| Stamcelle-nyheter
Stem Cell research News
Innhold /Table Of Contents
- Signaling
Protein May Boost Tissue Engineering
- Structure
of Nature’s Cell "Circuit Breaker"
- Scientists
Discover Major New Source of Neural Stem Cells in the Adult Human
Brain
- Neural Stem
Cells Can Develop into Functional Neurons
- Stem cell hope
for spinal injuries
- Super cell
discovery raises hopes
- Adult Stem
Cells Can Produce A Wealth Of Cell Types
- Stem
Cells Mimic "Miracle Grow" in Damaged Hearts
- Adult Brain Stem Cells Multiply In
Vitro
- New
Source of Neural Stem Cells in Adult Brain
- Scientists
Explain How the Injured Brain Remodels Itself
- Stem Cells
Stimulated By Natural Growth Factor Reverse Damage, Restore Some
Function In Adult Brain
The
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
 Ytterligere en viktig
anvendelse av stamceller: Godt nytt for konvensjonell kreftbehandling.
 Yet another important medical
application of Stem Cells: Good news for conventional cancer therapy.
Research
News from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Purification of Signaling Protein May
Boost Tissue Engineering. The purification of a powerful signaling
molecule that coaxes cells to mature may also signal the beginning of a
new era in tissue engineering. HHMI researchers have shown that purified
Wnt protein, long known as a potent trigger of development and cell
proliferation, can also cause blood-forming stem cells to proliferate. The
discovery suggests novel ways to enhance stem cells to restore the
blood-forming systems of cancer patients whose cells have been destroyed
by chemotherapy.
Research published in the April
28, 2003, issue of Nature.
HHMI investigator(s):
Roel Nusse, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
For the full story, go to http://www.hhmi.org/news/nusse.html
HHMI researchers have answered an important question in biology by
discovering the exquisite mechanism by which channels in the cell membrane
sense voltage changes that trigger them to snap open or slam shut with
extraordinary speed and precision.
Voltage-dependent ion channels are central to the function of nerves and
muscles, and without them the brain would immediately suffer neural
gridlock and the heart would seize up. According to the researchers, the
discovery may lead to a new class of drugs for neurological, heart and
muscle disorders that can exert more subtle influences on the activity of
ion channels.
Research published in the May 1, 2003, issue of Nature.
HHMI investigator(s):
Roderick MacKinnon, M.D., The Rockefeller University
For the full story, go to http://www.hhmi.org/news/mackinnon7.html
25.jun.2003-2
Avgjørende gjennombrudd i neural
stamcelleforskning - et steg nærmere behandling?
Breakthrough in adult neural stem cell
research - One step closer to a Stroke therapy?
Discovery
Promises New Strategies for Treating Neurodegenerative and Demyelinating
Diseases, as well as Stroke and Trauma
New
York, NY (March 13, 2003) -- In the latest issue of Nature
Medicine, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College report the
discovery of a new source of neural stem cells in the adult human brain.
Dr. Steve Goldman and his group made the startling discovery that glial
progenitor cells of the white matter, a common population of support cells
first isolated by this group three years ago, are capable of giving rise
to neurons as well as to glial cells. The cells can also be grown and
expanded in culture, where they continue to produce new neurons and glia
together. The cells may therefore be considered multipotential progenitor
cells, a form of brain stem cell. Strikingly, these cells may comprise as
many as three percent of the cells in the adult human brain's white
matter, making them incredibly abundant. ...mer/more...
Relaterte
linker / Related Links
 | Weill
Cornell Researcher Sees Promise in Use of Stem Cells and Progenitor
Cells for Brain Repair
Extracts:
Dr. Goldman explains in his abstract, that he will
describe two novel and innovative strategies of brain repair:
- transplantation
of purified isolates of defined human precursor cells into disease
sites, and
- induction
of resident progenitor cells by virally delivered growth factors.
