Yearly Archives: 2017


Stem Cell Clinic > 2017

CAR T-Cell Therapy Effective in Multiple Myeloma – Cancer Network

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Wanhong Zhao, MD, PhD, presenting results of the study; photo by ASCO/Scott Morgan 2017

A new type of immunotherapychimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy targeting B-cell maturation protein (BCMA)may be a new effective type of treatment for patients with multiple myeloma, according to the results of a single-arm study (abstract LBA3001) presented at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held June 26.

Our results show clinical and reproducible therapeutic efficacy in refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma disease, said Wanhong Zhao, MD, PhD, an associate director of hematology at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xian Jiaotong University in China, who presented the results.

With longer than 1 year of follow-up, early patients enrolled on the study are showing durable and stringent complete remissions, according to Zhao.

In recent years, CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD19 has been shown to be very effective in trials of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, there had been little success with CAR T-cell therapy targeting other biomarkers in other types of cancer.

Zhao and colleagues conducted a single-arm trial to assess the safety and efficacy of this treatment approach in patients with multiple myeloma. The presentation included data from the first 35 patients enrolled in the ongoing trial.

The overall response rate was 100%; 33 of the 35 patients (94%) had clinical remission of myeloma, with either complete response or very good partial response occurring within 2 months of undergoing CAR T-cell therapy. First signs of efficacy appeared as early as 10 days after treatment initiation.

Of the 35 patients, 19 have been followed for longer than 4 months. Of these patients, 14 have reached stringent complete response, 4 patients have achieved very good partial response, and 1 patient has achieved partial response.

In addition, there are 5 patients who have been followed for longer than 1 year; all of these patients remain in stringent complete remission and are free of minimal residual disease.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a common adverse effect related to CAR T-cell therapy. CRS occurred in 85% of patients. Among the 35 patients, 6 patients remained free of any CRS; 17 had grade 1, 10 had grade 2, and 2 had grade 3. No grade 4 or 5 CRS occurred and there were no treatment-related deaths.

According to Zhao, a US clinical trial of this technology is currently underway.

Commenting on the results of this study, ASCO Expert Michael S. Sabel, MD, FACS, of the University of Michigan, said that these results were revolutionary and show that immunotherapy is beginning to provide hope to patients with cancers that are not responding to standard chemotherapy.

You are now seeing a merger of immunotherapy with precision therapy and this is the epitome of personalized medicine, Sabel said. Now you see the ability to combine personalized medicine and immunotherapy to gear T cells to recognize patients own specific tumor. This opens the door to using precision immunotherapy to expand the potential of immunotherapy to a wider net of patients.

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CAR T-Cell Therapy Effective in Multiple Myeloma - Cancer Network

Texas is leading the charge on stem cell therapy ThinkProgress – ThinkProgress

By Stem Cell Treatment

In the last weeks of the legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed a historic bill that legalizes investigative stem cell treatments for chronically ill patients. Despite the prevalence of unregulated stem cell clinics in the United States, this could be the first time a state has authorized the treatment for chronic illnesses, if the states governor approves the legislation.

Youre watching an episode of In Session, a weekly series exploring interesting policy changes on the state level.

PHOEBE GAVIN, ThinkProgress: Youll never guess which state is on track to become the first to recognize stem cell therapy as a treatment for chronic illnesses. Ill give you a hint: its former governor and our former president once banned federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells

You guessed it: Its The Lone Star State!

In the last week of its legislative session, Texas lawmakers approved a bill that legalizes Investigational Stem Cell Treatment, which basically means treatments that have been evaluated by an institutional review board but have not yet been approved by the FDA.

Keep in mind, though: this isnt about embryonic stem cells. The cells will come from banked umbilical cords and the patients themselves, who will be allowed to pursue the treatment as a last resort. So people who suffer from debilitating chronic illnesses like Parkinsons, ALS, and multiple sclerosis could see relief.

For TX Rep. Springer, this is personal.

REP. DREW SPRINGER (R-TX68): I pray to God every time I go to mass, every time I close my eyes, that one day my wifeand not for my sake, but for her sakewould have the chance to have that opportunity again to be able to walk.

GAVIN: The bill almost missed the deadline until he came to the podium. After his plea, it unanimously passed the House and sailed through the Senate. It now awaits Gov. Greg Abbotts signature, and hes already tweeted his support for it.

But not everyone is on board. Two different stem-cell research organizations have vocalized their opposition, arguing that the lack of quote rigorous evidence of safety and efficacy would put vulnerable patients at risk.

But the reality is, patients have already been taking this risk without the states explicit authorization. There are hundreds of clinics across the country that have been operating under regulatory loopholesat least 71 in TX alone. Without regulation, these clinics are completely unchecked. And patients who seek help there have felt the consequences: theyve been blinded, developed tumors and even died after seeking unregulated stem cell treatment. But with this new bill, if something goes wrong, patients have the right to sue.

So there you goTexas, creating accountability for stem cell clinics for the first time in the US. An unprecedented act from a unpredictable state.

