UB to Receive $4.9 Million in Stem Cell Research Funds from New York State

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo will receive $4.9 million in funding to conduct research on stem cells, part of a new investment in stem cell research announced yesterday by New York State Governor David A. Paterson.

“I am extremely pleased that so many of our faculty successfully competed for these awards,” said Kenneth M. Tramposch, Ph.D., associate vice president for research at UB. “It demonstrates that leading-edge research is being proposed by UB scientists. UB’s vibrant interdisciplinary environment helped our scientists develop innovative projects that will allow us to understand the basic biology of stem cells and provide a platform for future therapies…

via UB to Receive $4.9 Million in Stem Cell Research Funds from New York State.

Researchers Engineer Adult Stem Cells That Do Not Age, Overcoming a Major Barrier to Progress in Regenerative Medicine

Amazing new stem cell victory! – dg

Researchers Engineer Adult Stem Cells That Do Not Age, Overcoming a Major Barrier to Progress in Regenerative Medicine.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

UB scientists created the new cell lines – named “MSC Universal” – by genetically altering mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow and can differentiate into cell types including bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, and beta-pancreatic islet cells.

The researchers say the breakthrough overcomes a frustrating barrier to progress in the field of regenerative medicine: The difficulty of growing adult stem cells for clinical applications.

Because mesenchymal stem cells have a limited life span in laboratory cultures, scientists and doctors who use the cells in research and treatments must continuously obtain fresh samples from bone marrow donors, a process both expensive and time-consuming. In addition, mesenchymal stem cells from different donors can vary in performance.

The cells that UB researchers modified show no signs of aging in culture, but otherwise appear to function as regular mesenchymal stem cells do – including by conferring therapeutic benefits in an animal study of heart disease. Despite their propensity to proliferate in the laboratory, MSC-Universal cells did not form tumors in animal testing.

“Our stem cell research is application-driven,” says Techung Lee, PhD, UB associate professor of biochemistry and biomedical engineering in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, who led the project. “If you want to make stem cell therapies feasible, affordable and reproducible, we know you have to overcome a few hurdles. Part of the problem in our health care industry is that you have a treatment, but it often costs too much. In the case of stem cell treatments, isolating stem cells is very expensive. The cells we have engineered grow continuously in the laboratory, which brings down the price of treatments.”

UB has applied for a patent to protect Lee’s discovery, and the university’s Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (UB STOR) is discussing potential license agreements with companies interested in commercializing MSC-Universal.

Stem cells help regenerate or repair damaged tissues, primarily by releasing growth factors that encourage existing cells in the human body to function and grow.

Lee’s ongoing work indicates that this feature makes it feasible to repair tissue damage by injecting mesenchymal stem cells into skeletal muscle, a less invasive procedure than injecting the cells directly into an organ requiring repair. In a rodent model of heart failure, Lee and collaborators showed that intramuscular delivery of mesenchymal stem cells improved heart chamber function and reduced scar tissue formation.

UB STOR commercialization manager Michael Fowler believes MSC-Universal could be key to bringing new regenerative therapies to the market. The modified cells could provide health care professionals and pharmaceutical companies with an unlimited supply of stem cells for therapeutic purposes, Fowler says.

Lee says his research team has generated two lines of MSC-Universal cells: a human line and a porcine line. Using the engineering technique he and colleagues developed, scientists can generate an MSC-Universal line from any donor sample of mesenchymal stem cells, he says.

“I imagine that if these cells become routinely used in the future, one can generate a line from each ethnic group for each gender for people to choose from,” Lee says.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and New York State Stem Cell Science (NYSTEM).

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

The Challenging life of a young man with CP, Neil Barron.

The Challenging life of a young man with CP, Neil Barron.

October 21st, 2010Blog, Fundraising, News No Comments

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Neil’s mother, seven months pregnant, was in a serious car accident which caused Neil’s early birth and left her severely crippled.  Born two months prematurely, Neil weighed only 3 pounds.  Because his respiratory system was not yet fully developed Neil was placed in an incubator. He stopped breathing on three separate occasions during his month long stay in the neo-natal care unit. It was obvious that this small baby wanted to live and he fought the odds to survive.

