Expert Tips on Alopecia Management From AAD 2023 – Dermatology Times

Scarring alopecia, stem cells, exosomes, and frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) were all hot topics of discussion during Ronda Farahs, MD,FAAD, multiple alopecia sessions at the 2023 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Farah, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota, cosmetic lead at the University of Minnesota Health clinics, and director of medical dermatology at the University of Minnesota Health Maple Grove Medical Center, discussed alopecia in-depth at her AAD sessions: Cosmetic and Procedural Interventions for Scarring Alopecia, Stem Cells & Exosomes, and Cosmetics and FFA: Approach to Managing Facial Papules and Hyperpigmentation.

Transcript

Ronda Farah, MD, FAAD: Hi, I'm Dr. Ronda Farah. I'm a dermatologist at the University of Minnesota, associate professor. I'm also the University of Minnesota Health cosmetic lead and I'm the director of the Maple Grove Medical Center. I'm also working with the American Academy of Dermatology on social media.

Dermatology Times: What pearls did you share in your session, "Cosmetics and FAA: Approach to Managing Facial Papules and Hyperpigmentation?"

Farah: The cosmetics and frontal fibrosing alopecia talk is really focused for me on the forehead area. In the frontal fibrosing alopecia patient population, I try to keep the skin product away from the hair follicle as much as possible. I ask my patients not to apply that product directly on the hair follicle. Try to also keep sunscreens away unless they're non nanoparticle-based sunscreens, although we don't really know what the final verdict is going to be on sunscreens and I'm also leaning towards more physical-based sunscreens. And in addition to that, talking a little bit about the veins, the new article that came out in the JAAD and the utilization of this device on the forehead veins, which can become very prominent in frontal fibrosing alopecia and I think gently putting those out at the initial visit so that patients are aware those are typically there before they even start steroid injections. I am still utilizing some botulinumtoxin in frontal fibrosing alopecia. I do think that botulinumtoxin has been reported to cause depressions in the scalp so counseling patients on that, because knowing they can also have depressions from their scalp from frontal fibrosing alopecia is important. Also to limit that change in skin texture from the scalp at the front to lower down, I really work on removing seborrheic keratosis and sebaceous hyperplasia using topical tretinoin and oral isotretinoin, although that does have limited data to kind of help with that the facial papule appearance. Those are some of my big pearls for that talk.

Dermatology Times: What are the important takeaways from your session, "Cosmetic and Procedural Interventions for Scarring Alopecia?"

Farah: That session was great. We focused on scarring alopecia, we talked about using platelet rich plasma off-label which could be helpful, as there are case series and case reports. We talked a little bit about exosomes, which do not have strong medical evidence and will be marketed to you, including scalp serums. Lacking medical evidence, only one clinical study, I was able to identify to date that included a microneedle really muddying the waters, not FDA approved for injection, we are not using it. And then we also talked a little bit about photobiomodulation. That's off-label for darker skin types, but could be helpful in that population in our study.

Dermatology Times: What do you hope fellow physicians take away from your session, "Stem Cells & Exosomes?"

Farah: I'm passionate about exosomes because we performed a literature review. Two of the papers involved a human subject: one was just an abstract, the other one utilized a microneedle. That made it difficult in the second one to figure out if it was actually the microneedle or if it was the exosomes. All the other studies were pretty clinical. They were all in mice. They were promising, but they don't reach our level of evidence for evidence-based medicine. Exosomes are not FDA-approved to inject in the United States. There are reports of bacteremia, inflammation, blindness, neurologic issues, contamination with viruses, and concern for hepatitis C and HIV. People wonder if you can use exosomes topically, I wondered that too. From what I can make from my understanding, And again, I'm not a lawyer, but of these exposome products, they can be human. And if they're topical, they might get marketed to physicians and other clinicians as "Oh, well, it's topical, so you can use it." Well, maybe that is true. That seems like that might be true. Again, I'm not a lawyer, but those seem to not necessarily be regulated by the FDA. So, we're applying human product that's not necessarily regulated by the FDA. So, who's responsible for the product then? And from what I can understand, it appears to be the manufacturer. And so, if the manufacturer is not handling the human product correctly, or the manufacturer is outside the United States, that can make it difficult for a US patient. So, at this time, I do not recommend topical or injectable exosomes to my patients. I think it's a lot of items on the topical side that probably need some work, and my job is to discuss higher levels of medical evidence, although they do seem promising. We're working towards a study once we eventually have an investigational new drug application. So, I think exosomes could be exciting. But they're not something I would promote for hair growth. And you should also be aware as clinicians that the CDC has posted a "how-to" for patients on how to spot doctors or other types of clinicians who are telling you that they're doing a study on you with exosomes. So that is out there teaching the patient how to identify people who might be. And I'm not saying that this is happening. I just saw that the CDC had spent time developing that page. I'm not clear enough if that's happening. So, for me, it's about evidence-based medicine, and that's why I'm passionate about the exosomes topic.