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Texas is leading the charge on stem cell therapy ThinkProgress - ThinkProgress

Stem cell treatment for lethal STAT1 gene mutation produces mixed … – Medical Xpress

By Stem Cell Treatment

June 8, 2017 One example of STAT1 GOF Mutation phenotype. Credit: Hiroshima University

Researchers report the first-ever study assessing how patients with "gain of function" mutation of the STAT1 gene respond to stem cell transplantation. It involved 15 young patients from nine different countries, each suffering a range of complications caused by the gene's mutation.

Of these, only six survived a regime of stem cell transplantationwith five completely cured and disease free by the study's conclusion.

The study was carried out by Dr. Satoshi Okada (Hiroshima University), Professor Jennifer Leiding (University of Florida), Professor Tomohiro Morio (Tokyo Medical and Dental University), and Professor Troy Torgerson (University of Washington).

Dr. Okada, who first discovered the STAT1 gain of function mutation in 2011, says, "Overall, this result is disappointing but the fact that five patients were cured proves that treatment with stem cells can work, and we now need to learn from these 15 individual cases."

The STAT1 gene plays a vital role in the body's immune system. Rare mutations can lead to STAT1's over-activation (GOF) and autoimmunity.

While the majority of patients afflicted typically show mild to moderate symptoms involving fungal (mostly Candida), bacterial, and viral infectionsabout 10 percent of cases are severe and life threatening.

Until now, developing suitable treatments has been challenging; e.g. anti-fungal drugs temporarily treat the symptoms but not the source mutation, and immunosuppressive therapies often do more harm than good by knocking out already overburdened immune systems.

With only one confirmed case prior to this study of a sufferer being successfully cured using stem cell transplantation, researchers are keen to build an understanding of best practices in order to offer real hope for the typically young sufferers of this condition.

The 15 selected patients were sourced via an international appeal to transplant centers and consortiums. Their ages ranged from 13 months to 33 years at the time of treatment. Screening by HU researchers confirmed that each had the STAT1-GOF mutation, and that the mutation was the source of their ailments.

Treatment was carried out independently by centers around the world. It used chemotherapy to eradicate the host's bone marrowthe source of the damaging STAT1 mutation in these patients. Healthy stem cell cultures sourced from donors were then transplanted into the subjects with the aim of reconstituting their bone marrow to a mutation-free, disease-fighting state.

The researchers suspect three reasons for the low 40 percent success rate:

In response, the researchers have made several proposals for improving this treatment. Due to most of the patients having mild to moderate ailments, only those suffering from severe symptoms should undergo this treatment. In addition, the chemotherapy dosage should be reduced. Those who received low-dose chemotherapy reacted better.

However, a balance must be struck. Low-dose chemotherapy may not eradicate host bone marrow to the extent required for its reconditioning the chance of transplant rejection is thus increased. With this in mind, support treatment may be required to neutralize host antibodies and prevent attacks of introduced stem cells.

Finally, due to the relative success seen in younger patients, stem cell transplantation should occur at as early an age as possible. Due to recent advancements in STAT1-GOF diagnosis, early detection is now a very real possibility hopefully leading to greater success rates, and less suffering for those carrying this potentially devastating mutation.

Explore further: 'Smart' genetic library makes disease diagnosis easier

More information: Jennifer W. Leiding et al. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with Gain of Function STAT1 Mutation, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.03.049

Researchers at Hiroshima University have developed a smart genetic reference library for locating and weeding out disease-causing mutations in populations.

A single blood test and basic information about a patient's medical status can indicate which patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are likely to benefit from a stem cell transplant, and the intensity of pre-transplant ...

UCLA researchers have developed a stem cell gene therapy cure for babies born with adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency, a rare and life-threatening condition that can be fatal within the first year ...

Physicians at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System have cured 12 adult patients of sickle cell disease using a unique procedure for stem cell transplantation from healthy, tissue-matched siblings.

Using a technique that avoids the use of high-dose chemotherapy and radiation in preparation for a stem cell transplant, physicians at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System have documented the first ...

A large, nationwide study published in the journal JAMA Oncology found that people who received transplants of cells collected from a donor's bone marrow the original source for blood stem cell transplants, developed decades ...

Researchers at UC Berkeley have found unexpected effects of viral infections, a discovery that may explain why viruses can make people feel so lousy.

In news that may bring hope to asthma sufferers, scientists discover a mechanism that provides a possible new target for allergy treatments.

(HealthDay)Administration of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in patients with allergic asthma leads to lower short-term symptom and medication scores, according to a review published online May 19 in Allergy.

A single treatment giving life-long protection from severe allergies such as asthma could be made possible by immunology research at The University of Queensland.

Malaria caused by Plasmodium parasites is a life-threatening infectious disease that kills at least half a million people annually while causing over 200 million new infections. In some cases, complications can quickly develop ...

Virtually the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa, and some 70% of African Americans, carry a gene variant (allele) which results in a trait referred to as Duffy-negative. It has long been known that carriers of this ...

