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Stem Cell Therapy In India|Stem Cell Treatment In India

By Stem Cell Doctors

Stem Cell Consults the group of highly specialized stem cell therapy researchers, doctors and consultants who always provides proper counseling of patients first and then only confirm about the possibilities of stem cell therapy. As we know stem cell therapy is getting successive to treat many degenerative diseases and many clinical trial and case study proved that stem cell therapy is safest treatment and providing opportunity for hopeless patients such as Blood Cancer, Brain stroke/coma, Spinal cord injury, Retinitis pigmentosa, COPD, Autism, Cerebral palsy, Muscular dystrophy and so more degenerative diseases.

We are dedicatedly working in this field last 4-5 years and treated so many domestic and international patients through stem cell therapy. We have every specialized doctors means cardiac surgeon, internal medicine, neurosurgeon, ophthalmologist, orthopedic, Haemato Oncologist in our team.

We are the first one in India who is leading in stem cell services and providing stem cell treatment at very lowest cost than all other stem cell therapy centre and companies in world. Because our priority is to avail stem cell treatment for all needed patients in world at lowest cost.

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Stem Cell Therapy In India|Stem Cell Treatment In India

Scientific Experts Agree Embryonic Stem Cells Are …

By Embryonic Stem Cells

2009

"A UK and Canadian team have manipulated human skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells without using viruses making them safer for use in humans.

"Study leader Dr. Keisuke Kaji, from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said nobody, including himself, had thought it was really possible. 'It is a step towards the practical use of reprogrammed cells in medicine, perhaps even eliminating the need for human embryos as a source of stem cells,' he said."

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"'Ethical' stem cell creation hope," BBC News, March 1, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7914976.stm

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"A groundbreaking medical treatment that could dramatically enhance the body's ability to repair itself has been developed by a team of British researchers. The therapy, which makes the body release a flood of stem cells into the bloodstream, is designed to heal serious tissue damage caused by heart attacks and even repair broken bones.

"A possible danger with some other stem cell therapies in the pipeline is their use of embryonic stem cells. Because these can turn into any type of tissue, there is a risk they could grow into cancer cells when injected into patients. [This] treatment uses stem cells that can only grow into blood vessels, bone and cartilage, so the risk of causing cancer is removed."

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I. Sample, "Revolutionary stem cell therapy boosts body's ability to heal itself," The Guardian (United Kingdom) , January 8, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/08/stem-cells-bone-marrow-heart-attack

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"Controversial research into the use of 'hybrid' human-animal embryos to make stem cells is in danger of stalling because of a lack of funding, British scientists claim.

"Since the furore broke scientists have developed a cheap and powerful new technique in which adult skin cells are reprogrammed to create cells that are almost identical to stem cells. Researchers have already used the technique to make so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for patients with diabetes, muscular dystrophy and Down's syndrome.

[Quoting Harry Moore, head of reproductive biology at Sheffield University] 'What has happened is the field has moved on. You could argue that iPS cells are a more important area than hybrids now.' "

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I. Sample, "Rival stem cell technique takes the heat out of hybrid embryo debate," The Guardian. January 13, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/13/hybrid-embryos-stem-cells

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"A dose of their own stem cells 'reset' the malfunctioning immune system of patients with early-stage multiple sclerosis and, for the first time, reversed their disability.

'This is the first study to actually show reversal of disability,' said Richard Burt, an associate professor in the division of immunotherapy at Northwestern, and the lead author of the study published yesterday in the British journal, the Lancet Neurology. 'Some people had complete disappearance of all symptoms.' "

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R. Waters, "Dose of Own Stem Cells Reverses Patients' Multiple Sclerosis," Bloomberg News, January 30, 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=akHXxf3bS3TY&refer=home

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"A new study suggests that adult bone marrow stem cells can be used in the construction of artificial skin. The findings mark an advancement in wound healing and may be used to pioneer a method of organ reconstruction."

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"Study Uses Bone Marrow Stem Cells to Regenerate Skin," Physorg, January 14, 2009, http://www.physorg.com/news151166956.html

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2008

"The reality is that the bulk of today's stem-cell research relies on adult stem cells taken from bone marrow, blood, skeletal muscles, body fat and umbilical cord blood. Scientists have even managed to coax adult skin cells to mimic the versatility of embryonic stem cells, which can grow virtually any cell or tissue in the human body. Unlike embryonic stem cells, though, these adult stem cells are being tested in humans right now, with very real possibilities to change the way various diseases are treated in the next five to 10 years."

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T. Wheeler, "Stem cells mature," Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio), April 6, 2008.

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"For the first time, scientists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have discovered a unique population of adult stem cells derived from human muscle that could be used to treat muscle injuries and diseases such as heart attack and muscular dystrophy.

"Because this is an autologous transplant, meaning from the patient to himself, there is not the risk of rejection you would have if you took the stem cells from another source

"Myoendothelial cells also showed no propensity to form tumors, a concern with other stem cell therapies."

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"Pittsburgh scientists identify human source of stem cells with potential to repair muscle damaged by disease or injury," Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, September 4, 2007, http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/28732E.htm.

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2007

"An Ecuadorian stem cellexpert said on September 24 that transplants of autologous adult bone marrow stem cells restored some function in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients who have been paralyzed for an average of four years, some up to 22 years.

"Of the 25 patients who provided more than three months and up to 14 months follow up: 15 gained the ability to stand up, 10 could walk on the parallels with braces, seven could walk without braces and five could walk with crutches. Three patients recovered full bladder control, and 10 patients regained some form of sexual function. No adverse events or abnormal reactions to implantation were observed.

'By implanting an adult's own bone marrow stem cells, we've seen significant improvements in the quality of life for those who suffer from spinal cord injuries,' said Francisco Silva, executive vice president of research and development for PrimeCell Therapeutics."

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"Marrow Stem Cell Transplants Restore Spinal Cord Functions," Stem Cell Business News, Sept. 24, 2007, http://www.stemcellresearchnews.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=867&z=15

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"In recent years, scientists have discovered that red bone marrow is the body's Swiss Army repair kit. It contains a traveling laboratory of cells that can heal the liver, heart, kidneys, leg arteries, pancreas, and even ovaries and the brain. Up to 40 percent of the liver can be regrown from stem cells found in bone marrow, researchers at New York University School of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine and Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center found."

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B. J. Fikes, "Body parts Bone marrow: The body's repair kit," North County Times (San Diego, CA), May 20, 2006, http://www.nctimes.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_0bcace84-44ac-51bc-99a0-b1bf6ddb6d21.html

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2006

"The results of a study published in the April issue of Stem Cells and Development suggest that human stem cells derived from bone marrow are predisposed to develop into a variety of nerve cell types, supporting the promise of developing stem cell-based therapies to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

"When transplanted into the central nervous system, [these cells] will develop into a variety of functional neural cell types, making them a potent resource for cell-based therapy."

