NEW APPROACHES WITH STEM CELLS
Stem cell transplant may return sense of touch
Spinal cord injury patients may be able to regain their lost sense of touch with stem cell treatment.
By Stephen Feller | June 8, 2015 at 5:06 PM
Spinal cord injury patients sometimes can regain function, however sensory nerves that allow for tactile feeling often do not grow back. Photo: wavebreakmedia/ShutterstockUPSALLA, Sweden, June 8 (UPI) -- Spinal cord injury patients who have lost function and feeling to their arms and hands have been shown to regenerate nerve fibers that return the sense of touch through stem cell treatment.Spinal cord injuries often lead to paralysis, sensory loss and chronic pain conditions. Although surgery can restore certain muscle function, there has previously been little treatment available for lost sensory perception.In the new study, students at Uppsala University in Sweden transplanted human stem cells hoping nerves would regenerate, returning function.The stem cells developed into various types of cells specific to the nervous system and acted as a bridge, allowing sensory nerve fibers to grow into the spinal cord, regeneration of functional nerve connections and an expectation for sense function to return over time, according to a press release.Researchers also noted that there was no sign of tumor development or malfunction, both of which are concerns when using stem cell therapies."These results provide a rationale for the development of novel stem cell-based strategies for functionally useful bridging of the peripheral and central nervous system," researchers wrote in the study.
HEALTH 08 JUN 2015
A Galway based cell therapy treatment for combating kidney disease has received €6m in funding from the European Union.
The four year project will receive €6m in funding. ©NUI Galway
Share Share
5+sharesStory by Colm McGlinchey, DublinOrbsen Therapeutics will receive the funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 programme. The funding will be part of the four year project NEPHSTROM, which will evaluate the safety and efficiency of a next generation cell therapy treatment discovered at Orbsen Therapeutics.Orbsen Therapeutics use patented technology to purity stromal (stem) cells, which by 2016 they expect to begin injecting into patients with diabetic kidney disease as part of the first-in-man trials.
The trials will take place in Galway, Belfast, Birmingham and Bergamo, using 48 patients with the hope of the treatment slowing down or eradicating the patient’s kidney disease.The research project is a collaboration with 11 European partners and builds on the EU-funded project REDDSTAR which uses stromal cells to treat diabetes mellitus.
REDDSTAR and NEPHSTROM are led by Professor Timothy O’Brien from NUI Galway. Diabetic kidney disease is estimated to affect in the region of 200 million people by 2040. In most cases there is no effective medical treatment.Professor O’Brien said in a statement today through stromal cell research and testing “We are confident that by harnessing the most modern approaches in stromal cell therapeutics there may well be a way to halt the progression of diabetic kidney disease using this therapy.”
Md. stem cell research panel approves 29 projects for $9.4M in grants
Maryland stem cell grants will go to 29 research projects this year.
Alzheimers, ALS and Parkinsons are among diseases Maryland researchers are battling with stem cells.
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission on Wednesday approved 29 research projects to receive $9.4 million in funding, including its second-ever award to a company readying to test its stem cell therapies on humans. approved a pre-clinical research award of up to $500,000 over three years to MaxCyte, a Gaithersburg biotechnology company developing treatment for chronic granulomatous disease, a genetic disorder that hinders the immune system.1It approved eight investigator-initiated research awards that provide up to $600,000 over three years to scientists who have preliminary data that show a treatment may be promising. Awardees are researching treatments for Parkinsons, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, heart disease and traumatic brain injury. Five of them are based at Johns Hopkins University, two are based at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and one is based at the University of Maryland, College Park.Eleven scientists were granted up to $200,000 over two years for exploratory research into treatments for Alzheimers, Parkinsons, mental disorders, spinal cord injury and diabetes.Nine researchers were awarded post-doctoral fellowship funding, up to $110,000 over two years.The commission chose the awardees from a pool of 175 applicants, the most since 2012. The stem cell program received record interest last fall, with 240 researchers having declared plans to apply for the fiscal year 2015 grants."We were very impressed with the quality of the applications this year for these important research grants," Rabbi Avram Reisner, the commissions chairman, said in a statement. "Each of these awardees represents one of the keys to the future of regenerative medicine."
Offspring of Older Fathers Face Higher Hematologic Cancer Risk
Adults who were born to older fathers may be at increased risk for blood and immune system cancers.
Adults who were born to older fathers may be at increased risk for blood and immune system cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The researchers analyzed data from 138,003 people enrolled in a long-term American Cancer Society study, and they found that 2,532 people developed blood and immune system cancers between 1992 and 2009.Overall, people born to older fathers were at increased risk for these cancers, but the risk was especially high among only children.In this group, those who were born to fathers who were 35 and older were 63 percent more likely to develop blood cancers than those born to fathers who were younger than 25. There was no association between having an older mother and increased risk of these
"The lifetime risk of these cancers is fairly low -- about one in 20 men and women will be diagnosed with lymphoma, leukemia, or myeloma at some point during their lifetime -- so people born to older fathers should not be alarmed," study leader Lauren Teras, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, said in a journal news release."Still, the study does highlight the need for more research to confirm these findings and to clarify the biologic underpinning for this association, given the growing number of children born to older fathers in the United States and worldwide."Reference Teras, Lauren R., et al. "Parental Age at Birth and Risk of Hematological Malignancies in Older Adults." American Journal of Epidemiology. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwu487. [epub ahead of print]. May 11, 2015.