Stem Cell Transplants for Peri-anal Fistulas

I'd like to nominate this article for one of the top ten most interesting stem cell applications to date.


The background

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease which can cause swelling anywhere along the digestive tract but mostly affects the small intestine. The most common symptom leading to its diagnosis is diarrhea. The most common complication leading to its diagnosis is the blockage of the intestines. Due to the thickening of the intestinal wall, the passage narrows and may also cause sores or ulcers involving surrounding tissues and organs such as the bladder, vagina, and the anus and rectum.


Anal Fistulas

The anal glands which drain into the anal canal can become blocked and infected, resulting in an abscess formed in an abnormal tunnel called a fistula. The fistula can cross the anal sphincter, and if infected, may present the patient with a painful and problematic condition.

Crohn's disease is typically diagnosed in people (males and females) between the ages of 15-35, but can strike at any point in their life.


Phase II Clinical Trials

The article described a clinical study conducted in Madrid, where patients with Crohn's disease (or a similar glandular condition) and symptomatic anal fistulas were treated with and without stem cells complementing the existing therapeutic strategy.

Previously, patients with perianal fistulas were provided with the option of surgery. However, while this cures the fistula, it leaves behind a scar which can cause incontinence problems. What they were performing in Madrid, were fibrin glue injections which involves the injection of a biodegradable glue into the fistula to close the tunnel and prevent any bacteria from entering to form an abscess. This procedure provides minimal risk of incontinence (no surgery to damage muscle tissue) and also much less stress for the patient.

Disappointingly, fibrin glue treatment only cures 16% of conditions and this prompted the doctors to explore a more definitive method of curing the fistula internally and externally (closing the fistula completely).


Plus Stem Cells

In this phase II clinical trial led by Prof. Damian Garcia-Olmo of La Paz Hospital, patients were treated with fibrin glue and stem cells derived by liposuction from their own fatty tissue. The cells were grown in the lab to an order of 20 million and re-injected into the internal opening of the fistula 3 months later. Control patients only got the fibrin glue.

The patients were monitored for 8 weeks and if the fistula still was not healed, the patients got a second dose of 40 million stem cells + fibrin glue or fibrin glue alone depending on which group they were in (note that the second dose of stem cells was also a double dose).

The stem cell treatment was apparently effective and recorded a significant difference and the patients are now leading a better quality of life with no further fistulas.


I wonder if Prof. Garcia-Olmo will try this procedure with stem cells from other sources which may be able to avoid surgical intervention for extraction of stem cells altogether. I'm not sure what the incidence of Crohn's disease is in Malaysia, but as it seems to be a condition which might be related to urban lifestyle (and possibly poor diet) there might be an undiagnosed population out there who are too embarrassed to seek help unless its very severe. Well, at least now there is way to improve the chances of removing an uncomfortable part of the problem altogether with stem cells.

There is no cure for Crohn's disease at this time and treatment involved medication and/or surgery.

Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplant Saves Singapore Baby

It's always nice to have good news, and children who have had successful outcomes with stem cell therapy is always good news to me.

Last night, Singapore's Channel News Asia announced that a 2 year-old baby boy has recovered from a fatal disease (exactly what wasn't named) after fighting against viral and fungal infections, which are often associated with poor immune systems in transplantation.

The transplant was performed by A/Prof. Dr. Tan Ah Moy, head of KK Women's and Children's Paediatric Haematology Unit in May last year.

The little boy's name and nationality has been withheld for now -probably for privacy reasons- but I hope we'll get to hear more about his condition, whether it was genetic or spontaneous and the factors that led to the successful transplant.

We have transplant facilities in Kuala Lumpur at the University Hospital and also at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, but I have to admit that Singapore's hospitals do a much better job at marketing themselves online. KK states on its website that the paediatric haematology team has performed 35 transplants to date, and I'm sure that with a fairly homogenous population and the Singapore cord blood bank in its basement, there will be many more babies that can be saved.

If you need a transplantation specialist, here's a short who's who list:

Clin A/Prof Tan Ah Moy
Head & Senior Consultant
Appt. tel: +65 6294 4050

Prof. Chan Lee Lee
Head and Senior Consultant
Appt. tel: +603-79502275

Cord Blood Stem Cells for Broad Range of Medical Conditions

This news is interesting and reveals what cord blood stem cells are being used for on the other side of our planet. Cord Blood Registry (CBR), one of America's top 3 (or perhaps the top) cord blood stem cell storage companies has just announced the release of five units in the first quarter of this year for autologous infusions/ transplantation.