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"New Findings Support Promise of Using Stem Cells to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases," Business Wire, May 1, 2006, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_May_1/ai_n16135565/

2005

"A team of Texas and British researchers says it has produced large amounts of embryoniclike stem cells from umbilical cord blood, potentially ending the ethical debate affecting stem-cell research -- the need to kill human embryos. The international researchers said the cells -- called cord-blood-derived-embryoniclike stem cells, or CBEs -- have the ability to turn into any kind of body tissue, like embryonic stem cells do, and can be mass-produced using technology derived from NASA.... "Scientists believe the ability to replicate tissue could lead to the development of ways to replace organs as well as treat life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which have been the focus of stem-cell research." -- J. Price, "Advance made in stem-cell debate," The Washington Times, August 20, 2005, http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050820-122747-2417r.htm

* * *

"Various studies that have been conducted around the world, including a limited number performed in the United States, have suggested that when patients with heart failure receive stem cells taken from their bone marrow, their hearts show signs of improved function and recovery." -- "Stem Cells With Heart Bypass Surgery Trial To Begin At University Of Pittsburgh," ScienceDaily, August 25, 2005, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050825070117.htm

* * * "Researchers in Boston have isolated a kind of cell from human bone marrow that they say has all the medical potential of human embryonic stem cells.... "Tufts University researchers used specialized cell-sorting machines to pluck the peculiar cells from samples of bone marrow obtained from different donors. Tests suggested the cells are capable of morphing into many, and perhaps all, of the various kinds of cells that make up the human body. ...

"When a batch of the newly identified marrow cells were injected into the hearts of rats that had experienced heart attacks, some of the cells turned into new heart muscle while others became new blood vessels to support the ailing hearts. ...

"'I think embryonic stem cells are going to fade in the rearview mirror of adult stem cells,' said Douglas W. Losordo, the Tufts cardiologist who left the effort.... Bone marrow, he said, 'is like a repair kit. Nature provided us with these tools to repair organ damage.'"

-Rick Weiss, "Marrow Has Cells Like Stem Cells, Tests Show," Washington Post, Feburary 2, 2005, p. A3, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55369-2005Feb1.html .

* * * "[Erica] Nader, 26, of Farmington Hills, Mich., was the first American to travel to Portugal, in March 2003, for experimental sugery for spinal cord injury. She was injured in July 2001 in an auto accident... She was paralyzed from the top of her arms down. "In the procedure...a team of doctors opened Nader's spinal cord to clear out any scar tissue.... Then, using a long tube, they took a sample of olfactory mucosal cells from the ridge of her nose.... These cells are among the body's richest supply of adult stem cells and are capable of becoming any type of cell, depending on where they are implanted. In this case, these adult stem cells were to take on the job of neurons, or nerve cells, once implanted in the spinal cord at the site of an injury. ... "And after three years, magnetic imaging resonance tests show that the cells indeed promote the development of new blood cells and synapses, or connections between nerve cells, says Dr. Carlos Lima, chief of the Lisbon team. ... "Dr. Pratas Vital, one of two neurosurgeons on the team, calls the transplanted cells spinal cord autografts, a term that indicates the cells come from a person's own body, not fetal or embryonic stem cells. ...

"[Erica] is much stronger and much more capable of lifting her arms, bending her knees on a slanted exercise board and standing erect. ... Once, she was paralyzed from her biceps down. Now, she can push herself off an exercise ball, do arm lifts and help raise herself off a floor mat. ... In the past six weeks, she's started to walk in leg braces with a walker or on a treadmill." -Patricia Anstett, "Paraplegic improving after stem-cell implant," The Indianapolis Star, January 16, 2005, at http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/209449-5235-047.html.

* * * 2004

"[E]vidence from three different labs the University of Minnesota, the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, and Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago have found three different ASCs [adult stem cells] that may be completely plastic. ... As the team leader at the Robert Wood Johnson School, Ira Black, told me, 'In aggregate, our study and various others do support the idea that one [adult stem cell] can give rise to all types of tissue.' ...

-Michael Fumento, "The Adult Answer," National Review Online, December 20, 2004, at http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/fumento200412200902.asp.

* * * "Scientists have transplanted adult stem cells from the bone marrow of rats into the brains of rat embryos and found that thousands of the cells survive into adulthood, raising the possibility that someday developmental abnormalities could be prevented or treated in the womb. "Dr. Ira Black, chairman of the department of neuroscience at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said the cells took on the properties of brain cells, migrating to specific regions and taking up characteristics of neighboring cells. ... "Black and his colleagues used a specific type of bone marrow cell called a stromal cell, taken from the leg bones of adult rats. 'We see this potentially as an appropriate treatment for prenatal disease, mental retardation and congenital conditions,' Black said. The hope is that a patient's own bone barrow might someday be the source for replacing brain cells lost to illness and brain trauma, experts say, eliminating the need to use human embryonic stem cells. "In a separate study, Dr. Alexander Storch of the University of Ulm, Germany, recently took bone marrow and stromal cells from six healthy people and converted the cells into immature neural stem cells. ... 'A single cell culture could grow all major brain cell types,' said Storch, who used specific growth factors to help them differentiate. ...Storch is now transplanting the cells into mice with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke symptoms. In the stroke study, the labeled adult stromal cells migrated to the area surrounding the stroke damage, he said. They had all of the chemical, electrical and functional properties of brain cells." -Jamie Talan, "Stem cell transplant a success," Newsday, May 12, 2004, at http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/May2004/SuccessfulRatStemCellTransplant.html.

* * * "'Cord blood stem cells have the same capacity to cure disease as do embryonic stem cells, as they can become any cell in the body...,' said Dr. William Schmidt, Jr., an oncologist with the Charleston Cancer Center in N. Charleston, SC. "'The use of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the treatment of disease is one of the most prominent advancements in medicine today. Developments in this field will revolutionize medicine and disease treatment,' said Dr. [Roger] Markwald [Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the Medical University of South Carolina]."

-Press Release, "CureSource Issues Statement on Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells vs. Embryonic Stem Cells," May 12, 2004, at http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/altavista/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040512005909&newsLang=en.

* * * "California scientists have found that neural stem cells can target and track deadly brain tumor cells. ...The discovery by researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute in Los Angeles means that neural stem cells may someday be effective 'delivery systems' to transport cancer-killing gene and immune products. ... "'We have previously demonstrated the uncanny ability of neural stem cells to seek out and destroy satellites of tumor cells in the brain,' said John S. Yu, senior author of the study and co-director of the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program a Cedars-Sinai. '...With this knowledge, we hope to expedite the translation of this powerful and novel strategy for the clinical benefit of patients with brain tumors.'" -Press release, "Neural stem cells may help fight cancer," May 5, 2004, at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_17570.html. * * * "'We're not trying to change the [adult stem] cells in any way before we put them in the body. These are very early precursor cells. They have the potential to become almost anything, and they adapt quickly once they're inside,' said [Tulane University Center for Gene Therapy research professor Dr. Brian] Butcher. Tests on rats with damaged spines have shown that cell growth occurs in the spine [after adult stem cell injection] and allows the animals to walk again. ... "Using adult stem cells sidesteps some of the legal and ethical issues involved in using fetal...or embryonic stem cells.... And there may be other benefits as well. 'We're not against stem-cell research of any kind,' said Butcher. 'But we think there are advantages to using adult stem cells. For example, with embryonic stem cells, a significant number become cancer cells, so the cure could be worse than the disease. And they can be very difficult to grow, while adult stem cells are very easy to grow.' "But perhaps the biggest advantage to adult stem cells is that they sidestep immunological concerns because the cells used to treat a patient come from his or her own body."

