heart

Scientists forecasts use of stem cells to grow parts

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

UK cell biologist Robert Edwards says he can see a time in the not-too-distant future when humans will be able to grow new body parts through the use of stem cell technology. And the doctor, acclaimed for the pioneering breakthrough allowing women to give birth to "test tube babies," is thinking beyond new hearts, livers, kidneys and other organs already in development. He notes that humans have the genes necessary to re-grow lost limbs.

Edwards and a colleague were responsible for the first in vitro fertilization birth--a woman named Louise Brown who turns 30 next month. And even at that time, says Edwards, scientists were able to see that we would make significant strides over the next 30 years. The big obstacle has been a lack of funds, notes Edwards, but now money is flowing into stem cell research at a furious pace, fueling advancements in the field.

- read the story in The Times

Heart hormones used to cure cancer in mice

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Researchers have revealed that the heart is much more than a blood pump. The organ produces hormones that the body requires to lower blood pressure and flush water and salt out of the body. And now scientists have studied four of those hormones that come from the same gene, and concluded they could play a remarkable role in controlling and perhaps even curing cancer.

Using biotech mice programmed to develop pancreatic cancer--a lethal, fast-spreading form of cancer--as well as breast cancer, the hormones cured slightly more than half of the cases of breast cancer and 37 percent of the pancreatic cancers. There was no tumor recurrence and no reported side effects.

"For 350 years, the heart has been thought of simply as a pump," said Dr. David L. Vesely, director of the department of molecular pharmacology and physiology at the University of South Florida's Cardiac Hormone Center, told HealthDay. "But we now know it makes hormones that lower your blood pressure and get rid of salt and water. So, first we took four of them that all come from the same gene, and looked at them in laboratory cell cultures, and found that they essentially eliminated 97 percent of exposed cancer cells within 24 hours."

- read the article from Health Day

Nano-scaffold may offer spinal cord damage cure

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

A PhD student at Monash University has used new technology to spin a 3-D nano-sized scaffold from polymers that are a hundred times smaller than human hair. The scaffold is being designed to hold stem cells that could be seeded onto the structure to repair nerve damage. The use of nanotechnology in stem cell therapy cold advance a cure for spinal cord damage or Parkinson's, says David Nisbet.

"The scaffold is injected into the body at the site requiring nerve regeneration," explains Nisbet. "We can embed the stem cells into the scaffold outside the body or once the scaffold is implanted. The nerve cells adhere to the scaffold in the same way ivy grips and weaves through a trellis, forming a bridge in the brain or spinal cord. Over time, the scaffold breaks down and is naturally passed from the body, leaving the newly regenerated nerves intact."

- check out this release for more

Related Articles:
New method spurs proliferation of adult stem cells. Report
Tissue regeneration a success with new heart. Report
UCLA scientists restore walking after spinal cord injury. Report

ALSO NOTED: Debate over ESC research still hot; Nanotech devices used to track cancer; Investigators race to find COPD genes;

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Stem Cell Research

The recent news that scientists were able to take skin cells and make them act with all the versatility of embryonic stem cells has done nothing to tamp down the fierce debate over funding new ESC work. Shinya Yamanaka, who has been lauded for his role in advancing the skin cell approach, says that scientists should continue pushing ESCs as much work remains to prove the safety of the new approach. Report | Editorial

> California's stem cell agency is devoting $13 million to back stem cell research that doesn't require the destruction of embryos as it also begins to provide grants to for-profit companies. Report

> Following a heart attack, part of the heart tissue dies. It is still not possible to restore the scar tissue arising as a result of this. The majority of stem cell researchers attempt to make new heart muscle cells from stem cells. Liesbeth Winter of the Leiden University Medical Center, however, was able to prove the concept of using the embryonic potential of adult human cells to train the heart: this cell therapy ensured that less tissue died and that the remaining heart cells functioned better. Release

Cancer Research

Using a nanotech tool and device, researchers at UCLA can determine if living sample cells are carcinogenic, offering a new approach to tracking cancer as it spreads in the body. Report

McGill University researchers have uncovered the crucial role played by the enzyme focal adhesion kinase in the onset of breast cancer. Release

Genetic inheritance could go a long way to explaining why certain racial and ethnic groups suffer a higher risk of certain cancers. Researchers found that people who have two "T" copies of the gene that metabolizes folate, a chemical needed to produce and maintain new cells, are 19 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer than are individuals with two "C" copies of the gene. Release

Genetics

Researchers are hot on the trail of genes that evidently play a key role in determining who develops chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as they hunt for new therapies to treat the disease. Article

Using complex software, researchers at Wake Forest were able to map chains of genes that play a role in inflammation. Report

Men with BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are more likely to develop breast cancer. Report

A genetic mutation found in 10 percent of the HIV-infected population makes some strains of the virus resistant to antiretroviral therapies. Report

Following a hunch, scientists have identified genes associated with psoriasis and lupus. Report

Scientists at the Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have identified nine genetic markers that can increase a person's risk for schizophrenia. Report

A UK group says that genetic tests available over the Internet are a waste of money. Report

A series of genes that protect cells from the powerful, common chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin has been identified by researchers working to understand how the drug also can destroy the heart. Release

More Research

Researchers at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology are developing "seek-and-destroy" nanoparticles that can attack tumors without damaging healthy tissue. Article

In a small study, symptoms of autism were moderated by fever, suggesting a new therapeutic approach to treating the condition. Report

Singapore's Bio*One Capital has formed a joint venture with Qiagen to establish Dx Assays, which will develop molecular diagnostics for infectious and genetic diseases. Report

A compound found in broccoli may treat a genetic skin disorder. Report

NIH doles out $438M for daring research

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

The NIH is opening its purse to fund $438 million in new research projects that have the potential to make groundbreaking progress against some of the world's toughest medical challenges. Dr. Alan Krensky, director of the NIH office of portfolio analysis and strategic initiatives, told the Boston Globe that they were bankrolling "knock-your-socks-off" science projects. Nine teams will each get $21 million to $25 million to tackle such projects as growing new heart valves and revolutionizing the drug discovery process with swift advancements in genomics. NIH is shucking its standard operating procedure of offering individual researchers six-figure grants, budgeting a small portion of its money for these big-picture research projects that could offer major advancements in medicine. The new strategy is being developed at a time of growing concern that the NIH is not able to fund all the projects deserving of federal support.

