STROKE and Your OWN STEM CELLS

"Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke and it is vital that we do all we can to help those affected by stroke."

Wise words from a team of wise scientists in the UK that pushed effective stem cell treatment for strokes a significant step forward as they revealed in their work is published in the Journal Biomaterials how they have replaced stroke-damaged brain tissue in rats.

The team of scientists is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and led by Dr Mike Modo of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. The work, carried out at the Institute of Psychiatry and University of Nottingham, shows that by inserting tiny scaffolding with stem cells attached, it is possible to fill a hole left by stroke damage with brand new brain tissue within 7 days. Previous experiments where stem cells have been injected into the void left by stroke damage have had some success in improving outcomes in rats.

The problem is that in the damaged area there is no structural support for the stem cells and so they tend to migrate into the surrounding healthy tissues rather than filling up the hole left by the stroke.

Dr Modo said: "We would expect to see a much better improvement in the outcome after a stroke if we can fully replace the lost brain tissue, and that is what we have been able to do with our technique."

Using individual particles of a biodegradable polymer called PLGA that have been loaded with neural stem cells, the team of scientists have filled stroke cavities with stem cells on a ready-made support structure.

Dr Modo continued: "This works really well because the stem cell-loaded PLGA particles can be injected through a very fine needle and then adopt the precise shape of the cavity. In this process the cells fill the cavity and can make connections with other cells, which helps to establish the tissue. (picture)

"Over a few days we can see cells migrating along the scaffold particles and forming a primitive brain tissue that interacts with the host brain. Gradually the particles biodegrade leaving more gaps and conduits for tissue, fibres and blood vessels to move into."

The research published today uses an MRI scanner to pinpoint precisely the right place to inject the scaffold-cell structure. MRI is also used to monitor the development of the new brain tissue over time.

The next stage of the research will be to include a factor called VEGF with the particles. VEGF will encourage blood vessels to enter the new tissue.
Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive said: "Stroke is a leading cause of disability in industrialised countries. It is reassuring to know that the technology for treating stroke by repairing brain damage is getting ever closer to translation into the clinic.

This crucial groundwork by Dr Modo and his colleagues will surely be a solid foundation of basic research for much better treatments in the future. Joe Korner, Director of Communications at The Stroke Association commented: "This research is another step towards using stem cell therapy in treating and reversing the brain damage caused by stroke. It is exciting because researchers have shown they are able to overcome some of the many challenges in translating the potential of using stem cells into reality."

The potential to reverse the disabling effects of stroke seems to have been proved. However the development of stem cell therapy for stroke survivors is still in the early stages and much more research will be needed before it can be tested in humans or used in practice.

Cord Blood Stem Cells to treat Breast Cancer?

In a groundbreaking study (click on title for abstract), just published and not yet picked up by the media, researchers from the Departments of Anatomy and Physiology and Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Kansas State University in Kansas, reported in the February edition of the journal "Cancer Research" that "Rat Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Completely Abolish Rat Mammary Carcinomas with No Evidence of Metastasis or Recurrence 100 Days Post-Tumor Cell Inoculation."

What they did was that they transplanted Fisher 344 rat-derived mammary adenocarcinoma cells (Mat B III-breast cancer) orthotopically (meaning into the breast of the female rats) into syngeneic (related) F344 rats with an intact immune system. Then they injected rat umbilical cord matrix stem (rUCMS) cells derived from Wharton's jelly, intratumoral (i.t. meaning into the tumor) or i.v. (into the veins of the animals) 4 days later.

Then they compared the tumor attenuation effect (meaning how the tumor was suppressed-fought / extinguished) at day 14 after the injection in the tumor or in the veins in cord blood stem cell-transplanted rats compared with sham-transplanted rats (meaning animals that received an injection but no stem cells). What they saw was amazing!

Unmodified rUCMS cord blood stem cell-transplanted rats showed complete regression of tumors to undetectable levels by 34 to 38 days with no evidence of metastasis or recurrence 100 days post-tumor cell inoculation (injection in the tumor). They concluded that their findings suggest that "unmodified human UCMS cells (cord blood stem cells from the Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord) could be used for targeted cytotherapy for breast cancer".

Well, this is REALLY something to look out for, isn't it?! [Cancer Res 2009; 69(5): 1815-20]

Bank Sel Stem sudah lama wujud dalam bidang perubatan!