-Heather Heilman, "Great Transformations," The Tulanian, Spring 2004, at http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=5155.

* * * "Had a major heart attack? In the not-too-distant future, doctors may be able to use stem cells to regenerate damaged heart muscle. And here's the exciting part: They can do it using stem cells that aren't extracted from human embryos. "[G]iven the controversy over harvesting cells from embryos, doctors have been exploring other possibilities. The payoff: A team from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston recently repaired heart muscles in animals by injecting them with stem cells extracted from human blood. It's the stem-cell equivalent of Columbus reaching America: Not only would cells harvested from one's own body eliminate the risk that they would be rejected, but obtaining them would be a simple, painless proposition. "'This work gives us a way to get the cells that's as easy as giving a blood sample,' says Edward Yeh, M.D., lead author of the study. The real mind boggler is what the stem cells might mean to the 1.2 million Americans who suffer heart attacks each year." -Special Report, "Good news about bad things that happen to your parents," USA Weekend magazine, March 5-7, 2004, p. 6, at http://www.usaweekend.com/04_issues/040307/040307aging.html#heart. * * * 2003

"Scientists in Canada have turned adult skin cells into the building blocks of brain cells --opening the way for their use in new therapies for such incurable diseases. The discovery, by a team at the University of Toronto, is particularly exciting as it promises to provide a readily accessible and ethically neutral source of neural stem cells -- the precursors of nerve and brain tissue. "While other groups have managed to create these cells before, they have generally required the use of adult stem cells from bone marrow, which are difficult and painful to extract, or embryonic stem cells, which require the destruction of a human embryo. "If the Toronto technique is perfected for clinical use it would allow neural stem cells to be made from a patient's skin, ensuring a perfect genetic match that would not be rejected by the body. The cells would then be transplanted into the brains of people with neurological disorders, to replace, for example, the specialized dopamine neurons that are lost in Parkinson's disease." -Oliver Wright, "Patients' Own Skin Cells Turned into Potential Alzheimer's Treatment," The Times (London), December 10, 2003, Home News, p. 8.

* * * "Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have harnessed newly discovered cells from an unexpected source, the spleen, to cure juvenile diabetes in mice, a surprising breakthrough that could soon be tested in local patients and open a new chapter in diabetes research... "'This shows there might be a whole new type of therapy that we haven't tapped into,' said Dr. Denise Faustman, MGH immunology lab director and lead author of the new study, which appears today in the journal Science. 'We've figured out how to regrow an adult organ'." -R. Mishra, "Juvenile diabetes cured in lab mice," The Boston Globe, November 14, 2003, p. A2. * * * "There is now an emerging recognition that the adult mammalian brain, including that of primates and humans, harbours stem cell populations suggesting the existence of a previously unrecognised neural plasticity to the mature CNS [central nervous system], and thereby raising the possibility of promoting endogenous neural reconstruction... Since large numbers of stem cells can be generated efficiently in culture, they may obviate some of the technical and ethical limitations associated with the use of fresh (primary) embryonic neural tissue in current transplantation strategies." -T. Ostenfeld and C. Svendsen, "Recent advances in stem cell neurobiology," Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery, vol. 28 (2003), p. 3. * * * "Stem cells in our bone marrow usually develop into blood cells, replenishing our blood system. However, in states of emergency, the destiny of some of these stem cells may change: They can become virtually any type of cell liver cells, muscle cells, nerve cells responding to the body's needs. Prof. Tsvee Lapidot and Dr. Orit Kollet of the Weizmann Institute's Immunology Department have found how the liver, when damaged, sends a cry for help to these stem cells. 'When the liver becomes damaged, it signals to stem cells in the bone marrow, which rush to it and help in its repair as liver cells,' says Lapidot...

"The findings could lead to new insights into organ repair and transplants, especially liver-related ones. They may also uncover a whole new stock of stem cells that can under certain conditions become liver cells. Until a few years ago only embryonic stem cells were thought to possess such capabilities. Understanding how stem cells in the bone marrow turn into liver cells could one day be a great boon to liver repair as well as an alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells." -"Weizmann Institute scientists find that stem cells in the bone marrow become liver cells," EurakAlert, August 11, 2003, at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-08/wi-wis_1081103.php.

* * * I.S. Abuljadayel, Chief Scientific Officer of Tri-Stem Inc., on his study published in the July 2003 Current Medical Research and Opinion on producing pluripotent stem cells from adult blood cells:

"This new technology offers a viable option for the generation of large numbers of pluripotent stem cells. These are likely to have many clinical and research applications. The source material is blood, the most accessible tissue in our body which can be extracted by simple venipuncture or aphaeresis. The procedure raises no ethical concerns and removes the need to resort to embryos or aborted fetuses. The technology is also cost-effective, donor-friendly producing relatively large quantities of stem cells within a short time, which could eventually save patient lives and shorten patient waiting lists." -"Stem cell-like plasticity induced in mature mononuclear cells," Reuters Health, July 7, 2003.

* * * "This is an example of promising experimental therapies involving stem cells from bone marrow. Until just a few years ago, conventional wisdom held that only embryonic stem cells could turn into any cell in the body. But that thinking began to change as studies showed that stem cells from bone marrow could become heart, muscle, nerve, or liver cells. Now, the results of clinical trials conducted in Britain, Germany and Brazil show that heart patients injected with their own bone marrow cells benefit from the treatment."

-N. Touchette,"Bone Marrow Stem Cells Heal the Heart," Genome News Network, May 2, 2003, at http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/05_03/sc_heart.shtml * * * "Stem cells from bone marrow can transform into insulin-producing cells, scientists have shown, suggesting a future cure for diabetes... "Transplants of pancreatic cells have been tried between people, but the supplies are restricted and recipients have to take strong anti-rejection medication. Embryonic stem cells have also been converted into insulin-producing cells, but also produce immune-rejection, in addition to ethical concerns. But taking bone marrow cells from a patient, developing them into beta cells and then reimplanting them would have none of these difficulties. Also, much of the technology for bone marrow transplantation is already well developed, says study leader Mehboob Hussain, at the New York University School of Medicine. "'I am absolutely excited by the potential applications of our findings,' he said. 'In our body, there is an additional, easily available source of cells that are capable of becoming insulin-producing cells.'" -S. Bhattacharya, "Bone marrow experiments suggest diabetes cure," NewScientist.com News Service, March 17, 2003, at http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993508. * * * 2002

"The use of human embryonic stem cells has been confronted with major obstacles because of bio-ethical and political issues involved obtaining them, as well as the suggestion that embryonic stem cells may lack appropriate developmental instructions, making them potentially less feasible for engrafting into adult tissue... "As compared to embryonic stem cells, adult derived stem cells are endowed with additional developmental instructions and may be better suited for therapeutic purposes. According to [Dr. Shahin Rafii of Cornell University Medical College], 'We are approaching a day when a patient's own stem cells can be induced to divide and develop into tissue that can replace that which is diseased or destroyed, making overcrowded organ transplant lists and rejection of foreign tissues a thing of the past'." -"Mechanism For Regulation Of Adult Stem Cells Found," UniSci - Daily University Science News, May 31, 2002, at http://unisci.com/stories/20022/0531021.htm * * * On the versatility of adult hematopoietic (blood-producing) stem cells, HSCs: "[R]ecent studies have suggested that a subpopulation of HSCs may have the ability to contribute to diverse cell types such as hepatocytes, myocytes, and neuronal cells, especially following induced tissue damage... These surprising findings contradict the dogma that adult stem cells are developmentally restricted." -K. Bunting and R. Hawley, "The tao of hematopoietic stem cells: toward a unified theory of tissue regeneration," Scientific World Journal, April 10, 2002, p. 983.

