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Tag: Stem Cell Research

  • Stroke Recovery Aided by Stem Cells, Study Shows

    A new study has shown that stem cells may aid recovery in rats that have suffered a stroke. The study, published in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, found that stem cell treatments improved the amount of brain and nerve tissue that was repaired and increased the ability of the rats to complete behavioral tasks. Researchers used stem cells from both bone-marrow and fat tissue, and found positive results for each.

    “Improved recovery was seen regardless of origin of the stem cells, which may increase the usefulness of this treatment in human trials,” said Dr. Exuperio Díez-Tejedor, principal investigator in the neurology department at La Paz University Hospital. “Adipose-derived cells in particular are abundant and easy to collect without invasive surgery.”

    Though this type of research is promising for human patients, the researchers stated that questions regarding treatment protocols and which types of stem cells to use still need to be answered.

    The rats in the study were injected with stem cells or saline 30 minutes after suffering a stroke. 24 hours after the stroke, the rats treated with stem cells had already shown a better recovery. Two weeks later the stem cell-treated rats had nearly normal scores on their behavioral tests.

    The rats that received stem cells were also found to have higher levels of biomarkers linked to brain repair. This is despite of the fact that the stem cells “did not appear to migrate to the damaged area of the brain.”

  • Lung Cancer Research Could Get Boost From New Stem Cell Findings

    New research conducted at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Institute suggests that lung cancer stem cells can be successfully isolated and grown in a preclinical model. Such a process could provide a new method for investigating immunotherapy treatment options that target lung cancer stem cells.

    “Increasing evidence supports the idea that cancerous tumors have a population of stem cells, also called cancer-initiating cells, that continually regenerate and fuel cancer growth,” explains Dr. John Morris, lead author of the study and professor at the UC College of Medicine. “These cancer stem cells may also have the highest potential to spread to other organs.”

    The researchers stated that current research models provide limited information in the interaction between cancer stem cells and the immune system. They claim this makes it “virtually impossible” to study therapies that utilize the body’s immune system to fight off cancer.

    The new study, published this week in PLOS One, successfully isolated lung cancer stem cells that can be used in a mouse model with full immune system function. The researchers used a “tumorsphere” assay test to accomplish this feat, allowing them to enrich their samples to isolate cancer stem cells.

    The research team now hopes to develop more effective therapies that target cancer stem cells by showing how those cells escape the body’s immune system.

    “One of the hypotheses behind why cancer therapies fail is that the drug only kills cells deemed to be ‘bad’ (because of certain molecular characteristics), but leaves behind stem cells to repopulate the tumor,” said Morris. “Stem cells are not frequently dividing, so they are much less sensitive to existing chemotherapies used to eliminate cells deemed abnormal.

    “Studying these unique cells could greatly improve our understanding of lung cancer’s origins and lead to the novel therapeutics targeting these cells and help to more effectively eradicate this disease. Immunotherapy is the future of cancer treatment. We are hopeful that this new method will accelerate our investigation of immunotherapies to specifically target cancer stem cells.”

  • Deafness Cure Demonstrated in Gerbils Using Stem Cells

    Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed a possible cure for deafness that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, turning them into ear cells.

    The researchers found that when they transplanted human embryonic stem cells into deaf gerbils, the gerbils gained an average “functional recovery” of 46%. This recovery took only four weeks from when the cells were first administered.

    “We developed a method to drive human embryonic stem cells to produce both hair cells and neurons, or nerve cells, but we only transplanted the neurons,” said Dr. Marcelo Rivolta, Reader in sensory stem cell biology at the university and lead on the project. “We then used a technique called auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABR), which measures if the brain can perceive an electrical signal after sound stimulation. The responses of the treated animals were substantially better than those untreated, although the range of improvement was broad. Some subjects did very well, while in others recovery was poor.”

    The specific type of deafness that the cells cured, researchers said, is similar to a human condition called auditory neuropathy, which is a deafness that occurs “at the level of the cochlear nerve,” and has to do with the connection of the ear’s hair cells with the brain. They estimate that 15% of the worldwide population with profound hearing loss have the condition. People can be born with auditory neuropathy, though the researchers said that growing evidence indicates factors such as jaundice at birth and noise exposure later in life can be risk factors.

    “We believe this an important step forward,” said Rivolta. “We have now a method to produce human cochlear sensory cells that we could use to develop new drugs and treatments, and to study the function of genes. And more importantly, we have the proof-of-concept that human stem cells could be used to repair the damaged ear.”

    Rivolta did state, however, that more research is needed, including research on the long-term effects of the treatment. He also said that auditory neuropathy patients who do not have hair cells might require a cochlear implant in conjunction with the stem cell treatment.

    The study was undertaken with funding from the U.K. Medical Research Council and the U.K. research charity Action on Hearing Loss.

    (Image courtesy the University of Sheffield)