WHAT ARE THE STEM CELLS BEING USED TO TREAT?

3 of the infusions are for autologous use, namely Cerebral Palsy, Type 1 Diabetes, Auto-immune disorder related Autism.

2 of the infusions are for family members to treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Diamond Blackfan Anemia.


Statement from CBR's Scientific Director and Transplanter at University of Arizona

"The growing number of requests CBR is receiving for release of samples to the families who stored them is an important indication that the medical community is increasingly using autologous and genetically-related cord blood stem cells to help save lives," said David Harris, Ph.D., CBR scientific director and professor of immunology at the University of Arizona. "It is particularly encouraging to see the benefits of cord blood stem cells extend to patients with diverse unmet medical needs. This includes a number of regenerative medicine therapies which require a patient's own cells."


Interesting? Given the conventional options available, I'm certainly keen on knowing the patient outcomes.

Adult Patient gets Cord Blood Stem Cells for Transplant

I found this video pretty interesting as the interviewee highlights the plight of many patients today who aren't told or advised about the uses of cord blood stem cells. Eric Drew was only told about bone marrow transplantation (but didn't have any full siblings) and wasn't informed of any other options. It was on his own initiative that he found out about cord blood stem cells and followed up with a successful transplant. So, another adult has been successfully cured with cord blood stem cells... don't let anyone tell you that cord blood stem cells aren't useful for adults.

At StemLife, we do advise parents that while their children may not need it within the first few years of their life (touch wood), it is affordable and reasonable to bank the stem cells so that the resource is available for possible later use.

The video is a little bit heavy to download but its worth hearing his optimism and it's good listening to a patient who has been through the procedure.


"Don't take NO for an answer"

Installation of Malaysia's 13th King & Launch of StemLife's New Services

Malaysia's new king from Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin was installed last week on the 26th of April and it was declared a bank holiday. There are beautiful yellow posters all over Kuala Lumpur paying tribute to the new King, with words "Daulat Tuanku", which I think means "Long live the King" in Malay.

The King and the Queen look really resplendent in their royal gold outfits and as my colleagues and I drove by the signs, we were commenting on how complementary they were in terms of their looks and how attractive the Queen is.

A GOOD DAY FOR A LAUNCH

It was also a good day for StemLife as we launched our new services in the presence of our guest of honor -Malaysian jazz singer, mother and StemLife client- Sheila Majid. She rang us to ask about StemLife's newborn umbilical cord blood stem cell banking service for her newest addition to her family and we asked her if she would kindly grace our event as a client and guest-of-honor. She said to us: " I am happy to do it because it's a good thing, doesn't hurt anyone and certainly important that other parents should know about it" (she missed the previous baby's stem cells as she delivered early).

If you're a StemLife client already or a mum-to-be who's considering stem cell banking, I'm really excited to share news on our latest stem cell services with you.


StemGuard

Parent Question: " Can I afford transplantation if it comes to pass?"
StemLife Answer: Yes, you can with StemGuard. A specially designed transplant insurance policy that allows parents to cover the costs of transplantation should it be required in the future. Parents are offered very affordable rates (from 20 cents per day) for transplantation costs in Malaysian hospitals. It covers most major transplantable disorders todate.


StemAssured

Parent Question: " Will my baby's stem cells be alright after years of storage?"
StemLife Answer: "Yes, StemLife is confident that your baby's stem cells are safe with us and we're willing to provide a money back guarantee."


Stem21

Parent Question: "What will happen to my baby's stem cells if we're not around?"
StemLife Answer: "Not to worry, we'll still take care of them for you. Some of StemLife's parents have asked us what will happen to their babies' stem cell unit should they no longer be around and the minor be unable to pay . StemLife takes a compassionate stance and offers to bank the unit at no further costs to the child until they are 21."


The news was reported in several papers, Business Times carried an article, as did the Star newspaper.

If you're already a StemLife Parent, you'll be receiving a mailer pretty soon explaining how the programs work. Please bear with us, but we're working on making our services better.

As for everyone else, look out for StemLife's new service logos and let me know if you think they're nice :).

Type 1 Diabetics benefit from Stem Cell Transplantation

If you or one of your family members has diabetes, I'm pretty sure that the recent news on stem cell transplantation providing a cure for Type 1 Diabetes (Type 1 DM) has you sitting upright and your full attention. I've had a lot of positive feedback on this news which has appeared in our newspapers here, from clients asking if this would be a cure resulting in an insulin independent life.


