#Stem Cells Create Early Human Heart Development Model UC Berkeley researchers, in collaboration with scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, have developed a template for growing beating cardiac tissue from stem cells,
a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular disease and a professor of medical genetics and cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San francisco. his technology could help us quickly screen for drugs likely to generate cardiac birth defects,
a drug known to cause severe birth defects. They found that at normal therapeutic doses the drug led to abnormal development of microchambers, including decreased size,
problems with muscle contraction and lower beat rates compared with heart tissue that had not been exposed to thalidomide. e chose drug cardiac developmental toxicity screening to demonstrate a clinically relevant application of the cardiac microchambers,
The most commonly reported birth defects involve the heart, and the potential for generating cardiac defects is of utmost concern in determining drug safety during pregnancy.
cells along the edge experienced greater mechanical stress and tension, and appeared more like fibroblasts,
which is an imperfect model for human disease. The researchers pointed out that while this study focused on heart tissue,
#Immunotherapy Show Promise In fighting Blood Cancer In recent years, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment for certain cancers.
genetically engineered to target tumors, has shown significant success against multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells that is largely incurable.
The results appeared in a study published online in Nature Medicine. Patients received an infusion of altered immune cells known as T-cells roughly 2. 4 billion of them after undergoing a stem cell transplantation of their own stem cells.
In 16 of 20 patients with advanced disease there was a significant clinical response. The scientists found that the T-cell therapy was tolerated generally well
and that modified immune cells traveled to the bone marrow, where myeloma tumors typically are showed found,
and a long-term ability to fight the tumors. Relapse was associated generally with a loss of the engineered T-cells. his study suggests that treatment with engineered T-cells is not only safe
but of potential clinical benefit to patients with certain types of aggressive multiple myeloma, says first author Aaron P. Rapoport, M d,
. the Gary Jobson Professor in Medical Oncology at the University of Maryland School of medicine. ur findings provide a strong foundation for further research in the field of cellular immunotherapy for myeloma to help achieve even better
results for our patients. he trial is published the first use of genetically modified T-cells for treating patients with multiple myeloma.
The approach has been used to treat leukemia as well as lymphoma, according to Dr. Rapoport, who is the Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.
More than 77,000 people in the United states have multiple myeloma, with about 24,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
Patients are treated with chemotherapy and in many cases an autologous stem cell transplant but long-term response rates are low,
or didn have a complete response had periods of disease control that I believe they would not have experienced otherwise.
Dr. Rapoport and co-authors Edward A. Stadtmauer, M d.,of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center,
In the clinical study, patientst-cells were engineered to express an affinity-enhanced T-cell receptor (TCR) specific for a type of tumor antigen,
or protein, known as a cancer-testis antigen (CT antigen). The target CT antigens were NY-ESO-1
and LAGE-1. Up to 60 percent of advanced myelomas have been reported to express NY-ESO-1 and/or LAGE-1,
which correlates to tumor proliferation and poorer outcomes. According to Adaptimmune, the trial is published the first study of lentiviral vector mediated TCR gene expression in humans.
Half the patients were treated at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center and half at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center.
Researchers note that the response rate was better than would be expected for a standard autologous stem cell transplant.
or CARS) used to treat other cancers. The study was developed originally by Carl H. June, M d.,of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center,
and Dr. Rapoport, who have been research collaborators for 18 years. ultiple myeloma is a treatable but largely incurable cancer.
This study reveals the promise that immunotherapy with genetically engineered T-cells holds for boosting the body ability to attack the cancer
and provide patients with better treatments and control of their disease, said E. Albert Reece, M d..,Ph d.,MBA,
vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and dean of the University of Maryland School of medicine. his trial is also an excellent example of significant
scientific advances that result from collaborations between academic medical institutions and private industry. ource: University of Marylan n
#Uncovering the Spread of Bacteria in Pneumonia Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered the role a toxin produced by a pneumonia-causing bacterium plays in the spread of infection from the lungs to the bloodstream in hospitalized patients. rior to this study,
it was a mystery how the bacteria escaped from the lungs into the bloodstream, said Alan Hauser, M d.,Ph d,
. professor in Microbiology-Immunology and Medicine-Infectious disease. hese findings lay the foundation for future studies to further understand the mechanisms for how the escape to the bloodstream occurs.