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Stem cell treatment for lethal STAT1 gene mutation produces mixed ... - Medical Xpress

Stem Cell Therapy: Repair and Regenerate Our Bodies – Live … – Live Trading News

By Stem Cell Treatment

Stem Cell Therapy: Repair and Regenerate Our Bodies

$USRM

Stem Cells 101: The primary purpose of stem cells is to maintain, heal and regenerate tissues wherever they reside in the body. This is a continuous process that occurs inside the body throughout life. If we did not have stem cells, our lifespan would be about 1 hour, because there would be nothing to replace exhausted cells or damaged tissue.

Notably: any time the body is exposed to any sort of toxin, the inflammatory process causes stem cells to swarm the area to repair the damage.

While it is easy to think of stem cell therapy as some sort of magic, it is wise to implement strategies that nourish and optimize the stem cells we already have in your body.

Dr. Kristin Comella, a notable Stem Cell innovator, writes: You have to create an appropriate environment for these cells to function in. If you are putting garbage into your body and youre constantly burdening your body with toxins, your stem cells are getting too distracted trying to fight off those toxins. By creating an appropriate environment, optimizing your diet and reducing exposure to toxins, that will allow the stem cells that were putting in to really home in and focus on the true issue that were trying to treat.

The other thing weve discovered over the years is that [stem cell therapy] is not the type of thing where you take one dose and youre cured forever. Your tissues are constantly getting damaged Youre going to have to repeat-dose and use those stem cells to your advantage.

When you think about a lizard that loses its tail, it takes two years to grow back the tail. Why would we put unrealistic expectations on the stem cells that were trying to apply to repair or replace damaged tissue? This is a very slow process. This is something that will occur over months and may require repeat dosing.

Stem cells historically were isolated from bone marrow, and have been used for bone marrow transplants for cancer patients since the 1930s. However, we can get stem cells from just about any tissue in the body, every tissue contains stem cells.

Actually our marrow has very low amounts of mesenchymal stem cells, which are now believed to be the most important, from a therapeutic perspective.

Mesenchymal stem cells help trigger an immunomodulatory response or a paracrine effect, which means they send signals out to the rest of the body, calling cells to the area to help promote healing.

What weve discovered in more recent years is that a more plentiful source of stem cells is actually your fat tissue. [Body] fat can contain up to 500 times more cells than your bone marrow, as far as these mesenchymal type stem cells go.

One thing thats also critically important when youre talking about isolating the cells is the number of other cells that are going to be part of that population. When youre isolating a bone marrow sample, this actually is very high in white blood cells, which are pro-inflammatory, Ms. Comella writes.

White blood cells are part of the human immune response.

When an injury occurs, or a foreign body enters our system, white blood cells will attack. Unfortunately, white blood cells do not discriminate, and can create quite a bit of damage as they clean the area out.

Stem cells, in particular the mesenchymal cells, quiet down the white blood cells and then start the regeneration phase, which leads to new tissue. Bone marrow tends to be very high in white blood cells and low in the mesenchymal cells.

So, isolating stem cells from fat tissue is preferred not only because its easier on the patient, but fat also contains a higher population of mesenchymal cells and fewer white blood cells.

The benefit also of isolating [stem cells from] fat is that its a relatively simple procedure. Theres typically no shortage of fat tissue, especially in Americans, Dr.. Comella says. Also, as you age, your bone marrow declines with regards to the number of cells in it, whereas the fat tissue maintains a pretty high number of stem cells, even in older individuals.

Fat can be successfully harvested from just about anyone, regardless of their age or how thin they are. The procedure is done under local anesthesia, meaning that the patient stays awake. We can harvest as few as 15 cubic centimeters of fat, which is a very small amount of fat, and still get a very high number of stem cells.

A stem cell procedure can cost anywhere from $5,000 15,000, depending on what one is having done, and rarely if ever will insurance cover it.

Still, when compared it to the cost of long-term medications or the out-of-pocket cost of getting a knee replacement, stem cell therapy may still be a less expensive alternative.

Also, a single extraction will typically yield enough stem cells for 20 to 25 future treatments, should one decide to store his/her stem cells for future needs.

I think its accessible for patients, Dr.. Comella says. Its an out-patient procedure. You plan to be in clinic for about two hours; no real limitations afterwards, just no submerging in water, no alcohol, no smoking for a week. But other than that, patients can resume their normal activities and go about their regular daily lives.

She notes that patients who eat a very healthy diet, focusing on Organic and grass fed foods, have body fat that is very hearty and almost sticky, yielding high amounts of very healthy stem cells.

We can grow much better and faster stem cells from that fat than [the fat from] somebody who eats a grain-based diet or is exposed to a lot of toxins in their diet, she says. Their fat tends to be very fluffy, buttery yellow. The cells that come out of that are not necessarily as good a quality. Its just been very interesting. And of note, patients that are cigarette smokers, their fat is actually gray-tinged in color. The stem cells do not grow well at all.

What has been described above is whats called an autologous donation, meaning a person is getting the stem cells from oneself. A number of companies provide non-autologous donations using cells harvested from other people, typically women, like amniotic or embryonic mesenchymal cells.

This is an important distinction.

There are now just a couple of studies that have been published comparing an autologous source, meaning cells from you own body, to an allogeneic source, meaning cells from someone else.

So far, what has been discovered is that the autologous cells will outperform somebody elses cells inside ones body. This is not fully understood yet. It may be that the environment that ones own cells function in, and that they used to that environment. They recognize it. It is the same DNA and they can function well there.

