Stem Cells From Own Eyes Restore Vision to Blinded Patients, Study Shows – Bloomberg

Stem Cells From Own Eyes Restore Vision to Blinded Patients, Study Shows

By Rob Waters – Jun 18, 2010

Patients blinded in one or both eyes by chemical burns regained their vision after healthy stem cells were extracted from their eyes and reimplanted, according to a report by Italian researchers at a scientific meeting.

Patient's Own Stem Cells Fix Damaged Eyes

The tissue was drawn from the limbus, an area at the junction of the cornea and white part of the eye. It was grown on a fibrous tissue, then layered onto the damaged eyes. The cells grew into healthy corneal tissue, transforming disfigured, opaque eyes into functioning ones with normal appearance and color, said researchers led by Graziella Pellegrini of the University of Modena’s Center for Regenerative Medicine.

The stem-cell treatment restored sight to more than three- quarters of the 112 patients treated, Pellegrini said yesterday in a presentation at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting. She estimated the work may benefit 1,000 to 2,000 patients in Europe whose eyes have been damaged by chemical burns and many more in developing countries where the use of chemicals is less regulated. Her patients were followed for an average of three years and some for as long as a decade…..

via Stem Cells From Own Eyes Restore Vision to Blinded Patients, Study Shows – Bloomberg.

Golfer John Daly Recovers with Stem-Cells!

“My recovery from stem-cell surgery has been closely monitored,” Daly said in a statement released by the PGA of Australia. “I’m relieved things have begun moving in the right direction.”

Golfer Daly to Return Ahead of Schedule After Stem-Cell Surgery – By Dan Baynes

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — John Daly will return to the U.S. PGA Tour in two weeks after stem-cell surgery helped the two- time major champion recover from a rib injury ahead of schedule.

Daly, 43, will play the Oct. 29-Nov. 1 Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi, before heading to Australia for its Open and PGA Championship in December.

Daly withdrew from the Australian events in September citing a flare-up of the rib injury he sustained when he stopped his downswing as a woman took his photograph at the 2007 Honda Classic.

“My recovery from stem-cell surgery has been closely monitored,” Daly said in a statement released by the PGA of Australia. “I’m relieved things have begun moving in the right direction.”

It will be the second straight year that Daly, who won the 1991 U.S. PGA Championship and 1995 British Open, has competed in Australia’s Open and PGA Championship.

via Golfer Daly to Return Ahead of Schedule After Stem-Cell Surgery – Bloomberg.com.

Nanoparticles + Stem Cells = Faster Healing Wounds

Nanoparticles + Stem Cells = Faster Healing Wounds

Blood vessel

A new study may have hit upon another way to improve stem cells‘ ability to help repair damaged tissue. While stem cells can rapidly grow into any kind of new tissue, they aren’t always able to encourage new blood vessels to grow so that the tissue stays alive. But in a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists describe a way around the problem. The researchers used nanoparticles to ferry a key gene into the stem cells, which caused the cells to recruit new blood vessels, thus fueling tissue growth.

Nano particle

The nanoparticles carried a gene (VEGF) that is known to stimulate new blood vessel growth. When the modified cells were injected into mice whose hind limbs had been injured, the tissue that regrew to repair the damage had three times the blood vessel density of similar tissue in mice given unmodified cells. Four weeks later, only 20 per cent of the mice given modified cells had lost limbs, compared with 60 per cent in mice that received unmodified cells [New Scientist].

Nano particle

The researchers are optimistic about the nanoparticle approach, however they state in the study that the effect may be transient. They note that there was a significant increase in VEGF levels in mouse muscle two days following cell grafting, but VEGF levels produced by the cells dropped sharply after four days [The Scientist]. They say that using a virus to transmit the gene may be a better approach to stimulate new blood vessels over a longer period of time. However, the viral approach is not without risks–viruses can integrate into the genome of cells and linger permanently, potentially causing cancer or immune reactions [Bloomberg].

via Nanoparticles + Stem Cells = Faster Healing Wounds | 80beats | Discover Magazine.

Liposuction Fat Turns to Stem Cells Quicker Than Skin

Liposuction Fat Turns to Stem Cells Quicker Than Skin in Study

By Rob Waters

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Human fat, widely available and easily harvested with liposuction, morphed into stem cells more efficiently than skin cells in a study, giving scientists an alternative to the use of embryonic cells.

Three years ago, Shinya Yamanaka, of Kyoto University in Japan, showed that skin cells could be genetically manipulated to become any other cell type, much like embryonic stem cells. This process was hailed as avoiding the destruction of embryos and letting scientists create new therapies by making stem cells from patients who are ill.

Since then, researchers have sought to overcome two drawbacks to Yamanaka’s method. One is that the viruses and genes used to reprogram skin cells can trigger tumor growth. The second is that the process is inefficient, with less than 1 percent of skin cells becoming all-purpose cells. The new research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may solve the second problem.

via Liposuction Fat Turns to Stem Cells Quicker Than Skin in Study – Bloomberg.com.

Geron Gives Reason for FDA Hold; Shares Rise

Geron Gives Reason for FDA Hold on Stem-Cell Trial; Shares Rise

By Rob Waters

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — Geron Corp. rose as much as 5 percent in Nasdaq trading after saying a hold placed by U.S. regulators on its plan for the first human embryonic stem-cell study was due to “non-proliferative” cysts in test animals.

The Food and Drug Administration cleared Geron in January to test its stem-cell treatment in patients with spinal cord injuries. The company, based in Menlo Park, California, announced the regulatory hold on Aug. 18.

The microscopic cysts seen in an early experiment in a few animals that received the cell-based treatment, GRNOPC1, were found in larger numbers of animals in a recent study. The cysts weren’t linked to complications, the company said in a statement today. A more recent study of rats using a new batch of test chemicals showed no cysts, the company said.

Stephen Brozak, an analyst with WBB Securities LLC in Westfield, New Jersey, said investors would be reassured that the animals didn’t develop a type of tumor known as a teratoma.

“I think it provides people with a reasonable explanation,” Brozak said. “Everybody was afraid of the T- word, teratomas, and it clearly wasn’t that.” Brozak has a “strong buy” rating on the shares.

Geron rose 12 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $7.05 at 11 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, and traded as high today as $7.28. The shares fell 10 percent after the company announced the FDA’s hold on Aug. 18.

via Geron Gives Reason for FDA Hold on Stem-Cell Trial; Shares Rise – Bloomberg.com.