NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson is the spokesman for a new campaign aimed at increasing public awareness about cord blood donation.

CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank's is behind the "Help Win the Race for Life" campaign. Johnson joins other sports celebrities -- NBA hall of famer Julius "Dr. J" Erving, NASCAR drivers Rusty Wallace and Michael Waltrip and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez -- in attempting to increase awareness of cord blood donation.

Orlando-based CORD:USE is working to create a large, ethnically-diverse inventory of cord blood stem cells, which is used in the treatment of more than 70 blood cancers and diseases. The company has agreements with hospitals across the country to give mothers the option of donating their babies' cord blood.

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent

A Revolutionary new way to transplant bone-repairing stem cells into humans could help millions suffering from crippling arthritis, scientists believe.

Researchers hope the new technique could allow them to speed the recovery of damaged bones and cartilage.

If successful it could be used to help trauma victims as well as the more than two million Britons who suffer from osteoarthritis.

Caused by deterioration of cartilage, severe osteoarthritis can be treated only with surgery to replace hips and knees with artificial joints.

Reprogrammed stem cells work well in laboratories but struggle in the "adverse" conditions of the human body.

Scientists at Edinburgh University plan to use a "bioactive scaffold" to protect the cells when they are placed in a patient.

This new environment, which consists of a rigid mesh structure, coated or impregnated with drugs to aid the cells, allows them to grow at a faster rate, speeding recovery.

The technique will be particularly useful in the treatment of damaged cartilage, which never repairs fully itself, researchers say.

A significant proportion of those who damage their cartilage while young go on to develop arthritis.

Researchers hope to place bone and cartilage building stem cells, complete with their scaffolds, in up to 30 patients within the next two years and to move on to larger trials if these prove successful.

Dr Brendon Noble, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said: "We hope that this will kick start the body's natural healing processes, enabling cells to grow and carry out repair to the damaged area."

Dr Noble's team will work with surgeons to ensure the treatments they develop are suitable for practical use and will look to use reprogrammed cells derived from blood as well as bone marrow.

The £31.4 million project has been funded by the UK Stem Cell foundation, the Medical Research Council and Scottish Enterprise.

Dr Anna Krassowska, research manager for the UK Stem Cell Foundation, said: "In the UK hip fractures kill 14,000 elderly people every year - more than many cancers.

"This research has the potential not only to impact on a significant number of people's lives but to open up one of the largest stem cell markets in the industry."

More than 30,000 knee replacements and 50,000 hip replacement operations are carried out each year in England and Wales.

Newswise — UCLA stem cell scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells without using embryos or eggs.

Led by scientists Kathrin Plath and William Lowry, UCLA researchers used genetic alteration to turn back the clock on human skin cells and create cells that are nearly identical to human embryonic stem cells, which have the ability to become every cell type found in the human body. Four regulator genes were used to create the cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells.

The UCLA study confirms the work first reported in late November of researcher Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University and James Thompson at the University of Wisconsin. The UCLA research appears Feb. 11, 2008, in an early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences.

The implications for disease treatment could be significant. Reprogramming adult stem cells into embryonic stem cells could generate a potentially limitless source of immune-compatible cells for tissue engineering and transplantation medicine. A patient’s skin cells, for example, could be reprogrammed into embryonic stem cells. Those embryonic stem cells could then be prodded into becoming various cells types – beta islet cells to treat diabetes, hematopoetic cells to create a new blood supply for a leukemia patient, motor neuron cells to treat Parkinson’s disease.

“Our reprogrammed human skin cells were virtually indistinguishable from human embryonic stem cells,” said Plath, an assistant professor of biological chemistry, a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and lead author of the study. “Our findings are an important step towards manipulating differentiated human cells to generate an unlimited supply of patient specific pluripotent stem cells. We are very excited about the potential implications.”

The UCLA work was completed at about the same time the Yamanaka and Thomson reports were published. Taken together, the studies demonstrate that human iPS cells can be easily created by different laboratories and are likely to mark a milestone in stem cell-based regenerative medicine, Plath said.