[Transcript edited for clarity]

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Expert Tips on Alopecia Management From AAD 2023 - Dermatology Times

Safety and efficacy of co-administration of CD19 and CD22 CAR-T … – Journal of Translational Medicine

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Safety and efficacy of co-administration of CD19 and CD22 CAR-T ... - Journal of Translational Medicine

New Insights on Treating Neurodegeneretive Diseases Could Lead … – MarketScale

Scientists have been stumped for years on how to awaken stem cells to make new neurons in the human brain; a new study out of the journal Science Advances may have just unlocked critical insight into this neurogenerative puzzle through a roadmap of metabolic pathways. The study, which was conducted on adult and elderly mice, found that a unique gene in their genetically-mutated mice activated dormant neural stem cells, in effect generating new neurons in the brain. This discovery to awaken stem cells may lead to new clinical trials for treating people with neurodegenerative diseases, including an estimated 6.5 million Americans ages 65 and older who are living with Alzheimers in 2022.

With the increasing number of people developing these diseases, will there be many more discoveries down the road? Overall, clinical trials for Alzheimers disease medications are giving new options to patients.

Alzheimers research is getting to a place where cancer research was maybe 30, 40 years ago, says Anton Porsteinsson, MD, director of the Alzheimers Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, as quoted in the Association of American Medical Colleges News. I think were at a point where were going to see a logarithmic increase in discovery.

Dr. Dung Trinh, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic, which provides individualized plans for brain health with coaching and support including memory testing and brain health exams, gives his perspective on this new research and helps track the implications of this research for neurobiologists and for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Dungs Thoughts

Neural degeneration, otherwise known as the loss of brain cells, is a very common thread among pretty much all the neural degenerative diseases we have in the brain that includes Alzheimers disease and other dementias such as vascular dementia. It includes multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease. The one underlying thread is the loss of brain cells, otherwise known as neurodegeneration.

So, this research actually is very exciting. We have not found a strategy to reproduce successfully more brain cells that have been less with these neurodegenerative diseases. And the best weve had so far is to hopefully try to slow down neurodegeneration, but the ability to create more brain cells, especially from stem cells that have been inactive in the brain, is a very exciting new revelation.

And this will lead to new classes of clinical trials and studies that will revolutionize this field. The field of neurodegeneration unfortunately have not caught up as far as finding new treatments and finding new medications due to the fact that we have not been able to successfully create or find a way to make new brain cells consistently.

Article written by Sonya Young.

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New Insights on Treating Neurodegeneretive Diseases Could Lead ... - MarketScale

NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery – WKRC TV Cincinnati

NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery

NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery (Lindsey Hughes)

FORT MITCHELL, Ky. (WKRC) - A Northern Kentucky mother and teacher needs help covering the cost of a highly-expensive, but lifesaving medical procedure.

NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery (WKRC, Lindsey Hughes)

A fundraiser was held Sunday afternoon at The Braxton Barrel House for Lindsey Hughes. She's battlingsystemic scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease.

Hughes is a teacher at Beechwood High School, and a new mother.

NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery (Lindsey Hughes)

In October 2022, after years of suffering, doctors diagnosed her with the disease. It affects her skin and internal organs.

"I went up to the University of Michigan. There's a scleroderma center and the doctors there told me if I want to be able to see my daughter grow up and live a functional life again, I need a stem cell transplant, said Hughes.

Hughes says both the University of Michigan and the Mayo Clinic have approved her for the transplant. She's currently going through pre-transplant testing.

NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery (Lindsey Hughes)

With the price of the procedure starting at $250,000, it's unclear what, if any, help insurance will be.

Thanks to donations and fundraisers, Hughes is getting closer to covering the cost that she hopes will give her future quality time with her family and friends.

"I feel great today. Physically, Im exhausted, but its been so amazing to see friends and family come out to give support, she said.

For more information about Hughes and how you can help, check out the Facebook page about her journey and her GoFundMe campaign.

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NKY community helping raise money for mother and teacher in need of lifesaving surgery - WKRC TV Cincinnati

Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market, Size is estimated to be US$ 14.91 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of – EIN News

Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market - PMI

The report "Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market, By Test Type - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2029.

Key Highlights:

In December 2021, the healthians and QRX launch rapid PCR covid test with turnaround time of 30 minutes.

Analyst View:

The rise of hospital acquired diseases is fueled by poor infection control techniques and procedures at healthcare facilities, as well as filthy and non-sterile environmental surfaces, which is propelling the hospital acquired disease testing market forward. Furthermore, rising antibiotic resistance as a result of enhanced medical treatment leads to the development of hospital-acquired infections, which fuels market expansion. Furthermore, the market is being driven by the rising occurrence of nosocomial infections such as surgical wounds, urinary tract infections, and lower respiratory tract infections in intensive care units, orthopedics, and acute surgical wards.