* * * 2001

Commenting on a study by researchers at New York University, Yale and Johns Hopkins: "'There is a cell in the bone marrow that can serve as the stem cell for most, if not all, of the organs in the body,' says Neil Theise, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at NYU School of Medicine... '(t)his study provides the strongest evidence yet that the adult body harbors stem cells that are as flexible as embryonic stem cells'." -"Researchers Discover the Ultimate Adult Stem Cell," ScienceDaily Magazine, May 4, 2001, at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010504082859.htm * * * "Umbilical cords discarded after birth may offer a vast new source of repair material for fixing brains damaged by strokes and other ills, free of the ethical concerns surrounding the use of fetal tissue, researchers said Sunday."

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Scientific Experts Agree Embryonic Stem Cells Are ...

Roles of Amacrine Cells by Helga Kolb Webvision

By Stell Cell Research

Helga Kolb

1. General characteristics.

Amacrine cells of the vertebrate retina are interneurons that interact at the second synaptic level of the vertically direct pathways consisting of the photoreceptor-bipolar-ganglion cell chain. They are synaptically active in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) and serve to integrate, modulate and interpose a temporal domain to the visual message presented to the ganglion cell. Amacrine cells are so named because they are nerve cells thought to lack an axon (Cajal, 1892). Today we know that certain large field amacrine cells of the vertebrate retina can have long axon-like processes which probably function as true axons in the sense that they are output fibers of the cell (see later section on dopaminergic amacrine cells). However these amacrine axons remain within the retina and do not leave the retina in the optic nerve as do the ganglion cell axons. Figure 1 shows one of the earliest depictions of the retinal cell types including amacrine cells drawn by Ramon y Cajal (circa 1890). These retinal cell types were visualized using the anatomical silver impregnation method devised by the Italian anatomist Camillo Golgi in the nineteenth century (Fig. 2).

Fig. 1. Drawing of the retina made by Cajal

Since the time of Cajal we have known that amacrine cells come in all shapes, sizes and stratification patterns. Since those days many more morphological subtypes have and continue to be described from further Golgi studies, intracellular recordings and immunocytochemical staining. Thus, we presently have a classification of amacrine cells consisting of about 40 different morphological subtypes.

Fig. 2. Picture of Camillo Golgi

It is useful and most easily understandable to group the amacrine cell types into the general descriptors of narrow-field (30-150 um), small-field (150-300 um), medium-field (300-500 um) and wide-field (>500 um) based on a measurement of their dendritic field diameters (Kolb et al., 1981). Then the next most important criterion of classification involves knowing the cells stratification. It is generally agreed now that the IPL can be subdivided into five equi-thickness strata or sublayers (Cajal, 1892) into which amacrine, bipolar and ganglion cell processes can be assigned. All of these cell types are now classified primarily on the stratum or strata of the IPL in which their dendrites or axons are located. This is because, as mentioned in previous chapters, the IPL of vertebrate retinas can be divided up into areas of neuropil where specific cells are put into synaptic contacts and form circuits only with cells earmarked for a particular functional role.

Many varieties of amacrine cell are monostratified, restricted to a single stratum, while others are bi- or tri-stratified. When amacrine or ganglion cell processes pass through all the strata of the IPL from distal to proximal or vice versa, they are called diffuse cells. Superimposed upon Cajals five strata subdivision of the IPL, is a sublaminar division of the IPL. The first two strata, 1-2, are known as sublamina a of the IPL while strata 3-5 are known as sublamina b by this scheme (Famiglietti and Kolb, 1976). It will be remembered from previous chapters that sublamina a contains bipolar axons and ganglion cell connections that lead to OFF-center ganglion cell physiology, while sublamina b contains bipolar to ganglion cell connections resulting in ON-center ganglion cell physiology (Nelson et al., 1978).

Figure 3 shows drawings of some small field amacrine cells of the monkey retina as seen in vertical sections (Polyak, 1941). Small-field cells like these can be well visualized in section because their dendritic trees are contained within the depth of the section. However, large field cells are not so well described in section where their dendrites get cut off.

Fig. 3. Amacrine cells of the monkey retina. Adapted from Polyak, 1941.

It was only when wholemount preparations, from Golgi staining (Stell and Witkovsky, 1972; Boycott and Kolb, 1973) or immunocytochemical staining (Karten and Brecha, 1980) were attempted that we could classify such cells. Then the full extent of their dendritic trees which can be up to one millimeter in spread could be visualized (Fig. 4) and a whole new understanding of amacrine cells became available.

Fig.4. Amacrine cells as seen in wholemountcat retina

A new technique of intracellular staining by a photochemical method has been developed in Richard Maslands group, as an alternative to the unreliable Golgi technique (MacNeil and Masland, 1998). Amacrine cells of the rabbit retina are labelled with the nuclear stain DAPI and then selected single nuclei are irradiated by a narrow beam of light to drive DAPI to the oxidation of non-fluorescent dihydrorhodamine 123 to the fluorescent rhodamine 123. The complete cell body and the dendritic tree is thus revealed under viewing in the fluorescence or confocal microscopes. By this method, 30 or so different varieties of amacrine cell can be photographed and drawn in full detail in the rabbit retina. 22 varieties of amacrine cell have been seen in Golgi preparations in cat and primate retinas so either some have been missed that were seen in rabbit, or else they are not as well deveoped in these less complex mammalian retinas. In any event the narrow field and medium field types revealed by MacNeil and Maslands work (1998) are shown in Figures 4a and b below. A further 5 different wide field monostratified types were also encountered in rabbit retina by this method (not illustrated). They correspond closely to the wide field types seen in monkey, cat and human (Fig. 4, above) (Mariani, 1990; Kolb et al., 1981, Kolb et al. 1992).

2. Amacrine cell circuitry as revealed by electron microscopy.

Kidd (1962) and later Dowling and Boycott (1966) were the first to identify the three types of profile that contribute to the IPL by electron microscopy. The electron micrograph (Fig. 5) below shows the cytological criteria on which we now recognize bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cell profiles in the neuropil. Thus bipolar cell axonal endings are recognized by being filled with synaptic vesicles and having a ribbon-shaped density (Fig. 5, red spots) pointing to two postsynaptic profiles (amacrine and ganglion). Amacrine profiles are also filled with synaptic vesicles but make synapses characterized by membrane densities at which the vesicles are particularly clustered (Fig. 5, yellow spots). Ganglion cell profiles are recognized as being only postsynaptic to either bipolar axons or amacrine processes, containing no vesicles but instead a content of neurotubules, ribosomes and glycogen granules.