These new techniques to develop stem cells could potentially replace a controversial method used to reprogram cells, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), sometimes referred to as therapeutic cloning. To date, therapeutic cloning has not been successful in humans. However, top stem cell scientists worldwide stress that further research comparing these reprogrammed cells with stem cells derived from embryos, considered the gold standard, is necessary. Additionally, many technical problems, such as the use of viruses to deliver the four genes for reprogramming, need to be overcome to produce safe iPS cells that can be used in the clinic.

“Reprogramming normal human cells into cells with identical properties to those in embryonic stem cells without SCNT may have important therapeutic ramifications and provide us with another valuable method to develop human stem cell lines,” said Lowry, an assistant professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology, a Broad Stem Cell Center researcher and first author of the study. “It is important to remember that our research does not eliminate the need for embryo-based human embryonic stem cell research, but rather provides another avenue of worthwhile investigation.”

The combination of four genes used to reprogram the skin cells regulate expression of downstream genes and either activate or silence their expression. The reprogrammed cells were not just functionally identical to embryonic stem cells. They also had identical biological structure, expressed the same genes and could be coaxed into giving rise to the same cell types as human embryonic stem cells.

The UCLA research team included four young scientists recruited to UCLA’s new stem cell center in the wake of the passage of Proposition 71 in 2004, which created $3 billion in funding for embryonic stem cell research. The scientists were drawn to UCLA in part because of California’s stem cell research friendly atmosphere and the funding opportunities created by Proposition 71. In addition to Plath and Lowry, the team included Amander Clarke, an assistant professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology, and April Pyle, an assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics.

The creation of the human iPS cells is an extension of Plath’s work on mouse stem cell reprogramming. Plath headed up one of three research teams that were able to successfully reprogram mouse skin cells into mouse embryonic stem cells. That work appeared in the inaugural June 2007 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

The stem cell center was launched in 2005 with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years. A $20 million gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in 2007 resulted in the renaming of the center. With more than 150 members, the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research is committed to a multi-disciplinary, integrated collaboration of scientific, academic and medical disciplines for the purpose of understanding adult and human embryonic stem cells. The institute supports innovation, excellence and the highest ethical standards focused on stem cell research with the intent of facilitating basic scientific inquiry directed towards future clinical applications to treat disease. The center is a collaboration of the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the UCLA College of Letters and Science. To learn more about the center, visit http://www.stemcell.ucla.edu.

Original from:http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/537552/

batore (PTI): With a section of spinal surgeons expressing concern over the claim on the success of stemcell therapy in curing spinal cord injuries, leading surgeons on Sunday said it was a new boon for patients in major ailements.

The orthopaedicians and neurosurgeons, who attended a one day seminar 'stem cell and clinical applications,' told reporters here that breakthrough research in using stem cell for spinal cord imaging and ischaemic heart diseases, have made desperate patients happy.

There are clinics having such stem cell therapies in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Russia, Singapore, Bangkok, Germany, which used feotus stem cells, umbilical cord cell, adult stem cells, Dr Samuel JK Abraham, Director, Japan-based Nichi-in Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), Chennai, said.

There were proven scientific pubications and literature on regenerative capability of mamolian brain was documented in 1969, he claimed, refuting the allegations of a section of surgeons, who contested a recent stemcell therapy for spinal cord injury on a woman, who met with an accident, Dr M Natarajan, Chief Neuro Surgeon of K G Hospital, who performed the surgery claimed.

Approach of treatment by an orthopaedic surgeon and neuro surgeon was different, Natarajan said.

Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI) had recently expressed concern over media reports about the cure for spinal cord injuries through stem cell therapy and had demanded scientific proof.

Stating that the woman who had undergone the therapy has shown major improvement, Natarajan said the regenerative capability of the central nervous sytem of human beings has been well documented.

Treatment to patients suffering from Ischaemic stroke has been documented successfully by Dr Honmon of Sapporo University, Japan, he said.

Dr G Bakthavathsalam, Chairman of K G Hospital said the technology of stem cell transplatation was based on the proven probabilities given by Japan technical collaborator through NCRM.

Till date, multicentric study of stem cell application by the hospital in spinal cord injury, liver cerosis and peripheral vascular diseases has proven the safety in all and efficacy in select group of patients, who otherwise have not other option of treatment at the moment, he said.