Improper infection control practices and procedures at healthcare center Improper infection control practices and procedures at healthcare center and unclean and non-sterile environmental surfaces lead to development of hospital acquired diseases, which is driving growth of the hospital acquired disease testing market. Furthermore, increasing antibiotic resistance due to adoption of advanced medical care results into development of hospital acquired diseases, which in turn is fueling growth of the market. Moreover, increasing prevalence of nosocomial infections such as surgical wounds, urinary tract infections, and lower respiratory tract infections in intensive care units, orthopedic, and acute surgical ward are driving growth of the market. Hospital acquired infection is a major burden for society, patients, and healthcare management. Increasing awareness among population regarding hospital acquired infections, adoption of infection control programs by healthcare facilities, maintaining personal hygiene by the hospital staff, complete sterilization of medical equipment, and a clean sanitary environment in the health care facilities may restrain growth of the hospital acquired disease testing market.

Get a Sample Copy of the Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market: https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-sample/98

Key Market Insights from the report:

Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market accounted for US$ 7.2 billion in 2020 and is estimated to be US$ 14.91 billion by 2030 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 7.6%. Global Hospital Acquired Disease testing market is segmented into test type and region. Based on Test Type, the Global Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market is segmented into Urinary Tract Infection, Surgical Site Infection, Pneumonia, Blood Stream Infection, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, and others. By Region, the Global Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.

Competitive Landscape & their strategies of Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market:

The key players in the global Hospital Acquired Disease Testing market includes; Diatherix laboratories Life technologies Cantel Medical Corporation Meridian Biosciences Qiagen GmbH Nordion Roche Cepheid

The market provides detailed information regarding the industrial base, productivity, strengths, manufacturers, and recent trends which will help companies enlarge the businesses and promote financial growth. Furthermore, the report exhibits dynamic factors including segments, sub-segments, regional marketplaces, competition, dominant key players, and market forecasts. In addition, the market includes recent collaborations, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships along with regulatory frameworks across different regions impacting the market trajectory. Recent technological advances and innovations influencing the global market are included in the report.

Some Important Points Answered in this Market Report Are Given Below: Explains an overview of the product portfolio, including product development, planning, and positioning Explains details about key operational strategies with a focus on R&D strategies, corporate structure, localization strategies, production capabilities, and financial performance of various companies. Detailed analysis of the market revenue over the forecasted period. Examining various outlooks of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysis, PEST & SWOT Analysis. Study on the segments that are anticipated to dominate the market. Study on the regional analysis that is expected to register the highest growth over the forecast period

Get Free PDF Download of Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market: https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-pdf/98

Market Segmentation:

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2019 to 2029. For the purpose of this study, has segmented the Global Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market report based on Test Type and Region.

By Test Type - Urinary Tract Infection, Surgical Site Infection, Pneumonia, Blood Stream Infection, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, and others

Regional Insights:

On the basis of region, the global plant stem cells market finds its scope in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. India hospital acquired infection diagnostics market is predicted to rise significantly due to rising occurrence of nosocomial illnesses such as surgical site infections and bloodstream infections. After completing a study on 10,835 patients in diverse clinical settings, India observed a 4.4 percent overall growth rate for hospital acquired illnesses, according to the Indian Journal of Basic and Applied Medical Research.

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Influenza Diagnostics Market, By Type (RT-PCR, Viral Culture, Antigen Detection Tests, Serological Assays, Simple Amplification-based Assays, Molecular Assays, and Others) By End-Users (Hospitals, Clinics, Diagnostic Laboratories and Others) and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2032

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Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market, Size is estimated to be US$ 14.91 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of - EIN News

Third case in the world of cure of HIV after stem cell transplant – Atalayar

The IciStem consortium, coordinated by IrsiCaixa, presents the third case of cure of HIV infection in the world. This is a man who was withdrawn from supervised antiretroviral treatment for HIV after undergoing a stem cell transplant to treat myeloid leukaemia. Four years later, the virus has not reappeared. The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine, in an article demonstrating the absence of viral particles and immune response against the virus in the patient's body despite not receiving treatment for 4 years, evidence that allows the scientific team to consider the case of the patient from Dsseldorf as a new case of cure.

The study was carried out by the international consortium IciStem, coordinated by the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - a centre jointly promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation and the Catalan Government's Department of Health - and the University Medical Center in Utrecht (The Netherlands). "Together with an excellent team of professionals from all over the world, we have been studying these exceptional cases for nine years in which, thanks to a therapeutic strategy, the virus is completely eliminated from the body. We want to understand each step of the cure process in detail in order to design strategies that can be replicated in the entire population," explains Javier Martnez-Picado, ICREA researcher at IrsiCaixa, co-director of IciStem, and co-author of the article.

