Delivery of stem cells into heart muscle after heart attack may enhance cardiac repair and reverse injury

As seen in Science Daily October 19, 2014

Summary:
Delivering stem cell factor directly into damaged heart muscle after a heart attack may help repair and regenerate injured tissue. A novel SCF gene transfer delivery system induced the recruitment and expansion of adult c-Kit positive (cKit+) cardiac stem cells to injury sites that reversed heart attack damage in a pre-clinical model. In addition, the gene therapy improved cardiac function, decreased heart muscle cell death, increased …

Major Advance Using Ethical Stem Cells

As seen in NRL News October 2014

Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a Madison, Wisconsin-based company, has been awarded a $1.2 million contract from the National Eye Institute to engineer stem cells acquired ethically for potential treatment of macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness. This contract represents CDI’s first venture into making cells for therapeutic use.

The Eye Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, will send blood and tissue …

Nadal Set for Spinal Procedure

As seen in AP – Nov 12, 2014

BARCELONA, Spain — Rafael Nadal’s doctor says the 14-time Grand Slam winner will receive stem cell treatment on his ailing back.

Angel Ruiz-Cotorro told The Associated Press by phone on Monday that, “we are going to put cells in a joint in his spine” next week in Barcelona.

The Spanish tennis star was already sidelined for the rest of the season after having his appendix removed last …

Lab-developed intestinal organoids form mature human tissue in mice

As seen in Science Daily October 19, 2014

Summary:
Researchers have successfully transplanted ‘organoids’ of functioning human intestinal tissue grown from pluripotent stem cells in a lab dish into mice — creating an unprecedented model for studying diseases of the intestine. Scientists said that, through additional translational research, the findings could eventually lead to bioengineering personalized human intestinal tissue to treat gastrointestinal diseases.

Reporting their results Oct. 19 online in Nature Medicine, scientists from Cincinnati …

Paralyzed man walks again after nose cells repair his spinal cord

As seen in Medical News Today – 21 October 2014 at 3am PST

A 40-year-old paralyzed man from Poland can now walk again with the aid of a frame after breakthrough surgery transplanted cells from his nose into his spinal cord, which had been severed in a knife attack.

The procedure effectively provided a “bridge” over the injury site so nerve cells – encouraged by the special nose cells – could regrow across the scar …

Growing a blood vessel in a week

As seen in Science Daily – October 24, 2014

Summary:
The technology for creating new tissues from stem cells has taken a giant leap forward. Three tablespoons of blood are all that is needed to grow a brand new blood vessel in just seven days. This is shown in a new study from Sahlgrenska Acadedmy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital published in EBioMedicine.

Just three years ago, a patient at Sahlgrenska University Hospital received a blood …