The contention of ASSI was not in good taste and casting aspiration on fellow doctors and surgeons was against medical ethics, Dr J K B C Parthiban, neurosurgeon, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital, who himself is a member of ASSI, said.

The studies were done as per the ICMR guidelines with the patients' informed consent. "the association is blocking the public from coming for a future successful option,' he said.

"Those who criticise should go through the documents and journals, which publish success stories,+ Parthiban said.

Original:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200802032121.htm

By Sharon L. Peters, Special for USA TODAY

A crooked front wrist, evident when she was a puppy, was just the beginning. Eventually, arthritis ravaged every joint. "We tried everything" to relieve the pain and maintain her mobility, Hammer says. But by last fall, at age 11, Maggie was "creaky, creaky, didn't want to get up, couldn't go for walks." She kept her head low because of pain and wasn't very interested in food.

"Maggie was a mess," says Mary Anne Smith, the dog's veterinarian since puppyhood. "She had issues in all four legs and quite possibly in her back." She compares the dog to a car "with four low tires and, on some days, three lows and a flat."

Around Thanksgiving, on Smith's recommendation, Hammer took Maggie to Colorado Springs veterinarian James Gaynor, who specializes in pain management and is among about 250 veterinarians trained in a cutting-edge therapy using stem cells extracted from a dog's own fat. The process, patented and made commercially available by California-based Vet-Stem, has generated excitement in veterinary circles. Practitioners gave a session last month at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando; they'll speak at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas next week and give a symposium at the American Veterinary Medical Association's July conference in New Orleans.

'She's a different dog'

Nearly 300 dogs have had the procedure, says Vet-Stem founder and veterinarian Bob Harman, and 85% of those the company has been able to follow up with experienced "slight to very substantial" improvement.

Within days of Maggie's procedure, she felt better; today, "she's a different dog," Hammer says. "She's able to walk, is pretty fast on her feet, and she wags her tail, something she hasn't been able to do for years."

The procedure, which runs $2,000 to $2,500, involves surgically removing about 2 tablespoons of fat from the dog and shipping it overnight to Vet-Stem, which isolates stem cells and returns them in syringes to the vet, who injects joints.

"This is probably the most exciting development I've seen in 25 years," says Beaverton, Ore., veterinarian Tim McCarthy, who has treated about 20 dogs, most in association with arthroscopic surgery; "only one didn't get any better."

Stem cells from fat and bone marrow have been investigated for both human and animal applications (several veterinary schools are engaged in studies) in recent years. It's known that stem cells are regenerative, take up residence around injured tissue and have anti-inflammatory properties, but much of how they work and why is unknown, Vet-Stem molecular biologist and veterinarian Linda Black says.

The approach doesn't require Food and Drug Administration approval because "minimally manipulated" cells are extracted and re-injected into the same animal, she says. And because animals receive their own cells, there's no rejection.

Apart from the normal risk attached to the anesthesia, Harman says, there seems to be no downside except for rare brief inflammation at the extraction site.

Half the veterinarians who have been credentialed (through attending a half-day session or completing a four-hour online course) to do the process on small animals practice in California; 25 states have no one trained in the process, according to a list posted on the Vet-Stem website, which names 200 of the 250.

Vet-Stem first began using the process in 2004 on horses with tendon, ligament and joint problems (455 large-animal vets are certified), and most improved. Critics say most of them would have healed on their own with time, a position many of the animals' trainers dispute. In canine applications, little criticism has emerged.

"Everything I've heard so far has been very positive," says Brenda Salinardi, a veterinarian at Oregon State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She has used the procedure on a dog with severe arthritis, which "is doing very well."

Gaynor has used stem cell therapy on 27 dogs "and all improved — some more than others," but he acknowledges many questions remain. It's unclear how long the positive effects will last, whether follow-up injections will improve results or which animals are unlikely to benefit.