The Dsseldorf patient, a story of overcoming the disease

In 2008, a medical team in Dsseldorf (Germany) diagnosed HIV infection in a person who would later be known as the Dsseldorf patient because of his uniqueness. Following the diagnosis, the patient was started on antiretroviral treatment, which brought his infection under control and reduced the amount of virus to undetectable levels in his blood. Four years later, in 2012, he developed leukaemia, a cancer of the immune system cells, and had to undergo a stem cell transplant. In such unique cases, a stem cell donor is sought who has the CCR532 mutation. This genetic alteration means that you do not produce one of the gateways for HIV to enter the cells and therefore makes infection more difficult. "It is very complicated for all these factors to coincide, only 1% of the population has this mutation and, in addition, it is necessary for the donor to be a compatible blood donor to avoid transplant rejection," says Maria Salgado, IGTP researcher at IrsiCaixa and co-author of the study. In the case of the Dsseldorf patient, a woman made it possible to fit all the pieces together.

More than 5 years after the transplant, and having gone through two relapses of leukaemia and several complications, the patient stabilised. From there, the research team agreed to take him off antiretroviral treatment for HIV. Today, the patient from Dsseldorf is 53 years old and in good health. "When he stopped treatment, we followed him for 44 months and did not detect any traces of virus in his blood or tissues," says Salgado. "Nor have we seen any immune response characteristic of a viral flare-up. Their defences are not activated against HIV because they don't have to defend themselves against the virus". All these data allow the scientific team to affirm that the person has been cured of HIV infection.

The HIV cure map of the world

The confirmation of the cure for the Berlin and London patients precedes that of the Dsseldorf patient. Although these are the only three cases where it is possible to speak of a cure, the HIV remission of two other patients, the one in New York and the one at the City of Hope Hospital in Duarte, has already been presented at scientific conferences. "Neither of them have special immune characteristics that allow them to control HIV infection spontaneously, but the virus has been eliminated from the body as a result of medical intervention. This differentiates these cases of eradication from the cases of functional cure in elite or post-treatment controllers achieved so far, where people's own bodies had special factors that allowed them to control the virus," says Salgado. The Dsseldorf patient is thus a third proof of concept that demonstrates the possibility of curing HIV and rekindles hope in the scientific world dedicated to fighting the virus.

However, this strategy is very aggressive and not scalable to the rest of the population. Stem cell transplantation is only applied to people who suffer from a haematological disease and have no therapeutic alternative. In the case of people with HIV, there is an alternative, and that is antiretroviral treatment. "One possible strategy that is already being worked on is to introduce the CCR532 mutation through gene therapy to achieve a cure for HIV without having to undergo a transplant," says Martnez-Picado.

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Third case in the world of cure of HIV after stem cell transplant - Atalayar

UC San Diego’s Astrobiotechnology Hub to Drive Drug Discovery in … – today.ucsd.edu

ISSCOR Center manager Jessica Pham (left) and Jamieson Lab manager Jane Isquith (right) hold a Space Tango CubeLab, an automated platform for performing cell culture in space.

Another line of research will investigate the effects of stress and aging on liver progenitor cells. This work is led by Tatiana Kisseleva, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and David A. Brenner, MD, president and chief executive officer of Sanford Burnham Prebys and former vice chancellor for Health Sciences at UC San Diego.

Kisseleva and Brenner study ailments of the liver, such as fibrosis and steatohepatitis, a type of fatty liver disease. They are interested in determining the impact of microgravity on liver function, which could provide insights into diseases on Earth, and the potential effects of space travel.

A final major research focus uses blood stem cells to study the molecular mechanisms of cancer. When stem cells in our bone marrow become mutated, they give rise to precancerous cells that can lead to leukemia. This process typically occurs over several decades on Earth, but happens much faster in space where cells are more exposed to the suns ionizing radiation. This offers Jamieson and colleagues the opportunity to look for biomarkers of cancer and immune cell malfunction in a compressed time frame.

If we can find early predictors of cancer progression on the ISS, we are ideally positioned to rapidly translate them into clinical trials back on Earth at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute, said Jamieson.

And theyre well on their way there. Jamiesons team, in partnership with Space Tango, has now completed three NASA-funded launches of blood stem cells into space, with a fourth scheduled in March. The data theyve collected, in conjunction with experiments done on Earth, has already revealed a particular protein, ADAR1, as a main driver of cancer proliferation in space.

ADAR1 helps control the bodys innate immune response, editing RNA molecules so they wont be attacked by the immune system. This is useful in some contexts, but in disease states and the space environment, ADAR1 becomes overexpressed. This overactivity can then drive cancer cells to proliferate and develop a resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. Once the researchers discovered this, they accelerated the development of a small molecule inhibitor of ADAR1, called Rebecsinib, which they recently showed can reverse the effects of the overactive protein.

