance between stem cell self-renewal and differentiation is critical for normal homeostasis. An imbalance between the two can lead to tissue degeneration and to the development of tumors. Stem Cell Research Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155545.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155545.php Scientists working at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology, with colleagues, have overturned previous research that identified critical genes for making muscle stem cells. It turns out that the genes that make muscle stem cells in the embryo are surprisingly not needed in adult muscle stem cells to regenerate muscles after injury. Stem Cell Research Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155519.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155519.php For years, proponents have touted the benefits of embryonic stem cell research, but the potential therapies still face hurdles. Side effects such as tumor development, a lack of an effective and long-term animal model to test new therapies, and genetic incompatibility between the host and donor cells are some of the problems faced by researchers. Stem Cell Research Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155558.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155558.php The Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), comprised of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland Clinic (CC), University Hospitals (UH), and Athersys, Inc. has received 5 million dollars from Ohio's Third Frontier Commission under the Research Commercialization Program. The funding will help support new and innovative stem cell technologies including two commercial, four emerging and three pilot projects. Stem Cell Research Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155541.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155541.php In a review in Science, a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher sorts out the controversy and promise around a dangerous subtype of cancer cells, known as cancer stem cells, which seem capable of resisting many modern treatments. Cancer / Oncology Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155341.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155341.php Investigators at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California found a way to obtain large numbers of hematopoietic stem cell from human term placenta. Stem Cell Research Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155267.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155267.php Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) announced six-month interim data from a Phase II clinical trial evaluating Prochymal, the Company's proprietary formulation of adult mesenchymal stem cells, for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sixty-two patients were enrolled and are being followed for two years in the placebo-controlled study. At the six-month time-point, the data revealed several important findings. COPD Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155196.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155196.php The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is seeking proposals for grant funding for research studies on lupus, an unpredictable and potentially fatal autoimmune disease. Grants will support areas of study in pediatric lupus and adult stem cell transplantation. The purposes of the studies are to advance adult stem cell transplantation research in humans as a treatment for lupus and address key understanding of pediatric/adolescent lupus research issues. Lupus Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155014.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155014.php Zannos Grekos, MD, Associate Clinical Professor at Nova Southeastern University, has announced six month follow-up results for a patient treated with adult stem cells in a clinical study of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Stem Cell Research