BioStem News

Stem Cells Give Brit Tot Sight

2009-03-04T09:57:00.003-07:00

This story was just published by The Sun. You can find the original story HERE.

By VIKKI THOMAS

Published: Today

LITTLE Dakota Clarke beams as she recognises her mum and dad for the first time.

The two-year-old, who was born blind, has been declared a 'miracle' by her parents after undergoing pioneering sight-saving treatment in China.

Dakota is the first British child to undergo the procedure.

And the £30,000 treatment, which involves stem cells being fed into her forehead, has allowed her to gaze at people, objects, colours and lights around her.

The cheerful tot, who suffers from Septo-Optic Dysplasia, also suffered by Katie Price’s son Harvey, six, responded quickly compared to previous patients.

Now delighted mum Wilma, 28, and dad Darren, 34, from Newtonabbey, Northern Ireland, hope she’ll keep improving.

With nurse ... Dakota in China

Barcroft Media

Dakota nearly died at birth and spent much of her short life in hospital.

Her condition meant she was registered blind, had poor growth, balance issues and needed two people holding her hands to help her walk.

She also had severe bowel problems and could not use the toilet herself.

But after just three weeks of stem cell treatment Dakota is able to recognise people and objects without touching them.

Dakota can also walk with just one parent holding her hand, and is using the toilet easily without the help of medication.

Mum Wilma, speaking from Qingdao, southern China, said: “We didn’t know if the treatment would work, and people kept telling us it was too experimental, but we had to do this.

“It’s been worth every single penny to see the changes in her.”

Miracle

“It’s nothing short of a miracle for us,” added Darren, who gave up work to help look after Dakota. “She can see the world for the first time.

“Last week she pointed at a hairbrush across the room and shouted ’brush’. I almost cried with happiness.

“Her balance is so improved and she can now walk beside me only holding on with one hand. Previously she would veer in circles and fall over.”

Darren and Wilma exhausted the medical options in the UK before setting up a fund and raising the money for the treatment.

Brave Dakota has been given an intravenous feed of stem cells into her hairline every day for a fortnight.

Stem cells are the building blocks of a human being, dividing and mutating in the womb to create different body parts.

When stem cells from a baby’s umbilical cord are inserted into a patient, they travel to the areas of the body which need to be repaired, forming new healthy cells.

In Dakota’s case, the stem cells travelled towards her optic nerve, repairing the damaged area, towards her brain to improve her balance, and to her bowel.

Darren said: “Her eyes used to wobble all over the place, independently and randomly. But now she can follow objects from several feet away.

“She’s far from having 20/20 vision yet - but if more treatments will help then we’ll raise the money somehow.”

Only about 15 people worldwide have tried the new treatment in China for Dakota’s condition.

The stem cells used at the Chinese clinic come from umbilical cords donated by mothers in local hospitals after giving birth.

Types of Stem Cells

2009-03-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

Stem cells are the original (primordial) cells produced in the human body, with the capability to differentiate along any line or into any type of cell (Totipotent). They divide and multiply within the human body. The first stem cells originate within the developing embryo (blastocyst). These embryonic stem cells have to ultimately create the entire human body.
Umbilical stem cells are harvested from the umbilical cord of a full term live birth, not from an aborted fetus. This type of stem cell therapy or treatment involves the introduction of healthy new stem cells into the body to repair and replace damaged or lost cells.

A History of Stem Cell Therapies

Types of Stem Cells

Understanding Stem Cell Therapies

How Do The Stem Cells Work?

Types of Stem Cells

MSC ONLY advocates the use of umbilical stem cells derived from live full term healthy births.

Whole Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy- Involves the use of stem cells derived from full term births which were donated with informed consent. It is customary that after the birth of a newborn child, the hospital destroys the waste products such as the umbilical cord and placenta. When permission is given by the parents, research goes forward and the umbilical cord is sent to the laboratory to be tested for many diseases and the different stem cells are harvested. Unlike embryonic or fetal stem cells, cord stem cells are programmed to rapidly support the development and growth of all body systems, and are pluripotent (capable of differentiating into every single specialized body cell.

Purified and Potentiated Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy- Involves the use of proprietary protocols to remove the white and red blood cells from cord blood leaving only stem cells. This process negates the risk of Graft versus Host disease and the need for type and cross matching of the patient's blood. Post thaw viability is potentiated with special freeze media.

Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy- Involves the use of cells extracted from a five day old in vitro fertilized embryo. The viability of this cell type is limited, because only small numbers of cells can be derived from an embryo. They need to be expanded in the lab, currently with an animal intermediary which limits their use in humans. Also, these cell lines are strictly regulated by the US Government.