Space research was critical in helping us scale and refine this novel drug target, said Jamieson. As part of Axiom Spaces AX-2 launch in May, Jamiesons team will start collecting blood samples from astronauts to see if there are any changes in the immune regulation of their stem cells, particularly in the activity of ADAR1. The samples will be collected longitudinally to study the short and long-term dynamics of immune dysregulation in spaceflight.

These types of experiments are just the start of a new push toward drug discovery and manufacturing in space. The burgeoning field, fueled by cross-sector collaborations, seems fit to transform the medical and biotech industries.

Together, we are creating something that not only provides an engine for economic growth but drives innovation to achieve the most important goal of all: benefiting patients, said Jamieson. The time to invest in space science is now.

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UC San Diego's Astrobiotechnology Hub to Drive Drug Discovery in ... - today.ucsd.edu

State-of-the-art Advanced Aesthetics MedSpa & Wellness Center to Open in Palm Beach – EIN News

Palm Beach Advanced Aesthetics

Advanced Aesthetics MedSpa Palm Beach (Photo Credit: AAMS)

Chase Backer, Founder (Photo Credit: AAMS)

The Advanced Aesthetics Wellness Center provides luxurious, leading edge and latest innovations in catering to individuals looking to get the most out of life

Chase Backer, Founder

Experts in the field have commented as to how Wellness facilities are in-demand and on-trend. "Plastic Surgery has gotten better over the years because you have more people who are better trained." According to Dr. Sherrell Aston, MD. Corroborating these comments, Dr. Jennifer Walden, MD recognized as one of America's top plastic surgeons adds that," the Wellness industry is in a constant state of innovation."

Advanced Aesthetics medical staff boasts a team of top doctors including Dr. Charles Pereyra, MD a leading clinical physician who has conducted extensive research in the use of regenerative medicine, anti-aging, and stem cell therapy. Dr. Pereyra takes a regenerative medicine approach to healing injuries, wellness therapies and more.

"More recently we have been developing products to help aesthetic needs. I feel like having confidence and looking good is a huge part of just being human," says Dr. Charles Pereyra, MD, "we have developed a topical stem-cell product to use on the face, a mask, as well as a micro-needling so it is like the new "vampire facial." The vampire facial used to just the Clients blood and micro-needling but now we use the micro-needling from blood and real-live stem cells and the facial is incredible. It is the future of regenerative medicine for aesthetics. So we intend to bring that treatment to Advanced Aesthetics."

in charge of the anti-aging and weight loss peptides and hormone replacement therapy is Kalev Kongro, He will make Clients look good and feel good the way they should, says Backer. Kalev has been with me from the beginning helping with research and design of the facility, he has natural born intelligence that helps with decision making and through that bond of trust we have also become the best of friends

The new Advanced Aesthetics Wellness Center will provide luxurious, leading edge and latest innovations in catering to successful individuals looking to get the most out of a happy, healthy lifestyle. Facilities include a gorgeous luxury lounge with a relaxing waterfall and juice bar that will offer everything from espresso to champagne. Private clients will also be able to access the very latest in body sculpting, oxygen therapy, IV-vitamin therapy, hormone replacement therapy, lasers, laser hair removal, injectables, fillers, Botox, body toning and massage. In turn, there will be regenerative stem-cell topical creams available to address scars, wrinkles and hair loss.

Simply put, the intention for Advanced Aesthetics Wellness Center is to be available to anyone looking for the best of the best. Entrepreneur Backer says that the ambition is for Advanced Aesthetics to provide the best anti-aging and healing facility in the Palm Beach area, "Our staff will provide the very latest technology, products and services to help everybody look and feel their very best. What drove him was his very personal experience with his Mothers Dementia. That experience has made him place education on regenerative techniques and aesthetics at the core of what makes Advanced Aesthetics Wellness Center different.

From body-sculpting to stem-cell therapy and non-invasive injectibles, Advanced Aesthetics will be the gold-standard in the health and beauty industry."

For High-Resolution Images please follow this link: https://bit.ly/3EkbDMn

Advanced Aesthetics Med-Spa & Wellness Center is located in the heart of Palm Beach. Address: 2528 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33409 T: (561) 360-2446

Norah LawlorLawlor Media Group, Inc.+1 212-967-6900email us hereVisit us on social media:FacebookTwitter

Advanced Aesthetics MedSpa Palm Beach (Photo Credit: AAMS)

Chase Backer, Founder (Photo Credit: AAMS)

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State-of-the-art Advanced Aesthetics MedSpa & Wellness Center to Open in Palm Beach - EIN News

