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Press Releases from AlphaMed Press

May 4, 2021
Human mesenchymal stem cells show promise in treating chronic lung infections

Durham, NC (May 5, 2021) - A study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine offers hope for those suffering from a chronic, difficult to treat condition called non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung infection. The study describes how researchers at Case Western University developed a new model of NTM lung infection and then used it to show how effective human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are in treating this condition - and even which donor cells might be best for doing so.

"The potential to use human mesenchymal stem cells to treat difficult lung infections is promising," said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "This study shows the ability of using optimal donors to obtain maximum treatment success."

April 20, 2021
Clinical trial assesses stem cells’ ability to prevent major cause of preemie deaths

Durham, NC (April 20, 2021) - A phase 2 clinical trial whose results were released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine might point to a way to overcome bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a major cause of death in preterm infants. The study, conducted by researchers at Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University and Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital in Seoul, evaluates the effectiveness of treating these infants by transplanting umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCB-MSCs) directly into their tracheas.

Early results showed signs of improvement for the most immature infants included in the trial.

April 19, 2021
Fat grafts enhanced with ADSCs show promise in treating facial scleroderma

Durham, NC (April 19, 2021) - A study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine suggests a new way to correct facial atrophy of localized scleroderma (LoS) in patients. It shows how applying grafts made up of the patient's own fat enhanced with adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) is a safe, feasible and attractive alternative to conventional fat grafting or fat grafting combined with stromal vascular fraction in treating this condition.

April 13, 2021
Aged bone marrow niche impedes function of rejuvenated hematopoietic stem cells

Durham, NC (April 13, 2021) - When leukemia strikes an older person, it is in part due to the aging of his or her hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These immature cells can develop into all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. As such, researchers have focused on rejuvenating HSCs as a way to treat leukemia.

A new study released today in STEM CELLS adds much to that level of knowledge by showing that the youthful function of rejuvenated HSCs upon transplantation depends in part on a young bone marrow "niche," which is the microenvironment surrounding stem cells that interacts with them to regulate their fate.

April 7, 2021
Stem cell therapy research could help patients with non-healing diabetic foot ulcers

Durham, NC (April 7, 2021) - According to the results of a phase 1 clinical trial just published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, a new stem cell therapy shows promise of making diabetes-related amputations a thing of the past. The trial involved injecting diabetes patients suffering from non-healing diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) with a cell preparation containing adult stem cells harvested from their own fat. The results showed that the treatment induced regeneration of the blood vessels surrounding the DFUs, accelerated healing - all with no serious side effects.

March 25, 2021
Researchers show how stem cell depletion leads to recurring pregnancy loss

Durham, NC (March 25, 2021) - Depletion of a certain type of stem cell in the womb lining during pregnancy could be a significant factor behind miscarriage, according to a study released today in STEM CELLS. The study, by researchers at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, reports on how recurrent pregnancy loss is a result of the loss of decidual precursor cells prior to conception.

"This raises the possibility that they can be harnessed to prevent pregnancy disorders," said corresponding author Jan J. Brosens, M.D., Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Warwick Medical School (WMS).

March 16, 2021
Stem cells derived from fat show promise as a treatment for mass radiation exposure

Durham, NC (March 16, 2021) - Nuclear power offers an efficient, reliable way to provide energy to large populations - as long as all goes well. Accidents involving nuclear reactors such as those that took place in 1986 at Chernobyl and at Fukushima Daiichi after the March 2011 tsunami raise major concerns about what happens if the worst occurs and large numbers of people are simultaneously exposed to high levels of radiation. Currently, there are no effective, safe therapies for total body irradiation (TBI) - a condition known as acute radiation syndrome (ARS). That could change, in the future based on new research published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) demonstrated, for the first time, how allogeneic adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can mitigate TBI-induced ARS. This would allow for the stockpiling of these cells to be used in case of a radioactive emergency.

March 10, 2021
Study provides evidence that bone marrow cell injections help heal the brain after stroke

Durham, NC (March 10, 2021) - Results of a clinical trial released in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine provide evidence that treating patients with an injection of bone marrow cells may lead to a reduction in brain injury after a stroke.

February 17, 2021
Phase I clinical trial shows promise of adipose-derived stem cells in treating lymphedema

Durham, NC (February 17, 2021) - Can stem cells alleviate lymphedema, a chronic debilitating condition affecting up to one in three women treated for breast cancer? Results of a phase I clinical trial released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM) show there is a strong possibility that the answer is yes.

January 28, 2021
Senquan Liu named STEM CELLS Young Investigator of 2020

Durham, NC (January 28, 2021)- Senquan Liu, Ph.D., is STEM CELLS's Young Investigator of 2020 for his work on human stem-cell derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). This award fosters advancements in the field of stem cell research by honoring a young researcher who is the principal author of an article published in STEM CELLS that is deemed to have the most impact and to push the boundaries of novel and insightful research.

Dr. Liu and his team at Johns Hopkins University focused on optimizing an approach to produce and purify human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) EVs, then they investigated the properties and therapeutic potential of stem cell derived EVs.

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