In February 2014, Dr. Mike Solomonov, an anesthesiologist and pain management physician from Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, was enjoying a skiing holiday in Italy with his family. A mountainside crash left him with injuries including a partial tear of the ACL, a strain of the MCL, a tear in the meniscus cartilage of the knee, [Read More]
In recent years, the number of clinics offering stem cell therapy has ballooned from 50 to more than 500. This boom in experimental and unproven therapies has refocused attention on whether current US guidelines are sufficient. When Dr. Thomas Albini, an ophthalmologist in Florida, met the third woman blinded by an experimental stem cell treatment [Read More]
The endless possibilities of stem cell therapy are well known to the realms of orthopedics and skin rejuvenation, but now dentistry is joining the field of regenerative medicine to help potentially minimize the need for root canals. Scientists Kyle Vining of Harvard and Adam Celiz of the British University of Nottingham have teamed up to [Read More]
It’s no secret that regenerative medicine is quickly working its way into every nook and cranny of the American medical system, but other countries aren’t far behind. China has been growing its regenerative medicine sector for the last two decades and providing the world with critical research findings regarding stem cells, tissue engineering, and gene [Read More]
Mayo Clinic, the nonprofit organization devoted to clinical practice, education, and research in Florida, Minnesota, and Arizona, has once again maintained its reputation for utilizing the most innovative therapies to help patients with challenging health conditions. In this specific instance, Mayo Clinic researchers employed regenerative medicine to successfully close an open wound in the upper [Read More]
Recent results from a phase 2 clinical trial using stem cell transplantation have offered new hope for the treatment of aggressive multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis (MS), while not a deadly disease, is known as severely debilitating, slowly deteriorating a patient’s entire nervous system. An aggressive form of MS rapidly results in failure of the nerves [Read More]
It’s happened to all of us at some point in our lives. We’ve seen someone with natural good looks and felt a bit of envy. Some people inherit impossibly smooth skin with just a hint of blush on the cheeks. Their skin has a plump hydrated appearance with a naturally bronzed color. There are no [Read More]
For more than 60 years, we have been expanding the transplantation of organs from the kidneys to the liver, lungs and even the heart. Likewise, the altruistic donation of other bodily tissues and materials has become a mainstay of modern medicine, exemplifying our ability to heal one another. Blood transfusions are used on a daily [Read More]
Being at the frontier of medicine is nothing new for the Mayo Clinic. Ranked #1 in more specialties than any other hospital in America consistently for the last 20 years, the clinic’s 3300 physicians, researchers, and scientists in Arizona, Minnesota, and Florida lead the way in innovative therapies. When traditional therapies fail, patients often seek [Read More]
Researchers at Penn Medicine have been looking closely at how fish and frogs regenerate damaged heart muscle. They hope to mimic these repair mechanisms in humans. The human heart is not particularly good at repairing itself, explains Dr. Ed Morrisey, Ph.D., professor of cell and developmental biology at the Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. [Read More]
Stem cell tourism has been in the news lately with horrifying stories of treatments gone wrong. But according to a report published in Cell Stem Cell, Americans don’t need to travel thousands of miles for experimental treatments. There are more than 500 clinics offering completely illegal, often ineffective, and potentially fatal stem cell treatments in [Read More]
The skin is the human body’s first line of defense. Heat, electricity, caustic chemicals, radiation, and sunlight can all damage the skin with a burn injury. Scalding from steam or boiling liquids, fires, and flammable gasses and liquids are some of the most common causes of skin burns. Depending on the severity of the injury, [Read More]
This is a unique time in the history of medicine. Regenerative medicine is entering its renaissance period. Exciting research is underway. Giant leaps are being made in understanding the human body. Scientists at Stanford are helping stroke patients confined to wheelchairs walk again. Stunning advances in 3-D organ printing are making artificial hearts, kidneys, and [Read More]
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates stem cell therapies and ensures that they are safe as well as effective for the intended use. The FDA has jurisdiction over the production and marketing of a wide range of human cells, tissues, and tissue-based products. Scientists and physicians must answer many questions [Read More]
Regenerative medicine has made great strides in the past few decades, but growing a whole organ in the laboratory has eluded medical science. The main reason is that a very large number of cells are needed to construct an entire organ. Now, researchers at Japan’s Kumamoto University and the National Cancer Institute in the United [Read More]
Theresa Wagner of Northland, Missouri, was at high risk of vascular disease. Smoking and heredity had dealt a double blow to her circulation. When Dr. Keith Allen, a cardiovascular surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital, met Theresa four years ago, her foot was badly infected due to very poor circulation. What should have appeared as a [Read More]
The Cures Act, formerly called the 21st Century Cures Act, passed the US House of Representatives on July 10, 2015. Presently, the legislation is winding its way through the Senate. Its supporters tout the bill as a patient’s best friend, in that it will allow for speedy passage of new “breakthrough” drugs and medical devices. [Read More]