Retired K-9 creates awareness about his terminal nerve disease – WISN Milwaukee

Retired St. Francis K-9 Bane has been out of the force for a little over two years now. He's been diagnosed with a terminal nerve disease Now he's paving the way for awareness of his disease and a new type of treatment.For Bane, Thursday's vet visit started off the same. He hopped out of the car's trunk, shook off the ride and got help from his handler Detective Holly McManus with the St. Francis Police Department. But inside the West Allis Veterinary Clinic on Greenfield Avenue, Thursday's treatment is a little different.McManus started noticing stumbling and weakness in Bane about a year ago.McManus thought it had something to do with his hip, a common issue in German shepherds, but all of Bane's tests came back normal.It wasn't until he got a DNA test in June of last year that McManus started getting some answers.Bane tested positive for degenerative myelopathy, DM for short. "Dogs will start to show signs that they're slowing down, that they have some neurologic deficits in the hind end particularly," said Dr. Harpreet Singh, a surgery specialist.On a scale of 1 to 5, five being the worst in terms of severity of DM, Singh said he would rate Bane at a four. "Then the disease will and in some cases rapidly within six months progress to where it can affect the front legs," Singh said.Singh said DM is the K-9 version of ALS in adults.After the diagnosis, Brandon Ames, owner of AniCell Biotech, a company based out of Arizona, reached out to McManus to offer Bane an extension of active life with a natural stem cell treatment."Bane invested in us," Ames told WISN 12 News. "He put his life out there and the best thing we can do is give back and do what we can for him.""The cells that we're injecting come from the innermost layer of the placenta," Singh said. "It's unlikely that the body is going to try to attack them."Ames said this is the first time this stem cell treatment is used to treat DM in Wisconsin; usually it's used by vets to treat wounds."Trying something that really isn't heard of in in Wisconsin, I think that makes a big difference," Singh said. "We are always trying to improve our outlook on what is possible.""He's terminal," McManus said. "So to me, I looked at it as if we're doing minimally invasive trial products, what do we have to lose?"McManus told WISN 12 News if you can get past the physical appearance of the disease. The silver lining here is that Bane is quite comfortable."We're pretty sure it's mostly pain-free. I think the pain he has, or the discomfort is just from being an 11-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd as opposed to the degenerative myelopathy," McManus. "I don't see it in his face that he's sad he can't run after something, or he can't go do something because he was always the work smarter, not harder type of dog anyway.""The spirit is still there," McManus said. "The will to survive is still within these animals. It really is a disability, you know?"This is Bane's second stem cell treatment.McManus said after the first one in January, she noticed a change is his movement within 48 hours. While Bane's medical team monitors his progress with this treatment, it's not necessarily a cure for his disease. "The disease doesn't scare me as much as the impending loss that I'm going to have," McManus said. "There is a line that I won't be able to cross with him, and that I know that at that point that'll be the time when he tells me it's time I need to respect that."McManus said this Bane's way of still serving his community even after being retired. She says the goal is to raise awareness about DM and help other dog owners who might be going through the same thing.Singh said a dog diagnosed with DM usually lives anywhere from six months to two years.McManus adds a life-size bronze statue of Bane will be built outside of the St. Francis Police Department by this summer. There are ways to help with Bane's medical and treatment expenses. He has a fund set up here.

Retired St. Francis K-9 Bane has been out of the force for a little over two years now. He's been diagnosed with a terminal nerve disease

Now he's paving the way for awareness of his disease and a new type of treatment.

For Bane, Thursday's vet visit started off the same.

He hopped out of the car's trunk, shook off the ride and got help from his handler Detective Holly McManus with the St. Francis Police Department.

But inside the West Allis Veterinary Clinic on Greenfield Avenue, Thursday's treatment is a little different.

McManus started noticing stumbling and weakness in Bane about a year ago.

McManus thought it had something to do with his hip, a common issue in German shepherds, but all of Bane's tests came back normal.

It wasn't until he got a DNA test in June of last year that McManus started getting some answers.

Bane tested positive for degenerative myelopathy, DM for short.

"Dogs will start to show signs that they're slowing down, that they have some neurologic deficits in the hind end particularly," said Dr. Harpreet Singh, a surgery specialist.

On a scale of 1 to 5, five being the worst in terms of severity of DM, Singh said he would rate Bane at a four.

"Then the disease will and in some cases rapidly within six months progress to where it can affect the front legs," Singh said.

Singh said DM is the K-9 version of ALS in adults.

After the diagnosis, Brandon Ames, owner of AniCell Biotech, a company based out of Arizona, reached out to McManus to offer Bane an extension of active life with a natural stem cell treatment.

"Bane invested in us," Ames told WISN 12 News. "He put his life out there and the best thing we can do is give back and do what we can for him."

"The cells that we're injecting come from the innermost layer of the placenta," Singh said. "It's unlikely that the body is going to try to attack them."

Ames said this is the first time this stem cell treatment is used to treat DM in Wisconsin; usually it's used by vets to treat wounds.