In a paper published in PLOS Pathogens Dr. Hauser and his team used a mouse model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) pneumonia to examine how the bacterium uses its secretion system to inject a toxin, called Exos, into cells.
Exos has previously been linked to a higher incidence of infections spreading to the blood. f we can understand this at a higher level of detail,
perhaps we will be able to design inhibitors that can be flushed into the bloodstream or the lung of a person who has PA pneumonia and block this process.
If we can block these processes, we may be able to prevent bacteria from disseminating to the bloodstream during pneumonia,
said Dr. Hauser, also a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
They collaborated with the Center for Advanced Microscopy to use a novel imaging technique to identify cells injected with Exos.
Dr. Hauser also found that injection of the toxin occurred in specific regions which they labeled ields of cell injectionor FOCI. e got a surprising result,
Furthermore, they determined that increased FOCI size was associated with enhanced disruption of the barrier between the lungs and bloodstream and ultimately the spreading of the bacteria in to the blood. his injection of Exos results in breakdown of a barrier between the pulmonary space and the vascular space,
Next, Dr. Hauser plans to continue studying the mechanism of how Exos leads to the formation of FOCI. his research might have implications for other bacteria that frequently cause pneumonia
Scientists from the University of Nottingham in England have discovered a fully man-made substrate that could produce billions of human embryonic stem cells and move laboratory-based research to industrial-scale biomedicine.
Stem cells are being investigated to fight a number of diseases, and have even recently been considered as an option to treat mitochondrial disease,
as the Los angeles times reported. Morgan Alexander, professor of biomedical surfaces in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham
and Chris Denning, professor of stem cell biology in the School of medicine led the research project, iscovery of a Novel Polymer for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion and Multilineage Differentiation. he possibilities for regenerative medicine are still being reached in the form of clinical trials,
when those therapies are proved to be safe and effective. Potentially, the material could benefit clinical use in the treatment of the heart, liver and brain
#Treatment Failure in Parasite Infection Tied to Virustwo new studies explain why some parasite infections,
The findings, available online in The Journal of Infectious diseases, suggest that simple changes in current treatments could improve the lives of millions of people sickened by parasite infections. ur findings may mean that treatment for Leishmania infections could be improved significantly by determining
Beverley team focused on infections in Bolivia and Peru, while the other team, led by Catherine Ronet,
```Leishmaniasis is mainly spread by sand flies. Depending on the parasite species, symptoms of infection may include large skin lesions, fever, swelling of the spleen and liver,
and sometimes disfigurement and death. The virus carried by the parasite is called Leishmaniavirus, or LRV1.
In earlier research in animals, the scientists found that Leishmania causes more severe infections when the parasite is infected with LRV1.
Bolivia and Belgium examined data on 97 leishmaniasis patients. These were gathered through a project on drug resistance,
funded by the European commission and led by co-author Jean-Claude Dujardin, Ph d.,of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. n Peru,
leishmaniasis is common in people who work in agriculture and forestry, said lead author Vanessa Adaui, Ph d,
and although infections typically are not fatal, they can lead to significant scarring, social stigmatization and economic loss. ll over the world,
treatment failure is a major obstacle to the control of infectious diseases like leishmaniasis, said Dujardin. t is of uppermost importance to understand the factors contributing to this failure to better tackle it.
The researchers found that treatment failed to cure more than 50 percent of patients with parasites infected with the LRV1 virus
. But the failure rate was only 24 percent in patients with parasites that were free of the virus. The standard treatment for leishmaniasis differs based on the parasite species that causes the infection
Parasites infected with the virus were harder to cure, he said. Based on the new research, it may be possible to develop clinical tests to identify virus-infected parasites.