Dr. Goldman and his students Eva
Chmielnicki and Amer Samdani examined whether striatal neuronal
production might be further stimulated by the suppression of glial
differentiation by using noggin, an inhibitor of proteins that mediate
glial production. They found that the combined use of both noggin and
BDNF "strongly induced striatal neurogenesis." |
9.juli/July 2003
The
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Neural
Stem Cells Can Develop into Functional Neurons
April 15, 2002— Researchers have found that neural stem cells
isolated from the brains of adult rats can mature into functional neurons.
Stem cells, which are found in tissues throughout the body, are immature
progenitor cells that give rise to more specialized cells that form
tissues and organs.
The scientists emphasized that although their studies show that adult
stem cells have the capacity to develop into functioning brain cells,
their findings do not mean that clinical application of adult neural stem
cells is imminent. The studies were published April 15, 2002, in an
advance online article in Nature Neuroscience by Howard Hughes
Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Charles
F. Stevens and colleagues Hong-jun Song, an HHMI research associate,
and Fred H. Gage at The Salk Institute.
... mer/more...
7.Sept.2003
Texas
Heart® Institute:
Stem
Cells Mimic "Miracle Grow" in Damaged Hearts
FDA May Give "Green Light" to Houston Study
(excerpt)
Brazilian
study
In
a Brazilian study, 14 patients with an average age of 56 received the stem
cell therapy, and were compared to another seven who served as a
comparison, or "control group" that received no stem cells. Two
patients died – one control patient and a treated patient who died 14
weeks into the trials.
The
fact that only two deaths occurred in such desperately ill patients speaks
volumes, says Perin, noting that without the stem cell therapy, the number
of deaths would far exceed two.
"This
is encouraging news for cardiac patients who have exhausted all treatment
options and reached the end of the road. Now we have hope on the
horizon."
The
Food and Drug Administration may soon agree. Currently, the agency is
negotiating with Perin and other key Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke's
Episcopal Hospital players on the final details for a similar study to be
held in Houston. If approved, the study could begin as soon as this
summer.
While
the primary focus of the Brazilian study was to demonstrate the
technique's safety, the Houston study's goal is to prove its
effectiveness. Already, 30 Houston patients have been selected to undergo
the same type of stem cell implantation as their Brazilian counterparts. ...mer/more...
12.April 2004
Scientists
Explain How the Injured Brain Remodels Itself
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have begun to
reveal the cellular mechanisms critical for restoring brain functions
after traumatic injuries – a step that could lead to effective
treatments of paralysis and other brain and spinal-cord damage.
The study indicated that the injured brain’s long-observed
restorative powers at least partially derive from generating waves of
adult-neural stem cells, or specialized precursors, to develop into
critically needed replacement neurons and astrocytes. Neurons, the basic
building blocks of the nervous system, and astrocytic cells, which provide
metabolic functions between neurons and blood vessels, are crucial to
restoring or remodeling damaged brain and spinal-cord tissue.
Published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, the study involving
adult mice showed that following traumatic brain injury, the brain’s
stem-cell proliferation continues at a rapid pace and persists over a much
longer time than expected, both at the injury site and even in the
most-distant areas affected by the injury, said Dr. Steven G. Kernie,
assistant professor of pediatrics and lead researcher.
The findings suggest that manipulating the expression of stem-cell
regulators might accelerate or prolong the regeneration of neurons in
humans, said Kernie, who collaborated with Dr. Luis F. Parada, director of
the Center for Developmental Biology and the Kent Waldrep Foundation
Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration. ...mer/more...
|
30.Aug. 2003-1
Stem
cell hope for spinal injuries
Cells from human
embryos have been used to make paralysed rats walk again.
The US researchers who carried out the experiments hope it should be
possible to begin similar trials on human subjects in just two years.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have huge
potential use for scientists because they have the ability to turn into
many different forms of tissue. However, their use remains highly
controversial.
Britain has allowed scientists to conduct
embryonic stem cell experiments, but they could soon be banned by
the European Union, and the US is still considering the issue.
New Scientist magazine reports that the US
team harvested cells from human embryos at an early stage of development.
They then manipulated them in the
laboratory to turn them into specialised cells that form myelin, the
insulating layer than surrounds nerve fibres.
...
Mer/More...
