http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Initial results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, showed that patients who received the oral drug lenalidomide (Revlimid, also known as CC-5013) following a blood stem cell transplant had their cancer kept in check longer than patients who received a placebo. http://www.physorg.com/news180631466.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:40:03 EST news180631466 A recent study, published in the December issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, demonstrates new survival data for the blood disorder myelofibrosis. This retrospective study is the largest ever conducted in young patients with primary myelofibrosis. http://www.physorg.com/news180017004.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:10:02 EST news180017004 Results of a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins show that "mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults. http://www.physorg.com/news179602876.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:42:02 EST news179602876 Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) stem cells are removed at a convenient time and generally re-implanted after a course of high-dose chemotherapy. At present, there is neither indication nor proof of additional benefit compared to conventional chemotherapy. Owing to current gaps in knowledge, autologous stem cell transplantation for this disease should only be used within controlled trials at present. This is the conclusion of the final report of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), published on 25 November 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news179503497.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:03 EST news179503497 A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics. When the gene, called UGT2B17, is missing from the donor's genome but present in the recipient's, transplants have a significantly greater risk of a serious side-effect known as graft-versus-host disease, in which immune cells from the donor attack tissues in the recipient. http://www.physorg.com/news178119875.html Medicine & Health Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:30:01 EST news178119875 A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease returning. This finding has the potential to change the current medical practice of using one unit of UCB for treatment of patients who are at high risk for recurrence of leukemia and other cancers of the blood and bone marrow. http://www.physorg.com/news177359380.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:40:01 EST news177359380 Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), cells found in the layer of peripheral embryonic stem cells from which the placenta is formed, are thought to exhibit "immune privilege" that aids cell survivability and is potentially beneficial for cell and gene therapies. Further, the survivability of TSCs has been thought to require the presence of ovarian hormones. However, none of these assumptions has ever been verified. This study, published in the current issue of the journal Cell Transplantation (18:7) has demonstrated that it is the absence of male hormones, rather than the presence of female hormones, that allows extended transplanted cell survivability. http://www.physorg.com/news176047451.html Biology Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:10:01 EST news176047451 A Swiss research team has found that using an animal's own brain cells (autologous transplant) to replace degenerated neurons in select brain areas of donor primates with simulated but asymptomatic Parkinson's disease and previously in a motor cortex lesion model, provides a degree of brain protection and may be useful in repairing brain lesions and restoring function. http://www.physorg.com/news176014548.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:56:51 EST news176014548 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a novel cell injection test-bed to evaluate the barriers to transplanted cell integration with cardiac tissue. The results provide insights into the barriers that should be considered during heart cell transplantation studies. http://www.physorg.com/news175443683.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:22:55 EST news175443683 A recent study by Scripps Research Institute scientists offers good news for families of children afflicted with the rare genetic disorder, cystinosis. In research that holds out hope for one day developing a potential therapy to treat the fatal disorder, the study shows that the genetic defect in mice can be corrected with stem cell transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news172412710.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:26:39 EST news172412710 Pediatric researchers have resolved an apparent contradiction in the field of prenatal cell transplantation - a medical approach that holds future promise in correcting sickle cell disease and other serious congenital blood disorders. In a new study in animals, the researchers showed that the mother's immune response interferes with the offspring's earlier ability to tolerate transplanted donor cells. http://www.physorg.com/news169704026.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:10:01 EST news169704026 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new model that explains how cells communicate and specifically reveals how blood cells "talk" to each other. The result could help transform treatments for diseases such as leukemia. http://www.physorg.com/news168702550.html Biology Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:00:01 EST news168702550 An Italian research team, publishing in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (18:4), has found that stem cells derived from human placenta may ultimately play a role in the treatment of lung diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis and fibrotic diseases caused by tuberculosis, chemical exposure, radiation or pathogens. These diseases can ultimately lead to loss of normal lung tissue and organ failure. No known therapy effectively reverses or stops the fibrotic process. http://www.physorg.com/news167922048.html Biology Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:10:03 EST news167922048 The frontiers of cell transplantation for cardiac repair are discussed in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 18 No.3), now available on-line. http://www.physorg.com/news165670566.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:40:02 EST news165670566 An analysis of previous studies indicates that allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) (stem cells from a compatible donor) is associated with significant overall and relapse-free survival benefit among adult patients with intermediate- and poor-risk but not good-risk acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission, compared with nonallogeneic SCT therapies, according to an article in the June 10 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news163822596.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:16:59 EST news163822596 A multicenter research team has announced encouraging results for an experimental therapy using elements of the body's immune system to improve cure rates for children with neuroblastoma, a challenging cancer of the nervous system. http://www.physorg.com/news162665086.html Medicine & Health Wed, 27 May 2009 17:45:02 EST news162665086 Transplanted embryonic stem cells are recognized as a potential treatment for patients suffering from the effects of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, in studies using embryonic stem cells transplanted into SCI laboratory animals, a serious drawback has been the development of tumors following transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news161267482.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 May 2009 13:31:51 EST news161267482 The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes. http://www.physorg.com/news158930826.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:27:34 EST news158930826 Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) School of Medicine have demonstrated in mice that transplanted pancreatic precursor cells are protected from the immune system when encapsulated in polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). The study, which suggests a new approach to treating Type 1 diabetes, was published online on April 8 in the journal Transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news158505159.html Medicine & Health Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:13:48 EST news158505159 Human trials under way at the University of Miami and other hospitals in Europe, Asia and Latin America using immature adult stem cells are showing promise for people with type 2 diabetes. http://www.physorg.com/news157534107.html Medicine & Health Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:29:23 EST news157534107 In contrast to women, men are fertile throughout life, but research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has now shown that a fertilising sperm can get help from the egg to rejuvenate. The result is an important step towards future stem cell therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news157201393.html Biology Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:03:42 EST news157201393 A study to determine if patients with type 2 diabetes can benefit from a combination of autologous (patient self-donated) stem cell infusions (ASC) and hyperbaric (above the normal air pressure of ) oxygen treatment (HBO) before and after ASC has found "significant benefits" in terms of "improvements in glycemic control" along with "reduced insulin requirements." The combination therapy could decrease type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, said the authors, who published their study results in the latest issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 17 No.12). http://www.physorg.com/news156091553.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:46:41 EST news156091553 Researchers from DaVinci Biosciences, Costa Mesa, California, in collaboration with Hospital Luis Vernaza in Ecuador, have determined that injecting a patient's own bone marrow-derived stem cells (autologous BMCs) directly into the spinal column using multiple routes can be an effective treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) that returns some quality of life for SCI patients without serious adverse events. http://www.physorg.com/news156091469.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:45:05 EST news156091469 The body's immune system hates strangers. When its security patrol spots a foreign cell, it annihilates it. http://www.physorg.com/news146409096.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:11:36 EST news146409096 According to an Italian research team publishing their findings in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (17:6), hearing loss due to cochlear damage may be repaired by transplantation of human umbilical cord hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) since they show that a small number migrated to the damaged cochlea and repaired sensory hair cells and neurons. http://www.physorg.com/news139658312.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:58:32 EST news139658312