Stem cells and growth factors are both trending words right now within the medical community, especially as certain treatments become widely available for patients to utilize for a multitude of purposes. It can be complicated to understand the difference between the two when it seems like they achieve the same outcome, but stem cells and [Read More]
The idea of restoring memory is nothing short of a dream come true for family member who have watched loved ones suffer through the grips of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions that attack the brain’s ability to function. Medicine is now more advanced than it’s ever been before, and this has allowed researchers to [Read More]
Humans tend to become weaker, sicker, and more prone to injury as they age, and animals are no different. The role of domesticated pets has significantly evolved since the days when dogs and cats would roam wild on farms next to goats and cows. Today, most families have one or two pets that they treat [Read More]
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an inherited disease affecting 1 in every 3,600 live-born male infants. The condition is associated with progressive degradation of muscles and weakness that worsens quickly. Boys with DMD have a defective gene and lack of a protein called dystrophin in their muscles. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is inherited in a way [Read More]
About 2.5 million people around the world and 400,000 Americans are affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), a disabling disease of the nervous system in which the body’s immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that covers nerves. This leads to gaps in communication between the brain and various parts of the body. In advanced cases, [Read More]
Close to 800,000 Americans are struck by a stroke each year. Depending on the severity and how much of the brain is affected, the damage can be temporary or permanent. Following stroke, rehabilitation can help healthy brain cells take over the function of cells that were damaged due to the lack of blood supply. However, [Read More]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1 million people in the United States suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic inflammatory condition of the gut for which there is no prevention or cure. While we know IBD is more common in people of Ashkenazic Jewish and Caucasian origin, [Read More]
More people in America have Parkinson’s disease than muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and Lou Gehrig’s disease combined. Approximately 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, but many more go undetected. Worldwide, it is predicted that 7 to 10 million people are living with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s is more common in men and its incidence increases with [Read More]
In what is sure to be a major boost to the field of regenerative medicine, two-year-old Orig3n, a Boston-based biotech startup, has outlined plans to harness the power of induced pluripotent stem cells and build what will be the world’s largest (and possibly most diverse) biobank. Robin Smith, CEO and co-founder, is a serial entrepreneur. [Read More]
Millions of Americans are affected by mental disability. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the prevalence of autism is 1 in 88 children. About 1 in 323 children have been diagnosed as having cerebral palsy. These two disorders are the most common disabilities affecting children. A special needs child affects the [Read More]
At the 10th edition of the World Biomaterials Congress held at the Palais des Congres in Montreal in mid-May 2016, some groundbreaking ideas were discussed by the powerhouses in the field. Scientists converged on the Canadian city to talk about topics such as cartilage that can repair itself, tissue that can be spun on a [Read More]
Top athletes and sportspersons are under tremendous pressure to get back into play. They have millions of dollars riding on their backs. Their teams depend on them. A single serious injury can end a promising career. Until now, surgery has been the mainstay of treatment for sports-related injuries. Athletes are left with wires, plates, screws, [Read More]
Viagra was approved by the FDA as a treatment for erectile dysfunction in men in 1998. Over the past nearly two decades, it has gone on to change the lives of millions of men around the world by restoring sexual function. The little blue pill is credited with saving countless marriages. However, a similar “miracle” [Read More]
On March 1, 2012, a baby girl named Reagan came into the world. Though she quickly grew into an energetic toddler eager to play and dance, she was diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome at the age of only two years old. Reagan’s parent’s lives were turned upside down as they listened to the doctor tell them [Read More]
Medicine is poised at an important junction. Moving forward, stem cell therapies could result in substantial innovation. Alternatively, unregulated clinicians in private practice could take this branch of medicine down the path of quackery. The FDA is ready to tighten regulations, leaving the stem cell community on tenterhooks. Patients hoping to benefit from increased access [Read More]
An early-phase trial has demonstrated that gene therapy may help Bubble Boys, a term that became famous in the 1970s and 1980s after David Vetter, a Houston boy with severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID), lived in a germ-free plastic bubble for 12 years. David was put in a plastic isolation unit immediately after birth because [Read More]