30. Aug. 2003-2
Super
cell discovery raises hopes
Scientists
have identified a molecule that allows special cells from embryos, called
stem cells, to multiply without limit.
The UK researchers have dubbed the molecule Nanog, after
the mythological Celtic land of the ever young.
Stem cells found in embryos are special because they can
turn into almost any type of cell in the body, whether it is a heart cell,
skin cell or brain cell.
Research into these cells is expected to lead to
revolutionary new treatments for a range of conditions from Parkinson's
Disease to heart failure and diabetes.
But the work is controversial because it involves using
cells taken from embryos.
Key discovery
This discovery by a team at the Institute for Stem Cell
Research at Edinburgh University could help to overcome that problem.
Their finding could ultimately enable scientists to
transform stem cells from adults into cells that have all the
characteristics of those taken from embryos.
Dr Ian Chambers, who isolated the molecule, said: "Nanog seems to be
a master molecule that makes embryonic stem cells grow in the laboratory.
"In effect, this makes stem cells immortal. Being Scottish, I
therefore chose the name after the Tir na nOg legend."
...
mer/more...
Relaterte linker/Related links:
30. Aug. 2003-3
ScienceDaily
Magazine
Adult
Stem Cells Can Produce A Wealth Of Cell Types, Science Authors Report
Washington D.C. -- Reprogrammed adult neural stem cells can potentially
generate a cornucopia of cell types-giving rise to cells in heart, liver,
muscle, intestine and other tissues, a 2 June Science study suggests.
When adult neural stem cells from mice are grown with embryonic cells
or within an embryo, the adult stem cells can revert to an unspecialized
state and give rise to different cell lineages, according to the Science
study. The research, completed by a team of Swedish scientists, adds to a
growing body of data indicating that adult stem cells, like embryonic stem
cells, may be more versatile than previously assumed
...mer/more...
Consider
these recent advances:
*
Surgeons in Taiwan restored vision to patients with severe eye damage by
using stem cells from the patients' own eyes. Their vision improved from
20/112 to 20/45, according to results published in the New England Journal
of Medicine.
*
British scientists found that adult stem cells in bone marrow can turn
into liver tissue, a first step toward developing new treatments for liver
damage. Their work was reported in the journal Nature.
*
Two recent studies show that adult stem cells in bone marrow transplanted
into the brain of mice can develop into neurons and have been reprogrammed
into healthy brain cells in lab rats. Previous research had shown this
transformation was possible in cultured cells, but these studies, one of
which was published in the journal Science, show it can happen in living
animals.
*
Scientists found that adult stem cells in bone marrow injected into a
damaged mouse heart could become functional heart muscle cells, and that
these new cells partially restored the heart's pumping ability. One of the
scientists predicted that after successful follow-up studies, human
- clinical trials could start in three years. The results were
published in Nature.
These
findings were all reported within the past year. And they are only a few
examples of the breathtaking medical breakthroughs occurring after years
of research on adult stem cells — stroke victims' brains repaired with
adult stem cells becoming fully functional neurons connecting with
existing brain cells, new cartilage grown to repair damaged knees.
We
are on the verge of astounding human applications using adult stem cells.
Embryonic stem cells, by contrast, have yet to save a single life.
...mer/more...
24.sept.2003
Begynner
mekanismen, som ligger bak det at stamceller selv automatisk finner frem
til skadde områder og reparer dem å klarne, tro?
 Are
the reasons behind the stem cells' ability to automatically target in on
damaged areas and repair them, starting to be understood?
Matter of the heart
The prospect of improved regeneration or replacement of damaged tissues
and organs is the main goal of stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells
have been the focus of intense study in the past 2 decades, but the
biology of the adult
stem cells that persevere in mature tissues has been poorly
understood. The presumption that adult tissues, such as the central
nervous system, have low or no self-renewal potential has been challenged
by the observation that these tissues host small groups of resident stem
cells that may proliferate and repopulate injured areas. In the September
19 Cell,
Antonio Beltrami and colleagues at the New
York Medical College report that heart also contains adult stem cells,
identifying rat myocytes having the properties of cardiac stem cells (Cell,
114:763-776, September 19, 2003)....
mer / more ...