But, once the culture is expanded and a pure population of these mesenchymal cells, not necessarily the sample thats coming right off of the liposuction, but a sample that has been taken to the lab and grown, those cells will not elicit an immune response if you use them in someone else. You could scientifically and medically use those in an unmatched person. However, there are some regulatory aspects of that with regards to the FDA.

In the US, there are a variety of new stem cell products available, referred to as amniotic, cord blood products or placenta products, which are prepared at a tissue bank. Such facilities must be registered with the FDA, and the products must undergo additional processing.

For example, they must be morselized, or snap frozen or blended in some way. Such processing typically breaks the membrane, releasing growth factors, and the resulting products are called acellular, meaning there are no living cells remaining in the sample.

The amniotic products available in the US are not so much stem cell products as they are growth factor products.

Dr. Comella notes: They can be useful in creating an immunomodulatory response, which can help to promote healing, but that still differs from the living stem cell procedures that can be done by either isolating cells from your fat or bone marrow. As a general rule, you do not achieve the clinical benefits when using an amniotic product, primarily because they do not contain living stem cells.

I want to contrast that to what are called embryonic stem cells, Dr. Comella adds. The products obtained from cord blood, from women who are having babies, are not embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are when you are first bringing the egg and sperm together. Three days after that, you can isolate what is called an inner cell mass. This inner cell mass can be used to then grow cells in culture, or that inner cell mass could eventually lead to the formation of a baby.

Those are embryonic stem cells, and those are pluripotential, meaning that they have the ability to form an entire being, versus adult stem cells or stem cells that are present in amniotic tissue, [which] are multipotential, which only have the ability to form subsets of tissue.

When youre dealing with different diseases or damaged tissue or inflammation, mostly you want to repair tissue. If somebody has damage in their knee, they dont necessarily need embryonic cells because they dont need a baby in their knee. They need new cartilage in their knee.

A common question is whether stem cells can cause overgrowth, leading to cancer or tumor formation.

As noted by Dr. Comella, this is a problem associated with embryonic stem cells, which tend to grow very rapidly and can form a teratoma because of the rapid cell growth. Adult stem cells, the cells obtained from ones own body, have growth inhibitions and will not form teratomas.

The theoretical concern that has been addressed in animal models or in petri dishes is that if you take cancer cells that are growing in a dish and apply stem cells, it may make those cancer cells grow more rapidly. But this does not translate in-vivo to humans.

If there was truly an issue with applying stem cells to a patient who has cancer, we would know about it by now, because weve been dosing cancer patients with stem cells since the 1930s. The safety profile is strong and there are tens of thousands of patients documented with these treatments, Dr. Comella says.

Another useful therapy is platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Our peripheral blood contains platelets, which act as 1st responders when theres an injury. They come in and start the clotting mechanism, thereby preventing one from bleeding to death. They also give marching orders to other cells.

For example: platelets can command stem cells to multiply and grow, or to differentiate and form new tissue.

These platelets also have many different growth factors associated with them, which can help to promote healing and stop inflammation. PRP involves taking a blood sample and then spinning the blood in a centrifuge to isolate the platelets. The platelet-rich plasma is then injected back into the area that is inflamed.

One of the most common uses of platelet-rich plasma or PRP is in a joint. Now, platelets are going to be most successful in something that is rich in stem cells [such as] an acute or a very recent injury.

If you just hurt your knee, the first thing you should do is get PRP, because its going to help promote healing, and those platelets will attach to the surface receptors of the stem cells that are already going to the area to promote healing. It would be like putting fertilizer on your seed, which are the stem cells.

If you have something more chronic, this tends to be a stem cell-poor environment. In other words, you have osteoarthritis or youve got knee pain thats 5 years old and its been there for a long time; just putting PRP in it would be like putting fertilizer on dirt without planting a seed first.

The beauty of stem cell therapy is that it mimics a process that is ongoing in the human body all the time. Our stem cells are continuously promoting healing, and they do not have to be manipulated in any way. The stem cells naturally know how to home in on areas of inflammation and how to repair damaged tissue.

All were doing is harnessing the cells from one location where theyre sitting dormant and relocating them to exactly where we want them and we need them to work, Dr. Comella says. Basically, anything inside your body that is inflamed, that is damaged in some way, that is lacking blood supply, the [stem] cells can successfully treat.

That means orthopedics, knee injections, shoulder injections, osteoarthritis, acute injuries, anterior cruciate ligament tears in the back, back pain associated with degenerative disc disease or damaged tendons or ligaments, herniated and bulging discs. You can also use it in systemic issues, everything from diabetes, to cardiac, to lungs, any tissue organ inside your body that has been damaged.

Autoimmune diseases can also be treated. The stem cells are naturally immunosuppressant, meaning they can help quiet down an over reactive immune system and help the immune system function in a more normal way. Neurological diseases, traumatic brain injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinsons. All of these have to do with tissue thats not functioning properly. The cells can be used to address that.

It is very impressive, the list of different diseases that could benefit from this intervention.