A step for desperate owners

The unanswered questions are irrelevant to Gaynor's clients eager for help for their pets. Judy McCollam's Shetland sheepdog Cassie was so severely disabled by arthritis in her hips that "when we'd take her for walks, we'd wind up carrying her," she says. And "watching her get up from a nap was like watching a really old dog get up." Cassie was on strong painkillers, and she was not yet 2 years old. McCollam, of Fountain, Colo., opted for the stem cell procedure. Within days, Cassie was better, McCollam says, and two months later, "she seems not to be in any pain."

Owners who are desperate for an ailing dog to feel better can convince themselves interventions are helping when, in fact, by impartial measures, that's untrue. But veterinarians who have used the procedure say they've generally been able to chart measurable improvement.

Smith, who treated Maggie for more than a decade, says the dog is "hard to evaluate because she had multiple joint issues," but the veterinarian detected "marked improvement" soon after the procedure. "She is much more confident walking, her gait is much more fluid, and she has greater mobility getting up and down."

Vet-Stem is investigating a handful of additional dog and cat ailments and diseases that might benefit from stem cell therapy.

Geron CEO plans embryonic stem cell tests in humans this spring if the biotech meets the FDA's 'high bar.'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The first experiments using human embryonic stem cells in human subjects could begin within a few months, the chief executive of biotech Geron said Monday.

At the annual BIO CEO conference in New York, Dr. Thomas Okarma said Geron plans to start embryonic stem-cell studies in humans with spinal cord injuries toward the end of the second quarter. Okarma said the tests would involve up to 40 human patients, while all prior tests involved rats.

This assumes that the Food and Drug Administration gives Geron a green light to proceed with the human test. Okarma said the FDA will set a "high bar" in regulating this new type of science.

Ren Benjamin, analyst for Rodman & Renshaw, believes the regulatory process could be time-consuming, because it's unprecedented.

"This is the first time that a human embryonic stem cell application is being submitted to the FDA, so there's a good chance that some questions will arise," he said.

Geron (GERN), based in Menlo Park, Calif., is also in early-stage studies with stem cell-based drugs for diabetes and heart failure. All of these experimental treatments are years away from potentially entering the market.

Advanced Cell Technology Inc. and Novocell Inc. also use human embryonic stem cells, but Geron is the only one of the these companies that's traded on the Nasdaq. Advanced Cell plans to begin testing in humans this year, but Novocell is further behind.

Neuralstem (CUR) uses stem cells from aborted fetuses to research potential treatments for spinal cord injuries. Like Geron and Advanced Cell Technology, Neuralstem plans to begin testing in humans this year, assuming that the FDA gives it the go-ahead.

Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX) and Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR) use stem cells taken from adult human tissue, which insulates from the controversy surrounding the use of human embryonic stem cells, which are obtained through in vitro fertilization.

Human-based embryonic stem cells are prized by researchers for their ability to regenerate quickly and morph into different types of cells. Supporters believe their use could someday help people with spinal injuries walk again or cure patients with degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

But the pro-life contingent, including President Bush, opposes using human-derived stem cells, on the grounds that it creates embryos only to destroy them. Supporters of the science dispute that notion, saying that the blastocysts used as stem cell sources would be thrown out as medical waste if they weren't used in research.

In 2001, President Bush limited federal funding for human-derived stem cells to only those lines that existed at the time. In 2007, he vetoed a Congressional bill to lift those restrictions.

But in November, scientists unveiled a new type of experimental technology on Nov. 21 that sent Geron's stock into a volatile tailspin. Research teams from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the University of Kyoto in Japan separately announced that they'd "reprogrammed" adult cells to act like embryonic stem cells.

Geron's stock has fallen more than 40 percent since then, though Okarma shrugged off the potential threat of reprogramming because it's still in the infantile stages.

"The natural human embryonic stem cell is the gold standard and we have yet to see anything else come close," Okarma said at the BIO CEO conference Monday.

But Benjamin of Rodman & Renshaw doesn't believe reprogramming poses an immediate threat to Geron.

"I think [reprogramming] is very intriguing and has a lot of potential, but it's at a nascent stage that I consider more noise than anything else," said Benjamin.

Mark Gross, a physics professor at California State University who was attending the BIO CEO conference as a potential investor, agreed that reprogramming technology is in too early of a stage to threaten Geron.