Assalamualaikum WBK,

Salam Sejahtera kepada rakan-rakan saya sekelian, ibu-bapa, bakal ibu-bapa, pengunjung/pembaca blog ini.

Kebelakangan ini Menteri Kesihatan Malaysia Y.B. Dato’ Liow Tiong Lai telah melawat premis kami di Wisma Perintis untuk melihat sendiri operasi pengambilan sel stem dewasa StemLife serta untuk memahami dengan lebih mendalam lagi status penggunaan sel stem dewasa dalam bidang kepakaran penyakit jantung, barah darah, dan kecederaan sendi serta mendapat penjelasan mengenai projek-projek penyelidikan yang giat dijalankan di seluruh dunia.

Beliau telah menekankan komitmen Kerajaan dalam mengunakkan teknologi sel stem dalam bidang perubatan di Malaysia. Pada pendapat saya, ini adalah kerana fakta-fakta adalah jelas sekali tentang potensi sel stem dalam menolong pakar-pakar perubatan menangani beberapa penyakit yang setakat ini amat sukar ditangani. Ini sekaligus meningkatkan kebolehan pakar-pakar Negara supaya tidak ketinggalan zaman.

Seperti yang disiarkan akhbar-akhbar tempatan, Kerajaan menyokong bidang penyelidikan sel stem. Kabinet telah membuat peruntukkan lebih RM32juta untuk mengembangkan dan mengukuhkan aktiviti perbankan sel stem. RM5.86juta untuk memulakan makmal transplantasi sel stem di Institut Penyelidikan Perubatan (IMR). RM18.87juta untuk mengembangkan kemudahan simpanan sel stem darah tali pusat di Pusat Darah Negara dan di Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim, Sungai Petani. Kerajaan juga telah memperuntukan RM5.57juta untuk mengukuhkan perkhidmatan transplantasi sel stem dan sum-sum tulang di Hospital Ampang. Ini diharapkan akan meningkatkan jumlah simpanan beg sel stem darah tali pusat dan mengukuhkan tahap kemudahan perbankan kerajaan. Kami berharap pihak Kerajaan akan menyediakan peruntukan yang lebih dimasa akan datang supaya fasiliti dan kemudahan tempatan dapat bertanding diarena antarabangsa.

Ramai mungkin telah membaca akhbar-akhbar tempatan dan luar negara yang sering menerbitkan kes-kes rayuan pesakit untuk mencari penderma sel stem dan juga dermaan kewangan yang diperlukan dalam masa yang suntuk dan keadaan tertekan. Mengapakah ini boleh berlaku jika stok simpanan sel stem bank darah dalam dan luar negara mencukupi? Besar kemungkinan memang stoknya tidak mencukupi dan juga agak sukar bagi seorang pesakit untuk mendapatkan sel stem yang sepadan dengan sistem darah pesakit itu sendiri. Anggaran kebarangkalian mendapatkan penderma sel stem adalah satu (1) dalam dua puluh ribu (20,000) dan kebawah. Ini bermakna, jika saya memerlukan sel stem, terpaksalah saya mempelawa 20,000 rakan untuk diuji dan mungkin hanya 1 akan sepadan dan boleh menderma. Kemungkinan mendapatkan penderma bukanlah rendah sangat, tetapi, ia mungkin akan mengambil masa yang agak lama jika tiada simpanan sendiri. Ini seakan ”Sindrom Waiting List”.

Sepertimana kita boleh lihat dalam industri perubatan Malaysia, inisiatif swasta boleh dan perlu diusahakan seiring dengan inisiatif Kerajaan. Ini jelas dilihat dimana terdapat kewujudan Hospital Kerajaan dan Hospital Swasta, Doktor Kerajaan dan juga ramai lagi Doktor Swasta. Sudah terbukti di seluruh dunia kewujudan Bank Sel Stem Kerajaan/NGO boleh wujud seiring Bank Sel Stem Swasta malah beberapa bank Kerajaan/NGO dan Bank Swasta di UK telah berjaya berganding bahu untuk menawarkan perkhidmatan menyeluruh supaya warganegara dapat memilih perkhidmatan yang memenuhi kehendak mereka.