REASON FOR OPTIMISM

I think that the news is very positive and certainly its a start to demonstrating that it may be possible to modulate diseases originating from a malfunctioned immune system through a patient's autologous (own) stem cell transplant. This concept has been tested before, systemic lupus erythmatoses for example is a case which has resulted in patients remaining SLE free after stem cell transplantation. In the case of Type 1 DM, experimental stem cell transplantation conducted previously on mice yielded results which indicated the prevention of the disease.


STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

It was based on these results* that the doctors Julio Voltarelli and colleagues from the Regional Blood Center, at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil decided to initiate the study on how stem cell transplantation might assist in halting the deterioration of pancreatic beta cell function in newly diagnosed patients (patients who have had the disease for a long time may not have any pancreatic beta cells left as the immune system would have destroyed them all).


SOURCE: PATIENT'S OWN ADULT STEM CELLS

The stem cells were the patient's own stem cells, mobilized from their bone marrow to the blood stream where they were collected. Then, they were prepared for transplantation by suppressing their immune system (a form of chemotherapy) and wiping out their existing circulating immune cells. The stem cells were then administered back into their bloodstream. The patients stayed in isolation for 2 weeks, which is a typical length of time for the immune system to kick start (using stem cells from others would have taken more than 2 months to have the same result, barring no rejection issues).


SELECTION IS KEY

I have to tell you that patient selection is key in every trial, as not any one procedure will benefit everyone. Disease, timing and response varies from patient to patient and the trick is trying to find patients with similar symptoms and baseline measurements, but yet with no other organ complications. 15 patients were selected out of 100 initally screened, and took place over almost 3 years between November 2003 and July 2006, with observation up til February this year at the Bone marrow transplantation unit of the School of Medicine at Ribeirao Preto(otherwise known as Brazil's California... nice!).

The patients were monitored and gradually reduced their need for injectable insulin. The interesting and exciting results were that 14 out of 15 patients were insulin-independent for lengths from 1 to 36 months, where the insulin free period was nearly 19 months.

The doctors are wondering whether the effect was due to a reprieve of the immune system on the pancreas (hence allowing the remaining beta cells to regenerate) or whether it was truly due to the immune system modulation, which allowed the pancreas cells to work, but eventually give up (organ under stress).


WHAT IF YOU HAD TO HAVE INJECTIONS EVERY DAY?

Whilst there have been those who have pointed out the lack of a control group, it is clear that at least for a short while, these type 1 DM patients experienced a time when insulin injections weren't a mealtime affair**.



*"Autologous Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus."
Júlio C. Voltarelli, Carlos E. B. Couri, Ana B. P. L. Stracieri, Maria C. Oliveira, Daniela A. Moraes, Fabiano Pieroni, Marina Coutinho,Kelen C. R. Malmegrim, Maria C. Foss-Freitas, Belinda P. Simões, Milton C. Foss, Elizabeth Squiers, Richard K. Burt. JAMA. 2007;297:1568-1576. Vol. 297 No. 14, April 11, 2007.

** Quite a lot of us can't bear injections once a year, so compare that to several injections per day. Transplant specialists, get ready for the phonecalls.


ps. I do apologise that I haven't posted for a while... yes it has been really busy here at StemLife (in a good way) :)

StemLife's New Website and Good News For Women who have stored their Stem Cells

First and foremostly, I'd like to share with everyone that StemLife has recently launched a new website. Our web team has opted to refresh and update both pictures and information to enable company news and services to be accessed more easily. I'm sure that they'll be changing the photos and features from time to time, so please share it with all your friends and family.

StemLife- Malaysia's First Stem Cell Bank and Therapeutics Company for Babies and Adults


Access the site at www.StemLife.com




What about the WOMEN and their Stem Cells?

Well, I thought you might be interested in this article that I read in the Herald today. Apparently, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh have been studying the regenerative potential of stem cells obtained from females versus that from males. While they were investigating muscular dystrophy models in mice, the scientists noticed that the implantation of female stem cells led to significantly better recovery in the muscles than the male stem cells.

The scientist who made the finding, Dr. Bridget Deasy, postulates that the difference may be due to the different ways male and female cells respond to oxidative stress during the process of transplantation. Female cells may just survive the process better. This has a particular relevance to Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy because this genetic condition mainly affects boys and 1 in 3500 are born with the lifelong degenerative disease.

