Scientists grow ‘mini-lungs’ to aid study of cystic fibrosis

I saw this on Science Daily: March 19, 2015

Summary:
‘Mini-lungs’ have been created by researchers using stem cells derived from skin cells of patients with cystic fibrosis, and have shown that these can be used to test potential new drugs for this debilitating lung disease.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully created ‘mini-lungs’ using stem cells derived from skin cells of patients with cystic fibrosis, and have shown that these can be …

Immune system-in-a-dish offers hope for ‘bubble boy disease’

I saw this on Science Daily:March 12, 2015

Summary:
Researchers have been able to grow patient-derived, healthy cells in the lab, coming a step closer to treating fatal blood disorders. “This work demonstrates a new method that could lead to a more effective and less invasive treatment for this devastating disease,” says the study’s senior author. “It also has the potential to lay the foundation to cure other deadly and rare blood disorders.”

For infants …

A Single-Cell Breakthrough: newly developed technology dissects properties of single stem cells

I saw this on Science Daily:March 17, 2015

Summary:
Researchers figure out a way to isolate and grow thousands elusive intestinal stem cells at one time, a high throughput technological advance that could give scientists the ability to study stem cell biology gastrointestinal disorders like never before.

e human gut is a remarkable thing. Every week the intestines regenerate a new lining, sloughing off the equivalent surface area of a studio apartment and refurbishing it …

Neurons controlling appetite made from skin cells

As seen in Science Daily February 27, 2015

Researchers have for the first time successfully converted adult human skin cells into neurons of the type that regulate appetite, providing a patient-specific model for studying the neurophysiology of weight control and testing new therapies for obesity. The study, led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF), was published last month in the online issue of the …

New cells may help treat diabetes

As seen in Science Daily January 28, 2015

Starting from human skin cells, researchers at the University of Iowa have created human insulin-producing cells that respond to glucose and correct blood-sugar levels in diabetic mice. The findings may represent a first step toward developing patient-specific cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes.

In the new study, published Jan. 28 in the journal PLOS ONE, the UI team led by Nicholas Zavazava, MD, PhD, UI professor …

Wisdom teeth stem cells can transform into cells that could treat corneal scarring

As seen in Science Daily 2/23/15

Stem cells from the dental pulp of wisdom teeth can be coaxed to become cells of the eye’s cornea and could one day be used to repair corneal scarring due to infection or injury, according to researchers. The findings indicate they also could become a new source of corneal transplant tissue made from the patient’s own cells

Corneal blindness, which affects millions of people worldwide, is typically treated with …

Report on remission in patients with MS 3 years after stem cell transplant

Three years after a small number of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were treated with high-dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) and then transplanted with their own hematopoietic stem cells, most of the patients sustained remission of active relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and had improvements in neurological function, according to a study published online by JAMA Neurology.

MS is a degenerative disease and most patients with RRMS who received disease-modifying therapies experience breakthrough disease. Autologous (using a patient’s …

What you need to know about 3D-printed organs

Sure, 3D printers that can spit out chocolates, create shoes, handcraft cars and help astronauts sound fun and magical, but a lot of scientists are working to make models that aren’t just fun. They’re developing 3D printers that can also save and change lives by printing out functional human organs. Think about it: If we can make organs on demand, patients don’t have to wait as long for transplanted organs. In the United States alone, …

NuVascular Technologies and Worcester Polytechnic Institute commercializing stem cell treatment to repair heart damage

NuVascular Technologies, Inc. has recently obtained exclusive licensing rights to commercialize a breakthrough medical device that will provide a minimally invasive treatment for heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the United States accounting for one in every four deaths.

The BioGenerator stem cell device allows the heart to repair itself and could improve heart function in as little as two to four weeks. NuVascular Technologies is teaming up with researchers at both …

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 …