Fig. 5. Electron micrograph of several profiles in the IPL

Amacrine cell synapses are frequently seen to be reciprocal to bipolar ribbon input, i.e. the amacrine returns a synapse in the vicinity of the ribbon input synapse (arrowheads). Most amacrine cells are inhibitory neurons in the vertebrate retina, containing the common inhibitory neurotransmitters GABA or glycine. GABAergic amacrine cells, in particular, typically make reciprocal synapses with bipolar cells. A17 is the most well studied of the GABAergic reciprocal amacrine cells in the retina and we shall return to this cell later.

We have learned much concerning the synaptic relationships of certain narrow-field amacrine cells as well as bipolar and small ganglion cell types such as midget ganglion cells of the primate retina, from reconstructions of serial-section electron micrographs. The circuitry of the AII amacrine cell in the cat retina was first appreciated by this means (Kolb and Famiglietti, 1974; Famiglietti and Kolb, 1975; Kolb, 1979). However, with the advent of intracellular dye injection of electron-dense materials (horseradish peroxidase, HRP, or the photoreduction of Lucifer yellow) after physiological recordings or the development of electron dense immunostains for electron microscopy, neurocircuitry was made easier for us. We could look at amacrine cells and their synaptic inputs by study of fewer sections and it was not as critical to photograph every single section in a series. The amacrine cell of interest would always be clearly marked black, and easily found in the synaptic neuropil. It is from this technique that we have learned most about amacrine cells and their circuitry in the mammalian retina. The remainder of this chapter will describe the morphology, circuitry and intracellular responses of the amacrine cells that are most completely understood at present.

3. A2: narrow-field, cone pathway amacrine cell.

A2 is a narrow-field amacrine with a 20-60 um wide dendritic tree composed of multibranched, beaded and appendage-bearing dendrites mostly confined to stratum 2 of the IPL (Fig.6).

Fig. 6. Golgi drawings of A2 amacrine cellsin cat and human retinas

Intracellular recordings from A2 cells (formerly called A4) indicate that these cells give true slow potential hyperpolarizing response to light (OFF-center) at all positions of the slit in their receptive fields and they have no sign of an inhibitory surround (Fig. 7) (Kolb and Nelson, 1984).

A2 cells receive bipolar input from OFF-center types of cone bipolar cell of sublamina a and make reciprocal synapses to these bipolar axons (Fig. 7). A2 amacrine cells then synapse upon OFF-center ganglion cell dendrites of sublamina a. The A2 cell makes an inhibitory synapses upon these ganglion cells, because it is thought to be a glycinergic cell type (Wassle et al., 2009 ).

A possible role for A2 amacrines is in disinhibition of the ganglion cells center responses. Alternatively, A2 cells, despite being small-field types, might have a role in the generation of antagonistic surrounds of ganglion cells (Kolb and Nelson, 1993). A2 cells receive a great many amacrine inputs to their dendritic trees which could be from wider field cells than they are are themselves so giving them a much larger receptive field size than their actual dendritic tree size would indicate.

Fig. 7. Summary diagram of A2 amacrine cells wiring pattern and physiological responses to light

A3, knotty Type 2 amacrine cells.

A small-field amacrine cell that branches in S2 and S3 (i.e. across the sublamina a/b border) is seen in cat and human retina with Golgi staining (Kolb et al., 1981; Kolb et al., 1992) (Fig. 7a). The same amacrine has been called a knotty Type2 amacrine cell in Golgi studies (Mariani, 1990) and immunostaining in the macaque retina (Klump et al., 2009). The A3 cell is clearly immunostained with parvalbumin (Fig. 7b) and has the typical A3 morphology and small field multibranched dendrites with large varicosities (Fig. 7a, b) (Klump et al., 2009). The varicose dendrites branch broadly through strata S2 and S3, so they are in a position to interact with both flat midget cone bipolars or other narrow field cone bipolars of the OFF sublamina a, and with cone bipolar cells of stratum 3 in the ON sublamina b.

Fig. 7a. A3 or knotty type 2 amacrines are seen in whole mount Golgi staining (left) and their physiological response to light is an ON center response (right) (adapted from Klump et al., 2009).

Fig. 7b. Parvalbumin-mmunostained A3 or knotty type2 cells and their neurotransmitter and connectivity. a) An isolated PARV+ amacrine is a small field amacrine cell that branches primarily in S2 and S3 of the IPL (arrow heads show the IPL borders to the inner nuclear layer (INL) and to the ganglion cell layer, GCL). b-d) Shows that the A3 cell colocalizes PARV+ (b) (green) and the glycine transporter Glyt-1 (c) (red) (d) colocalization in yellow). e) The A3 amacrine (green) makes synaptic contact (f) with recoverin-IR flat midget bipolar cells (red) in S2 of the IPL.

A3 or the PARV+ amacrine can be seen to be glycinergic when double immunostained for either glycine (Wassle et al., 2009) or the glycine transporter Glyt-1 (Fig. 7b, the PARV+, A3 colocalizes parvalbumin and Glyt-1, a-d). This small field A3 amacrine has been intracellulaly recorded from by Klump and co-authors (2009) and proves to give an ON response to light stimulation (Fig. 7a, right traces). The PARV+ amacrine is situated amongst the axon terminals of flat (OFF) midget bipolar cells in S2 of the IPL and appears to be either pre or postsynaptic where apposing immunostained profiles occur (Fig. 7b, e and f). The A3 PARV+ cell is also know to be presynaptic to OFF parasol ganglion cells in sublamina a and interact with AII amacrine lobular appendages and starburst amacrine cells of sublamina a (Bordt et al., 2006). A3 cells are also extensively coupled into a network of the same cell type by gap junctions (Klump et al., 2009). The latter authors suggest that A3, knotty Type2 amacrines are driven by ON pathway cone bipolars and inhibit OFF pathways and through synapses upon AII amacrine cells inhibit the transmission of rod signals to these same OFF pathways.

4. AII: a bistratified rod amacrine cell.

Fig. 8. AII amacrine cells intracellularly stained after physiological recording by different methods

Above are shown four examples of the best studied amacrine of all in the vertebrate retina: the AII rod amacrine of the mammalian retina. These cells have been recorded from by microelectrodes and dyes have been iontophoresed into the cell after the intracellular recordings (Nelson, 1982). The AII cell, was first described from Golgi staining and electron microscopic examination (Famiglietti and Kolb, 1975; Kolb and Famiglietti, 1974).

AII is a narrow field amacrine (dendritic tree diameter typically 30-70 um) with a bistratified morphology: the mitral shaped cell body gives off a single, stout apical dendrite and a cluster of lobular appendages (round blobs just below the cell body, Fig. 9) arise from the main dendrite in sublamina a of the IPL (Fig 9). The finer arboreal dendrites (Vaney et al., 1991) penetrate down into sublamina b to end close to the ganglion cell layer (Fig. 9). AII amacrine cells are glycine-immunoreactive (Pourcho and Goebel, 1985; Crooks and Kolb, 1992) and contain the calcium binding proteins parvalbumin, calbindin and calretinin (Wssle et al., 1995). Figure 10 shows a Golgi stained AII amacrine cell in cat and human retinas as seen in a surface view of a wholemount.

Fig. 9. Parvalbumin staining of AII amacrine cells in hamster retina.

Fig. 10 Golgi stained AII amacrine cells seen in wholemount.