"Trying something that really isn't heard of in in Wisconsin, I think that makes a big difference," Singh said. "We are always trying to improve our outlook on what is possible."

"He's terminal," McManus said. "So to me, I looked at it as if we're doing minimally invasive trial products, what do we have to lose?"

McManus told WISN 12 News if you can get past the physical appearance of the disease. The silver lining here is that Bane is quite comfortable.

"We're pretty sure it's mostly pain-free. I think the pain he has, or the discomfort is just from being an 11-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd as opposed to the degenerative myelopathy," McManus. "I don't see it in his face that he's sad he can't run after something, or he can't go do something because he was always the work smarter, not harder type of dog anyway."

"The spirit is still there," McManus said. "The will to survive is still within these animals. It really is a disability, you know?"

This is Bane's second stem cell treatment.

McManus said after the first one in January, she noticed a change is his movement within 48 hours.

While Bane's medical team monitors his progress with this treatment, it's not necessarily a cure for his disease.

"The disease doesn't scare me as much as the impending loss that I'm going to have," McManus said. "There is a line that I won't be able to cross with him, and that I know that at that point that'll be the time when he tells me it's time I need to respect that."

McManus said this Bane's way of still serving his community even after being retired. She says the goal is to raise awareness about DM and help other dog owners who might be going through the same thing.

Singh said a dog diagnosed with DM usually lives anywhere from six months to two years.

McManus adds a life-size bronze statue of Bane will be built outside of the St. Francis Police Department by this summer.

There are ways to help with Bane's medical and treatment expenses. He has a fund set up here.

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Retired K-9 creates awareness about his terminal nerve disease - WISN Milwaukee

Can We Rebuild the Spinal Cord? These Scientists Are Redefining … – Inverse

After someone experiences a spinal cord injury, doctors set off on a race against the clock. Within a few hours, they rush patients into surgery and administer anti-inflammatory drugs, ranging from over-the-counter medications like Advil to the steroid methylprednisolone, to avoid as much damage as possible keeping in mind that post-injury swelling and insufficient blood supply can wreak further damage on neurons. After intervening during this narrow window of time, scientists have long thought that the chances of additional recovery grow slim.

The dominant thinking was that you should focus on acute injuries, Aileen Anderson, a stem cell researcher at the University of California, Irvine, tells Inverse. If you could just hit a magic bullet at that stage and minimize the amount of damage thats happening because it kind of rolls out over days and a couple of weeks this was the place to target.

People with spinal cord injuries can receive electrical stimulation via electrodes surgically placed near the spinal cord or stuck on the skin.

But in recent years, labs have made major strides in innovative techniques that can be applied long after the initial damage to the spinal cord, including using electrical currents to re-awaken key pathways in the nervous system and surgeries that could coax injuries to repair themselves.

These methods expand the possibilities of recovery for people who have lived with severe spinal cord injuries for years even several decades and may spend up to millions of dollars over their lifetimes on medical care and living expenses, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.

The leading causes of spinal cord injuries in the U.S. include traffic accidents, falls, and sports-related injuries, a 2016 study found. Each year, they occur among a relatively small number of people around 17,000. But a large population lives with the residual damage from chronic injuries (estimates vary widely between 250,000 and 1 million people, Anderson says.)

Ultimately, even minor progress for those with chronic injuries could have significant benefits, Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital in Canada, tells Inverse. The type of full-body paralysis experienced by the late Superman actor Christopher Reeve, for example, can run someone between $10 and $20 million when you factor in costs like multiple caregivers, an electric wheelchair, and home upgrades.

If one had a treatment that could even partially restore hand and upper extremity function and partially restore independence of a person, the economic impact and the human impact is enormous, Fehlings says.

Spinal cord damage can hinder the crucial nervous system circuitry that allows us to move and feel pain, among other important functions.

The spinal cord is a long, fragile column that contains nerve cells and skinny fibers called axons, which deliver messages back and forth between the brain and nerves located throughout the body. This constant communication tells muscles to move, helps us feel pain, and regulates heart rate, among other crucial functions.

Injuries can impair connections between nerves and hinder the nervous systems circuitry. For example, these disruptions may cause uncontrolled movements or loss of movement in certain body parts.

An individuals specific symptoms depend on the location of the injury; for example, impacts higher up in the spinal cord may cause paralysis in most of the body, referred to as quadriplegia or tetraplegia, according to the National Institutes of Health. Damage that occurs lower on the spinal cord can cause paralysis of the legs and lower body, or paraplegia.

Early interventions including surgery to decompress the spinal cord and drugs that reduce inflammation have long been considered key to recovery, Fehlings says. Researchers have also looked into techniques like inducing hypothermia in spinal cord injury patients. But ultimately, many efforts beyond surgery have produced only modest results in studies, according to Anderson.

