Stem Cell TV | Video / Media News

Our Technology Phoenix Stem Cell Treatment Center uses adipose derived stem cells for deployment & clinical research. Early stem cell research has traditionally been associated with the controversial use of embryonic stem cells Continue reading

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What Is A Stem Cell, Stem Cell Questions, How Do Stem ...

Helga Kolb 1. General characteristics. At every level of the retina there are reciprocal or feed-back loops in the circuitry so that certain neurons can interact laterally within the same layer, vertically from one layer to the other and indeed from the brain to the retina. Continue reading

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Feedback Loops by Helga Kolb Webvision

Agliano A; Martin-Padura I; Mancuso P; Marighetti P; Rabascio C; Pruneri G; Shultz LD; Bertolini F. Continue reading

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JAX Mice Database - 005557 NOD.Cg-Prkdc Il2rg

Abstract This study demonstrates the possibility of using sanitizing detergents based on natural products for the elimination and/or reduction of Aeromonas hydrophila biofilm formed on stainless steel surfaces. The goal of this work was to determine the reduction effect of sanitizing detergents containing essential oils of Thymus vulgaris (thyme) and Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) on biofilm formed by A. hydrophila on AISI 304 stainless steel coupons, using UHT skimmed milk as substratum Continue reading

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Stem Cell TV | Video / Media News

Feedback Loops by Helga Kolb Webvision

Helga Kolb

1. General characteristics.

At every level of the retina there are reciprocal or feed-back loops in the circuitry so that certain neurons can interact laterally within the same layer, vertically from one layer to the other and indeed from the brain to the retina. The intra-layer feed-back loops are typically provided by neurons that use inhibitory neurotransmitters such as GABA, and have a function in sharpening the image by adding lateral inhibition or antagonism to receptive fields of the neurons, while the feed-back loops between the layers or from the brain are less clear in function. The latter loops tend to use neuromodulators as their transmitters and thereby have a more generalized effect on groups of neurons, or on the state of excitability of the neuron chains (adaptation for example).

2. Feedback in the outer retina.

As mentioned in previous chapters, it has been well demonstrated in turtle and fish retinas that cones receive an antagonistic reciprocal feed-back message from horizontal cells (Baylor et al., 1971), which serves to provide a restricted concentric receptive field for the individual cones. Evidence for feed-back synapses have been difficult to demonstrate either electrophysiologically or morphologically in the cones of the mammalian retinas. However, the rod axon terminals of HI horizontal cells ending in the rod spherules are seen to make small punctate chemical synapses, consisting a small cluster of vesicles at a single dense projection in the membrane, upon both the rod spherule (Fig. 2 and 3) and upon the rod bipolar cell dendrite (not illustrated) in human retina (Linberg and Fisher, 1988). A similar appearing small cluster of vesicles is occasionally seen in horizontal cell dendrites in the cone pedicle triads in human retina too (Fig. 1 and 3).

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Feedback Loops by Helga Kolb Webvision

The Power of Stem Cells | California’s Stem Cell Agency

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Stem cells have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. Here, discover why these cells are such a powerful tool for treating diseaseand what hurdles experts face before new therapies reach patients.

How can stem cells treat disease? What diseases could be treated by stem cell research? How can I learn more about CIRM-funded research in a particular disease? What cell therapies are available right now? When will therapies based on embryonic stem cells become available? What about the therapies that are available overseas? Why does it take so long to create new therapies? How do scientists get stem cells to specialize into different cell types? How do scientists test stem cell therapies? Can't stem cell therapies increase the chances of a tumor? Is there a risk of immune rejection with stem cells? How do scientists grow stem cells in the right conditions?

When most people think about about stem cells treating disease they think of a stem cell transplant.

In a stem cell transplant, embryonic stem cells are first specialized into the necessary adult cell type. Then, those mature cells replace tissue that is damaged by disease or injury. This type of treatment could be used to:

But embryonic stem cell-based therapies can do much more.

Any of these would have a significant impact on human health without transplanting a single cell.

In theory, theres no limit to the types of diseases that could be treated with stem cell research. Given that researchers may be able to study all cell types via embryonic stem cells, they have the potential to make breakthroughs in any disease.

CIRM has created disease pages for many of the major diseases being targeted by stem cell scientists. You can find those disease pages here.

You can also sort our complete list of CIRM awards to see what we've funded in different disease areas.

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The Power of Stem Cells | California's Stem Cell Agency

Clinical trials news: January 2012 update | Europe’s stem …

Before new treatments can reach patients, they must be tested in clinical trials. This is our second brief update on some stem-cell-related trials currently under way or recently approved.