Again, it is not magic, but one can dramatically improve the benefits of this intervention by combining it with other healthy lifestyle factors that optimize mitochondrial function, such as eating a healthy Real food diet, exercising, sleeping well, avoiding toxins and detoxifying from toxic influences.

Stem Cells for Anti-Aging: Stem cells can also be used as part of an anti-aging program.

Dr. Comella has used stem cells on herself for several years, and report feeling better now than she did 10 year ago.

She writes,The ability to reduce inflammation inside your body is basically making yourself live longer. Inflammation is what kills us all. Its what makes our telomeres shrink. Its what causes us pain and discomfort. Its what makes the tissues start to die. The ability to dose yourself with stem cells and bring down your inflammation, which is most likely caused by any sort of toxin that youve been exposed to, breathing air is exposure to toxins, this is going to lengthen your lifespan.

I typically will do a dose every six to 12 months, regardless of whats going on. If I have anything that is bothering me, if I tweak my knee at the gym, then I absolutely will come in and do an injection in my knee. I want to keep my tissue healthy for as long as possible.

I want to stay strong. I dont want to wait until something is wrong with me. I think that this is the future of medicine. This is what were going to start to see. People will begin to get their regular doses of [their own] stem cells and itll just be common practice.

Keep in mind theres a gradual and progressive decline in the quality and the number of stem cells as we age, so if considering this approach, it would be to your advantage to extract and bank your stem cells as early on as possible. US Stem Cell provides a stem cell bank service, so one can store them until a later date when you might need them.

Your stem cells are never as young as they are right now. Every minute that you live, your telomeres are shrinking. The ability to lock in the youth of your cells today can be very beneficial for you going forward, and for your health going forward. God forbid something happens. What if you have a heart attack? Youre not going to get clearance to get a mini-lipo aspirate procedure.

If you have your cells waiting in the bank, ready for you, it becomes very easy to pull a dose and do an IV delivery of cells. Its almost criminal that were not doing this for every single one of our cardiac patients. This should be standard practice. We should be having every single patient bank their stem cells at a young age and have them waiting, ready and available. The technology is there. We have it. Im not sure why this technology is not being made available to everyone, she says.

I think stem cell therapy is very different than traditional medicine. Stem cell therapy may actually make it so that you dont have to be dependent on pharmaceutical medications. You can actually repair the tissue and thats it. This is a very different way of viewing medicine.

For a Physician in your area providing the service, you can go there. US Stem Cell can help you locate a qualified doctor.

Eat healthy, Be healthy, Live lively

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John Theurer Cancer Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Announce 100th Blood Stem Cell Transplant – PR Newswire (press release)

By Stem Cell Medical Center

The BMT program at MedStar Georgetown is a joint effort with specialists from John Theurer Cancer Center and a key component of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only cancer program in the Washington, D.C. region designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a comprehensive cancer center.

"Once considered experimental, BMT is today's established gold standard for treating patients with a number of malignant and other non-malignant diseases of the immune system, blood, and bone marrow, including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and acute and chronic leukemia. For some conditions, blood stem cell transplant can provide a cure in patients who have failed conventional therapies," says Scott Rowley, M.D., chief of the BMT program at MedStar Georgetown as well as a member of the John Theurer Cancer Center's Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation. "For some conditions, it can actually be a cure; for others, it prolongs survival and improves quality of life. Having performed 100 BMTs at MedStar Georgetown including allogenic transplantation illustrates the strength and maturity of our program achieved in rather short time."

MedStar Georgetown's program is also the only comprehensive BMT center within Washington, D.C. and southern Maryland with accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) for adult autologous procedures, where the patient donates his or her own cells.

The BMT program at John Theurer Cancer Center is one of the top 10 transplant programs in the United States, with more than 400 transplants performed annually.

A BMT involves a two-step process: first, collecting bone marrow stem cells from the patient and storing them for future use. Then, a week or so later, patients receive high dose chemotherapy to eliminate their disease. The previously stored cells are reinfused back into the bloodstream, where after reaching the bone marrow, they begin repopulating and allow the patient to recover their blood counts over the following 2 weeks.

"Even though BMT is considered standard therapy for myeloma worldwide, in the United States fewer than 50 percent of the patients who could benefit from BMT are referred for evaluation," says David H. Vesole, M.D., Ph.D., co- chief and director of Research of John Theurer Cancer Center's Multiple Myeloma division and director of MedStar Georgetown's Multiple Myeloma Program.

"That's mostly due to physicians' concerns that a patient is too old or compromised from other health conditions like diabetes, cardiac disease or renal failure. But new techniques and better supportive care have improved both patient outcomes and the entire transplant process, extending BMT to more patients than ever before."

The MedStar Georgetown/Georgetown Lombardi Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Program is part of a collaborative cancer research agenda and multi-year plan to form an NCI-recognized cancer consortium. This recognition would support the scientific excellence of the two centers and highlight their capability to integrate multidisciplinary, collaborative research approaches to focus on all the aspects of cancer.

The research areas include expansion of clinical bone marrow transplant research; clinical study of "haplo" transplants use of half-matched stem cell donor cells; re-engineering the function and focus of key immune cells; and the investigation of "immune checkpoint" blocking antibodies that unleash a sustained immune response against cancer cells.

