Stem Cell Dialogues: “Stem Cell Therapies for Chronic Pain.” This is a video of the Feb. 7, 2012 event, which is part of UC Davis Health System’s ongoing series of community forums about stem cell research. The session features research and clinical experts Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures; Scott Fishman, chief of the UC Davis Division of Pain Medicine; and Kee Kim, Co-director of the UC Davis Spine Center. Presenters discuss the challenges of treating chronic pain and the latest research and treatment opportunities using regenerative medicine. The session includeds a Question and Answer session with audience members. Stem Cell Dialogues is moderated by Dr. Fred Meyers, executive associate dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine.
In a boost for the field of regenerative medicine, a small biotechnology company has received regulatory approval in Canada for what it says is the first manufactured drug based on stem cells.
The company, Osiris Therapeutics of Columbia, Md., said Thursday that Canadian regulators had approved its drug Prochymal, to treat children suffering from graft-versus-host disease, a potentially deadly complication of bone marrow transplantation.
“It’s really a good day for the concept and the hope behind stem cell therapies becoming a reality,” C. Randal Mills, the chief executive of Osiris, said in an interview.
Prochymal is a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells, which are obtained from the bone marrow of healthy young adult donors. The stem cells are separated out from the marrow and expanded in culture, so that one donation is enough to make as many as 10,000 doses.
Because these are adult stem cells, they do not raise the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cells, whose creation usually involves the destruction of human embryos.
Graft-versus-host disease occurs when the immune cells in a bone-marrow transplant see the recipient’s organs as foreign and attack them, causing potentially severe damage to the skin, liver and digestive tract. This happens most often when the donor is not an exact match for the recipient.
Doctors try using steroids or other drugs to damp the immune attack, but in many cases those don’t work, and the patient may die.
Prochymal is approved in Canada for children whose condition is not controlled by steroids. In a small trial, about 60 percent of such children had a clinically meaningful response to the drug, Osiris said.
“Any drug or a cell that has activity in the patients with severe disease is exciting and important,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the pediatric blood and marrow transplant program at Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Kurtzberg, who helped Osiris present its case to Canadian regulators, said the drug has saved some children’s lives from graft-versus-host disease and could lead to more successful bone marrow transplants.
Osiris is not expected to gain much revenue from patients with a rare disease in Canada. But it is a welcome success for a 20-year-old company that has had its share of failures.
In 2009, Prochymal failed in two late-stage clinical trials, showing little to no advantage over placebo in treating graft-versus-host disease. The company is also trying to develop Prochymal as a treatment for Crohn’s disease, diabetes, heart attacks and other illnesses, but has had some failures there as well.
Sanofi, the big French company that had the rights to sell Prochymal outside North America, said in February that it had discontinued its work on the drug.
Dr. Mills, Osiris’s chief executive, said the company realized the drug was most effective in the most severe cases of graft-versus-host-disease that did not respond to steroids, leading it to do the small trial in children.
Dr. Mills said that the Food and Drug Administration indicated that it would require more data before approval, prompting Osiris to seek approval in Canada first. He said the company would apply to the F.D.A. later this year.
Stem cells are already used in medicine. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants are used to treat various cancers and genetic diseases. But those transplants are medical procedures, not products sold by a drug company.
There are cell therapies that have been approved by regulators, such as Carticel, a Genzyme product that uses a patient’s own cells to repair cartilage in injuries. Last year the F.D.A. approved a cord blood product for use in transplantation. Those products are not manufactured for off-the-shelf use like Prochymal is, Dr. Mills said.
Stem cells are the body’s repair cells. They have the ability to divide and differentiate into many different types of cells based on where they are needed throughout the body. Stem cells can divide and turn into tissues such as skin, fat, muscle, bone, cartilage, and nerve to name a few. With this capability, we can use them as a treatment for joint injuries, ligament and tendon damage, and fractured bones. Using MediVet America’s Stem Cell Therapy, we have seen positive clinical improvement in 95% of the arthritic cases performed nationwide. Some owners have even reported seeing a difference in as little as a week!
Researchers in Australia have found stem cells in breast milk that, like embryonic stem cells, can become many different types of cells in the body.