The scientists are investigating how viral infection makes leishmaniasis more difficult to cure. According to Beverley, the parasites infected with the virus may be interacting with patientsimmune systems in a way that disrupts treatment.
Another, more likely possibility is that an increase in parasites spurred by the virus may make it more challenging for treatment to completely eliminate the parasites. number of other human parasites bear viral infections that are reminiscent of LRV1 in Leishmania,
#Software Turns Smartphones into Tools for Medical Research Jody Kearns doesn't like to spend time obsessing about her Parkinson's disease.
"The thing with Parkinson's disease is there's not much you can do about it, "she said of the nervous-system disorder,
but has no cure.""So when I heard about this, I thought, `I can do this.'"
'"Smartphone apps are the latest tools to emerge from the intersection of health care and Silicon valley,
and doctors together online, applying massive computing power to analyze DNA and even developing ingestible"smart"pills for detecting cancer.
Scientists overseeing the studies say the apps could transform medical research by helping them collect information more frequently and from more people, across larger and more diverse regions,
"said Dr. Michael Mcconnell, a Stanford university cardiologist, who's using an app to study heart disease."
"It's one thing that people have with them every day.""While the studies are in early stages,
in some cases, may be more reliable than a doctor's observations. These can be correlated with other health or fitness data and even environmental conditions, such as smog levels, based on the phone's GPS locater.
Google Inc. says it's developing a health-tracking wristband specifically designed for medical studies.
But if smartphones hold great promise for medical research experts say there are issues to consider
Apple had created previously software called Healthkit for apps that track iphone owners'health statistics and exercise habits.
and helping to democratize medicine, "Williams said in an interview. Apple launched its Researchkit program in March with five apps to investigate Parkinson's, asthma, heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer.
A sixth app was released last month to collect information for a long-term health study of gays and lesbians by the University of California,
a University of Rochester neurologist who's leading the Parkinson's app study called mpower.""Participating in clinical studies is often a burden,
Dorsey said that's more objective than a process still used in clinics, where doctors watch patients tap their fingers
and assign them a numerical score. Some apps rely on participants to provide data. Elizabeth Ortiz, a 48-year-old New york nurse with asthma, measures her lung power each day by breathing into an inexpensive plastic device.
She types the results into the Asthma Health app which also asks if she's had difficulty breathing or sleeping,
or taken medication that day.""I'm a Latina woman and there's a high rate of asthma in my community,
"said Ortiz, who said she already used her iphone"constantly"for things like banking and email."
and anyone else who suffers from asthma.""None of the apps test experimental drugs or surgeries.
Instead, they're designed to explore such questions as how diseases develop or how sufferers respond to stress, exercise or standard treatment regimens.
Stanford's Mcconnell said he also wants to study the effect of giving participants feedback on their progress,
or reminders about exercise and medication. In the future, researchers might be able to incorporate data from participants'hospital records,
Some studies will always require in-person interaction or supervision by a doctor, experts say. But by reaching more people and gathering more data, advocates say smartphone apps can help doctors answer more subtle questions about a disease."
"Diseases like asthma are complicated very. They're not caused by a single gene or environmental influence,"said Eric Schadt,
a genomics professor who's using an iphone app to study asthma at New york's Icahn School of medicine at Mount sinai."
"The only hope you have of really going further in resolving this disease is for researchers to get to more people
#In CRISPR Advance, Scientists Successfully Edit Human T cells In a project spearheaded by investigators at UC San francisco,
Because these immune-system cells play important roles in a wide range of diseases, from diabetes to AIDS to cancer, the achievement provides a versatile new tool for research on T cell function,
as well as a path toward CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies for many serious health problems. Using their novel approach,
a protein that has attracted intense interest in the burgeoning field of cancer immunotherapy, as scientists have shown that using drugs to block PD-1 coaxes T cells to attack tumors.
The CRISPR/Cas9 system has captured the imagination of both scientists and the general public, because it makes it possible to easily
are an obvious candidate for medical applications of the technology, as these cells not only stand at the center of many disease processes,
but could be gathered easily from patients, edited with CRISPR/Cas9, then returned to the body to exert therapeutic effects.
