Articles Tagged: Stem Cells
Given that the firm with the most money has just quit, questions about how to succeed are rampant.
Geron, a pioneer in stem cell research founded in 1990, announced on November 14 that it was halting its stem cell therapeutics programs to conserve funds. It plans on laying off 38% of its 175-person staff and is seeking partners to take on the programs’ assets.
Geron had been developing cell products from differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for multiple indications. The company is viewed as the leader in stem cell therapies because of its patents on technology used to grow, manipulate, and inject stem cells into the human body. It helped finance researchers at the University of Wisconsin who first isolated human embryonic stem cells in 1998, allowing the cells to be grown in the laboratory. Continue Reading »
A District Court judge in the US has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to ban federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. The decision, by Judge Royce Lambeth, is the latest development in the case of Sherley v Sebelius – a landmark lawsuit filed against the US’s state-funded National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2009.
The case was brought by two scientists, Dr James Sherley and Dr Theresa Deisher, who opposed changes to NIH guidelines that expanded hESC research following an executive order by President Barack Obama. This order eased restrictions on hESC research imposed by the previous President, George W. Bush, but the pair, who both work with adult stem cells, argued the new guidelines violated the Dickey-Wicker Amendment. This is a 1996 law which bars the use of federal funds for ‘research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed’. Continue Reading »
Published: July 7, 2011 | Category:
News 
After years of controversy, a therapy based on human embryonic stem cells is finally being tested in humans. The treatment holds out hope to paralyzed people, but at how great a risk?
Hans Keirstead wakes up every morning at his home near Los Angeles and checks CNN. He’s looking for news about the first-ever human test of embryonic stem cells, launched in October by the biotechnology firm Geron. Mostly, he’s looking for bad news. “If someone dies, or is in pain, then it’s over,” he says, pushing a hand through his tawny hair. Keirstead, dressed in a loose linen shirt and wearing a thumb ring, is a biologist at the University of California, Irvine, who has variously been called the “rock star,” “miracle worker,” and “Pied Piper” of stem-cell science. Today he has a corner office in a new $67 million research center paid for in part by California voters, whom he helped persuade to vote for a $3 billion stem-cell spending plan in 2004 with a video of partially paralyzed rats walking again after stem-cell transplants performed in his laboratory. Continue Reading »
Published: July 5, 2011 | Category:
Answers As dental physicians, it is our duty to keep up with the most current technology available in order to afford our patients the best care possible. Recently, dental retrieval and storage of stem cells has become a topic of interest in the dental community. To help you understand this exciting advancement in the dental field, this article will answer some of the most commonly asked questions about stem cells. Continue Reading »
Published: June 24, 2011 | Category:
News A challenge to funding of human embryonic stem-cell studies should be dismissed after an appeals court found the government-backed research to be lawful, the Obama administration said.
The Justice Department in a filing today urged U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to end a lawsuit that seeks to block the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and the National Institutes of Health from spending federal funds on researching human embryonic stem-cells, known as hESC.
Last year, Lamberth temporarily barred U.S. agencies from funding human embryonic research, finding it likely violated a 1996 law called the Dickey-Wicker Amendment. The law prevents the government from spending money on research where a human embryo is damaged or destroyed. Continue Reading »
Published: June 7, 2011 | Category:
News MENLO PARK, Calif.- Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) today announced two presentations on the company’s ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of the human embryonic stem cell-based therapy, GRNOPC1, in patients with spinal cord injury. Data on the first two patients were presented at the 2011 International Conference on Spinal Cord Medicine and Rehabilitation in Washington, D.C. A second presentation was given at the 2011 Spine Symposium, which was held as part of The American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Annual Scientific Meeting. The presentations were given by Edward Wirth, III, M.D., Ph.D., Geron’s Medical Director for Cell Therapies and Linda Jones, P.T., M.S., Geron’s Senior Clinical Trials Manager for GRNOPC1. Continue Reading »
Published: June 5, 2011 | Category:
News 
What’s the most catastrophic illness that can befall us? To me it’s a spinal cord injury (SCI) that results in total paralysis.
During a recent visit to Israel, I interviewed Dr. Shimon Rochkind, world-renowned neurosurgeon at the Tel Aviv University Sourasky Medical Center, an expert on SCI.
Every year 12,000 North Americans sustain spinal cord injury. The people involved are usually under the age of 30, and 80 percent are males. Some, like Christopher Reeves of Superman fame, fall from a horse. Others dive into shallow water or are involved in car accidents. Continue Reading »
Published: May 31, 2011 | Category:
News 
Once researchers are able refine techniques to derive pluripotent cells and utilize them to regenerate tissue, there will be vast applications in a clinical setting. Such advances could forever change the face of human health care. Continue Reading »
Published: May 17, 2011 | Category:
News The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has recently awarded $25 million dollars to “the first clinical trial based on cells derived from human embryonic stem cells that has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).” This clinical trial has been specifically designed to benefit spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Every year, 12,000 Americans suffer SCIs that permanently alter the quality of their lives. Continue Reading »
Published: May 10, 2011 | Category:
News BERLIN, May 10 (UPI) — German authorities say they’ve closed down a controversial clinic offering unproven stem cell treatments for a variety of physical conditions.
The XCell clinic had been treating disorders including cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury, ScienceMag.org reported Tuesday. Continue Reading »
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