Cord Blood America Supports Trend From New York, California for States to Inform Parents of the Advantages of Umbilical Cord Blood Storage
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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb 06, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Cord Blood America, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CBAI), the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company (http://www.cordblood-america.com ) focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, today said it believes the trend established in 2007 for states to legislate that consumers should be made aware of the advantages of umbilical cord blood storage will continue in 2008 and beyond.

New York State in 2007 became the first in the nation to sign into law an Umbilical Cord Blood Bill mandating that the state's Department of Health develop a program to make the public aware of the benefits of umbilical cord blood banking. California subsequently followed, enacting legislation encouraging the collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells.

"Many young couples and growing families do not yet know how important it is to consider storing umbilical cord blood after the birth of a child, even though storing umbilical cord blood could be a life saver if someone in the family develops certain serious diseases," said New York Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol. "Pregnant women should be receiving information early so they can make an educated decision, especially since there are now more than 60 diseases that can be helped through cord blood transplantation, including leukemia, lymphomas and other cancers."

California Assemblyman Anthony Portantino stressed: "Why are we throwing something away that we know is such a healing product. It has the power to do miracles."

"We look forward to more states requiring their health department to inform families about the benefits of umbilical cord blood storage, which is safe and non-controversial," said Matthew Schissler, CEO, Cord Blood America. "We salute this Coast to Coast effort in providing solid, reliable information to potential new parents."

About Cord Blood America

Cord Blood America (OTC Bulletin Board: CBAI) is the parent company of CorCell, which facilitates umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation for expectant parents and their children. Its mission is to be the most respected stem cell preservation company in the industry. Collected through a safe and non-invasive process, cord blood stem cells offer a powerful and potentially life-saving resource for treating a growing number of ailments, including cancer, leukemia, blood, and immune disorders. To find out more about Cord Blood America, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CBAI), visit our website at http://www.corcell.com. For investor information, visit http://www.cordblood-america.com.

from:http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/health-care/article/cord-blood-america-supports-trend-new-york-california-states-inform-parents_467083_10.html

David Rose

The Government has agreed to back down on strict laws planned for embryonic stem-cell experiments after a “compelling case” was made by leading scientists in a letter to The Times.

The letter, published last week, expressed alarm that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill would delay potentially life-saving research by requiring all tissue used to create cloned embryonic stem cells to have the explicit consent of its donor.

The Bill, which is passing through Parliament, was set to outlaw access to most of the tissue banks that act as vast libraries of the genes that contribute to serious disorders.

More than 50 biomedical researchers and administrators, including four Nobel prizewinners, have told ministers that such strict measures would deny stem-cell scientists the use of tissue banks for studying diseases such as muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s and diabetes.

Picture From:http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The tissue banks enable scientists to create cloned embryos that can be implanted with the genetic material of patients, assisting research into how the illnesses develop.

The Government’s justification for requiring “express consent” had been that some patients who agreed to donate cells may not have realised that their tissue could later be used for cloning. The letter in The Times said that the requirement jeopardised years of expensive research and the cultivation of unique tissue samples as raw material for cloning.

As tissue was collected before it became possible to clone embryos in this way, the scientists argued that it would have been impossible for anonymous donors to give permission for their DNA to be used in embryonic stem-cell models of diseases. Signatories included the Nobel medicine laureates Sir Martin Evans, Sir Paul Nurse, Sir John Sulston and Sir Tim Hunt, as well as leading stem-cell experts such as Sir Ian Wilmut, Dame Julia Polak and Professor Stephen Minger.

The Government is also considering changing a second measure in the Bill, which will further limit stem-cell research by blocking the use of any tissue from children even if their parents gave consent.

Ministers were reluctant to consider any changes to the Bill, but after a debate in the House of Lords last Tuesday the Department of Health conceded the need to allow exceptions.

In a letter sent this week to peers who took part in the debate in the Lords, the department concedes: “A compelling case has been made that the requirement for express consent could, in certain circumstances, impose a significant burden in this field.”

Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat MP who organised the letter to The Times, said yesterday: “Plaudits to the scientists for speaking out and the Government for listening.”

The Bill is due to enter the Commons in the spring.

Article From:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3292055.ece