Myth #1 – Stem cell therapies are tried and tested The only well-defined and extensively used stem cell treatment is in the hematopoietic (blood) system; for example, bone marrow transplantation, in which healthy bone marrow stem cells replace destroyed and damaged bone marrow (the soft fatty tissue inside bones that produces blood cells). Stem cells [Read More]
One of the most promising avenues of regenerative medicine is the injection of intact, living cells into a patient, a branch of medicine known as cell therapy. For instance, as a form of immunotherapy, T-cells may be injected into a patient to fight cancer cells with cell-mediated immunity. After a therapeutic cell phenotype has been [Read More]
Finding out you’re expecting a baby is one of the most joyful moments in life. However, losing the baby before it’s even born can be devastating. If you have had three or more miscarriages in a row, it is called recurrent miscarriage, a condition that can leave you feeling utterly hopeless. There are several reasons [Read More]
On May 5, 2016, Cranberry Holistic Pet Care in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania made headlines when they completed an unprecedented stem cell procedure on a canine patient. This particular dog suffered from osteoarthritis and was constantly in pain, but the treatment itself indicates the wider potential of stem cell treatments to improve the quality of life [Read More]
Disease is always devastating, but childhood disease in particular is heartbreaking beyond what words can describe. It seems so unfair that innocent children are forced to suffer from terrible diseases with few treatments and no known cures. The growing potential of stem cell therapy recently inspired scientists at the University of Manchester in England to [Read More]
The eye is an incredible and complex piece of anatomy, which means it stands the risk of malfunctioning or becoming injured at any time. Glaucoma is one such disease that can cause vision loss and blindness, but stem cell research recently uncovered a potential method to overcome the disease and help prevent or even cure [Read More]
Stem cell therapy could soon be used to treat what is, at present, incurable blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited degenerative disease affecting the retina of the eye, associated with a gradual loss of vision. The retina is composed of a layer of cells responsible for sensing light in the human eye. Retinitis [Read More]
The numbers are mind boggling when it comes to the potential benefits of regenerative medicine. The direct cost of organ replacement globally is $350 billion. Heart valves cost $27 billion annually. The world’s 17 million diabetics are costing us $132 billion every year. The list goes on. By repairing and replacing damaged tissue, regenerative medicine [Read More]
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) released its quarterly report in early May, and the numbers look promising. The data gleaned from an in-depth look at close to 700 gene therapy and cell therapy stakeholders in the regenerative medicine sector shows the trends and metrics from the first quarter of 2016. The ARM is an [Read More]
Angina—a squeezing, pressure-like chest pain—can feel similar to a heart attack and is a warning sign that the arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart are blocked. Although angina is typically short-lived, it is an indicator of underlying, potentially life-threatening heart disease. Refractory angina (RA) is resistant to traditional therapies such as drugs, angioplasty, and [Read More]
Most people had never heard of the Zika virus before the current epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean brought it into the limelight. First discovered in 1947 and named after the Zika Forest in Uganda, the virus spreads from person to person through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. The symptoms include fever, [Read More]
Damage to the spinal cord frequently results in a permanent loss of body functions that are controlled by nerves below the site of injury. Trauma to the spine from fractures, crush injuries, gunshot wounds, and knife stabbings are some of the possible causes of spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Non-traumatic causes include arthritis, inflammation, infection, tumors, [Read More]
Just like all cells, tissues, and organs in the body, stem cells also age as a person grows older. Now scientists have developed a technique to rejuvenate aging stem cells and allow them to function like their younger, more robust versions. This method of transforming old stem cells into new has applications in the treatment [Read More]
If you are over age 50, have severe osteoarthritis of the knees, and conservative treatments have failed you, the only treatment available for your stiff and painful joints has long been a knee replacement surgery. This entails an approximately 8-12 inch cut in front of the knee, removal of the damaged joint parts, and replacement [Read More]
Gene manipulation and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are at the cutting edge of regenerative medicine. Research is underway in using these cellular and genome-editing techniques to treat innumerable diseases afflicting human beings, but their use in repairing the damages of aging have ethical and cultural implications. However, there is a growing change in attitude [Read More]
In a preemptive approach to treat a debilitating genetic disease, scientists in Germany and the United States are planning clinical trials to use stem cell therapy to treat osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) in ailing fetuses. Occurring in about one in 20,000 live births, OI is the result of a gene mutation that leads to a deficiency [Read More]
Celebrities have millions of dollars riding on their looks, and it’s no wonder that they are the first to try (and get hooked on) some pretty bizarre beauty treatments. One regimen that has taken Hollywood by storm has been dubbed the Vampire Facial or the Vampire Facelift. It was based on the gory photos of [Read More]