Further, this study might also provide some insights into the differences between men and women with regards to how either sex responds to ageing or disease. If female stem cells are more tolerant in transplant conditions, any stem cell company trying to grow them for mass use had better obtain female donors. And if a patient has a choice to obtain stem cells from a brother or a sister... well, it might be another good reason for Asian families to have girls too. Stronger stem cells :)

I'm wondering if anyone has done a study on all human transplants to date and found any correlation that might corroborate this finding in mice.

Adult Blood Stem Cells for Muscular Dystrophy

I've had some enquiries before about the use of stem cells to help patients with muscular dystrophy, but never as able to tell them very much. Now I've read that italian scientists from the Stem Cell Research Institute in Rome, have taken human adult stem cells from the bloodstream (much like what StemLife does presumably) and injected the stem cells into mice with muscular dystrophy.

What's interesting is that the scientists injected the cells intravenously into the dogs (young golden retreivers) and the cells circulated to regenerate the muscles of these dogs. Even more interesting was that the researchers proceeded further to obtain the blood cells of patients with muscular dystrophy, insert the correct gene (thereby sliencing the defective gene) and injected them into the mice. The result was that the cells made their way to the skeletal muscle and were able to partly regenerate the muscles.

This is really very interesting work and raises a few possibilities in my mind.

a) Can a muscular dystrophy patient use a younger patient's healthy stem cells and inject intravenously for the same effect?
b) How many cells might they need and would they need a really large stem cell dose to exhibit regeneration of the muscles?
c) Do the cells need to be autologous for effectivity in humans?
d) Any supplementary treatment to be administered?

The only way to really know -as in all research- is to give it a go because muscular dystrophy patients (depending on the severity) don't have time to wait.

I watched a movie entitled "Rory O'Shea was here" the other night (on satellite quite late) about two boys -one with cerebral palsy and the other with muscular dystrophy- about how they form a symbiotic relationship and eventually friendship. It was a moving and touching portrayal of people with the condition, their limitations, frustrations and will. I really enjoyed it and thought that it was well worth watching. Get your tissues ready.


If you'd like to know more about muscular dystrophy and how to recognize it, have a look at this site.

Sports and Stem Cells

My cousin and I used to love wakeboarding and we did it every weekend off the coast of Singapore for almost a year when I lived there. The thing about wakeboarding which makes it a real impact sport, is the pull of the speedboat cutting through seawater, sliding out away from the wake at a sharp angle and slicing back in to use the wake as a ramp for a jump.

Depending on how you've positioned yourself before and during the jump, your landing could be very elegant and soft, or very, very hard and bruising. The worst is probably what's called a "face-plant" where you slam face first onto the surface of the water, and you would be lucky if all you got was the wind knocked out of you without too much injury.

Many of the wakeboarders (well, not so many 11 years ago...) used to sport some injury or another, and I recall my boat driver and instructor whose knee injury was so bad that he had to wear a brace permanently and stop wakeboarding, which he loved so much.

If I had his number now, I'd certainly convince him to store his own stem cells to treat his injured knee.

I believe that applications of stem cells in sports injuries will take centerstage in the near future, simply because there isn't that much out there which assures patients that they'll really be able to get back their full range of motion after serious damage. Apart from the excruciating pain and lengthy recovery period (my cousin hurt her knee once on the board and was out of action for months), injuries are often severe enough that full form is never quite regained and the sport loses its lustre.


ENOUGH ABOUT WAKEBOARDING WHAT ABOUT THE STEM CELLS?

I read this interesting article in the International Herald Tribune about how doctors and researchers are now promoting the storage of stem cells from the umbilical cord to use in tendon, ligament, muscle and ligament repair in the few years.

Estimated timeline?

"It's not a pie in the sky notion," said Dr. Scott Rodeo, an orthopedist and research scientist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. "Maybe it's not going to happen next year, but a three-to-five year horizon is not unreasonable."

Dr. Rodeo, who is the doctor for the New York Giants football team and former US Olympic team doctor, has apparently been conducting common injury trials which do not mend easily on rats, reconstructing knees, ligament and shoulder cuffs with stem cells.


Another strong endorsement for stem cell banking:

"If you have a child who has exceptional athletic talent at the age of 5 or 6, you might want to get a muscle or fat biopsy to draw and freeze some young stem cells," said Dr. Johnny Huard, director of the Stem Cell Research Center of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and a leading gene therapy researcher. "To have a pool of stem cells already removed would be enormously valuable. The practical use might be years away, but that's the future of sports medicine."


Of course there are detractors to using stem cells as a treatment option, but frankly, if you've every played futsal or even fallen down the stairs and sprained your ankle in a life-limiting way, to me having an option is better then no option at all.