"In this partnership, we've combined John Theurer's strength in clinical care with Georgetown Lombardi's strong research base that significantly contributes to clinical excellence at MedStar Georgetown. By working together, we have broadened our cancer research to offer more effective treatment options for tomorrow's patients," says Andrew Pecora, M.D., FACP, CPE, president of the Physician Enterprise and chief innovations officer, Hackensack Meridian Health. "This is one of many clinical and research areas that have been enhanced by this affiliation."

"Our teams are pursuing specific joint research projects we feel are of the utmost importance and significance in oncology particularly around immuno-oncology as well as precision medicine," says Andr Goy, M.D., MS, chairman of the John Theurer Cancer Center and director of the division chief of Lymphoma; chief science officer and director of Research and Innovation, RCCA; professor of medicine, Georgetown University. "Together our institutions have a tremendous opportunity to transform the delivery of cancer care for our patient populations and beyond."

ABOUT THE JOHN THEURER CANCER CENTER AT HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center is New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, management, research, screenings, and preventive care as well as survivorship of patients with all types of cancers. The 14 specialized divisions covering the complete spectrum of cancer care have developed a close-knit team of medical, research, nursing, and support staff with specialized expertise that translates into more advanced, focused care for all patients. Each year, more people in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area turn to the John Theurer Cancer Center for cancer care than to any other facility in New Jersey. Housed within a 775-bed not-for-profit teaching, tertiary care, and research hospital, the John Theurer Cancer Center provides state-of-the-art technological advances, compassionate care, research innovations, medical expertise, and a full range of aftercare services that distinguish the John Theurer Cancer Center from other facilities.www.jtcancercenter.org.

ABOUT MEDSTAR GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute-care teaching and research hospital with 609 beds located in Northwest Washington, D.C. Founded in the Jesuit principle of cura personaliscaring for the whole personMedStar Georgetown is committed to offering a variety of innovative diagnostic and treatment options within a trusting and compassionate environment. MedStar Georgetown's centers of excellence include neurosciences, transplant, cancer and gastroenterology. Along with Magnet nurses, internationally recognized physicians, advanced research and cutting-edge technologies, MedStar Georgetown's healthcare professionals have a reputation for medical excellence and leadership. For more information please visit: medstargeorgetown.org/bmsct

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, a 775-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county's first hospital, it is now part of one of the largest networks in the state comprised of 28,000 team members and more than 6,000 physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey in U.S. News & World Report's 2016-17 Best Hospital rankings - maintaining its place atop the NJ rankings since the rating system was introduced. It was also named one of the top four New York Metro Area hospitals. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more years in a row. Becker's Hospital Review recognized Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America 2017. The medical center is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth, and received 25 Gold Seals of Approval by The Joint Commission more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its fifth consecutive designation in 2014. Hackensack University Medical Center has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: the John Theurer Cancer Center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women's and Children's Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and listed on the Green Guide's list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Hackensack University Medical Center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is Official Medical Services Provider to The Northern Trust PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events especially the Tackle Kids Cancer Campaign providing much needed research at the Children's Cancer Institute housed at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital. To learn more, visit http://www.HackensackUMC.org.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-theurer-cancer-center-and-medstar-georgetown-university-hospital-announce-100th-blood-stem-cell-transplant-300471445.html

SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health

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John Theurer Cancer Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Announce 100th Blood Stem Cell Transplant - PR Newswire (press release)

New Technology Uses Body Fat to Help Relieve Joint Pain – Healthline

By Stem Cell Medical Center

The Lipogems technology has great promise, but experts say itll take time to assess how successful the new procedure is.

What if you could put that little bit of body fat around your midsection to good use?

A procedure called Lipogems utilizes a persons body fat as a source of stem cells to help treat arthritis and joint conditions.

At least thats the promise.

Lipogems was approved for widespread use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2016, and its already garnering a lot of attention.

Rush University Medical Center recently became the first sports medicine specialists in the Midwest to offer treatment with the device.

The technology is ideal for patients with certain orthopedic conditions, such as painful joints including the knee, ankle, or shoulder with limited range of motion. Additionally, it can be used in soft tissue defects located in tendons, ligaments, and/or muscles to improve the biologic environment, said Dr. Brian Cole, professor of orthopedic surgery, and section head of the Rush Cartilage Restoration Center, in a press release.

Read more: Stem cell therapies offering hope for MS patients

Stem cells work by growing and differentiating themselves into different cells in the body based on the site of injection.

They are believed to help the natural regenerative processes in the body.

Hence they have earned the nickname as mini drug stores based on their ability to secrete a spectrum of bioactive molecules and support the natural regeneration of focal injuries.

Stem cells can be harvested from certain parts of the human body, most notably bone marrow and adipose tissue (fat).

Harvesting bone marrow stem cells is a significantly more invasive and time-consuming procedure that is performed using general anesthesia.

Lipogems offers a novel approach to orthopedic stem cell treatments by using a persons own fat.

The procedure uses a small incision into an area of subcutaneous fat, from which a quantity of fat tissue is harvested and processed by the Lipogems apparatus.