- check out the report from The Boston Globe

ALSO: A team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine and the M.I.N.D. Institute, in collaboration with four allied institutions, has been awarded a five-year, $21.8 million Interdisciplinary Research Consortium grant from the National Institutes of Heath, the largest single federal award to date in support of research related to the Fragile X (FMR1) gene. Release

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NIH program to create academic research consortium. Report

Adult stem cells key to ventricle transplants

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Prominent British cardiac surgeon Magdi Yacoub says that he believes that scientists will quickly perfect the use of adult stem cells for growing a complete new ventricle for transplant, with human trials coming in three to five years. A researcher at Heart Science Centre at Harefield hospital, Middlesex, Yacoub has written an article that outlines the ongoing research that is paving the way to a day when complete new hearts can be grown from stem cells extracted from a patient. The first stage of that process will be seen as researchers grow new heart valves for procedures involving 80,000 patients a year. Today valve replacements are either mechanical or come from pigs, but both are short-term options.

- read the article from The Independent

Related Articles:
Heart muscle created from embryonic stem cells. Report
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report
Scientists grow new heart valves from stem cells. Report

Growing heart valves from stem cells

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Scientists in the U.K. have used stem cells harvested from bone marrow to create heart valve tissue. And they're pushing their work into animal studies this year in the hope that human clinical trials on valve transplants can begin in three years. The researchers grew the three-centimeter wide valves by exposing stem cells to chemicals, which spurred their differentiation into heart valve cells. The tissue was grown on a scaffold of collagen.

The research offers an organic alternative to the artificial heart valves that are currently used. Ultimately, the work could help point the way to creating entirely new hearts. The researchers at Imperial College London say that an organic valve is capable of changing to fit the physical needs of the patient. A valve created from stem cells would also be less likely to be rejected by the patient. Their report on the research will be published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

- read the CBC report on the stem cell work
- and here's the report from New Scientist

ALSO: Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School write in the new issue of the journal Regenerative Medicine that we're drawing steadily closer to "bioengineering" entire areas of the heart, as well as heart valves and major blood vessels. Release

Related Articles:
Scientists grow new heart valves from stem cells. Report
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report
Osiris reports major gains in stem cell trial. Report

Adult stem cell therapy begins human trial

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

For the first time in humans a doctor has extracted adult stem cells from fat tissue and injected them directly into the heart as a therapy for angina and heart disease. Physicians in Spain--working with investigators at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston--say that it will be at least six months before they can determine if the therapy is working. Another 35 volunteers suffering from chronic myocardial ischemia, a severe form of end-stage coronary artery disease, will be given the therapy developed by Cytori Therapeutics. In preclinical tests the therapy spurred improved circulation in the heart.

"Patients with chronic heart disease today have few options making this an important milestone for the affected patients and doctors that treat them," said Marc H. Hedrick, M.D., president for Cytori Therapeutics. "This study is designed to show unequivocally whether the cells from our Celution System can be safely introduced into the heart."

- see the release on the trial

Related Articles:
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report
Heart muscle created from embryonic stem cells. Report
Scientists grow new heart valves from stem cells. Report

Heart muscle created from embryonic stem cells

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a heart muscle using embryonic stem cells. The work illustrates how new heart tissue could be developed to replace tissue damaged by a heart attack. Researchers have been working on finding ways to repair damaged hearts, and building replacement tissue may be the most effective approach. The scientists note that because the heart muscle is threaded with blood vessels, it would have a good chance of being transplanted successfully.

The research team created the heart muscle by seeding a plastic frame with heart muscle and blood vessel cells combined with embryonic fibroblasts. Days later patches of the heart muscle began to contract like a normal heart. Now the researchers plan to begin to transplant the tissue into animals to see how they respond to the procedure. And they also plan to see how the approach works for growing tissue for other organs, such as livers.

- here's the release on their work

ALSO: The high-flying Sir Richard Branson is creating a new bank to store umbilical blood from newborns. The blood teems with haematopoietic stem cells that are used in embryonic stem cell research and are expected to be the building blocks of future cures. Report

Related Articles
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report
Scientists grow new heart valves from stem cells. Report
Stem cells demonstrate ability to repair brain damage. Report

Scientists grow new heart valves from stem cells

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Scientists at the University of Zurich have used stem cells obtained from fetal fluid to grow new heart valves for repairing damaged hearts. The work builds on new research into growing bladders and blood vessels from stem cells as researchers find more effective ways to mend or replace damaged body parts. By using stem cells drawn from the patient, researchers say they will eventually be able to provide new body parts that will be far superior to transplants. These parts will be able to grow with the body. About one in every hundred newborns have heart damage, making it a leading killer of babies in the United States. Theoretically the amniotic stem cells can also be frozen and stored for later use, when aging patients will need to replace deteriorating body parts.

- check out this report on the stem cell work from the Seattle Times

Related Article:
Team coaxes stem cells to produce insulin. Report
Stem cell researchers create tiny livers. Report
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report