5.mar.2004
February 18, 2004— Researchers have found an unexpected source
of stem cells in the adult human brain. They have demonstrated for the
first time that human astrocytes — brain cells thought to play more of a
secondary role by providing a supportive, nurturing environment for the
neuron — can actually function as stem cells. The astrocytes can form
new stem cells and are able to generate all three types of mature brain
cells.
But these astrocytes are different: They form a novel ribbon-like
structure in the brain's lateral ventricle. Stem cells from comparable
areas in the rodent brain follow a distinct path from their place of
origin to the olfactory bulb (a brain region that processes smells), where
they create new neurons.
The work, led by former HHMI medical student fellow Nader Sanai and
Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Heather and Melanie Muss Professor of Neurological
Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, opens the
possibility that such stem cells could be harnessed and one day used to
regenerate damaged areas in the central nervous system. The scientists
reported their findings February 19, 2004, in the journal Nature.
“We've found a structure in the human brain that represents a
significant departure from other species,” Sanai said. “The
differences we see imply that this region in the human brain doesn't
necessarily do the same things as its primate and rodent counterparts.
This is a cell population that has the potential to regenerate parts of
the brain, though it's not clear what regions those may be. Neurons
generated in this area may migrate to other areas of the brain and
potentially regenerate those areas.”
12.April 2004
Stem
Cells Stimulated By Natural Growth Factor Reverse Damage, Restore Some
Function In Adult Brain
Stem cells in the brain were able to repair damaged areas and restore
function when stimulated by a growth-inducing protein, a study by
researchers at UC Irvine's College of Medicine has found. The study,
conducted in rats, is the first to show that adult brain stem cells
can develop into nerve cells in living adult animals, leading to the
replacement of damaged brain tissue. If the results can be
replicated in humans, they may eventually result in a wide range of new
and natural stem-cell based treatments for stroke, nervous system and
spinal cord injury and diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's that are
marked by degeneration of nerve cells. The study appears in the Dec. 19,
2000, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ...mer/more...
(Mine uthevelser / emphasize added by me) Trond
|
25.jun.2003-1
En ny og bedre hånd/arm slagterapi?/
A New and better hand/arm Stroke Therapy?
Functional
Tone Management System (F.T.M.)
North Carolina Stroke Survivor 1-1/2 years
post stroke
The patent pending Functional Tone
Management System (F.T.M.) is a custom dynamic orthosis that serves a dual
purpose. The F.T.M. holds the hand in a functional resting position.
In addition, it assists stroke survivors in opening their hand for functional
grasp and release activities that would otherwise be impossible. The
F.T.M. offers a dynamic spring loaded component that assists in re-opening
the hand following functional grasping.
The F.T.M. has shown to improve strength,
range of motion, motor control, and tone. Stroke survivors most
appropriate for the F.T.M. are individuals who are unable to open their
hand due to spasticity (i.e., hand is tight and usually stays in a closed
position).
Currently, stroke survivors up to 21
years post stroke have exhibited increase function in their affected limb
following F.T.M. treatment. Many stroke survivors are discharged from
therapy with some shoulder and elbow movement and no hand function. They
are told that they have reached a "plateau", or their
gains are not "significant enough" to justify continued
therapy.
...mer/more...
Relaterte
linker / Related Links
Griseceller
sprøytet inn i hjernen
Av HANS CHRISTIAN VADSETH
LONDON (VG) Som den første slagpasient i verden fikk Maribeth
Cook (39) operert inn celler fra aborterte grisefostre i hjernen sin.
En måned senere kan hun gå uten leggskinner.
For første gang etter at slaget rammet for fem år siden, kan hun også løfte
begge armene. Hun kan vifte med tærne, talen er blitt klarere - og hun
har fått deltidsjobb som sentralbord-operatør.
- Det er som å få livet i gave en gang til, sier den amerikanske
kvinnen. Legene er like forbløffet som hun selv er over de mange og raske
fremskrittene hun har opplevd etter den revolusjonerende operasjonen der
millioner av hjerneceller fra grisefostre ble sprøytet inn i hjernen
hennes. ...mer...