Bank Sel Stem darah tali pusat telah mula beroperasi di dunia mulai awal tahun ’90an. Bank-bank di Singapura, Taiwan, Korea, Jepun, Hong Kong sudah beroperasi lebih 10 tahun. Setakat ini terdapat anggaran 150 bank-bank darah tali pusat Kerajaan, NGO dan Swasta di dunia. Anda boleh layari laman web www.parentsguidecordblood.com untuk mendapatkan senarai bank-bank swasta dan Kerajaan/NGO. Negara-negara yang tidak membenarkan operasi bank sel stem swasta hanya segelintir sahaja. Kebanyakkan negara-negara besar di dunia seperti Amerika Syarikat, Kanada, UK, Perancis, Jerman, Australia, New Zealand dan kebanyakkan Negara Asia membenarkan malah menyediakan polisi, akta-akta, garispanduan dan piawaian supaya bank-bank in dapat berkembang serta menyumbang kepada Ekonomi Negara sambil meningkatkan tahap penyelidikan sel stem di negara masing-masing.

Dalam Tanahair pula, apa status nya? Bank sel stem StemLife telah beroperasi semenjak tahun 2001. Kami telah dijemput oleh ’Multimedia Development Coorporation’(MDC) untuk membuka makmal simpanan kami di Cyberjaya dan diberi status MSC. Makmal kami mula beroperasi di Cyberjaya di bangunan MDC iaitu ’Center for Health Innovation & Medical Enterprises’ (CHIME) yang dirasmikan oleh YB Tun Perdana Menteri pada tahun 2002. Bank sel stem Kerajaan di Pusat Darah Negara juga telah dibuka disekitar tahun-tahun yang berdekatan. Kali pertama Sel Stem dewasa/sum-sum tulang telah digunakkan dalam perubatan di hospital Tanahair adalah pada tahun 1987. Sel Stem darah tali pusat pula mula digunakkan di hospital tempatan pada tahun 1997. Setakat tahun 2006, Registry Transplantasi Kebangsaan telah mencatatkan 1,174 kes kegunaan sel stem yang dilaporkan oleh hospital-hospital tempatan Kerajaan dan swasta.

Pada tahun 2006, StemLife telah berjaya disenaraikan di bursa saham BSKL dibawah MESDAQ dan disenaraikan sebagai Stok Syariah. Pada tahun itu juga Jawatankuasa Etika Penyelidikan dibawah naungan KKM dan MOSTI telah mengeluarkan ’Garispanduan Penyelidikan Sel Stem’. Garispanduan ini juga menyatakan hasrat Kerajaan untuk menyokong dan mengembangkan penyelidikan sel stem dalam Negara.

Setelah terbukti kejayaan StemLife, beberapa lagi bank swasta sel stem telah mula beroperasi termasuk pembekal sel stem haiwan. Ramai yang mula membuat kenyataan dalam akhbar-akhbar tempatan mengenai keberkesanan produk mereka. Dalam usaha untuk menjaga kepentingan pengguna/pesakit, pada bulan Mac tahun 2008, Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia telah mula mengeluarkan lesen dibawah Akta PHFS 1998 lalu menghadkan operasi kepada 4 bank sel stem darah tali pusat sahaja. Bersamaan dengan itu juga, KKM telah menerbitkan ’Piawaian Kebangsaan - Bank Darah Tali Pusat dan Transplantasi’.

Laporan juga menyatakan bahawa pihak KKM sedang dalam proses menyediakan ’Garispanduan Penyelidikan dan Terapi Sel Stem’ serta ’Piawaian Kebangsaan - Terapi Sel Stem’.

Pada masa akan datang, kami berpendapat Terapi Sel Stem akan menjadi salah satu dari Tiga teras perubatan setanding dengan bidang famasi dan bidang pembedahan. Sejarah perkembangan Kedua-dua bidang ini telah berkurun/berabad lamanya. Sesuatu ubat/prosedur pembedahan selalunya mengambil masa 10 tahun keatas untuk diselidik dan disahkan/diluluskan kegunaan dan keberkesananya. Sejarah bidang Sel Stem Dewasa/Sum-sum Tulang sudah dekat 50 tahun manakala Sel Stem Darah Tali Pusat dekat 20 tahun. Ini adalah jankamasa yang amat singkat kalau dibandingkan dengan bidang famasi. Tetapi, keberkesananya telah diiktiraf di seluruh dunia. Sekurang-kurangya 100,000 pesakit setahun menggunakkan sel stem di seluruh dunia.