At the age of 2 years Neil had a difficult time crawling and he wasn’t gaining weight.  He was diagnosed with mixed cerebral palsy and was the size of the average 10 month baby.  At 5 years, Neil was struggling to walk as his grandparents walked behind him and kept him from falling.  For nine consecutive months, doctors had a series of casts on Neil’s legs to straighten them. When the final cast was removed, Neil never walked again.

Neil was not accepted in the public school’s kindergarten program in Alabama, so his grandmother enrolled him in the Calvary Christian School’s kindergarten program in Phenix City.  Neil’s grandmother took him to school everyday in a stroller, as he looked more like a 3 year old than a 6 year old.

For grades 1 to 3, Neil was back in public school, but now he was in special needs classes which was helpful for his physical difficulties.  Neil maintained an A+ average from grade school through high school.

Neil’s thirst for knowledge and his quest to be the best he could be was an increasing struggle as his body slowly deteriorated. He is a quadriplegic with full body involvement, which means his head and neck are affected. He has limited use of his left hand and the extension of his arm. He has full use of his right hand and right arm. The muscles in his legs are too weak to support his body weight.  If he tries to stand his entire body shakes and he falls to the ground and is unable to get up on his own. He has problems with visual scanning of both eyes, which makes it difficult to read a paragraph of words.

Knowing Neil’s ambitions and thirst for knowledge, his grandparents helped him go to college. Neil received a scholarship to Chattahoochee Valley Community College. The college was not set up for someone with Neil’s disabilities so his grandfather took him to school everyday and stayed in class with him to help him through the day. Neil graduated from junior college Suma Cum Laude with an Associates degree in Art and a 3.8 GPA. He went on to Troy University, with a major in psychology and maintained straight A’S. Near the end of the first year his grandfather died, and Neil has been unable to continue his education.

Neil has continually searched for a treatment or someone to help him improve his quality of life. He has researched to find something to help his deteriorating body, he started reading everything he could find on stem cells, as that seemed promising for the future. The problem being, how far off is the future?. … For Neil, his grandfather had died, his grandmother now the sole person left to care for Neil is 83 years old and Neil’s body is slowly deteriorating.

Neil’s search led him to an article about a toddler in Florida, Cameron Petersen, who received umbilical cord blood stem cells for optic nerve hypoplasia. From all the information Neil gathered he discovered that this little blind boy could now see and his health had improved as a result of the stem cell treatment. Upon further research, while looking for more information on the most qualified facilities in the world he was lead to Don Margolis of the Repair Stem Cell Institute.  After numerous conversations and with the guidance of Mr. Margolis, Neil also discovered that Carol Petersen, Cameron’s grandmother, was now an advocate of adult stem cells because of the improvements her grandson gained from his treatment.

Neil read information on several web sites about patients’ improvements after receiving umbilical stem cell treatments. He also read that many of these patients were getting together to share information about their treatments with the public at various venues around the country as part of a Stem Cell Awareness program.

Now age 29, Neil contacted Carol and asked her to help him!…. As an advocate, she helps people with their needs. The regenerative capabilities of umbilical cord blood stem cells have given patients with cerebral palsy significant improvements and a better quality of life. Neil desperately wants to be one of these as his time is running out…. Neil passed the first big test earlier this year when he was accepted for treatment, scheduled as follows:

*Admission date: December 28, 2010 *Discharge date: August 28, 2011

*Additional notes: Patient will be traveling with his grandmother. The patient will be staying in the hospital with his grandmother for eight months.  He will receive the first round of six injections in the first month. He will receive physical therapies, 6 days per week for the following 6 months. He will receive the second round of six injections in the eighth month.

Note from DM:

Now that you’ve read Neil’s story, you know how much he needs our help.  Just weeks away is not a lot of time, but I know we can make a significant change in Neil’s life if we join together to help him.

We can give Neil the chance to live his life in a meaningful way.  We can give Neil the same benefits other cerebral palsy patients have enjoyed from this stem cell treatment.

Neil has done everything right, but his latest fight needs our help.  With his treatment just weeks away, there’s no time to spare to raise the funds he needs now.

So much is riding on the outcome of our efforts,

Please donate what you can.  Together we can do this!  Every donation will help in this important cause!  Neil is counting on us to come through for him!

Thank you for your support.