In cat and rabbit retinas where AIIs have been recorded from, the AII cell is a rod-dominated depolarizing (ON-center) cell (Bloomfield, 1992; Dacheux and Raviola, 1986; Nelson, 1982). Thus, in the center of its receptive field the cell gives a transient depolarizing response with a pronounced sustained plateau (ON-center) and a long drawn out hyperpolarization after light off (Fig. 11). By 140 um to either side of the center, the response to a light flash is now an inverted response indicating a hyperpolarizing surround (OFF-surround) (Fig. 11) (Nelson, 1982).

Fig. 11. Schematic diagram of the morphology, physiology and wiring pattern of the AII amacrine cell

Electron microscopy has shown that the AII, is primarily postsynaptic to rod bipolar axon terminals in lower sublamina b of the IPL (30% of its input, Strettoi et al., 1992) (Fig. 12, left). Some OFF cone bipolar input is directed at the AIIs lobular appendages in sublamina a (Fig. 13). AIIs major output is upon ganglion cells that have dendrites only in sublamina a. AII cell lobular appendages synapse upon OFF-center ganglion cells (Fig. 12, right) and to OFF-center cone bipolar cell axons (possibly cb1 and cb2 types) in sublamina a (Fig. 13) (Kolb, 1979).

Fig. 12. Electron micrographs of AII amacrine synapses

The AII also passes rod-driven information through the ON-center cone bipolar axons in sublamina b to ON-center ganglion cells by means of gap junctions (Fig. 12, center panel) (Kolb and Famiglietti, 1974; Famiglietti and Kolb, 1975; Kolb, 1979). Several, if not all, cone bipolar axons of sublamina b have gap junctions with AII cell dendrites. A new finding is that even the blue-cone bipolar receives rod signals through this gap junction pathway (Field et al., 2009). AII cells also join with other AII cells by gap junctions in sublamina b of the IPL (Fig. 13, lowest gj) (Famiglietti and Kolb, 1975; Nelson, 1982; Vaney, 1994a). Summary Figure 13 shows the major input and output circuitry of the AII amacrine cell.

Thus, AII cells are almost totally rod-driven by the rod bipolar input in sublamina b of the IPL. However some cone pathway bipolar cell input occurs to their ON-center responses. This could come from from excitatory input from ON-center cone bipolars at the gap junctions (gap junction transmitting both ways), from direct OFF center cone bipolar axon synapses in sublmina a, unlikely, or from other intermediary ON amacrine cells of the cone system (such as A8 and A13, knotty parvalbumin-IR amacrines; Klump et al., 2009).

Fig. 13. Schematic drawing of the wiring pattern of the AII amacrine cell

Click here to see an animation of the wiring pattern of the AII amacrine cells (Quicktime movie)

Several amacrine synapses are seen throughout the AII cells dendritic tree by electron microscopy (Kolb, 1979; Strettoi et al., 1992, Fig. 13, red as). Most of these are unidentified as yet. However, a dopaminergic amacrine cell provides a considerable number of synapses to the AII cell, either directly upon its cell body or upon its lobular appendages (Voigt and Wssle, 1987; Kolb et al, 1991) (see later section on dopamine amacrine cells, A18). Dopamine cells are thought to have a function in the inner retina to uncouple AII amacrine cells from both their contacts with the depolarizing cone bipolar and the AII amacrine coupled network (Daw et al., 1990; Vaney, 1994a). As much as 51% of the input to AII amacrine cells is from various other amacrine cells though, and most of these inputs occur in the central part of the cells dendritic tree in strata 3-4 (Strettoi et al., 1992).

Thus the AII amacrine cells are the major carriers of rod signals to the ganglion cells in the retina. As such they play a role in speeding up the slow potential rod messages for presentation to ganglion cells (Nelson, 1982; Smith, 1994). Their distribution in the retina suggests that they tile the complete retina (Vaney, 1990). AII amacrine cells peak in density at 1.5 mm from the foveal center in monkey and at the area centralis in cat (Vaney, 1984). In addition, because of their high density across all parts of the retina and their synaptic involvement with millions of rod bipolar cells, they may contribute in a major way to the pattern ERG (Zrenner, 1990).

5. A8: a bistratified cone amacrine cell.

A8 is a bistratified, narrow-field amacrine cell which is easy to confuse with AII in wholemount, stained retina (Fig. 14). It actually looks like an upside-down AII cell. A8 has short, wispy processes coming from the apical dendrite to ramify in sublamina a of the IPL whereas heavy beaded dendrites penetrate down to sublamina b, to run in strata 4 and 5. This cell type may correspond to the DAPI-3 of the rabbit retina, described by Vaney (1990) and Bloomfield (1992). It is a glycinergic amacrine cell (Pourcho and Goebel, 1985; Crooks and Kolb,1992; Wassle et al., 2009, Neumann and Haverkamp, 2012).Very recently the A8 amacrine cell population has been demonstrated to immunostain for the protein synaptotagmin-2 (Syt2) in macaque monkey retina (Neumann and Haverkamp, 2012). Syt2 cells peak at a density of 1400/mm2 at 1-2 mm and subside to 22/mm2 at 9-10 mm of eccentricity (Neumann and Haverkamp, 2012).

Fig. 14. Golgi and HRP appearance of A8 amacrine cells

The A8 cell has been intracellularly recorded and studied by electron microscopy after iontophoresis of horseradish peroxidase. In Fig. 15 we can see the synapses of this cell type.

Fig.15. Synapses in the IPL of a HR-peroxidase injected A8 cell

The A8 amacrine cell is involved in the cone pathways of the cat retina, rather than the rod pathways, that the AII is committed to. Thus, in sublamina a, excitatory cone driven signals come from cone bipolar cells like cb2 which we know are OFF center in physiology (Fig. 15a), and in sublamina b from cb6, another OFF-center bipolar cell (Fig. 15d) (Nelson and Kolb, 1983). Altogether cone bipolar synapses account for 42% of the input to A8 cells. Lesser rod bipolar input (20%) also occurs to the lower dendrites in sublamina b of the IPL. Like AII amacrine cells, A8 cells also engages in gap junctions with a cone bipolar type of sublamina b, but the bipolar is a different type, possibly cb6, and in addition to the gap junction makes the common ribbon synapse to A8 dendrites (Figs. 15c and d). A8s major output is to OFF-center beta ganglion cell dendrites in sublamina a of the IPL (Fig. 15b). We have not seen A8 synapses to OFF-center alpha cells in the cat retina (Kolb and Nelson, 1996). The input and output synapses for A8 amacrine cells are seen in the summary diagram of Figure 16 and the animation below.

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Roles of Amacrine Cells by Helga Kolb Webvision

Why are Adult Stem Cells Important? | Boston Children’s …

By Adult Stem Cells

Adult stem cells are the bodys toolbox, called into action by normal wear and tear on the body, and when serious damage or disease attack. Researchers believe that adult stem cells also have the potential, as yet untapped, to be tools in medicine. Scientists and physicians are working towards being able to treat patients with their own stem cells, or with banked donor stem cells that match them genetically.

Grown in large enough numbers in the lab, then transplanted into the patient, these cells could repair an injury or counter a diseaseproviding more insulin-producing cells for people with type 1 diabetes, for example, or cardiac muscle cells to help people recover from a heart attack. This approach is called regenerative medicine.