Adakah statistik ini memberangsangkan? Sudah tentu. Bagi saya, jika saya berhadapan dengan statistik sedih penyakit kanser darah seperti Lukimia, sudah tentu saya akan berusaha dan merayu supaya pakar-pakar tempatan mencuba teknologi sel stem terkini yang diamalkan di luar negara dan bukan hanya mengesyorkan teknologi yang sudah lama diamalkan. Sampai bila hendak ketinggalan 20 tahun?

UK-Singapore Stem Cell Symposium I

Just to remind the world that the UK isn't behind in science (vis-a-vis the US), the British High Commission probably decided that this exhibition panel was important to remind everyone of the UK's key scientific achievements.

So, if you didn't already know or can't read the words in the picture, here's three that you might have confused as a US invention...

UK GREATS
1953: Discovery of structure of DNA
1978: Birth of first test-tube baby
1985: Discovery of hole in Ozone layer
1990: Invention of World Wide Web (bet you all thought this was from the US!)

Anyway, I mentioned in my last post that I'd tell you a bit about what I learned in the symposium. My apologies for the delayed write up.

The first lecture after lunch was by Professor Tariq Enver, Professor of Stem Cell Biology at Oxford and Director of Stem Cell Research at the MRC's Molecular Haematology Unit in the Weatherall Institute for Molecular Medicine.

Prof. Enver's talk was of interest to me for 2 reasons - inspiring content AND all the key ingredients of a good presentation:

1. Clinical relevance (patient's photos to inspire the right emotional context)
2. Clear introductory statistics for the uninitiated
3. Direct genetic implications of the research
4. A happy conclusion (very important)


WHAT IT WAS ABOUT

The story begins with the introduction of stem cells and their existence in babies' blood. The first question he posed to the audience was whether anyone knew what a "Guthrie card" was (when a baby is born, a small heel prick is performed to obtain the baby's blood, which is stained on a filter paper- known as a Guthrie card- and used to test for inborn metabolic diseases). Prof. Enver suggests that Guthrie cards can be kept for extended periods of time so that if a child is later found to develop certain types of leukemia, it would be possible to identify whether the indications of leukemia were there at birth.


WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

The reason why it is useful to know whether the leukemic cells are present at birth, is because if the cells are present at birth, doctors may choose to treat the patient with different medications as leukemic cells (which behave like stem cells) have different chemo-sensitivities in children. Leukemic cells from birth may require more specific and less intensive drugs than adult patients.


At this point, I feel that it is important to point out the difference between "stem cells" and what is popularly termed "cancer stem cells".

Stem cells are cells which exist in the body and are responsible for continuous maintenance of the body and a controlled replacement of our cells and tissues. The stem cells are known to be "relatively immortal" (ie they live a far longer lifespan than our normal cells, which may die after 7-90days) and are key to our existence and survival of our blood and immune systems etc.

Cancer stem cells however, are like other cancers -cells gone wrong- except that the cell that has gone wrong is the stem cell. Hence, the cancer stem cell does not make other tissues and does not replace cells like it should. It merely makes more of itself, which isn't useful under the normal circumstances.

So, a pertinent question to ask is how do you know a stem cell from a cancer stem cell? Well, Prof Enver believes that there is a lot of talk about "markers" for stem cells, but there is no doubt that these markers have a long way to go in being defined and that the best way to know is to conduct functional studies (ie, to see how the cells really work in real life).


REAL LIFE SCENARIO

A pair of very beautiful twin girls from Bromley a city in Kent, were the subjects of the study. According to the news story, which was reported in January this year, Olivia Murphy developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when she was 2 years old, while her twin sister Isabella remained healthy. I'm not exactly sure how the case came to Prof. Enver's attention at the MRC (I wanted to ask him but didn't get a chance) but he and his group ended up researching why one of the twins developed the disease while the other remained healthy. Prof. Enver's team elucidated that both twins carried a gene that pre-disposes them to developing the ALL, but while Isabella only had one hit to her gene, Olivia had two hits which resulted in cancer development (cancer usually results from several mutations to certain genes which allow the cells to grow uncontrollably).

They proved to be the perfect research subjects to understand if genetics had a pivotal role in the stem cells, which could already be susceptible to chance changes after birth. The aim of the research, was to discover where the point of change was that resulted in the cancer, and whether it would be possible to design a method to protect the susceptible genes (prevention) or necessary drugs which would target the cancer cells.