This update looks at trials for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or motor neurone disease, as well as the latest news on how the trials we told you about in September are progressing. Weve included details of one or two new trials for some of the conditions we focussed on last time: spinal injury, Stargardts macular dystrophy and stroke. Well post more updates on other themes in future, so tell us if theres an area you really want to know about.

Clinical trials are carried out in four phases:

The company Neuralstem Inc and researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, USA have received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advance to the second stage of their trial investigating the safety of using human neural stem cells to treat patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is also known as motor neurone disease, or sometimes Lou Gehrigs disease. In ALS, the nerve cells that control movement degenerate and die. These nerve cells are found both in the spinal cord and in the brain.

The Neuralstem Inc/Emory clinical trial started in January 2010 and is designed to assess the safety of implanting neural stem cells derived from human fetal tissue into the spinal cord in up to 18 people with ALS. The first 12 patients received neural stem cells in the lumbar, or lower, region of the spinal cord. Following a review of the safety data in autumn 2011, the FDA granted approval to transplant neural stem cells in the cervical (upper) region of the spinal cord.

Phase and objective: This is a phase I trial. The objective is to evaluate the feasibility and safety of transplanting human spinal-cord-derived neural stem cells into the spinal cord of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dates: January 2010 October 2012 Enrollment status: Recruiting. 12 patients already recruited. Aims to enroll up to18 patients. More information on this study More about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The State Food and Drug Administration in China authorised a phase II trial on the use of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The cells will be injected by lumbar puncture: a hollow needle is inserted between the bones of the lower back into the fluid around the lower part of the spinal cord. The trial is being run by the General Hospital of Chinese Armed Police Forces. The researchers hope that the injected stem cells will release small proteins called trophic factors that help keep motorneurons healthy and working properly.

Phase and objective: This is a phase II trial. The objective is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of transplanting umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells by lumbar puncture into patients with ALS. Dates: January 2012 April 2015 Enrollment status: Not yet open for participant recruitment. Aims to enroll up to 30 patients. More information on this study More about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

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New York City CROs – Contract Research Map

BioreclamationIVT/Seralab PO Box 770 Hicksville NY In July 2014, BioreclamationIVT acquired Sera Laboratories. Seralab is now a division of BioreclamationIVT and offers the same products as before and more. Seralab, a division of BioreclamationIVT, handles European accounts while BioreclamationIVT oversees North American accounts. BioreclamationIVT is a worldwide provider of biological and in vitro products to pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations. We specialize in control and disease state matrices manufactured from human and animal blood, plasma and serum, which are used in drug discovery, compound development, clinical and research diagnostics. We can immediately add value to your drug discovery and preclinical development program by providing large lot of hepatocytes, other cell types, and subcellular fractions along with associated media. BioreclamationIVT's products enable scientists and biomedical researchers to better understand the pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism of newly discovered compounds and the effects on disease processes. *Seralab* is a major supplier of quality animal sera and biological products to the cell culture and biopharma industries for use in such disciplines as cell biology, genomics, proteomics, virology, immunology, drug discovery and toxicology. Our technical and managerial staff have over 20 years of experience in serum and antibody production offering our customers reliability, full traceability and extensive quality control. We offer the most extensive range of animal based products in Europe from a wide variety of origins. In addition, *Seralab* offers a contract manufacture service for the supply of any serum and plasma products. At *Seralab* we continue to focus on the traditional values of quality product, competitive pricing and absolute customer care. Seralab, a division of BioreclamationIVT, handles European accounts while BioreclamationIVT oversees North American accounts.

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New York City CROs - Contract Research Map

Amazon Exclusive Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K …

Would you like to help your child go beyond singing the ABC song? When your child is three or four years old or whenever they are starting to realize that letters have names and sounds there is so much discovery! Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K helps you as a parent do more than just pass on a love of reading. We make it easy for you to play a role in helping your child understand the building blocks to reading itself all while having fun together! (And we ve got a new ABC song that solves the L-M-N-O-P problem...)

Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K is based on research, approved by the Children's Reading Foundation and designed in conjunction with leading educators, renowned authors and most important, parents. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K uses engaging phonics-based activities, music videos, and online games to give your child a strong foundation in phonemic awareness. Each unit concludes with a storybook you read to your child, specially written to support what your child just learned. Each lesson takes only about 20 minutes a day.

Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K covers letter names, letter sounds, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and blending sounds. Learn to Read Pre-K includes:

6 original storybooks written to promote the skills your child learns in the program, including 2 books by the award-winning children s book author and illustrator, David McPhail

2 reading workbooks that will guide you and your child through all of the lessons and many fun activities

2 DVDs filled with music videos and engaging, animated introductions to each lesson, where letters come to life

2 sets of stickers so a child can proudly mark their progress in the workbooks and celebrate their success

4 sets of letter and picture flashcards designed to reinforce letter names and letter sounds

Quick Start Guides

1 bonus Reading Rainbow DVD, Stellaluna, exclusive to Amazon customers

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Amazon Exclusive Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K ...

AMD Research – The Foundation Fighting Blindness

New research is underway to develop additional treatments for both dry AMD and wet AMD.Several pharmaceutical companies are currently conducting trials of new drugs, while non-profitfunders like the FFB and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research are working together to speed the translation of treatments from animal studies to human trials.

Learn more about:

The Foundation Fighting Blindness supports scientists who are making incredible advances in understanding and treating age-related macular degeneration. For example in 2009, Dr. Gilbert Bernier identified a genethat helps to control the aging of cells in the eyes and brain. This discovery may one day help us prevent conditions of aging like AMD, Alzheimers and Parkinsons. Learn more about this discovery.

Until that day, research on age-related macular degeneration continues, with the support of donors like you.FFB projects and partnerships help fund pre-clinical studies that make the development of new therapies possible.Here are three ongoing projects that your donations will help to support:

Preventing the Death of Vision Cells in the Eye The FFB has also partnered with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support a team of researchers led by Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis at the Ottawa Health Research Institute. This team is exploring ways to slow or stop the death ofphotoreceptors (cells that capture light and allow us to see)in the retina of the eye.While such treatment would not correct the underlying problemthat leads to vision loss, it might preserve sight for many years. The Tsilfidis team has already shown that this approach works to protect the vision of blinded mice. This teamhopes to be ready for human clinical trialstesting this treatmentwithin five years. Learn more about therapies designed to slow cell death.

Producing New Cells to Restore Sight in Failing Eyes Dr. Gilbert Bernier at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital is receiving FFB funding to explore the use of stem cells as AMD treatment. Stem cells are very simple cells that can become other, more complex, cells to replace photoreceptors damaged by AMD. He recently patented a process that is effective fortransforming stem cells into adult eye cells. His current studies are using mice to test whether these newly created cells will be an effective treatment for AMD. He and his partners hope to begin clinical trials in the next few years.

Identifying the Factors that Cause Abnormal Blood Vessel Growth Wet AMD occurs when the blood vessels beneath the retina grow abnormally and begin leaking blood and fluid. This can cause rapid vision loss. In the past 10 years, factors within the body have been identified which promote rapid blood vessel group, and drugs which block these factors have been shown to protect the vision of people with wet AMD. The currently available drugs target one set of factors, called VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factors) however other potential factors and treatments are being identified. New drugs targetting these factors might be even more effective atcontrolling wet AMD. The Foundation Fighting Blindness funds several Canadian teams working to understand and control these blood vessel growth factors included Dr. Bob Gendron and Helene Paradis in St. John's Newfoundland, and Dr. Mike Sapieha and Dr. Bruno Larrivee, both based in Montreal.

Clinical Trials of Emerging Treatments for AMD

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AMD Research - The Foundation Fighting Blindness

The Foundation Fighting Blindness – Retinitis Pigmentosa

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This page provides a brief overview of retinitis pigmentosa. For a longer discussion about living with this condition, please see the Foundation Fighting BlindnessGuide to Retinitis Pigmentosa and Related Conditions. Last updated in 2006, this guide was designed to give you, your family and friends a better understanding of your condition and to aid in discussions with your ophthalmologist and/or specialist.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic condition that slowly damages the retina. The condition progresses throughout a persons life, affecting about 1:3500Canadians.

RP is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, although some people have no recognized symptoms until their adult years. The most common early symptom is difficulty seeing at night and adapting to dim light conditions. This is called nyctalopia (night blindness). People also begin to lose peripheral vision quite early in the disease.

RP occurs because the light-sensing retinal cells, called photoreceptors, are slowing damaged due to an inherited genetic mutation. Many different mutations can cause RP.

There are two types of photoreceptors: rod cells and cone cells. Rod photoreceptors are responsible for peripheral vision and night vision; cone photoreceptors are responsible for central vision and for seeing fine detail and colours. Night blindness occurs early in RP because the mutations that cause RP damage the rod cells first.

Over time, as more rod photoreceptors are lost, cell death also occurs amongst the cone cells. This is not well understood, but cone cell loss seems to be triggered by the death of rod cells. When cones die, central vision and visual acuity are lost.