But in practice, editing T cell genomes with CRISPR/Cas9 has proved surprisingly difficult, said Alexander Marson, Ph d.,a UCSF Sandler Fellow,
There are a lot of potential therapeutic applications and we want to make sure wee driving this as hard as we can.
and medicine. t been great to be part of this exciting collaboration, and I look forward to seeing the insights from this work used to help patients in the future,
and eventually for therapeutic use. e tried for a long time to introduce Cas9 with plasmids or lentiviruses,
He hopes that Cas9-based therapies for T cell-related disorders, which include autoimmune diseases as well as immunodeficiencies such as ubble boy disease,
will enter the clinic in the future. here actually well-trodden ground putting modified T cells into patients.
There are companies out there already doing it and figuring out the safety profile, so there increasing clinical infrastructure that we could potentially piggyback on as we work out more details of genome editing,
Parkinson's disease May Begin In The Gut, Aarhus University Study A major epidemiological registry-based study from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital indicates that Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract.
The study is the largest in the field so far. The chronic neurodegenerative Parkinson disease affects an increasing number of people.
However, scientists still do not know why some people develop Parkinson's disease. Now researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have taken an important step towards a better understanding of the disease.
New research indicates that Parkinson's disease may begin in the gastrointestinal tract and spread through the vagus nerve to the brain."
"We have conducted a registry study of almost 15,000 patients who have had the vagus nerve in their stomach severed.
Between approximately 1970-1995 this procedure was a very common method of ulcer treatment. If it really is correct that Parkinson's starts in the gut and spreads through the vagus nerve,
then these vagotomy patients should naturally be protected against developing Parkinson's disease, "explains postdoc at Aarhus University Elisabeth Svensson on the hypothesis behind the study.
A hypothesis that turned out to be correct:""Our study shows that patients who have had the the entire vagus nerve severed were protected against Parkinson's disease.
Their risk was halved after 20 years. However, patients who had had only a small part of the vagus nerve severed where not protected.
This also fits the hypothesis that the disease process is strongly dependent on a fully or partially intact vagus nerve to be able to reach
The research project has just been published in the internationally recognised journal Annals of Neurology. The first clinical examination The research has presented strong evidence that Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract and spreads via the vagus nerve to the brain.
Many patients have suffered also from gastrointestinal symptoms before the Parkinson's diagnosis is made.""Patients with Parkinson's disease are constipated often many years before they receive the diagnosis,
which may be an early marker of the link between neurologic and gastroenterologic pathology related to the vagus nerve,"says Elisabeth Svensson.
Previous hypotheses about the relationship between Parkinson's and the vagus nerve have led to animal studies and cell studies in the field.
However, the current study is the first and largest epidemiological study in humans. The research project is an important piece of the puzzle in terms of the causes of the disease.
In the future the researchers expect to be able to use the new knowledge to identify risk factors for Parkinson's disease
and thus prevent the disease.""Now that we have found an association between the vagus nerve and the development of Parkinson's disease,
it is important to carry out research into the factors that may trigger this neurological degeneration,
so that we can prevent the development of the disease. To be able to do this will naturally be a major breakthrough,
"says Elisabeth Svensson. Facts Parkinson's disease is a chronic and neurodegenerative disease which affects approx. 1 out of every 1, 000 people.
The first signs of the disease are seen most often between the ages of 50-60.
The researchers carried out a registry study involving 14 883 patients who had undergone a vagotomy.
The research project was supported by the Danish Parkinson's disease Association and PROCRIN (Program for Clinical Research Infrastructure
#Disabled People Pilot A Robot Remotely With Their Thoughts, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Study Disabled People Pilot A Robot Remotely With Their Thoughts Using a telepresence system developed at EPFL,
19 people including nine quadriplegics were able to remotely control a robot located in one of the university laboratories.
This multi-year research project aims to give a measure of independence to paralysed people.