Please Donate now by clicking this link, which will take you to Stem Cells for Hope, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization:

Click here to donate http://www.stemcellsforhope.org/

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CEREBRAL PALSY CLINICAL TRIALS

• Duke U. CLINICAL TRIAL for Cerebral Palsy & other newborn brain injuries – http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00593242?term=hypoxic+ischemic+encephalopathy&rank=3 – for more information – http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/medical/autocbt.shtml or for anecdotal info – Abby , Chloe, Dallas
• “Two compounds developed by Northwestern University chemists have been shown to be effective in pre-clinical trials in protecting against cerebral palsy.” Two compounds show great promise for cerebral palsy
• Dallas Hextell, a 2-year-old from Sacramento, California, received an infusion of his own umbilical cord blood as part of the Duke University clinical trial. Within five days, he showed improvements in the limitations imposed by the condition.  video: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23569985#23569985
  via http://www.youhavealawyer.com/blog/2008/03/26/cerebral-palsy-improvement/
• “a toddler with cerebral palsy, who experienced dramatic improvements in his disability following an experimental procedure involving a stem cell transplant.” – http://pediatrics.duke.edu/modules/dept_peds_annc/index.php?id=79

Tacoma closing medical marijuana dispensaries

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TACOMA, Wash. — The city of Tacoma has ordered eight medical marijuana dispensaries to shut their doors by Saturday because the city believes they are breaking state law.

Marijuana providers told The News Tribune the city is misinterpreting the law. Medical marijuana supporters planned to show up at Tuesday’s city council meeting to fight the move.

Philip Dawdy of Sensible Washington estimates the Tacoma dispensaries serve more than 10,000 patients in the area.

via Tacoma closing medical marijuana dispensaries.

Cancer ‘is purely man-made’ say scientists after finding almost no trace of disease in Egyptian mummies | Mail Online

‘There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.’

This was explained to me 10 years ago by a master nutritionist.

His point was that:

1. There is no cancer “in the wild,” where industrialization had not reached. Animals with no connection to modern society don’t get these diseases.
2. Members of tribal indigenous populations who never showed any evidence of cancer, tooth decay, chronic illness and other diseases would develop all of these conditions when they left their tribes and entered cities to improve their lives.

I believed this then and I am happy to see that modern science is catching on to this important fact.  We live in a terribly toxic world and limiting your exposure to these toxins in the fo0od and water we consume, the air we breath and the environments we live in should be a major priority in our lives. – dg

Caricaturist James Gillray illustrated the taking of snuff, which appears in first reports in scientific literature of distinctive tumours of nasal cancer in snuff users in 1761

 

Cancer ‘is purely man-made’ say scientists after finding almost no trace of disease in Egyptian mummies

By Fiona Macrae

Last updated at 10:21 AM on 15th October 2010

Cancer is a man-made disease fuelled by the excesses of modern life, a study of ancient remains has found.

Tumours were rare until recent times when pollution and poor diet became issues, the review of mummies, fossils and classical literature found…

via Cancer ‘is purely man-made’ say scientists after finding almost no trace of disease in Egyptian mummies | Mail Online.

It’s Always Sunny Recap: Mac’s Big Break | The Cornell Daily Sun

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA GETS A STEM CELL TREATMENT!

“The newest episode of Always Sunny had everything I could ask for in an show: a discussion of stem cell research interlaced with duck quacks, gunfire and laser sound effects, jabronis and the appearance of Louis Steven’s dad from Even Stevens (Tom Virtue).”

It’s Always Sunny Recap: Mac’s Big Break

Mac’s not the next Wayne Gretzky.

October 8, 2010

By Andrew Ebanks

The newest episode of Always Sunny had everything I could ask for in an show: a discussion of stem cell research interlaced with duck quacks, gunfire and laser sound effects, jabronis and the appearance of Louis Steven’s dad from Even Stevens (Tom Virtue).  Charlie and Mac answer a radio trivia question and get the opportunity to take a shot from center ice in order to win VIP passes to a beach house party. While this may be a minor prize that would mean very little to a majority of the population, Mac figures its his big break to get his name in with Philadelphia’s star athletes. Meanwhile, Dennis and Dee  start a podcast after Frank begins taping their interesting conversations. They make a studio in the back office, because their back office has no work related purpose, and record themselves talking about the important issues, sadly at the cost of taping over Frank’s Luther Vandross mix.

