heart attack

Researchers testing stem cell therapy for CHF

John Carroll — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:52:10 -0400

Researchers in Florida are beginning a small, early-stage human trial to test a new stem cell therapy for congestive heart failure.

The physicians are taking premature muscle cells--called myoblasts--from the patients' thighs and injecting them into their damaged heart tissue. The University of Florida's Dr. Carl Pepine says that previous studies indicate that stem cells can improve a heart's pumping ability by four to five percent. They have also reduced the size of enlarged hearts. Researchers now are trying to find the ideal stem cell for use in the procedure.

"A lot of nuances need to be worked out, and I don't want to imply that this is something that's going to happen in four or five years," Pepine said. "Eventually, you want to get to the point where you're curing people, where you're using stem cells to interrupt the disease process before it starts. Presumably, we could prevent a lot of damage from ever occurring."

South Florida biotech Bioheart plans to recruit 330 patients to test its myoblast therapy.

- read the report from the Orlando Sentinel

Researchers see FDA uncertainty behind hold on ESC work

John Carroll — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:27:38 -0400

The news that the FDA had put a ‘clinical hold' on Geron's plans to launch the first U.S. clinical trial of a stem cell therapy is attracting considerable scrutiny from researchers. The agency has yet to spell out exactly why it won't let Geron make the leap from preclinical work to a human trial. But Ole Isacson, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School, tells Nature that any outfit in Geron's position would have to offer convincing data that none of the transplanted cells could trigger a tumor or some other adverse event.

The problem in ESC research, he adds, is that no one has firmly established the criteria for that standard. Meanwhile, the FDA is still educating itself on the subject, and that is likely to give the agency pause before any human embryonic stem cell trials can be started.

At least one analyst, Steven Brozak of WBB Securities, has fretted that the Bush administration's objections to embryonic stem cell work may have forced the FDA's hand, but researchers say there's every reason to believe that the FDA simply doesn't know how to make sure the trials can be conducted safely. And that could prove to be a much bigger obstacle than politics for other ESC companies also looking to move into the clinic.

- read the article from Nature

Geron aims to be first in human trials with ESCs

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

In a first, Geron made headlines at the BIO CEO conference in New York with its announcement that it could begin its first human trials using embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries as early as this spring. Geron first has to meet the "high bar" set by the FDA, says Geron CEO Thomas Okarma. Geron is in a race to start the first FDA-approved ESC trials. Advanced Cell Technology, which has been trying--unsuccessfully so far--to find a way around the controversy generated by ESCs by creating new stem cell lines without destroying embryos, also plans to launch human trials this year. Novocell is believed to be further back in the field. But no one believes that FDA approval will be quick and easy.

"This is the first time that a human embryonic stem cell application is being submitted to the FDA, so there's a good chance that some questions will arise," said Ren Benjamin, analyst for Rodman & Renshaw.

A significant crowd has turned out for the annual biotech confab. Organizers of the conference estimate attendance at around 2,500, noting an increase over last year's gathering of biotech executives.

- read the report from CNN

ALSO: A number of stem cell companies say that this is going to be a watershed year in development work. Report

Related Articles:
Geron: Stem cells repair heart attack damage. Report
Geron reports breakthrough in stem cell research. Report
Geron faces critics' wrath. Report

ESC 'patch' could heal heart attack damage

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:59:59 -0500

Scientists at London's Imperial College have developed a patch made from embryonic stem cells to repair damaged hearts. The team matured human heart cells in a lab dish and then created a patch out of biomaterials. They believe that by stitching or attaching the patch to a heart damaged during a heart attack, they can repair the heart muscle where oxygen deprived cells have died. The biomaterial is made to degrade quickly, with the patch preventing the familiar bulge of scarred tissue. "We really would like to cover the area of the infarct scar as much as possible, so it might be quite a large patch," Dr. Sian Harding said.

The team's next step will be to test the procedure on animals, with human trials underway in about five years. The scientists say they are also closely following the development of stem cells from skin tissue, which would dissolve much of the controversy that dogs embryonic stem cell work.

- check out the report from Heartzine

Related Articles:
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report
Growing heart valves from stem cells. Report
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. 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

Geron: Stem cells repair heart attack damage

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Researchers from Geron and the University of Washington have completed new animal studies that offer fresh evidence of the ability of embryonic stem cells to repair the damage done by a heart attack. The team injected cardiac cells taken from human ESCs and injected them into rats four days after a heart attack. Not only did the stem cells rebuild damaged heart muscles, they also improved the function of the entire heart.

In a noted achievement, the researchers turned human ESCs into cardiac cells, or cardiomyocytes. This has been one of the toughest feats involved in stem cell research, and the investigators devised a culture technique that was effective in coaxing human ESCs to transform into cardiomyocytes with 90 percent accuracy. Pigs and sheep are next in line for testing with human trials about two years away.

- check out the release
- and read the report on the study from the Financial Times

Related Articles:
New study to use stem cells after heart attacks. Report
Geron reports breakthrough in stem cell research. Report
Stem cell companies target heart disease. Report
Heart muscle created from embryonic stem cells. Report