Fetal Stem Cell Therapy- Involves the use of human fetuses aborted between the first and third month of conception. Retrieval of fetal stem cells in adequate numbers is limited.

Adult Stem Cell Therapy- Involves the use of stem cells derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, and some tissues. Adult stem cells are understood to be 1/1000 as powerful as cord stem cells since they have endured age stresses, toxicity of daily living, and often disease. Their use is limited by the risk of Graft versus Host disease and often a problem of finding an HLA-matched donor.

Fetal Sheep Stem Cells- Involves using fetal sheep cells from aborted sheep fetuses. Once injected into the human body, these cells are short-lived and do not seem to replicate for a long period of time within the human body.

History of Stem Cells

2009-03-03T14:43:00.001-07:00

The use of stem cell medicine was first used in 1956 by Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, a bone marrow transplant specialist. He administered donor adult stem cells to a leukemia patient who went into complete remission. Dr. Thomas and Joseph E. Murray are co-winners of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine for their contribution to discoveries concerning cell and organ transplantation in the treatment of human diseases.

Cord blood stem cells have been used in the treatment of blood cancers and/or blood diseases since 1988. That same year, Elaine Gluckman replaced allogenic cord blood for a bone marrow transplant in order to treat Fanconi Anemia, a rare recessive blood disorder. The child remains completely disease free.

Also in 1988 at the University of Wisconsin, James Thompson isolated the first embryonic stem cells from a blastocyst of a five day old in vitro fertilized egg. This discovery provoked a multitude of scientific studies, research documents, and heated debates over the ethical issues surrounding embryo destruction for medical purposes.

In 2001, treatment protocols were developed which permitted the removal of white blood cells from the umbilical cord, making the treatment safe with no risk of Graft-Versus-Host disease.

In 2002, Catherine Verfaillie at the University of Minnesota proved that CD34+ stem cells from bone marrow could repopulate every single cell in a developing mouse. This study prompted more studies using adult stem cells to generate far more than just blood cells. It was proven that there are great potentials for adult stem cells to treat a wide range of blood diseases, cancers, degenerative diseases, and injuries. Studies were later released which proved that adult stem cells have the power to rebuild or reconstruct every cell in the body, not just the blood cells.

In 2004, Duke University published data from a human study confirming the Verfaillie study. The study featured the heart treatment of a boy who received CD34+ stem cells derived from donated umbilical cord blood. Not only did the investigation show differentiation to neurons and other cell types, but also proved that cord blood stem cells:

Migrate to the site of disease,
Have the ability to differentiate into specialized heart cells,
Engraft yielding clinical benefits.

Cord Blood Donations Used To Collect Stem Cells

2009-02-28T10:34:00.002-07:00

This article was graciously borrowed from This Site.

by Les

If you donate cord blood you are not donating the mother’s blood, you are donating the baby’s blood that has been left behind in the umbilical cord after birth. Umbilical cord blood is full of stem cells, those little cells that has the science community going mad. Why? Stem cells are the basic building blocks of our bodies.

The stem cells collected from donated stems cells are being used to treat people with spinal cord damage and cancers such as leukemia, particularly childhood leukemia. It is hoped that one day they will be able to take stem cells and grow new organs such as a liver or heart. Stem cells taken from a newborn baby are still in their primitive state and can be trained to do specific jobs within the body. For this reason umbilical cord blood donations are important

Collecting cord blood is not an invasive process. Once a baby is born, the umbilical cord is removed and along with the placenta, disposed of as hospital waste. Rather than throwing the umbilical cord and the umbilical cord blood out, the umbilical cord blood can be removed using a syringe. The cord blood is then sent away where the cord blood stem cells are removed and stored until required.

As a parent, you have two options for cord blood collection. The first is to donate cord blood. The umbilical cord blood is sent to a central cord blood registry. They often have a waiting list of patients and scientist looking for stem cells. The most common use is for the treatment of juvenile leukemia where it has a high success rate.

You can also have the cord blood stem cells stored or ‘banked’ for future use by your family. Cord blood has been used to treat siblings as well as the baby itself. Collection will cost around $2000 with an annual fee of around $100.

Science has looked upon cord blood stem cells as one of the holly grails of science. The ability to repair spinal problems and restore movement to para/quadriplegics has received a huge push due to recent progress in research. There are already 70 known diseases that can be cured using cord blood stem cells - the biggest problem has been the lack of cord blood donations. It is estimated that cord blood is collected in only one in five hundred births - the remaining four hundred and ninety-nine births have their umbilical cords thrown away.

