Researchers at Adelaide University have developed a potential therapy for stroke victims utilizing dental stem cells to regenerate damaged brain cells. The study involved the use of human dental pulp stem cells in rats suffering from post- stroke symptoms. The stem cells were transplanted into the damaged brains of the rats with the rats showing significant improvement in brain function, motor skills and cognitive abilities within several weeks. The therapy poses a new possibility for patients who have suffered a stroke. Patients will be able to use stem cells extracted from their own teeth to regenerate damaged brain tissue. The use of autologous stem cells eliminates the risk of rejection and the need for immune-suppression drugs and results in a more positive outcome. The research is so promising that the researchers hope to begin clinical trials within three to four years.
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Stem Cell Treatment For Stroke Victims Shows Promising Results
A new stem cell treatment for stroke patients is showing promising results, according to the researchers conducting the trial in Scotland at the Institute of Neurological Sciences.
So far five of the is patients who have received stem cell therapy have shown improvement and exhibited no adverse side effects.
Stem Cell Clinical Trials Advance Regenerative Medicine Into Prime Time
The promise of regenerative medicine has taken another step toward fruition this past week with announcements inYokohama, Japan at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) that two research groups are moving forward with human clinical trials. One will be focusing on a rare genetic neurological disease [Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) – a progressive and fatal disorder in which a genetic mutation inhibits the normal growth of myelin] and another for the loss of vision in elderly people [age-related macular degeneration (AMD)]
New Stem Cell Breakthrough Successfully Mimics Natural Brain Cell Development
Researchers at Lund University have developed a new technique that differentiates stem cells into brain cells. This new method is simpler, faster, and safer than previous research methods and thus creates the opportunity to expedite the facilitation of clinical cell transplants.This technique has proved so successful because it mimics the brain’s natural development process, the team reported.
Researchers Successfully Differentiate Autologous Stem Cells into Healthy Bone
Scientists at UCLA utilized autologous stem cells [the recipient’s own stem cells] to grow new bone, which was found to develop more quickly and be of higher quality than bone grown using traditional methods.
This new research aims to supplant current methods, such as painful bone grafts. Utilizing the stem cells found in the patient’s own body does away with issues such as tissue rejection and the need for long term supplemental medications.
Tokyo Researchers Grow Human Liver From Stem Cells
A team led by Professor Hideki Taniguchi at Yokohama City University in Tokyo successfully grew a fully functional human liver from stem cells.
The breakthrough marks a major advance in the creation of human organs, a key battleground for doctors who constantly face a shortage of transplant donors. The utility of stem cells to not only reverse damage in existing organs but actually grow entirely new ones underscores the paradigm shift regenerative medicine is creating in the field of medicine.
Global Collaboration Enables Stem Cell Therapy to Rehabilitate Tragically Burned 3-Year-Old
Johannesburg, South Africa – After three-year-old Isabella “Pippie” Kruger was burned on over 80% of her body in a tragic accident, her mother was left searching for a viable option to repair her extremely damaged skin and save her life.
Scotland Announces Major New Regenerative Medical Initiative with Opening of the New Stem Cell Center
As an example of the resources both the private and public sectors are directing to regenerative medicine, Scotland announced a new stem cell research center and biomedical incubator to research stem cell therapies for conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Motor Neuron Disease, and Heart and Liver Disease. In this new facility, there are accommodations for 250 scientists and includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK.
Autologous Stem Cell Treatment Saves 10 Year Old Girl’s Life
In another example of how quickly regenerative medical treatments are advancing, a 10 year old girl’s life was saved when she received a new organ created utilizing her own autologous stem cells.
Adult Stem Cells Show Promise for Treating Debilitating Injuries
Delmarvanow.com recently published a moving article regarding a personal perspective on adult stem cell therapies: this story depicts the perspective of a man who has been paraplegic for over 30 years after an accident during a business trip. He recently discovered the promising research surrounding the use of adult stem cell therapies for patients suffering from long term and previously irreparable injuries. Specifically, he found that “the stem cell transplants had shown dramatic successes in reversing damage to the central nervous system”.