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May 6, 2014
Stem cells could be the answer for treating fecal incontinence after injury or disease

A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine demonstrates the regenerative effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on the anal sphincter. The work could have implications for the 11 percent of the population suffering fecal incontinence due to an injury or disease.

Massarat Zutshi, M.D., and Levilester Salcedo, M.D., led the research team made up of their colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio) as well as those from Summa Cardiovascular Institute and Northeast Ohio Medical University (Akron, Ohio). 

April 23, 2014
Stress could activate ‘crosstalking’ cell signals that turn body’s natural wound healing process against it

Stress could activate ‘crosstalking’ cell signals that decrease the body’s natural healing process after a wound occurs, according to a new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. The finding helps explain how stress impairs healing and, conversely, could lead to a way to overcome chronic wounds resulting from serious burns and other skin injuries.

“Chronic wounds are a major global health problem, with annual costs in the United States alone of more than $23 billion,” said Roslyn Isseroff, M.D., of the University of California­–Davis and the Northern California Health Care System’s Department of Veterans Affairs. She was a lead investigator in the study along with Mohan R. Dasu, Ph.D.

March 19, 2014
‘DIY’ finger prick yields ample stem cells for banking

Researchers have discovered what appears to be an easy way to collect large quantities of viable stem cells that can be banked for future regenerative medicine purposes – all from the simple prick of a finger. The study results were published online in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

“We show that a single drop of blood from a finger-prick sample is sufficient for performing cellular reprogramming, DNA sequencing and blood typing in parallel. Our strategy has the potential of facilitating the development of large-scale human iPSC banking worldwide,” said Jonathan Yuin-Han Loh, Ph.D., of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. He is principal investigator on the study that also included scientists from other Singapore facilities as well as those in the United States and Great Britain.   

February 20, 2014
Stem cells from fat tissue show promise in reconstructive surgeries for face and skull

A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows that many patients with defects to the skull, face or jaw bone might benefit from reconstructive surgery combining stem cells taken from adipose (fat) tissue seeded on resorbable scaffolds.

These defects can be due to congenital malformations, such as cleft lip and palate, or to traumatic injuries or surgery to remove a tumor. The use of a patient’s own bone is still considered the gold standard for reconstructing these defects, but this requires yet another surgery to harvest the bone for the reconstructive procedure. The STEM CELLS Translational Medicine study tracked the case of 13 patients undergoing regenerative medicine procedures.

February 4, 2014
Dr. Toru Kondo named new Associate Editor of STEM CELLS

STEM CELLS is proud to announce the appointment of new Associate Editor, Dr. Toru Kondo of Hokkaido University, Japan. Dr. Kondo has served as an outstanding member of the STEM CELLS Editorial Board since 2007 and we are delighted that he has accepted our invitation to become an Associate Editor. He joins Associate Editors, Dr. Majlinda Lako and Dr. Noel Buckley, Concise review Editor Dr. Terry Lappin, and Editor Dr. Jan Nolta.

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February 3, 2014
First study tracking stem cell treatments for children with spinal cord injuries shows potential benefit

Previous studies have shown that multiple stem cell implantations might assist adults suffering from complete spinal cord injuries (SCI). Now a groundbreaking study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows for the first time that children with SCI might benefit, too.

Marcin Majka, Ph.D., and Danuta Jarocha, Ph.D., led the study at Jagiellonian University College of Medicine in Krakow, Poland. “Although it was conducted on a small number of patients carrying a different injury level and type, preliminary results demonstrate the possibility of attaining neurological, motor and sensation and quality-of-life improvement in children with a chronic complete spinal cord injury through multiple bone marrow derived cell (BMNC) implantations. Intravenous implantations of these cells seem to prevent and/or help the healing of pressure ulcers,” Dr. Majka said.

January 29, 2014
Hip replacements might provide “untapped” source of stem cells for regenerative medicine

In a study just published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, researchers have found what might prove to be a rich new source of adult stem cells for use in regenerative medicine — the tissue normally discarded during routine hip replacement surgery. With well over 300,000 hip replacements taking place each year in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control, this tissue might provide an unprecedented source of autologous stem cells for aging patients and have “profound implications” in clinical use, the scientists say.

January 20, 2014
New assessment tool shows potential of stem cells in restoring LSCD patients’ sight

January 17, 2014 - A new assessment tool is helping scientists determine which treatments might benefit patients with a type of eye disorder called limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). The tool, developed by researchers at University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at these institutions, has already shown that the majority of these patients can benefit in the short term from a stem cell transplantation and up to 30 percent are still experiencing better sight three years later, according to the study published in the current issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

January 14, 2014
Stem cells could prove effective in treating brittle bone disease

A new study released in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine indicates that stem cells can be effective in treating a debilitating and sometimes lethal genetic disorder called brittle bone disease.

Brittle bone disease, or osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), is characterized by fragile bones causing some patients to suffer hundreds of fractures over the course of a lifetime. In addition, according to the OI Foundation, other symptoms include muscle weakness, hearing loss, fatigue, joint laxity, curved bones, scoliosis, brittle teeth and short stature. Restrictive pulmonary disease occurs in the more severe cases. Currently there is no cure.

December 19, 2013
Study shows therapeutic potential of fat-derived stem cells declines as donor’s age rises

A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine demonstrates that the therapeutic value of stem cells collected from fat declines when the cells come from older patients.

“This could restrict the effectiveness of autologous cell therapy using fat, or adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ADSCs), and require that we test cell material before use and develop ways to pretreat ADSCs from aged patients to enhance their therapeutic potential,” said Anastasia Efimenko, M.D., Ph.D. She and Nina Dzhoyashvili, M.D., were first authors of the study led by Yelena Parfyonova, M.D., D.Sc.,at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow.

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