Dennis and Dee’s radio show had a lot of potential by  bringing in recurring characters like the Waitress, Dee’s ex-boyfriend Ben and Rickety Cricket. Of the three, Rickety Cricket really stood out in this episode with some of the most random, funny lines that I would put on par with Tracy Jordon in 30 Rock. Frank lures him into the bar with the promise of a rotisserie chicken, but ends up only giving him a bag of lemons. When asked to provide tales of his life as a homeless person, Cricket retells his latest adventure of aroused dogs sniffing at the scar on his neck from when Frank hit him with a trash can: “Does my scar look like a dog’s vagina? I’m not gonna sit here and try and get inside the mind of a dog. I mean that’s God work. Not that I believe in God, not since that Chinamen stole my kidney”. Cricket’s and Dee’s romantic past gets brought up and when Cricket announces that Dee is a whore, she rebuts: “You’re a whore you stupid, ugly homeless bitch! Well, a dog banged your neck the other day!”With expert timing and finesse, Cricket replies: “Well at least someone’s banging my vagina, you know what I’m saying?!” Classic.

Frank also lures in Ben to talk “about how he and Dee used to bang” and the Waitress by promising her an apology from Dennis, a fact that Dennis said makes her “incredibly gullible and stupid.” At that point, one would think that the Waitress would just storm out, but Frank’s Jedi powers of persuasion keep her there with the promise of $500 if she took off her top and drank soup from his shoe. Surprisingly, she agrees, but because Cricket couldn’t find any soup, they decide to pour a bucket of dirty dishwater on her head for free.

In preparation for the upcoming contest, Charlie has to train Mac into hockey playing shape. Considering that Mac’s response to “touch your toes” is “What am I? A gymnast?,”the only thing that will work in such a short amount of time is a montage to the sound of “Push it to the Limit.” We get some classic movie montage moments of Mac learning how to skate, learning how to take shots on goal and drinking egg yolk as well as some non-movie montage moments of Mac throwing up the aforementioned egg and trying on wigs so that his hair will look like it flows once he makes the shot.

Mac and Charlie come prepared for the contest with Mac in his token duster and Charlie wearing an America flag as a cape. As the music blares and Charlie and Mac skate out onto the rink to do a dance, I was wondering if Mac would actually succeed. As Mac gives the radio hosts a copy of Dennis and Dee’s radio show, calls them “Jabronis” (a cool hockey term according to himself and  Charlie), and skates away with the swoop of his duster, I was somewhat concerned at this burst confidence. As Mac winds up and shoots the puck so hard it creates a crater in the cardboard cut out goalie, I began having second thoughts about reality. In actuality, as soon as Mac skated onto the ice, he tripped over himself and fell unconscious. As the big screens replay Mac’s tripping, complete with radio -style “boing” noises, Charlie sums up the end of the episode best: “I think you’re gonna be a sports celebrity after all, because they’re definitely gonna play that shit on ESPN.”

This was the episode I’ve been waiting for since the show premiered this season. I sincerely hope that this wasn’t a fluke and that more episodes like it are in the coming weeks.

via It’s Always Sunny Recap: Mac’s Big Break | The Cornell Daily Sun.

FDA Warns Companies Peddling Unproven Autism Treatments

FDA Warns Companies Peddling Unproven Autism Treatments
By Shaun Heasley

October 15, 2010
The Food and Drug Administration told eight companies Thursday to stop marketing a series of untested drugs and devices as treatments for autism and a slew of other conditions, citing serious side effects including death.

At issue are chelation products sold without a prescription, which the FDA says it has not evaluated and are unproven. In recent years, such treatments have proliferated through online sales, often marketed as dietary supplements.

The companies cited this week claim their products can treat everything from autism to Parkinson’s disease, heart troubles and macular degeneration.

“These products are dangerously misleading because they are targeted to patients with serious conditions and limited treatment options,” said Deborah Autor, director of the office of compliance at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Chelation is used to remove heavy metals from the body. The FDA does approve the treatment in some cases, but only by prescription and for conditions like lead poisoning or iron overload, as it can cause side effects including dehydration, kidney failure and death, the agency says.

Warning letters were sent to World Health Products, Hormonal Health, Evenbetternow, Maxam Nutraceutics, Cardio Renew, Artery Health Institute, Longevity Plus and Dr. Rhonda Henry.

The companies have 15 working days to respond to the FDA. If the problems are not corrected, they face the threat of legal action.