December 18, 2007
A recent study in Japan has proven successful results using adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells to reconstruct women's breast after partial mastectomy. The technique was developed by the Cytori Therapeutics of San Diego. The adipose tissue is extracted from the patient by standared liposuction, and half of the extracted tissue is used as primary filler tissue while the other half is processed to extract regeneratice stem sells. These are mixed with the filler tissue and the mixture is injected into three 2–mm incisions in the patient’s breast.
This study was conducted on 21 women with partial mastectomies, and the women were given a follow-up 12 months later. The procedure had a satisfying impact on the women, with 79% of the women pleased with the results. After 18 months, the tissue absorbtion was not significant, and it's thickness was satisfying. This leaves hope for the use of stem cells in breast reconstruction as a viable technique providing durable results.
Two more studies on this procedure will be initiated next year in Europe.
eFluxMedia
December 8, 2007
Researchers have successfully used stem cells to treat sickle cell anemia in mice. The cells were created from adult cells at the tip of the mice's tails that were reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. These are called induced pluripotent stem cells, and this is the first time they have been successfully used therapeutically. As opposed to adult cells, embryonic stem cells can regenerate and differentiate into whatever type of cell is needed. Adult cells are static.
The technique of using pluripotent stem cells as developed five years ago, but this is the first time the technique has been put into practice. Twelve weeks after the procedure, the mice treated with the engineered pluripotent stem cells had developed more normal blood, and they had higher red-blood-cell counts and haemoglobin content compared to untreated sickle-cell mice.
One drawback of using induced pluripotent stem cells in transplants is that they carry a high cancer risk. However, the researchers lowered the cancer risk by not using a particular cell reprogramming ingredient, the protein called c-Myc that causes the cancer. Three months after the transplant, there were no signs of tumours in the treated mice. However, this does not mean tumors won't develop later. Much more work has yet to be done before a procedure of this kind can be tested on humans.
DailyIndia.com
December 2, 2007
A procedure that uses skin cells generate multi-purpose stem cells has not been used for treatment yet due to one major flaw: it poses a higher risk for cancer. However, a team of researchers has omitted a main cancer-causing ingredient from the process, a protein called c-Myc, and achieved the same effect. This could mean a step towards a viable alternative to using embryos to generate stem cells. However, much testing needs to be done before a treatment using this procedure could be done on humans. So far the best embryo-free stem cell alternative we have is still cord blood.
The China Post
November 26, 2007
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) reports that a cancer patient who was suffering from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, is still in remission three years after treatment. The patient was treated using stem cell therapy. The woman's twin sister, who did not have cancer, was immunized with a cancer protein that can prompt the body's immune system to start killing cancer cells. The cancer-killing antibodies produced by the twin's healthy immune system were then transferred via stem-cell transplant back into the cancer patient's body. This was done in conjunction with chemotherapy. The same healthy immune response was then observed in the cancer patient, who is still in remission three years later.
SeniorJournal.com
| December 2007 | | October 2007 | | Spetember 2007 | | August 2007 | | July 2007 | | June 2007 | | May 2007 | | April 2007 | | March 2007 | | February 2007 | | January 2007 | | December 2006 | | November 2006 | | October 2006 | | September 2006 | | August 2006 | | July 2006 | | June 2006 | | May 2006 | | April 2006 | | March 2006 | | February 2006 | | January 2006 | | December 2005 | | November 2005 | | October 2005 | | September, 2005 | | August, 2005 | | July, 2005 | | May, 2005 | | April, 2005 | | March, 2005 | | February, 2005 | | December, 2004 | | November, 2004 | | October, 2004 | | September, 2004 |
|