The technology itself, which really is the device that processes the fat, creates a concentration of fat that has been cleansed of all the extraneous things like red blood cells and fibrous tissues, Cole told Healthline.

The concentrated stem cells within that fat tissue are then applied to the problematic joint or bone area.

The procedure can be completed in under 30 minutes.

Read more: Stem cell therapy a possible treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

Lipogems offers a streamlined procedure for stem cell treatment, but there is nothing new about the science itself.

The use of stem cells to treat a variety of conditions has been ongoing for some time now.

As Healthline reported earlier this year, stem cells have been touted as a breakthrough treatment for some time, but real proof of efficacy is still being researched.

The same is true for Lipogems.

What were lacking is really good data at this point in the clinical setting, Cole said. There is substantial data in the laboratory suggesting that these cells may function in the way Ive described: reducing inflammation and so forth. But, we really dont have yet much in the way of good solid clinical data saying that definitively this is making a difference.

He further cautions individuals thinking that the new procedure, or that stem cells in general, are a panacea.

Read more: Unproven stem cell treatments offer hope but also risks

Instead, he would like those seeking orthopedic treatment to understand that Lipogems is just one part of a much larger and more complex suite of tools used by physicians.

It has to be taken into context of all the other possible treatment options, from simply icing down a swollen ankle, to changing your daily activity, to surgery.

The unfortunate thing is that people think, well this is the solution that can be used instead of, say, a joint replacement and no longer do we need to do surgery, said Cole.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Nonetheless, Cole and his team are still excited about the possibilities of the Lipogems procedure.

Using a readily available and easily accessible substance like fat as a source of stem cells could have far-reaching implications for procedures in the future.

Were optimistic and intuitively there is a good argument to be made that this is as good or better than any other source of stem cells, said Cole.

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New Technology Uses Body Fat to Help Relieve Joint Pain - Healthline

Asymmetrex Director Comments on Positive Attributes of Private … – PR Web (press release)

By Stem Cell Clinic

Many more patients are estimated to receive stem cell treatments in private clinics than in clinical trials.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 08, 2017

In a new early view article published in the online Journal of Stem Cell Research and Medicine, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D., founder and director of Asymmetrex, LLC, asks the question, Why are patients scared away from private stem cell clinics? (May 6, 2017). Sherley presents a critical assessment of the warnings pronounced by federal agencies and professional organizations, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), against private clinics providing stem cell treatments. He argues that new treatments in private clinics are, for the most part, not very different than stem cell treatments in clinical trials authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In his comment, Sherley chides the NIH, ISSCR, and alarmist commentators for portraying private stem cell clinics, as a group, as unethical, and even dangerous to patients, without good evidence to support their claims. He provides examples to show that many operational elements of stem cell treatments in private clinics are not unlike FDA-authorized clinical trials. Both stem cell treatment settings have strengths and weaknesses. Sherleys position is that, In their missions to serve patients, the NIHs and ISSCRs efforts would seem to be better spent informing patients how to obtain the best care in either setting. In earlier writings and presentations, he has also urged decision-makers to develop policies for collecting, organizing, and studying stem cell treatment data from private clinics. Since the number of patients treated in private clinics is now estimated to far exceed the number in clinical trials, Sherley has argued that excluding this valuable experience by vilifying it is a tragic loss to stem cell medical research and patients.

A crucial way in which FDA-authorized clinical trials and private stem cell treatment clinics are not different is their past lack of a means to determine the dose and quality of stem cell treatments. In his published comment, Sherley notes that none of the anti-private clinic alarmists acknowledges this deficiency that also impacts the worth of stem cell clinical trials. In fact, this need even limits the quality of some approved stem cell therapies like umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant.

Asymmetrex has recently developed a technological solution for the half century-old problem of specifically counting tissue stem cells. With the companys new technology, it is now possible to determine the dose and quality of therapeutic tissue stem cell preparations. Asymmetrex is positioned to become the certifying agency for the dose and quality of tissue stem cells used in approved treatments and either FDA-authorized clinical trials or private stem cell clinic treatments. Sherley predicts that adoption of this shared certification process will promote a more reasoned assessment of the contributions that private stem cell clinics are and can make to accelerating progress in stem cell medicine.

About Asymmetrex

Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. Asymmetrexs founder and director, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert on the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. The companys patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems production and quantification that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing induced pluripotent stem cells for disease research purposes. Currently, Asymmetrexs focus is employing its technological advantages to develop and market facile methods for monitoring adult stem cell number and function in stem cell transplantation treatments and in pre-clinical assays for drug safety.

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Asymmetrex Director Comments on Positive Attributes of Private ... - PR Web (press release)

Looking Back: June 9, 2017 – Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

By Stem Cell Clinic

10 YEARS AGO

June 9, 2007 Alaskas congressional delegation continues to support legislation that would give the federal government more opportunities to fund embryonic stem cell research.

Rep. Don Young voted in favor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 on Thursday, which would make federal funds available to research projects using excess embryonic stem cells that have been donated to an in vitro clinic, and would otherwise be discarded.

The House voted 247-176 in favor of the bill, which has been sent to President Bush.