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The Foundation Fighting Blindness - Retinitis Pigmentosa

Akron Biotech of Boca Raton poised for growth

Claudia Zylberberg began her biotech firm in a one-room office in Boca Raton more than eight years ago.

Today Akron Biotech, which produces cell cultures and other raw materials for government and pharmaceutical company research, is moving to a 10,000-square-foot laboratory and manufacturing space. Akron also is collaborating on research, including with a noted scientist from Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter.

"I don't want to be just a manufacturer of products, but an innovator as well," Zylberberg said.

Akron Biotech was recently noted by Palm Beach County's Business Development Board as one of the county's longest-running biotech startups. And last year, Akron was named among 50 "Companies to Watch" in the state, by the economic development organization GrowFL.

With a doctorate in immunology and background in hematology, Zylberberg is passionate about the cell therapy industry. In the coming years, she expects that the field, called "regenerative medicine," will help reduce health care costs by giving alternatives to patients whose organs are failing.

If new cell therapies are approved, "we're not looking for an organ, but to fix an organ," she said.

Physicians in South Florida and elsewhere are already using patients' own stem cells for certain treatments, such as repairing knees. Other stem cells are being used in FDA-approved research on leukemia, bone marrow disease and other blood disorders. New types of stem cells, such as those from fat, are being explored.

Revenues increased 50 percent in 2014 from 2013, and Zylberberg expects them to double this year.

Akron Biotech was awarded a small business research grant in 2014 from the National Institutes of Health to develop a method to isolate stem cells from various tissues. The project is in collaboration with top researcher Gregg Fields, who chairs FAU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the director of the Center of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. He recently was named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow.

"She's a very dynamic person. When she's serious about something, it will get done," said Fields, who added that's why he decided to work with Zylberberg on the project.

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Akron Biotech of Boca Raton poised for growth

Stem Cell History | The Stem Cell Research Controversy

Stem cell research has presented the nation with one of the most divisive ethical issues of the modern age. Aside from the biological implications of stem cell research, many question the morality of issues involving embryos, cloning, and genetic engineering, to identify a few.

While the debate is relatively new, it is rapidly becoming one of the most controversial ethical issues of today. As with most technological advances, the key question is not whether progress is right or wrong, but rather will society use the new power responsibly.

To provide some scientific background on the issue, a stem cell is a cell that has the potential to develop into a number of different types of cells in the body. First discovered in the early 1900s, stem cells were identified and named when researchers realized that various types of blood cells all originated from a particular stem cell (UKSCF, 2007).

When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain the same or become another type of cell in the body with a more specialized function, such as a brain cell, red blood cell, or muscle cell (U.S. Dept. of Health, 2009). For this reason, stem cells are expected to be able to effectively treat a wide variety of diseases and ailments, including spinal cord injury, diabetes, heart disease, blood disorders, and Parkinsons Disease.

Another potential function of stem cells is the ability to create cells, tissue, and even synthetic blood that can be used in medical therapies (AGI News, 2009), thus closing the gap between the high demand for donated organs and tissues and the limited supply currently available for patients in need.

There are two types of stem cells with which scientists can work: adult and embryonic.

Most of the controversy surrounding stem cell research involves embryonic stem cells because they are derived from fertilized embryos, which are subsequently destroyed in the research process.

The embryos used for research, however, are not derived from eggs fertilized in a womans body; rather they are fertilized in vitro in a fertilization clinic and donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donor (Newman, 2009). If they are not used to contribute to the medical community, these embryos will be kept deep frozen in a clinic or discarded altogether. It is for this reason that many supporters of stem cell research argue that the process cannot be accurately compared to destroying human life if the embryos ultimate fate was going to be disposal from the onset of the procedure. It is also not clear as to whether or not the biological fetus is a person and has rights (Garrett, Baille, & Garrett, 2001).

An adult (or somatic) stem cell, on the other hand, is an undifferentiated cell found among differentiated cells in an organ or tissue that has the ability to renew itself, as well as differentiate into a specialized cell type. By their nature, adult stem cells are not as controversial because they can be derived from an individual who may require the therapy by extracting them from the bone marrow or skin cells (National Institues of Health, 2009).

Stem cells, however, do not come only from embryos, bone marrow, and skin. A popular service called cord blood banking is now offered to the families of newborn infants who want to preserve a childs stem cells after birth so that they may be accessed later should stem cell therapy ever become necessary. The cells derived from the babys umbilical cord can also be used to treat blood relatives. If a family decides not to store these cells by having them frozen after birth, then the genetically unique cord blood stem cells are discarded (Cord Blood Registry, 2009).

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Stem Cell History | The Stem Cell Research Controversy