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Press Releases from AlphaMed Press

August 1, 2017
Stem Cells May Help Improve Corneal Wound Healing

A new review is the first to directly examine the role of various stem cells in the healing of wounded cornea, the outermost part of the eye. In contrast with most other reviews, it covers all major corneal cell types in a comprehensive way, showing similarities and differences in the healing process and the usage of stem cells for therapy.

Corneal wound healing is a complex process that occurs in response to various eye injuries and surgery. Delayed, incomplete, or excessive healing is a significant clinical concern. The review presents evidence on the participation of stem cells in corneal wound healing and highlights how stem cell transplantation may be used to fine tune wound healing and provide benefits for patients.

June 28, 2017
Study Pinpoints Best Stage of Stem Cell Differentiation for Use in Treating Parkinson’s Disease

DURHAM, NC - Studies indicate that replacing damaged brain cells with those derived from human embryonic stem cells might lead to an effective treatment for Parkinson’s disease. But what has not been determined is the optimal stage during differentiation of the stem cells that the transplantation should take place to gain the best results.

June 19, 2017
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Combo Could Yield Much-needed Models to Study Vascular Disease

DURHAM, NC - A study recently published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows smooth muscle and vascular endothelial cells induced from pluripotent stem cells perform similarly to their naturally evolving counterparts under conditions that mimic hardening of the arteries and other blood vessel diseases. The finding opens the door to modeling rare vascular diseases necessary for research, as well as assists in screening new drugs and developing personalized cell-based therapies.

June 12, 2017
Study Shows Stem Cell Infusion Helps Treat Severe Cases of Aplastic Anemia

DURHAM, NC - A new study demonstrates how an infusion of stem cells can assist in treating severe cases of aplastic anemia (AA) that do not respond to immunosuppressive therapy (IST) alone. The study, which appears in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM), offers hope for patients with this rare disease, which occurs when the bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells to meet the body’s needs.

April 3, 2017
Cord Blood Association Names STEM CELLS Translational Medicine Its Official Journal

DURHAM, NC - AlphaMed Press and the Cord Blood Association (CBA) are pleased to announce that STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM) is now the association’s official journal. With this partnership, SCTM will launch a new journal section dedicated to cord blood research.

“We are delighted to initiate this partnership with the Cord Blood Association,” said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. “With this new journal section, SCTM further expands the scope of new research reports for our readers – with the potential to accelerate progress in regenerative medicine.”

March 28, 2017
Stem Cell Treatment Has Potential to Help Parkinson’s Disease Unexpected Brain Area

DURHAM, NC - Currently symptomatic therapies for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) produce unwanted side effects and diminished effectiveness over time. A recent study published in STEM CELLS suggests that human neural stem cell (hNSC) transplantation could help to treat PD by stimulating subventricular zone (SVZ) stem cells to produce more neural cells.

Strategies involving transplantation of these cells into the affected brain regions hold great promise; however, the exact mechanisms behind hNSCs’ success are not fully understood.

Neural stem cells are self-renewing and can differentiate into any type of neural cell, such as neurons and glial cells. With their ability to rescue dysfunctional neural pathways, NSCs are an ideal source for grafting and the development of novel therapies.  

March 2, 2017
Early Results Show Irregular Heartbeat Improves After Mesenchymal Stem Cells Treatment

DURHAM, NC – A new study published this month in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine indicates that treating heart patients with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) does not increase their risk of irregular heart beat (arrhythmia). In fact, the MSCs had the opposite effect and showed promise of improving the condition.

“This could be an important breakthrough for many heart patients, as proarrhythmia – which is a new or more frequent occurrence of pre-existing arrhythmia – unfortunately can be a side effect of some of the drugs we’re using to treat these patients,” said the study’s lead author, Raul Mitrani, M.D., of the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology (Miami, Florida).

August 18, 2016
Study Shows Unmodified Stem Cells Might Stop Osteoporosis Caused by Autoimmune Drugs

DURHAM, NC - An infusion of a healthy donor’s unmodified stem cells might one day be used to prevent a type of osteoporosis caused by glucocorticoid therapy, according to a study published this month in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. Osteoporosis is among the most significant side effects of glucocorticoid therapy, which is used for the management of inflammatory and auto-immune diseases.

August 15, 2016
Study Shows Stem Cells are Effective Weapon to Combat Biological Warfare

DURHAM, NC - Researchers for the first time have shown how engineered stem cells can be used to deliver antibodies superior to those currently available for protecting against infectious diseases and biological warfare. The study appears in the August issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

August 5, 2016
Hepatitis C Virus Might be on the Horizon, According to New Stem Cell Study

DURHAM, NC - The medical world may be one step closer to an affordable, effective therapeutic vaccine for hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to a new study appearing in the latest issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. The study, by scientists at Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, showed how exosomes secreted from umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (uMSC) efficiently suppressed HCV infection.

Chronic hepatitis C is a serious disease that can result in long-term health problems. Worldwide, 700,000 people die each year from HCV-related liver diseases, according to the World Health Organization. While newly developed antiviral medicines could cure approximately 90 percent of those with HCV infection, access to diagnosis and treatment is limited and there is currently no vaccine to prevent it.

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