For someone suffering from paralysis or limited mobility, visiting with other people is extremely difficult.
was able to interact with whoever the robot crossed paths with. ach of the 9 subjects with disabilities managed to remotely control the robot with ease after less than 10 days of training,
Will robots soon become a fact of daily life for people suffering from a disability?
#Enriched Blood cells Preserve Cognition In Mice With Features Of Alzheimer's disease, Cedars-Sinai Medical center Study Enriched Blood cells Preserve Cognition In Mice With Features Of Alzheimer's disease Los angeles-July 6,
2015 Cedars-Sinai researchers have tested successfully two new methods for preserving cognition in laboratory mice that exhibit features of Alzheimer's disease by using white blood cells from bone marrow
and a drug for multiple sclerosis to control immune response in the brain. Under the two approaches, immune cells from outside the brain were found to travel in greater numbers through the blood into the brain.
The study showed measurable benefits in mice an encouraging step toward further testing of these potentially powerful strategies in human trials.
During the progression of Alzheimer's disease, these cells are found to be defective. In this study, the researchers discovered that immune cells infiltrating the brain from the blood effectively resisted various abnormalities associated with the condition."
"These cells appear to work in the brain in several ways to counter the negative effects associated with Alzheimer's disease,
"said Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, Phd, assistant professor of neurosurgery and biomedical sciences at Cedars-Sinai, and the senior author of the article published in Brain, a journal of Oxford university Press."
"The increasing incidence of Alzheimer's disease and the lack of any effective therapy make it imperative to explore new strategies, especially those that can target multiple abnormalities in such a complicated disease,"Koronyo-Hamaoui added.
In Alzheimer's disease, a protein fragment known as amyloid-beta builds up at the synapses of neurons the point where neuron-to-neuron communication occurs.
As a result, synapses are lost and cognitive function becomes severely impaired. Immune cells in the brain that are exposed to increasing concentrations of the toxic protein fragment deteriorate
During the course of the disease, cells that support the brain's structure and function also fail at the cellular and molecular levels,
The researchers evaluated two such methods and their therapeutic potential. In one, they extracted a specific type of monocytes from the bone marrow of healthy young mice
A second group of sick mice received weekly under-the-skin injections of glatiramer acetate,
an FDA-approved drug used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis; the drug has been shown to foster the migration of white blood cells from the bloodstream to the brain.
All three groups experienced a substantial decrease in Alzheimer's-like pathology and symptoms. The varied approaches were effective in"recruiting"protective monocytes to"lesion sites"in the brain,
removing protein fragments and reducing harmful inflammation through the secretion of chemicals that regulate immunity at the molecular level,
said Koronyo-Hamaoui, the head of Cedars-Sinai's neuroimmunology laboratory at themaxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and a faculty member in the Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Biomedical sciences.
the article's first author and a research associate in the Department of Neurosurgery. Koronyo added that the study gives unprecedented details about monocyte numbers migrating into brain lesion sites
and the compounds they secrete, and shows that the body's natural monocytes can have direct effects on the integrity of synapses.
#Cell Structure Discovery Advances Understanding Of Cancer Development, University of Warwick Study University of Warwick researchers have discovered a cell structure
which could help scientists understand why some cancers develop. For the first time a structure called he meshhas been identified
which is found to change in certain cancers, such as those of the breast and bladder.
associate professor and senior Cancer Research UK Fellow at the division of biomedical cell biology at Warwick Medical school.
and support from Cancer Research UK and North West Cancer Research. Dr Royle said: e had been looking in 2d
TACC3, is overproduced in certain cancers. When this situation was mimicked in the lab, the mesh and microtubules were altered
Dr Emma Smith, senior science communications officer at Cancer Research UK, said: roblems in cell division are common in cancer cells frequently end up with the wrong number of chromosomes.
and it might be a crucial insight into why this process becomes faulty in cancer
North West Cancer Research (NWCR) has funded the research as part of a collaborative project between the University of Warwick and the University of Liverpool,
which could potentially better inform future cancer therapies. s a charity we fund only the highest standard of research,
Warwick Medical school division of biomedical cell biology carries out fundamental molecular and cellular research into biomedical problems.