There was a more detailed write up which describes how the twin's parents brought Olivia in for fever which the doctors had then thought was tonisilitis. The parents insisted on a blood test and were given the ALL diagnosis. Fortunately, Olivia's cancer responded well to the chemotherapy and was a success, but not without side effects.

The chemotherapy was so strong that her immune system was damaged and she suffered six attacks of shingles (chicken pox relative) which infected her eye and blinded it. In the course of research, Prof. Enver's team took regular samples of both the girls' blood and the doctors will screen Isabella regularly to monitor any signs of the 'second hit'.


OPTIMISM FOR TARGETING PRE-CANCER CELLS

According to Prof. Enver, as the total cancer relies on less than one per cent of the cancer generating cells to maintain the disease, this offers a unique opportunity to develop better drugs to kill off this one per cent of cells. He was quoted saying that there could be a day where the prevention of leukemia would be possible as the pre-leukemia cells could be eliminated at the source, potentially curing 90% of the cases detected.

However, no medical procedure is risk free and the strong chemotherapy may result in the death of 1-2% of cases treated. And for those couples with identical twins, you might like to know that nine out of ten children who have an identical twin with leukemia do not develop the disease.

That means that Isabella's chances of staying cancer free remains pretty high. :)

Blogging Live from Singapore at the UK-Singapore Stem Cell Symposium

Its been a long time since I sat in a room full of developmental biologists discussing the intricate biochemical pathways -some discovered and debated heatedly- and listened to the fundamental scientific research performed in the UK.

Organized by A*STAR’s Singapore Stem Cell Consortium and the British High Commission at Singapore’s Biopolis, it was another event which made evident Singapore’s financial commitment to establishing a scientific research base through educating its PhD students and motivating local researchers to aspire to international knowledge standards. Since I did spend a few years in a research position in Singapore, it is only right that I promote their efforts in scientific education.

15 scientists (of which 7 were Professors and researchers from their respective departments) from the Universities of Cardiff, Cambridge, UCL, Sheffield and Edinburgh presented a thirty-five minute summary of their work involving stem cell pathways derived from embryonic cell lines and cancer cells.

All the presentations were very technical (as they should be) and involved the investigation of signaling pathways in the cell.

For those who are less scientifically inclined, signaling pathway research, in plain language is finding out how a cell talks to another cell, and how each of the cells respond in body language according to what is said. Imagine that a cell is itself made up of many components (kind of like organs within your body) and these components need to synchronize in order to regulate and make the cell what it is, or what it is to become. In this case, the researchers were trying to find out which factors affect the embryonic stem cells and make them change or “differentiate” into a specialized cell type.

As always in basic scientific research, as long as governments don’t run dry on funding, scientists will always have work to do because we are still a long way off understanding how our cells talk to each other, and most importantly how to control unnecessary conversations which may spark off a chain of unwanted reactions.

You can find the list of speakers and topics here, and for the sake of brevity and also without having to go into too much basic cell biology, I’m going to give you an outline of a few of the talks which I find easier to explain and are relevant to the faithful readers of this blog. I've chosen 4 presentations (Prof. Tariq Enver, Dr. Phil Jones, Dr. James Hui and Prof. Pete Coffey) to share with you and you'll find them in the ensuing entries.

Brain Stem Cells killed by Space Radiation

A lot of the concepts surrounding that of anti-aging first involves protecting and conserving what the body has left to the best of your ability and secondly attempting to regenerate and increase the number of functionally productive living cells in the desired tissues and organs.

In a previous blog entry, I described a face cream by Dior (Capture) which promises to protect and nourish the remaining stem cells one has left in wrinkled skin. If you are a frequent long-haul air traveller (Richard Quest please take note), you might wish to give a small thought to this rather esoteric but possibly significant research study -which was conducted by the researchers at Cold Spring Harbor, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Kennedy Space Center and the University of Florida- published the the Journal of Experimental Neurology.

For those of us who spend enough time in the airplane and feel that we could have reached Mars and back, we might wish to consider plausible types of protection for the stem cells in our brain responsible for learning and memory.

In the preparative research for the proposed next NASA project to put a man on Mars, scientists conducted an experiment with mice where a single dose of radiation was administered considered to be equivalent to the amount an astronaut might be exposed to during a 3 year space voyage to Mars and back. What they found was that the radiation particularly affected the stem cells in the region of the hippocampus.