------
En tilsvarende effekt er det
jo man forventer fra det å transplantere neurale stamcellekulturer
utviklet fra pasientens egen benmarg.
Og da uten fare for å overføre
hverken svinepest, eller munn og klovsyke, om jeg får være litt flåsete
og makaber.
Trond
Relaterte linker / Related links
-
Maribeth
Cook
-
Brain
Cell Transplants From Fiction to Reality
In September 1999, Maribeth
Cook became the first stroke victim in the world to undergo the diacrin
fetal pig cell transplant surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in
Boston. This untested procedure will include 12 patients with five
receiving surgery to date. Doctors inject 30 million fetal pig cells into
the brain with the hope that they’ll regenerate and connect with those
cells that have died.
The doctors told Cook it
could take up to eighteen months to see improvement, but she’s seen it
already. “I’ve had my leg brace changed because I’ve gained more
control of my foot and my leg,” Cook said. “I had lost the ability to
concentrate after the second stroke. I couldn’t retain what I was
reading and it was frustrating for me. Now, I’m back reading books
again.”
---
Related links:
-
Brain
Cell Transplants From Fiction to Reality
-
Cell
transplants repair brain damage
My comment:
Despite successfull Animal Studies on stem
cell treatment of brain damages, little seems to happen in the human
therapy fields
One of the reasons might be
scary things like this:
"We found that cancer stem cells from different
tumour types, from aggressive malignant tumours to more slow-growing
benign ones, share similar properties to each other as well as to normal
brain stem cells. This suggests that mutations that lead to cancer
formation may have originated in the brain's own small numbers of stem
cells," said Dr. Sheila Singh, the paper's lead author, an HSC
neurosurgery resident and U of T graduate student who is enrolled in HSC's
Clinician-Scientist Training Program
Link: Sick
Kids Researchers Identify Cancer Stem Cell For Brain Tumours
Trond
12.11.03
Viagra mot
slag?
Viagra Against stroke?
Nannette Kenison fra
slaginformasjonssiden Stroke
Information Directory
har vært så vennlig å tipse meg om nedenstående interessante
artikkel
Nannette Kenison of the Stroke
Information website Stroke
Information Directory
has been so kind as to send me the interesting article
below
The $6.5 million, five year Program Project grant, awarded to Michael
Chopp, Ph.D., scientific director of the Neuroscience Institute at Henry
Ford Hospital, is for further development of cellular and drug therapies
that restructure the brain to help people recover from traumas such as
stroke or head injuries.
The multifaceted study will primarily focus on the treatment of stroke
and traumatic brain injury with cells derived from the adult bone marrow.
These cells essentially restore neurological function after stroke and
brain injury. The mechanisms responsible for this highly effective therapy
will be investigated.
In addition, resources from the grant will be used to develop and
implement new forms of cell and drug therapies to restore neurological
function after stroke and brain trauma.
Dr. Chopp is one of a handful of researchers in the country currently
working on an area known as brain remodeling. He develops and tests
different cell-based therapies as well as compounds that may generate new
brain cells in animals and improve function after neural injury and
stroke.
In addition, neurologists at Henry Ford Hospital using data generated
by Dr. Chopp and colleagues are expected to launch human studies soon
using pharmaceutical agents (sildenafil-Viagra and statins) to help stroke
victims. Patients identified with ischemic stroke will be eligible for
these research trials ....mer/more...
--------
• Dr. Chopp and his research team have demonstrated that
compounds, like Viagra and statins,
create new brain cells which are created in both elderly as well as young
animal subjects. When animals with stroke are treated with Viagra or a
statin, the drug provides a very significant neurological functional
benefit. These drugs stimulate brain “plasticity.” The animals do much
better on many different outcome measures, including motor function,
neurological outcome and weight gain. In addition, there are far fewer
functional deficits.
“One can be treated with Viagra or statins days after stroke and there
is a significant reduction in neurological deficit and a significant
induction of new brain cells,” said Dr. Chopp. Similar studies and
successful restoration of neurological function after stroke and trauma
have been performed by Dr. Chopp and colleagues.
...mer/more...
|