Major human diseases such as cancer inflammation, neurodegeneration and bacterial/viral infection are primarily diseases of cells.
Without a molecular understanding of the underlying cell biology, intelligent directed therapeutic intervention is impossible. The division research focuses on fundamental cell biology processes such as cell division and intracellular communication.
Hey, check out all the research scientist jobs. Post your resume today s
#Could Dissolvable Microneedles Replace Injected Vaccines? Osaka University Study Eric is terrified. He stands outside the clinic and takes a few deep breaths before walking slowly through the automatic doors.
The nurse reassures him as he takes a seat. But then he sees it: the needle.
The blood drains from his head and he faints. An estimated 1 in 5 people suffer from trypanophobia a fear of needles
and studies suggest that around 1 in 12 people cite fear as their reason for not getting vaccinated.
A new vaccine delivery system could solve this problem: dissolvable microneedle patches are simple to use, pain-free and effective.
Flu vaccines delivered using microneedles that dissolve in the skin can protect people against infection even better than the standard needle-delivered vaccine,
according to new research published in Biomaterials. The authors of the study, from Osaka University in Japan, say their dissolvable patch the only vaccination system of its kind could make vaccination easier, safer and less painful.
Downsizing to address the needle problem Most vaccines are injected under the skin or into the muscle using needles.
While this is an effective delivery method it requires medical personnel with technical skills and brings the risk of needle-related diseases and injuries.
It also induces crippling fear in many people, often causing them to avoid vaccination. The new microneedle patch is made of dissolvable material,
eliminating needle-related risks. It is also easy to use without the need for trained medical personnel,
making it ideal for use in developing countries, where healthcare resources are limited. ur novel transcutaneous vaccination using a dissolving microneedle patch is the only application vaccination system that is readily adaptable for widespread practical use,
said Prof. Shinsaku Nakagawa one of the authors of the study and Professor of Biotechnology and Therapeutics at the Graduate school of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Osaka University. ecause the new patch is so easy to use,
we believe it will be particularly effective in supporting vaccination in developing countries. The new microneedle patch Microhyala is dissolvable in water.
The tiny needles are made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance that cushions the joints. When the patch is applied like a plaster,
the needles pierce the top layer of skin without causing pain and dissolve into the body,
taking the vaccine with them. The researchers compared the new system to traditional needle delivery by vaccinating two groups of people against three strains of influenza:
A/H1n1, A/H3n2 and B. None of the subjects had a bad reaction to the vaccine,
showing that it is safe to use in humans. The patch was also effective: people given the vaccine using the microneedles had an immune reaction that was equal to
or stronger than those given the vaccine by injection. e were excited to see that our new microneedle patch is
just as effective as the needle-delivered flu vaccines, and in some cases even more effective, said Dr. Nakagawa. e have shown that the patch is safe and that it works well.
Since it is also painless and very easy for non-trained people to use, we think it could bring about a major change in the way we administer vaccines globally.
New approaches to vaccination According to the World health organization immunization prevents an estimated 2 million to 3 million deaths every year.
The continued threat of pandemics such as H1n1 swine flu and emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola makes vaccine development and mass vaccination a priority for global healthcare.
Delivery methods that do not require needles are safer for the person administering the vaccine,
more pleasant for the person receiving the vaccine, and potentially less expensive. The challenge is developing a delivery method that gets the vaccine into the body effectively.
Microneedles provide one such delivery method, and they can be made of various different materials. Previous research has evaluated the use of microneedles made of silicon or metal
but they were shown not to be safe. Microneedles made from these materials also run the risk of breaking off in the skin, leaving tiny fragments behind;
For some diseases, vaccines may be more effective when theye absorbed through the mucous membranes in the nose.
For example, studies in mice have suggested that tuberculosis vaccines delivered through the noseare more effective than those that are injected,
Tuberculosis experts gathered in a workshop at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases at the National institutes of health in Bethesda, Maryland,
either alone or as an adjunct to traditional parenteral methods of vaccine administration. e
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011