If you're a weekend athlete with an injury and would like to consider stem cell banking and therapy, please give us a call (603-2163 8800) and we'll be happy to make the arrangements for you*.


*No, you do not have to be pregnant to store your stem cells, StemLife offers Adult Stem Cell Banking for individuals who wish to use their own stem cells for their own treatment.

Stem Cells for John Plummer's Heart

More and more companies are moving into the US stem cell therapeutic arena, this is probably a good indicator that StemLife is moving in the right direction.

Here's an article that makes a few interesting points, with doctors making positive and strong statements that will lead the industry forward. The exciting thing about the stem cell industry is that it crosses the boundaries between healthcare and science and really seems to have convinced many physicians that this is really the way to go. Stem cell medicine makes gene therapy and other more technical innovations seem not only expensive, but very far away from reality and practicality.

Doctors at Vanderbilt University have led the way in the US to be the first few medical centers to perform stem cell therapy for stimulating regeneration of the heart muscle after heart attacks. Funded by a company called Amorcyte, the trial runs on for five years where the patients enrolled will be monitored on a yearly basis.

I thought the following points were worth noting:

a) Both Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dr. Douglas Vaughan and Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab Dr. David Zhao were very positive about stem cell medicine.

Dr. Douglas Vaughan, had very positive comments to make about stem cell therapy saying that it had the potential to "transform the way we treat people with cardiac disease".

Dr. David Zhao was quoted as saying,"If we treat a patient rapidly, some may not have any damage at all, but for those who, despite all efforts, suffer damage to the heart muscle, we are studying the effects of this treatment in repairing the heart muscle."

b) the article notes that most stem cell work has been conducted in Europe and only recently commenced in the US

c) the patient, a 63 yr old Professor, is delightfully enthusiastic that he's undergoing the treatment

d) the stem cells harvested are delivered in exactly the same way as StemLife's current method

e) preliminary results seen within 3-6 months

f) lastly but certainly not leastly, full support and funding from government body NIH.


Quote from the patient:

"There are no guarantees," said Plummer. "It was the prospect of improvement - any improvement - that made it worth it. There are certain risks, but the prospect of the study proving to be valuable to others as well, all of those considerations made it seem like something I ought to do."

"I look at it this way. This is an improvement you would give almost anything to make. There is nothing more important than your general health."

Adult Stem Cell Education Video

Did you like the animated graphics in the video in the last entry? Here's another one by the same author on adult stem cells and what they can do. It's just as good as the previous video and I think its really worth watching it once or twice just to make sure you don't miss anything..

I particularly liked the depiction of stem cells in the bone marrow, how the stem cells form matured red blood cells and how they move into the bloodstream to perform their function in circulation. The narrator also made a good point about how stem cells are important to the body in replacement of lost tissue either due to wear and tear, or by medical damage (say treatment by radiotherapy or chemotherapy). Essentially, if your stem cells are totally destroyed, all the parts will wear down really fast; And if you have the choice to keep a small bank of replacement cells in the event that it does happen, wouldn't you do it?

Drop us a line if you'd like to get your own stem cell account- StemLife makes the process as pleasurable as possible.

Take it from me... I've already banked mine ;)



Turn your speakers on and press play.......

Video on the Characteristics of Stem Cells

It isn't very often that one finds a good video explaining what stem cells are and what they do. I found this very short one on Youtube and found the graphics animation really quite impressive and visually stimulating. If you're a client of StemLife, I'd really like you to watch this and share this blog with your family and friends so that they can understand stem cells better.

Bill Spence- Heart Patient Improved with Adult Stem Cell Therapy

Given that heart disease is probably the number ONE lifestyle killer in all developed countries, it is thus highly appropriate that a fair number of entries are dedicated to the treatment of this expensive and progressive condition.

I've been following the Gary Schaer trial for a while now and been updating this blog on any new articles detailing the patients' progress. This latest article describes one of the thirty-three patients who has undergone stem cell therapy for his intense chest pain which is so bad that he is confined to his home and has no other viable conventional treatment options to explore (he's had 2 heart attacks, open heart surgery, a pacemaker and several stents inserted and takes more than 25 medications daily).


In the article, the patient tells us of what the pain is like:

Bill Spence, heart disease patient: "The pain starts in the chest, radiates through the back and up over the shoulder and down the arm."


The article also describes what the procedure performed on Mr. Spence, which is almost exactly like what StemLife is providing in Malaysia.