A number of challenges must be overcome before the full therapeutic potential of adult stem cells can be realized. Scientists are exploring practical ways of harvesting and maintaining most types of adult stem cells. Right now, scientists do not have the ability to grow the cells in the amounts needed for treatment. More work is also needed to find practical ways to direct the different kinds of cells to where theyre needed in the body, preferably without the need for surgery or other invasive methods.

Research in all aspects of adult stem cells and their potential is underway at Childrens Hospital Boston. Realizing that potential will require years of research, but promising strides are being made.

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Why are Adult Stem Cells Important? | Boston Children's ...

Adult Stem Cells Effective Against MS | National Review Online

By Adult Stem Cells

THIS CANT BE TRUE! Embryonic stem cells are the ONLY HOPE, the scientists and their media and celebrity camp followers repeatedly insistedas they urged priority funding for studies from embryonic.

Except, those who argued that adult stem cells offered great potential are the ones being proven rightas embryonic successes are almost nowhere to be seen.

Now, the early indications of a possibly efficacious treatment for MS are looking to be even more hopeful. From the Science Alert story:

A group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have had their immune systems destroyed and then rebuilt using their own blood stem cells. Three years later, 86 percent of them have had no relapses, and 91 percent are showing no signs of MS development.

Wunderbar.

Now, think of the people with MS who have had assisted suicide out of despair, cheered on by the death with dignity crowd. In Belgium, some MS patients have even coupled their killings with organ harvesting.

Youd think this ongoing success would make huge headlines. I mean, imagine if it was an embryonic stem cell success. But for the media, adult stem cells are still the wrong stem cells.

Heres a good formula going forward: Good ethics = good science = good medicine = true hope.

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Adult Stem Cells Effective Against MS | National Review Online

Merkel Cell Carcinoma Treatment – National Cancer Institute

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General Information About Merkel Cell Carcinoma Key Points

Merkel cells are found in the top layer of the skin. These cells are very close to the nerve endings that receive the sensation of touch. Merkel cell carcinoma, also called neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin or trabecular cancer, is a very rare type of skin cancer that forms when Merkel cells grow out of control. Merkel cell carcinoma starts most often in areas of skin exposed to the sun, especially the head and neck, as well as the arms, legs, and trunk.

Anatomy of the skin showing the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. Merkel cells are in the layer of basal cells at the deepest part of the epidermis and are connected to nerves.

Merkel cell carcinoma tends to grow quickly and to metastasize (spread) at an early stage. It usually spreads first to nearby lymph nodes and then may spread to lymph nodes or skin in distant parts of the body, lungs, brain, bones, or other organs.

Anything that increases your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer; not having risk factors doesn't mean that you will not get cancer. Talk with your doctor if you think you may be at risk. Risk factors for Merkel cell carcinoma include the following:

This and other changes in the skin may be caused by Merkel cell carcinoma or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you see changes in your skin.

Merkel cell carcinoma usually appears on sun-exposed skin as a single lump that is:

The following tests and procedures may be used:

The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on the following:

Prognosis also depends on how deeply the tumor has grown into the skin.

The process used to find out if cancer has spread to other parts of the body is called staging. The information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.

The following tests and procedures may be used in the staging process:

Sentinel lymph node biopsy of the skin. A radioactive substance and/or blue dye is injected near the tumor (first panel). The injected material is detected visually and/or with a probe that detects radioactivity (middle panel). The sentinel nodes (the first lymph nodes to take up the material) are removed and checked for cancer cells (last panel).

Cancer can spread through tissue, the lymph system, and the blood:

When cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. Cancer cells break away from where they began (the primary tumor) and travel through the lymph system or blood.

The metastatic tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if Merkel cell carcinoma spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are actually cancerous Merkel cells. The disease is metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, not liver cancer.

Pea, peanut, walnut, and lime show tumor sizes.

In stage 0, the tumor is a group of abnormal cells that remain in the place where they first formed and have not spread. These abnormal cells may become cancer and spread to lymph nodes or distant parts of the body.

In stage IA, the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller at its widest point and no cancer is found when the lymph nodes are checked under a microscope.

In stage IB, the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller at its widest point and no swollen lymph nodes are found by a physical exam or imaging tests.

In stage IIA, the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters and no cancer is found when the lymph nodes are checked under a microscope.

In stage IIB, the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters and no swollen lymph nodes are found by a physical exam or imaging tests.

In stage IIC, the tumor may be any size and has spread to nearby bone, muscle, connective tissue, or cartilage. It has not spread to lymph nodes or distant parts of the body.

In stage IIIA, the tumor may be any size and may have spread to nearby bone, muscle, connective tissue, or cartilage. Cancer is found in the lymph nodes when they are checked under a microscope.

In stage IIIB, the tumor may be any size and may have spread to nearby bone, muscle, connective tissue, or cartilage. Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes near the tumor and is found by a physical exam or imaging test. The lymph nodes are removed and cancer is found in the lymph nodes when they are checked under a microscope. There may also be a second tumor, which is either:

In stage IV, the tumor may be any size and has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the liver, lung, bone, or brain.

Recurrent Merkel cell carcinoma is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The cancer may come back in the skin, lymph nodes, or other parts of the body. It is common for Merkel cell carcinoma to recur.

Different types of treatments are available for patients with Merkel cell carcinoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.

One or more of the following surgical procedures may be used to treat Merkel cell carcinoma:

Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.

Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.

Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.

Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.

Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's listing of clinical trials.

Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.

Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.

Treatment of stage I and stage II Merkel cell carcinoma may include the following:

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin and stage II neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Treatment of stage III Merkel cell carcinoma may include the following:

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Treatment of stage IV Merkel cell carcinoma may include the following as palliative treatment to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life:

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage IV neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Treatment of recurrent Merkel cell carcinoma may include the following:

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

For more information from the National Cancer Institute about Merkel cell carcinoma, see the following:

For general cancer information and other resources from the National Cancer Institute, see the following:

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

Editorial changes were made to this summary.

Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.

PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal governments center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.

This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the treatment of merkel cell carcinoma. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.

Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") is the date of the most recent change.

The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board.

A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.

Clinical trials are listed in PDQ and can be found online at NCI's website. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

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The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:

National Cancer Institute: PDQ Merkel Cell Carcinoma Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Date last modified . Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/types/skin/patient/merkel-cell-treatment-pdq. Accessed .

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Merkel Cell Carcinoma Treatment - National Cancer Institute

Blindness Cure: UK Scientists Working On Stem-Cell …

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Scientists Are 'Looking Into' A New Medication For Tuberculosis (Photo : ORBIS EMEA Saving Sight Worldwide)

The London Project to Cure Blindnessdeveloped a trial for a new treatment that's derived from stem cells to treat wet' age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and the trial is currently taking place at the Moorfields Eye Hospital after the successful outcome on a patient dealing with the health issue.

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"There is real potential that people with wet age-related macular degeneration will benefit in the future from transplantation of these cells," says retinal surgeon Professor Lyndon Da Cruz from Moorfields Eye Hospital, who is performing the operations and is co-leading the London Project, in a news release. Though the London Project to Cure Blindness was established 10 years ago, this first operation represents a major milestone, according to researchers, with an aim to cure vision in patients who lost their sight to wet AMD.