"We are going to have to rethink our understanding of stem cell susceptibility to radiation, including cosmic radiation encountered during space travel, as well as radiation doses that accompany different medical procedures," said Professor Dennis Steindler of the University of Florida, co-investigator of the study.


WHAT IS COSMIC RADIATION AND IS IT SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT?

Well, this really depends on how much long haul, high altitude flying you get to do as part of your job. Air crew and presumably flight military will be subjected to the highest amounts of exposure. Background cosmic radiation at ground level have been established at 2-3 mSv (microSievert) which is considered natural exposure. In the plane, higher altitudes reduces the protective layers in the atmosphere which shield most of the cosmic radiation and thus cosmic radiation exposure is increased. If you'd like to have an indication of cosmic radiation levels during flight, have a look at this table on the WHO site. (Note: if you're flying the A380 long distance at 43,000 feet, you'll need to double the figures up by 2)

As a result of this, aircrew are now monitored and their time tables adjusted accordingly to ensure that they do not exceed the recommended dose. The WHO and the UK Department for Transport also does not recommend pregnant air stewardesses to work on flights due to the exposure to the unborn child.

Or we can live near the equator where cosmic radiation is reduced by half.



HOW CAN WE PROTECT OUR STEM CELLS FROM COSMIC RADIATION?

Come to think of it, maybe those Imperial Stormtroopers might have been wearing reasonable looking outfits for the fight and flights through space to protect their cells. Ridiculous as it may have been (note that Luke and Leia never wore any type of helmet or protective outfit) astronauts going out on a space walk have to put up with much more cumbersome outfits due to the numerous protective layers.

A CHALLENGE FOR SPACE BIOENGINEERS AND PHYSICISTS

NASA engineering scientists are working on new materials and polymers which confer more protection and estimate that a new spacesuit which will be worn by the super-fit astronauts on Mars will be as light as 21 Kg and comprise of 12 different layers.

Better shielding on spacecrafts are also on the way (using water as an absorbent material) and hopefully, some of this technology will also filter down for use in commercial flights so that we can reduce our cancer risk (bad enough already) and retain as many hippocampal stem cells as possible.

As for the rest of us who are already losing our memory and learning capabilities due to cosmic radiation, we'll have to see about how to potentially replace and regenerate new stem cells along the way without resorting to NASA designed storm trooper outfits when we board the A380 from Singapore to London or New York.

"I want to look like Sharon Stone..."

... I suppose this must be what all the American 35+ year olds must be thinking as they rush out to buy Christian Dior's latest product on Macy's shelves on the weekend (Sharon Stone is the advertising model for "Capture" chosen by LVMH).


COSMETICS MOVE ASIDE

The product -which sounds like a piece of sexy photographic equipment or imaging software- is called Capture 60/80 XP and claims to have "lassoed the power of adult stem cells to help repair wrinkles". (For the interested Asian clients, Christian Dior plans to launch it internationally at the start of 2008)

The product was researched and developed by researchers at the Dior innovation center and the researchers at LVMH in collaboration with Professor of dermatology Carlo Pincelli, who heads the research unit at the laboratory of cutaneous biology in the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. It contains a collection of treatment creams and serums for the face and eyes which target women in the 35+ age group who are trying to escape the clutches of skin aging by protecting their adult stem cells in the skin, making them more active and thus reduce the formation or deepening of wrinkles.

The article states that the company's patented "Stemsome" technology and TP-Vityl ingredient is included in the Capture cream's formula and works on a time release system to protect basal cells and the skin's bionectin scaffold which keeps the collagen in place.


HOW MUCH FOR OVER THE COUNTER REGENERATIVE COSMETICS?

The Capture R 60/80 XP collection includes 30- and 50-ml. bottles of serum, which retail for 80.90 euros and 106 euros, or $119.40 and $156.45 at current exchange, respectively. There are also 30- and 50-ml. jars of cream in a light texture and similarly sized jars of cream in a rich texture for 57.80 euros and 86.30 euros, or $85.30 and $127.40, respectively. The 15-ml. eye cream sells for 53 euros, or $78.23. Prices are for France.

In comparison, StemLife stores cord blood stem cells for the equivalent of 5 jars of cream.

While Dior executives would not discuss numbers, industry sources estimated that Capture R 60/80 XP will generate $37 million in wholesale business during its first 12 months worldwide.

