In a recent study published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, scientists have found what they believe might be a better way to regrow bone tissue using magnetic nanoparticles coated with targeting proteins that stimulate stem cells to regenerate the bone. They also were able to deliver the cells directly to the injured area, remotely control the nanoparticles to generate mechanical forces and maintain the regeneration process through staged releases of a protein growth factor. These findings might someday have significant impact for anyone suffering from a major bone trauma, disease or defect.
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Press Releases from AlphaMed Press
October 14, 2014
September 8, 2014
A study published in STEM CELLS on August 30, 2014, details a new, simple, and highly efficient way to convert cells taken from an adult’s skin into stem cells that have the potential to differentiate into white blood cells.
Stem cells are the keystone of regenerative medicine due to their ability to be coaxed into becoming nearly any cell in the body. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are of particular interest because they can be generated directly from adult cells and thus many of the controversies associated with embryonic stem cells are avoided.
August 22, 2014
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have great potential in the field of regenerative medicine because they can be coaxed to turn into specific cells; however, the new cells don’t always act as anticipated. They sometimes mutate, develop into tumors or produce other negative side effects. But in a new study recently published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, researchers appear to have found a way around this, simply by removing the material used to reprogram the stem cell after they have differentiated into the desired cells.
The study, by Ken Igawa, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Tokyo Medical and Dental University along with a team from Osaka University, could have significant implications both in the clinic and in the lab.
July 1, 2014
Medication and minimally invasive surgery to implant a sling can provide relief for millions of people who suffer from stress urinary incontinence (SUI), but not everyone responds to these therapeutic methods. A new study in the current STEM CELLS Translational Medicine tests the safety and effectiveness of stem cells as an alternative SUI treatment.
SUI results when the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder and urethra, weaken to the point that the muscles are not able to prevent urine from flowing when pressure is placed on the abdomen, such as when the person laughs or coughs. It occurs most often in women, due to childbirth and pregnancy.
June 27, 2014
A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine suggests a new way to produce endothelial progenitor cells in quantities large enough to be feasible for use in developing new cancer treatments.
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are rare stem cells that circulate in the blood with the ability to differentiate into the cells that make up the lining of blood vessels. With an intrinsic ability to home to tumors, researchers have focused on them as a way to deliver gene therapy straight to the cancer. However, the challenge has been to collect enough EPCs for this use.
June 6, 2014
Patients with a particularly stubborn type of breast cancer could potentially benefit by supplementing radiation treatments with a generic, low-cost medication commonly prescribed to treat high cholesterol, according to a new study released today in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
May 6, 2014
A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine demonstrates the regenerative effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on the anal sphincter. The work could have implications for the 11 percent of the population suffering fecal incontinence due to an injury or disease.
Massarat Zutshi, M.D., and Levilester Salcedo, M.D., led the research team made up of their colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio) as well as those from Summa Cardiovascular Institute and Northeast Ohio Medical University (Akron, Ohio).
April 23, 2014
Stress could activate ‘crosstalking’ cell signals that decrease the body’s natural healing process after a wound occurs, according to a new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. The finding helps explain how stress impairs healing and, conversely, could lead to a way to overcome chronic wounds resulting from serious burns and other skin injuries.
“Chronic wounds are a major global health problem, with annual costs in the United States alone of more than $23 billion,” said Roslyn Isseroff, M.D., of the University of California–Davis and the Northern California Health Care System’s Department of Veterans Affairs. She was a lead investigator in the study along with Mohan R. Dasu, Ph.D.
March 19, 2014
Researchers have discovered what appears to be an easy way to collect large quantities of viable stem cells that can be banked for future regenerative medicine purposes – all from the simple prick of a finger. The study results were published online in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.
“We show that a single drop of blood from a finger-prick sample is sufficient for performing cellular reprogramming, DNA sequencing and blood typing in parallel. Our strategy has the potential of facilitating the development of large-scale human iPSC banking worldwide,” said Jonathan Yuin-Han Loh, Ph.D., of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. He is principal investigator on the study that also included scientists from other Singapore facilities as well as those in the United States and Great Britain.
February 20, 2014
A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows that many patients with defects to the skull, face or jaw bone might benefit from reconstructive surgery combining stem cells taken from adipose (fat) tissue seeded on resorbable scaffolds.
These defects can be due to congenital malformations, such as cleft lip and palate, or to traumatic injuries or surgery to remove a tumor. The use of a patient’s own bone is still considered the gold standard for reconstructing these defects, but this requires yet another surgery to harvest the bone for the reconstructive procedure. The STEM CELLS Translational Medicine study tracked the case of 13 patients undergoing regenerative medicine procedures.
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