Two units of umbilical cord blood 'reduce leukemia recurrence risk'November 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If patients with acute leukaemia are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB), their risk of the disease recurrence is significantly reduced, according to a new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. The finding could change the current medical practice of using one unit of UCB for treatment of patients who are at high risk for recurrence of leukaemia and other cancers of the blood and bone marrow.
CordLife targets India as potential stem cell marketNovember 4th, 2009 KOLKATA - CordLife, one of the leading stem cell banking groups in the Asia Pacific region, is targeting expansion of its network in India and China, considering the huge birth rate in these two Asian nations, a top official said Wednesday. "We're looking at India and China as two big markets in terms of our stem cell business in the Asia Pacific region - keeping in mind the huge birth rate in these two countries," CordLife group chief executive Steven Fang told IANS Wednesday on the sidelines of a press conference here.
Targeted immunotherapy may help treat lymphomaOctober 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has revealed that targeted immunotherapy has been found effective in treating lymphoma associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-lymphoma) in patients who have received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Lymphoma is a cancer of white blood cells called lymphocytes that are largely responsible for maintaining the body's immunity, and EBV is one of the most common human viruses that can have a long-lasting impact on the body's immune system.
Acute lung injury? Stem cell therapy may helpOctober 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at the Chicago College of Medicine.
Stem cell therapy holds promise for acute lung injuryOctober 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study in mice, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, has shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can help treat acute lung injury. Acute lung injury (ALI) can be caused by any major inflammation or injury to the lungs and is a major cause of death in patients in hospital ICUs.
University of Michigan awarded 13 fed stimulus grants totaling $6.8M for stem cell researchOctober 22nd, 2009 U. Mich. awarded $6.8M in grants for stem cellsDETROIT — The University of Michigan has received 13 federal stimulus grants worth $6.8 million for stem cell research — a sign of the state's growing clout since voters last year eased restrictions in the emerging field that seeks treatments and cures for numerous diseases. The Ann Arbor university released the findings Thursday after analyzing about $5 billion in grants awarded this year by the National Institutes of Health as part of the $787 billion economic stimulus program.
Stem cell-based therapy offers new hope for kidney disease patientsOctober 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers have suggested that several stem cell based therapies can help treat patients with Alport syndrome. Most often occurring in boys, Alport syndrome causes progressive kidney disease leading to kidney failure at a young age.
A step toward future heart repair: Using mice stem cells to grow beating strip of heart muscleOctober 15th, 2009 Scientists grow mice heart muscle strip that beatsWASHINGTON — Scientists have grown a piece of heart muscle — and then watched it beat — by using stem cells from a mouse embryo, a big step toward one day repairing damage from heart attacks. Think of Dr.
Scientists create jaw bone using stem cellsOctober 12th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists from Columbia University have successfully used human adult stem cells to create parts of the jaw joint in the lab for the first time. Problems with the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is commonly reported in birth defects, arthritis and injury.
World's first 'artificial heart-stem cells' combo op saves a lifeSeptember 25th, 2009 LONDON - A British surgeon has for the first time used a combination of an artificial heart and stem cells to save the life of a dying man. Professor Stephen Westaby, based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, led the team that operated on Ioannis Manolopoulos in Thessaloniki, Greece, to fit him with the mechanical pump because his heart was too weak to push blood around his body.
Stem cell injections offer new hope for kids with motor neuron diseaseSeptember 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have obtained some promising results by treating mice bred to develop a form of motor neuron disease that affects children, with with injections of stem cells into the spinal cord. Giacomo Comi, of the University of Milan in Italy, has revealed that the treatment extended the lives of the mice beyond and kept them more mobile, giving hope that similar approaches might work in humans as well.
Scientists isolate liver cancer stem cells prior to tumour formationSeptember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US researchers may have moved a step further towards gaining a deeper understanding of the role of stem cells in liver cancer. A team of experts from Penn State College of Medicine and the University of Southern California used a unique approach that involves study of individual cells, and became the first ever researchers to show a population of cancer stem cells in the liver prior to tumour formation.
Scientists isolate master gene that turns cells into bug killersSeptember 14th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have isolated a master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'natural killer' (NK) cells. The discovery could potentially help boost the body's production of these frontline tumour killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.
Master gene that switches on disease-fighting cells identifiedSeptember 14th, 2009 LONDON - British scientists have identified the master gene, called E4bp4, that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells. The discovery, by researchers at Imperial College London, UCL and the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research, could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.
Turning off oncogene may inhibit lung cancer stem cells' growthSeptember 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A lung cancer oncogene, called PKCiota, is necessary for the proliferation of lung cancer stem cells, and turning it off could act as a key for the treatment of this deadly disease, according to scientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida. These stem cells are rare and powerful master cells that manufacture the other cells that make up lung tumours, and are resistant to chemotherapy treatment.