In the trial, researchers are investigating the safety and efficacy of transplanting eye cells (retinal pigment epithelium) to treat those with sudden severe visual loss from wet AMD--cells that are used to replace those found at the back of the eye that are also diseased in AMD; this is done when using a specially engineered patch that's inserted behind the retina in an operation lasting one to two hours, researchers say.

While in macular degeneration, the RPE cells die and the eye loses its function, patients dealing with wet AMD lose their central vision, which becomes distorted and blurred.

"This is truly a regenerative project. In the past it's been impossible to replace lost neural cells," Da Cruz adds."If we can deliver the very layer of cells that is missing and give them their function back this would be of enormous benefit to people with the sight-threatening condition".

The trial will recruit 10 patients in a period of over 18 months. Each patient will then be followed for a year to assess safety and stability of the cells, as well as determine whether there is an effect in restoring vision.

If successful, researchers are hopeful that it could help patients in the early stages of dry AMD.

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TagsHealth, Human, The London Project to Cure Blindness, Trial, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Patient, Wet AMD, Vision, eyes, Cells, Degeneration

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Blindness Cure: UK Scientists Working On Stem-Cell ...

Regenerative Medicine and Stem cell based Cell therapies …

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SOURCE Reportlinker

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative Therapies for treating diseases are being sought after with fresh vigor as new targets, approaches and biology is discovered. Improved health care, nutrition and preventive medicine in the last few decades have all helped in increasing the life expectancy WW. However, this has not translated into any reduction in the incidence or prevalence of chronic or critical illnesses! On the contrary the incidence of chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, arthritis etc. as well as cancer and the maladies associated with aging (dementia, Alzheimer's etc.) are on the rise!. Consequently the pharma industry continues to grow and is projected to

achieve sales in excess of trillion dollar mark by 2020 By the next decade, one field which is poised to bring a paradigm change in the way diseases are treated is the Stem cell therapy/Regenerative Medicine space. The number of companies and products in the clinic have reached a critical mass warranting a close watch for those interested in keeping pace with the development of new medicines.

Regenerative Medicine and Stem cell based Cell therapies-Drugs of the Future Offering Hope for Cure

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

- INTRODUCTION

- Tough Choice- "Autologous vs. Allogenic " Therapies

- REGULATORY GUIDELINES

- Marketed Cell based/Stem Cell Products

- Progress and Challenges

- Progress in Specific Therapy Areas

- SELECT UPCOMING MILESTONES IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE/STEM

CELL FOCUSED COMPANIES (2015-16)

- Appendix

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p02629094-summary/view-report.html

About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution that finds, filters and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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__________________________ Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/regenerative-medicine-and-stem-cell-based-cell-therapies-drugs-of-the-future-offering-hope-for-cure-300153074.html

2015 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.

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Mississippi Stem Cell Treatment Center – Ocean Springs, MS

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As a national pioneer of innovative medicine, Mississippi Stem Cell Treatment Centers motto Excellence with a Human Touch, is at the forefront of what we do. Located in the city of Ocean Springs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we provide treatment to promote healing and tissue generation to those suffering from autoimmune, degenerative, inflammatory and ischemic conditions. Our team is highly committed to alleviating your symptoms and enhancing your functionality, quality of life, and wellbeing.

We employ a method called Stromal Vascular Fraction deployment (SVF). SVF relies on individual patient stem cells and growth factors, and helps accelerate healing and tissue regeneration. The SVF we collect from patients fat tissue is given back to the individual through the deployment process. SVF is an innovative product that can be used to regenerate different types of tissue throughout the body.

Mississippi Stem Cell Treatment Center is an affiliate of the Cell Surgical Network of CA. Our center meets all FDA guidelines for treating patients using their own tissue for therapy. We provide same-day harvesting and treatment in a state-of-the-art environment, which facilitates a faster recovery.

We provide treatment for anyone suffering in the following areas:

At Mississippi Stem Cell Treatment Center, we offer stem cell center treatments for autoimmune disease, as well as stem cell center treatment for people suffering from other degenerative diseases. For more information on our innovative technology, browse our website for a wealth of information on stem cells, or contact us so we can discuss your individual candidate profile.

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Mississippi Stem Cell Treatment Center - Ocean Springs, MS

Research and Markets: Global Cell Therapy Technologies …

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hrgdr7/cell_therapy) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "Cell Therapy - Technologies, Markets and Companies" to their offering.

This report describes and evaluates cell therapy technologies and methods, which have already started to play an important role in the practice of medicine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is replacing the old fashioned bone marrow transplants. Role of cells in drug discovery is also described. Cell therapy is bound to become a part of medical practice.

The number of companies involved in cell therapy has increased remarkably during the past few years. More than 500 companies have been identified to be involved in cell therapy and 296 of these are profiled in part II of the report along with tabulation of 280 alliances. Of these companies, 167 are involved in stem cells. Profiles of 72 academic institutions in the US involved in cell therapy are also included in part II along with their commercial collaborations. The text is supplemented with 62 Tables and 17 Figures. The bibliography contains 1,200 selected references, which are cited in the text.

Stem cells are discussed in detail in one chapter. Some light is thrown on the current controversy of embryonic sources of stem cells and comparison with adult sources. Other sources of stem cells such as the placenta, cord blood and fat removed by liposuction are also discussed. Stem cells can also be genetically modified prior to transplantation.

Cell therapy technologies overlap with those of gene therapy, cancer vaccines, drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Pharmaceutical applications of stem cells including those in drug discovery are also described. Various types of cells used, methods of preparation and culture, encapsulation and genetic engineering of cells are discussed. Sources of cells, both human and animal (xenotransplantation) are discussed. Methods of delivery of cell therapy range from injections to surgical implantation using special devices.

Cell therapy has applications in a large number of disorders. The most important are diseases of the nervous system and cancer which are the topics for separate chapters. Other applications include cardiac disorders (myocardial infarction and heart failure), diabetes mellitus, diseases of bones and joints, genetic disorders, and wounds of the skin and soft tissues.

Regulatory and ethical issues involving cell therapy are important and are discussed. Current political debate on the use of stem cells from embryonic sources (hESCs) is also presented. Safety is an essential consideration of any new therapy and regulations for cell therapy are those for biological preparations.

The cell-based markets was analyzed for 2014, and projected to 2024.The markets are analyzed according to therapeutic categories, technologies and geographical areas. The largest expansion will be in diseases of the central nervous system, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. Skin and soft tissue repair as well as diabetes mellitus will be other major markets.

Key Topics Covered:

Part I: Technologies, Ethics & Regulations

0. Executive Summary

1. Introduction to Cell Therapy

2. Cell Therapy Technologies

3. Stem Cells

4. Clinical Applications of Cell Therapy

5. Cell Therapy for Cancer

6. Cell Therapy for Neurological Disorders

7. Ethical, Legal and Political Aspects of Cell therapy

8. Safety and Regulatory Aspects of Cell Therapy

Part II: Markets, Companies & Academic Institutions

9. Markets and Future Prospects for Cell Therapy

10. Companies Involved in Cell Therapy

11. Academic Institutions

12. References

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hrgdr7/cell_therapy

Source: Jain PharmaBiotech

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