There were a ton of strategies that people worked on in the lab to just minimize the initial damage, but there were also any number of failed clinical trials that came out of that, she says.

People with spinal cord injuries can receive rehab guided by robots or physical therapists to regain walking skills.

At the moment, patients can find some relief from side effects like muscle spasms and impaired bladder control. But most of whats currently offered in clinics cant actually fix the damage underlying these symptoms.

There are no therapies that recover people with chronic spinal cord injury right now, Susan Harkema, associate director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, tells Inverse. Most therapies that are approved with a clinical indication are to treat symptoms.

These therapies include a type of rehab called locomotor training that was pioneered by Harkema and her colleagues at the University of Louisville. During a rehab session, patients can wear a harness for support while a robot or staff member moves their legs on a treadmill. But a small number of centers offer this type of rehab, Anderson adds.

(In 2016, Harkemas team lost federal funding for a study on locomotor training due to concerns from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research that the team strayed from research protocols an unusual move from a government agency. Later, an internal audit from the University of Louisville failed to find major issues with the study but noted that some aspects of the research could be improved.)

Patients can also receive a technique first developed in the 1960s called electrical stimulation. This method sends low levels of electrical current to the spinal cord through electrodes placed on the skin or implanted near the spinal cord. These devices aim to replicate how the brain typically sends signals to various parts of the body, potentially reviving movement in areas affected by the injury.

Even when people have a very severe injury, there are some circuits that remain in the nervous system, Fehlings says. So the rationale for using the electrical stimulation is to try to, if you will, trick the nervous system to try to activate some of these circuits.

Electrical stimulation has shown benefits, like restoring a degree of arm and leg movement, aiding in the functioning of the lower urinary tract, and improving the effectiveness of rehab. In fact, when combined with rigorous physical training, it has even helped people walk again by engaging nerves that control lower-body movement.

While thats likely not possible for people with full-body paralysis due to the degree of damage, electrical stimulation may still help achieve a degree of movement that wouldnt otherwise be possible, such as improved hand grip and strength.

If we stimulate the spinal cord itself, people can move voluntarily who are fully paralyzed, even up to 40 years post-injury, Harkema says.

Over the last few years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a handful of electrical stimulation devices, including Abbotts Proclaim Plus device and Saludas Evoke System.

Moving forward, scientists want to pinpoint the precise group of neurons behind stimulations success so that they can be more effectively targeted during the process.

Some labs are even working on high-tech clothing that includes electrodes to help people on the go without the need for surgical implants a potentially crucial breakthrough since real-time stimulation gives people a higher degree of mobility. Eventually, the goal is for people to move without requiring stimulation.

This is an exciting approach, Fehlings says. Its not a cure for spinal cord injury it needs to be validated in larger clinical trials but its something that does have potential hope for individuals who have a chronic spinal cord injury.

Scientists think transplanting stem cells into the spinal cord may help repair the nervous system.

In what is perhaps the most revolutionary proposal, some scientists want to transplant stem cells into the spinal cord to restore sensory and motor function. This method has shown promise in animal studies, and several phase 2 human clinical trials are in the works.

The hope is that the new cells can replace the ones lost to injury and repair the spinal cords signaling highway. Plus, future transplants could use stem cells derived from the patients own body, potentially avoiding the negative health impacts of transplant rejection, Anderson explains.

Above all, this option could help patients who lack enough viable neural cells to benefit from other therapies that are currently in use.

The cellular transplantation approach seeks to address the individuals who have such a devastating spinal cord injury that even electrical stimulation is just not going to work, Fehlings says.

Some teams, including Anderson and her colleagues, are also trying to put specialized materials into peoples spinal cords, such as scaffolds made of hydrogels, as another method to help the spinal cord reconnect itself. It could also help to combine scaffolding and stem cells, Anderson says, an idea currently in the early stages of development.

Even if some of these approaches prove to be effective in trials, a lack of funding could prevent them from reaching wide swaths of patients. Since the number of spinal cord injuries that occur every year is relatively tiny, pharmaceutical companies may not see these concepts as worthwhile investments.

But these injuries share many features with conditions that also affect the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, strokes, and traumatic brain injuries.

We hope that [with] what we develop for spinal cord injury, we can make the case that it might be able to impact this broader set of diseases and therefore its worth investing in, she says.

Despite looming challenges, Fehling says hes feeling optimistic that regenerative medicine approaches like stem cell transplants could arrive in clinics within the next five to 10 years. If so, it could transform the lives of patients who may not benefit from todays options.

Were at an inflection point in the regenerative medicine era, he says. Im extremely hopeful.

These are the innovations of today that will shape the world of tomorrow. Subscribe for free to Inverses weekly newsletter that explores our future.

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Can We Rebuild the Spinal Cord? These Scientists Are Redefining ... - Inverse