Dr Foteini Hassiotou and the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group at the University of Western Australia have found stem cells in human breast milk that they have turned into bone, brain, liver, and pancreatic cells that produce insulin.
From ABCScience.com:
A solution to the ethical dilemma of using human embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases could be staring us in the face.
Five years ago, Dr Foteini Hassiotou was part of a research team, the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group at the University of Western Australia, which discovered that human breast milk contains what appear to be stem cells. These cells can potentially turn into many different types of cells, and offer staggering potential for treating a huge range of human diseases.
Hassiotou, the newest member of the group, found that some of these stem cells are very similar to embryonic stem cells — the most potent and useful stem cell of all.
Except the “potent and useful” stem cells found in breast milk do not require the destruction of human embryos to harvest them like embryonic stem cells. The stem cells in human breast milk are easily collected without surgery. The next step would be to investigate how these adult stem cells behave in animal models.
Human breast milk may be more than just nourishment for newborns. It may contain hope for a multitude of diseases. Hope that does not require the destruction of innocent human life.
This video, is a testimonial of a patient California that went to Progencell, for a Stem cell treatment for his ALS. Talks about his experience, his trip, the procedure and some suggestions. Language English with Spanish subtitles, 1:40 min duration.
This video, is a testimonial of a patient from Uruguay that went to Progencell, to get treatment Juvenile Parkinson’s . Talks about his experience, the procedure, the outcome and some suggestions. Language spanish with English subtitles, 7:10 min duration aprox.
Sixth video in a series of short (about 4 minutes each) educational videos about embryonic and adult stem cell research. The series continues to debunk common myths about stem cell research that are often repeated by the media, politicians, and even some ill-informed scientists.
www.EmergentStemCells.com There are two kinds of stem cells embryonic and adult. Much of the emphasis in the mainstream media is on embryonic stem cells; however adult stem cells can treat more than 70 different medical conditions. These adult stem cells can develop into a wide range of tissues in the human body. Embryonic stem cells are obtained after killing the human embryo, whereas adult stem cells are located throughout the human body and can be safely extracted without doing any harm. There is a new breakthrough in stem cell technology. With the use of plant-based stem cell nutrition, the number of adult stem cells can increase without surgery or painful injections. JDI and Vita-Stim contains Stem Cell Nutrition. Go to www.emergentstemcells.com This video presents the Catholic Church’s teaching on human life as it relates to adult and embryonic stem cell research — courtesy of the Michigan Catholic Conference.
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Dr. Steenblock specializes in stem cell treatments for degenerative diseases such as Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injuries, TBI, Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, Macular Degeneration, Arthritis, and more! Call 1-800-300-1063.
Dr.Mark Newkirk is once again on the cutting edge of medicine. Newkirk Family Veterinarians now offer STEM CELL THERAPY for pets. Dr. Mark Newkirk combines traditional medicine and surgery with Holistic Alternatives to access the best of both worlds. As a Veterinarian, Dr. Newkirk has been serving Southern New Jersey for over 25 years. He is extensively trained in medicine and surgery and also is skilled in the care of exotic pets such as reptiles and birds. Dr. Newkirk is also one of only 5 doctors in the country currently undergoing training by the nationally renowned Dr. Martin Goldstein, the author of “The Nature of Animal Healing”, and founder of immuno-augmentative therapy for animals, a true alternative cancer therapy. Dr. Newkirk is a member of American Holistic Veterinary Medical Society, the American Veterinary Medical Association, New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association. For more information check out Stem Cell Therapy on The Animal Planet’s dogs 101 www.youtube.com
A company is locked in a battle with the FDA over the use one’s own stem cells. The company argues that one has the right to over one’s own body? If that’s true, why is the FDA blocking this treatment? Find out. Plus, doctors are refusing to treat children that do not get vaccinated. Is this ethical? See more at www.pjtv.com
In a boost for the field of regenerative medicine, a small biotechnology company has received regulatory approval in Canada for what it says is the first manufactured drug based on stem cells.
Researchers in Australia have found stem cells in breast milk that, like embryonic stem cells, can become many different types of cells in the body.