The best thing you can do to help increase in the amount of cord blood collected is to use the service and donate cord blood. If you are pregnant, ask the hospital or midwife if they collect cord blood. If not, there are many agencies that will collect it, either for public cord blood banking, or, if you are prepared to pay the price, your own personal cord blood banking. If friends or relatives are pregnant, get them to inquire about the process.

The more parents who donate cord blood for research, the more likely science will find cures for diseases such as juvenile diabetes, brain injuries and spinal column injuries. Who would have thought that cord blood stem cells could do so much? Umbilical cord blood donations may be the future of our health.

About the Author:

The stem cells collected from cord blood donations may be able to help people walk again, help diabetics be insulin free and help to cure cancers. Find out how families can help our future by donating cord blood.

College Student With Multiple Sclerosis Symptom-Free After Stem-Cell Treatment

2009-02-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

Monday, February 23, 2009

Edwin McClure, a Virginia Commonwealth University advertising graduate student, says a stem-cell study he participated in appears to have cured his multiple sclerosis symptoms.

McClure started showing symptoms of MS in 2000 when he was a senior in high school.

Although he initially thought it was just a cold, he knew the condition was more serious when his vision began blurring.

"It was like someone turning down the dimmer switch," McClure said.

When his neurologist told him he was showing the symptoms of MS, he was surprised and confused."

It threw me for a loop," McClure said. "This is a disease that typically hits 40-year-old white women and I'm like, 'I'm an 18-year-old black male.' Somebody didn't get the memo."

McClure said being hooked up to an IV for the steroid treatments forced him to confront this sickness. He suffered from extreme fatigue, allergy attacks, heat intolerance and bad balance. McClure said his symptoms made it difficult to spend time with his loved ones.

"It's a huge burden of being a constant burden to those around you," McClure said.

McClure's mother, Bernice McClure, said she was devastated but would not lose hope.

"I was hoping to find whatever was out there that was going to help him long-term," the woman said.

In 2005, Dr. Katarina Bilikova told Bernice McClure about the clinical trial, led by Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern University.

The trial used the patient's own stem cells to regenerate the immune system and reverse the symptoms of MS. The trial consisted of 21 patients. According to the lead author of the study, this is the first study to show an actual reversal of the disease.

McClure flew to Evanston, Ill., to participate. During the course of the trial, doctors took out McClure's own stem cells and used them to grow more cells. He then was given a course of chemotherapy to wipe out his immune system.

The treatment took nearly a month. McClure called this time "the lock down period." He was not allowed to go anywhere or have any visitors. He continued his undergraduate classes online.

"The hardest part was thinking about all my friends. I was just staying home watching 'A Different World' re-runs," McClure said.

Meanwhile, he was able to keep his disease hidden from his friends back at school. He said he didn't want to tell anyone, for fear of seeming weak. McClure's hair started falling out after four weeks.

He said the one thing he thought about was his high school football coach.

"He always said, 'If your minds are weak, your bodies are weak', " McClure said.

It was this mantra that helped McClure decide to shave off his hair.

After the month was complete, McClure returned to the hospital. His harvested stem cells then were transplanted back into his body.

When his cell count started increasing and McClure's symptoms started getting better, he and his mother knew the trial might have worked. Three years later, McClure said his symptoms have disappeared.

"This is the first study to actually show reversal of disability," Burt told Bloomberg.com on Jan. 30. "Some people had complete disappearance of all symptoms."

The treatment will go through one more trial before it can become an approved treatment for MS. McClure is finishing his second year as a graduate student in advertising at VCU and said if it wasn't for the treatment, he never would have been able to handle the pressures of grad school.

"It opened up the fence that MS had me locked into," Edwin said. Edwin and his mother attribute the success of the treatment to their faith.

"Without having God in our lives, I don't think any one of us would have made it through,"Bernice McClure said.

McClure said, "I would have quit after my second semester."

McClure plans to graduate from the VCU advertising graduate program in May.

This story was filed by UWIRE, which offers reporting from more than 800 colleges and universities worldwide. Read more at www.uwire.com

Stem Cell Bill is Reintroduced

2009-02-27T08:53:00.001-07:00

By REUTERS

Published: February 26, 2009

Two prominent supporters of stem-cell research said they had reintroduced a Senate bill that would allow federal financing for human embryonic stem-cell research, in anticipation of President Obama’s support for the work. The advocates, Senators Tom Harkin, left, Democrat of Iowa, and Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said their measure would allow federal financing for research using stem cells taken from human embryos left over from fertility treatments. “It is the same bill that both houses of Congress approved in 2007, but was vetoed by President Bush,” they said. Mr. Obama has promised to overturn Mr. Bush’s policy strictly limiting the use of federal money for such research.