SUPPORT FOR STEM CELL INDUSTRY

Interestingly, the article states that some of the proceeds from the sale of Capture will go to Standford University's adult stem cell research funds, which might be a contribution to the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine


It's been known for years that by merely applying cosmetics, women can make themselves more attractive and appear youthful, but can we really nourish our stem cells and prevent them from dying using a cream kept in our cosmetic case? I'll have to ask someone who's going to use the creams. Well, I guess if there's any bit of skin on our body that is most exposed to UV rays and all other environmental insults, it would be our faces. Maybe I'll buy it for a friend as a present and see if those wrinkles do indeed disappear...

A new application for stem cells: FOOD FOR HUMANS

When I was at school in the UK (alas, many many years ago), I used to love writing short stories. Unfortunately, I no longer have the luxury of time to pursue this hobby.

Strange as it might sound, I won a school writing award for a story I submitted about harnessing biotechnology for food and the creation of transgenic animals for human health.

Admittedly at the time, I had read only very little about xenotransplantation or about food production, but my active teenage imagination took care of a lot of the details in the script. Without going into too many details about my short story, it somewhat resembles this article that I found on line, except that it includes my current favorite topic: stem cells.

I really thought the article was marvellous and have posted it here in its entirety. However, you could click on link just to check out the illustration that comes along with it.



Who needs animals? It's only a matter of time before lab-grown meat turns into the oink-less BLT

BY Ian Christe

It sounds like a sci-fi nightmare: giant sheets of grayish meat grown on factory racks for human consumption. But it's for real. Using pig stem cells, scientists have been growing lab meat for years, and it could be hitting deli counters sooner than you think.

Early attempts produced less-than-enticing results. Then, in 2001, scientists at New York's Touro College won funding from NASA to improve in vitro farming. Hoping to serve something, well, beefier than kelp on moon bases and Mars colonies, the scientists successfully grew goldfish muscle in a nutrient broth. And, in 2003, a group of hungry artists from the University of Western Australia grew kidney bean-size steaks from biopsied frogs and prenatal sheep cells. Cooked in herbs and flambéed for eight brave dinner guests, the slimy frog steaks came attached to small strips of fabric — the growth scaffolding. Half the tasters spit out their historic dinner. (Perhaps more significant, half didn't.)

Today, scientists funded by companies such as Stegeman, a Dutch sausage giant, are fine-tuning the process. It takes just two weeks to turn pig stem cells, or myoblasts, into muscle fibers. "It's a scalable process," says Jason Matheny of New Harvest, a meat substitute research group. "It would take the same amount of time to make a kilogram or a ton of meat." One technical challenge: Muscle tissue that has never been flexed is a gooey mass, unlike the grained texture of meat from an animal that once lived. The solution is to stretch the tissue mechanically, growing cells on a scaffold that expands and contracts. This would allow factories to tone the flaccid flesh with a controlled workout.

Lab-grown meat isn't an easy sell, but there could be benefits. Designer meat would theoretically be free of hormones, antibiotics, and the threat of mad cow disease or bird flu. Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins could be blasted into the mixture or dispersed through veins. Revolting? You bet, but have you ever visited a sausage factory? Currently costing around $100,000 per kilogram, a choice cut of lab meat makes Kobe beef seem like a bargain. But meat-processing companies hope to start selling affordable factory-grown pork in under a decade. Bon appétit.


If I can find that story I childishly wrote so long ago, maybe I'll post it and we can do a two decade double-take... strangely it doesn't take a whole generation for technology to catch up and make what you read in a book or saw on TV a reality.

Stem Cell technological application may be a lot wider than we currently know.

Viacell ABANDONS Cord Blood Stem Cell Expansion Program

IS IT ENOUGH?

Whilst many cord blood banks rather unscrupulously hype up the possibilities of stem cell expansion (in order to get clients to store whatever they have and believe in their technology), I've always asked the StemLife team to take a very careful view of the science and the practical realities*.

[As a side note, here in Malaysia cord blood banks claiming to compete with us - operate on the cheap using non-FDA approved storage systems- promote the usage of vials as a storage medium on the pretext that cells can be selectively taken one vial at a time for future expansion. Read on to see why this is a disingenuous marketing ploy...]


THE CHALLENGES OF EXPANSION

The reason why StemLife has taken a cautious approach towards the expansion technology are three fold.