25 YEARS AGO

June 9, 1992 Fairbanks Mayor Wayne Nelsons sweeping four-part plan to cut the costs of city government and generate revenues survived its introduction to the city council Monday.

The council voted unanimously to advance ordinances calling for the closure of the Fairbanks Fire Department, the creation of a city-run lottery, the appointment of a revenue commission and the opening of the citys labor negotiations to the public.

50 YEARS AGO

June 9, 1967 Fairbanks could receive live television programming from communication satellites within 18 months, Alaskas broadcasters were told yesterday.

Maj. Gen. George P. Sampson, USA-Ret., vice president for operations with Communications Satellite Corp., described the rapidly developing future of satellite communication to a luncheon meeting of the Alaska Broadcasters Association here yesterday.

75 YEARSAGO

June 9, 1942 The million miles which Al Jolson has been promising since 1909 to walk for one of his mammys smiles was never closer to an accurate figure today.

At least 900,000 miles, by his own calculation, from the spot where he knows the sun shines best the dynamic song and patter man of stage, screen, and radio strolled the streets of Fairbanks, making mental notes of his first view of life in Alaska while marking time before the first performance of his Keep em Smilin tour of the Territorys Army encampments.

Before most of the men in Uncle Sams new Army were born Al Jolson was already dubbed one of the greatest dominators in the theater. And, years before that, he had shucked off the name he brought with him to the United States from his native Russia as a boy of seven Asa Yoelson and turned his aspirations from that of becoming a cantor.

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Looking Back: June 9, 2017 - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Parkinson’s target of China’s first clinical trial using embryonic stem … – Genetic Literacy Project

By Embryonic Stem Cells

In the next few months, surgeons in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou will carefully drill through the skulls of people with Parkinsons disease and inject 4 million immature neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells into their brains.

This will mark the start of the first clinical trial in China using human embryonic stem (ES) cells, and the first one worldwide aimed at treating Parkinsons disease using ES cells from fertilized embryos. In a second trial starting around the same time, a different team in Zhengzhou will use ES cells to target vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration.

It will be a major new direction for China, says Pei Xuetao, a stem-cell scientist at the Beijing Institute of Transfusion Medicine who is on the central-government committee that approved the trials. Other researchers who work on Parkinsons disease, however, worry that the trials might be misguided.

Jeanne Loring, a stem-cell biologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, is concerned that theChinese trials use neural precursors[, which] can turn into other kinds of neurons, and could accumulate dangerous mutations during their many divisions, says Loring. Not knowing what the cells will become is troubling.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Trials of embryonic stem cells to launch in China

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Parkinson's target of China's first clinical trial using embryonic stem ... - Genetic Literacy Project

China plans embryonic stem cell trials for Parkinson’s and blindness – BioNews

By Embryonic Stem Cells

Two teams of doctors in China are to administer embryonic stem cell therapy from fertilised human embryos to treat different degenerative diseases.

One trial testing ESC therapy in Parkinson's diseasewill be the first clinical trial of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in China, as well as the first trial in the world to examine ESCs for the treatment of Parkinson's, according to a report in Nature News. Both studies will be led by stem cell specialist Dr Qi Zhou at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.

The only previous study of this type started in Australia last year:patients with the degenerative disease are being treated with cells derived from parthenogenetic embryos. These stem cells were harvested from unfertilised eggs induced into embryonic development, sidestepping many of the ethical issues with using viable embryos. ESCs are pluripotent stem cells taken from the inner cell mass of human embryos and have the potential to develop into any of the 200-plus specialised cell types in the adult body.

In Parkinson's disease, a specialised type of brain cell that produces the neurotransmitter dopamine are lost. Dr Zhou's team will inject four million immature cells derived from ESCs into the striatum area of patients' brains with the aim of reducing symptoms. This follows an unpublishedfour-year study led by Dr Zhou which showed promising results in 15 monkeys.

A second team will treat patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in which vision is compromised by the loss of pigmented retinal epithelia in the eye. Building on pre-clinical trials carried out in South Korea and the US, ESC-derived retinal epithelial cells will be injected into the retinas of AMD patients in a bid to stop the disease progressing.

Using ESCs intreatment is controversialon ethical grounds, as well as fears that they could cause tumours. Some scientists are concerned that theParkinson's patients are being injected with cells thatmay not become the desired type of neurone. 'Not knowing what the cells will become is troubling.' said Dr Jeanne Loring at the Scripps Research Institute, California.However, pre-clinical work for the Australian trial found that 97 percentof the ESC-derived precursor cells developed into dopaminergic neurons.

In 2015, China announced new regulations for stem cell therapies aiming both to enable legitimate human trials, and curb administration of unapproved treatments. Zhou's clinical trials will be fully compliant, using government-certified ESC lines and the clinicians have been granted approval by a central government committee for their use.

Committee member Dr Pei Xuetao, a stem-cell scientist at the Beijing Institute of Transfusion Medicine, called the study a'major new direction for China'. Other groups of scientists are already planning trials for the testing of ESC therapy for other targeted treatments, such as encouraging growth and repair following spinal cord injuries.

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China plans embryonic stem cell trials for Parkinson's and blindness - BioNews

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