Drug slows eye disease; Stem cells cure brain disorder; New pathway for epilepsy therapies

John Carroll — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:52:44 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Neural stem cells have been used to cure myelin deficiency disorder in mice. Report

Inspired by the suffering of his patients, Dr. Shelley Chawla wrote a book about a family's struggle with embryonic stem cell research. And now the neurologist's book is being made into a movie. Story

A Nobel laureate says his work has led him to conclude that more than one type of adult stem cell exists in the intestine, indicating that the science may be both more complicated that previously believed as well as ultimately more promising in terms of delivering effective therapies. Report

Scientists in Melbourne have obtained Australia's first shipment of induced pluripotent stem cells from the University of Wisconsin--derived from reprogrammed skin cells. Report

Researchers studying embryonic stem cells have explored the first fork in the developmental road, getting a new look at what happens when fertilized eggs differentiate to build either an embryo or a placenta. Release

Scientists have used human stem cells to dramatically improve the condition of mice with a neurological condition similar to a set of diseases in children that are invariably fatal, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. Release

Bolstered by supportive policies and public research dollars, the United Kingdom, Israel, China, Singapore and Australia are producing unusually large shares of human embryonic stem cell research, according to a report from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the June 2008 issue Cell Stem Cell. Release

Genetic Research

New insights offered by genetics have helped Iowa researchers identify a new pathway for epilepsy that can stop seizures from occurring. That insight offers a new approach to developing epilepsy drugs. Report

Scientists say they have found a genetic trigger behind the development of enlarged hearts, a potentially lethal condition. The discovery could lead the way to new therapies. Story

Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease. Release

Genetic engineers in Korea have developed a chicken that produces a valuable protein. Story

Researchers at the University of Southern California have helped identify a genetic variant that regulates glucose levels and also increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Release

By genetically altering the malaria parasite through gene knock-out technology, a research team consisting of scientists at the University of Copenhagen and John Hopkins University, Baltimore, has prevented the parasite from going through the normal stages of its life cycle and developing a cyst (egg-like structure or occyst), which spawns new infectious parasites. Release

Cancer Research

A New Zealand Scientist is studying whether a substance produced by a sea sponge can be an effective cancer fighter. Report

More Research

Researchers at UCLA say that the drug rosiglitazone appears to slow the advancement of eye disease in diabetics. Report

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

Human Embryonic Stem Cell

Drug slows eye disease; Stem cells cure brain disorder; New pathway for epilepsy therapies

Researchers see FDA uncertainty behind hold on ESC work