Firstly, in order to expand stem cells, you'll need enough cells -the more the better- in the first place. As a crude analogy, you'll need enough lactobacilli to make yoghurt (too little and it will take too long, allowing other bacteria to destroy the process).

Secondly, sterile technique is absolutely critical; when you're growing the cells, you have to make sure that it contains only the cells that you're growing and nothing else. This requires not only human precision, expensive facilities and sterile reagents, but most importantly, the money to maintain everything in exactly this pristine sterile condition (many, many zeros in any currency).

Thirdly, knowledge of cellular morphology and function is also very important. No one I know would like to risk having cells injected into the heart forming liver or kidney tissue instead. This means identifying the cells and providing the assurance that the cells are indeed stem cells and nothing else.

Hence, any organization, private or public has to be prepared to have deep pockets and a lot of patience when venturing into this technology.


HOW DEEP ARE YOUR POCKETS?

I've been following Viacell's (VIAC) progress in this area for some time, not only because they were one of the first stem cell companies to announce their sincere interest and demonstrate their financial committment in this area, but also because I was kindly shown around their big and beautiful facilities two years ago in Boston.

It is unfortunate therefore to see this press release by Viacell on their decision to terminate the cord blood stem cell expansion project CB001 despite its apparent reported success but on the grounds that the process and product was unaffordable and commercially inviable due to other alternatives.

"What's the alternative?" I hear you ask. The reason why Viacell made the tough commercial decision to cut their losses was that the preferred methodology by transplanters in the US is a dual cord stem cell transplant (using 2 cord blood stem cell units instead of just 1). The results of the expanded product were as good as and in some ways slightly better in the initial trial, but I suspect that the cost did not justify only small improved outcomes. I would say that it was a wise commercial decision by Viacell, and an acknowledgement that what scientists dream and love to do, is not always feasible for clinical practice.

I learned this a long time ago when I was still in research, that what looks good on paper does not necessarily transform into a money spinner despite the winning ideas and long hours of toil.


A GOOD CEO KNOWS WHEN TO QUIT

By cutting the budget for this research and focusing on service improvements, Viacell expects to finally achieve profitability in 2008 for the first time since their listing a few years ago (this is probably also true of many of the other cord blood banks which have committed much of their funding to very costly research, sacrificing their bottom line).


"Given these results and the shift in the treatment paradigm in transplant medicine from single cord to two cord transplants, ViaCell has made the decision not to advance CB001 in future clinical trials. As a result of the reduced clinical and development costs related to CB001, along with anticipated continued growth in its operating business, ViaCell expects to become cash flow positive in the first half of 2008."


Now, Viacell intend to focus on cord blood stem cells for cardiac applications, which I think is probably more interesting and may pose less life-threatening consequences for patients.


"We are committed to continuing to grow our operating business, advancing ViaCyte(SM) through a pivotal clinical trial, which, if successfully developed, will leverage our sales and marketing infrastructure, and working to advance our cord blood-derived cardiac program," said Mr. Beer. "We are already generating cash flow within our ViaCord business and we anticipate continued growth in 2007. As a result, given our reduction in clinical and development costs related to CB001, we expect ViaCord's contributions to the overall operation will allow us to turn cash flow positive in the first half of 2008."


So if you are specifically told by any stem cell company that stem cell expansion technology is available today, they aren't lying, but don't forget to ASK them whether:

1. Your unit baby's cord blood unit has sufficient stem cells to be expanded,

2. Who's offering the service (full due diligence here) and how successful the treatments outcomes have been and what assurances they provide otherwise;

3. And, specifically at what cost.


STEMLIFE BELIEVES IN CHOICES

The way I read the cord blood stem cell tea leaves, if you banked a unit of stem cells and it is not enough, seek other matching units to combine with your own or consider joining StemLife's adult stem cell banking program.

We believe in continually providing affordable and accessible options to our clients... and making stem cell banking a more than once in a lifetime opportunity. :)



*We do not turn away clients who express their wish to proceed but provide them with a cautious advisory to indicate if the stem cell counts are below what we would normally expect. StemLife also provides a full refund for those clients who decide not to proceed to store, and we usually ask them to let us know when they'll be having the next baby (success second time round).

StemLife has a joint research project with the National University of Singapore at very initial stages which differs from Viacell's approach, you can read more about it here.