First, patients are injected with a drug that helps the body release stem cells. A special machine isolates the cells from their own blood. Doctors use this mapping system to inject the stem cells back into weak areas of the heart. The idea is to grow new blood vessels.


I was really pleased to see that in the pilot trial, more than 60% of patients reported less chest pain, which is significant as this could help them get back to doing the activities they enjoy independently. Furthermore, it could even mean that their health could take a turn and they could reduce their drug intake, saving healthcare industry funds to reach a wider audience that would otherwise be denied.

This is also StemLife's aim in making it affordable and accessible to all Malaysians and anyone with heart disease. We've also got some very good progress reports from our patients and look forward to helping put more patients back on their feet.

If you have heart disease or know someone who does -and would like to explore stem cell therapy- please don't feel shy to call us for a no obligations consult. Call us at +6012 2050 165 and ask to speak to one of our Adult Stem Cell Therapy team members. :)

Pop! Goes My Heart... Stem Cells for Carrol Payne & Hugh Grant

I have two happy videos to share about hearts today.

The first one is about a firefighter, Carrol Payne, whose heart wasn't quite functioning as well anymore. He describes having a heart attack, being admitted to hospital and enrolling in a study to use stem cells as the treatment.

There were a few notable points in the article. Firstly, the doctor recommends extraction of the bone marrow stem cells between day 6-9 of the heart attack. This probably allows the infarcted area to settle down a little and ensure that the patient hasn't got further complications as a result of the heart attack. Secondly, that the bone marrow is extracted under local anaesthesia but there is no mention of how much in terms of volume. Thirdly, that the stem cells were sent to the lab, separated and re-infused using a catheter. The treating doctor, Dr. Quyyumi believes that the stem cells may help to regenerate the muscles of the heart and heal the blood vessels to recover the edges of the heart.


I am really pleased that the patient is feeling much better, we also see very similar results with StemLife's patients who are symptomatic and undergo peripheral stem cell harvesting and therapy (but with no surgery).

I'm looking to more of the work from Dr. Quyyyumi, although I know it isn't easy to organize as there is a fair amount of coordination required between patient, doctor, lab and every single member of hospital staff in between.


The second video is a one which I really enjoyed (showing my age here) but to truly appreciate it, you'll have to go watch this movie in the theatres called "Music and Lyrics" which stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. I won't reveal the story here but felt that the music video was re-creating a heart attack* and has a certain amount of relevance to our topic on stem cells.


Watch this youtube version (its hilarious) and maybe try singing along to the lyrics that I adjusted for this blog entry... but I'm no lyricist so tell me if you can come up with a better stem cell version :)




[VERSE 1]
I never thought that I could be in so much pain,
Everytime that I do a bit of exercise.
A squeeze inside me that words just can't describe,
And there's no explaining.
There's something that's disturbing my sleep, I can't deny,
Every pill to my lips is a lullaby.
Angioplasty makes life worth while,
I feel cold and shiver.

[CHORUS]
I said I wasn't gonna eat the bread, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
I wasn't gonna take my pills again, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
And I just can't live with thick blood flow,
I just don't have the feeling.

[VERSE 2]
These precious moments, I have so few,
Let me go to see StemLife, where they can get your stem cells today.
You show to me that my vessels are new,
And there's no explaining.


*Author's note: Hugh Grant's heart attack in the music video can be classified as a heart break which mimics a heart attack. Ever felt one before? Read more about heart break attacks here.

Amelia Worth has passed away awaiting her Stem Cell Transplant

I blogged about Amelia's condition a while ago and was very sad to see this recent article published saying that she had passed away.

Apparently she won her fight to find a matching donor, but not in time for a the transplant to be performed. She had her chemotherapy, had an infection and succumbed in a coma.

For what its worth, I hope she was not in pain.

And I hope that people will consider banking their stem cells just in case they need it, not because I'm promoting the service but really because when you read stories like hers, you really wish that there was something that you could have done earlier. :(

Read the story here.

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.

StemLife wishes our chinese readers Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year to all our chinese readers who celebrate the festival! Its the 3rd day of Chinese New Year (CNY has 15 days) and the StemLife office is back in full force (we're open for clients 24 by 7 but our staff do celebrate certain festivities:)).

The team has decorated the office beautifully whilst I've been away. Here's a sample picture of how the team has decorated the plants in the office.

I've got some new entries I'd like to post and will get round to writing them this weekend. So check back for new information in a day or two.

Cord Blood Stem Cells Verdict: Same and Better than Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants from Other Sources

In my conversation with many doctors, there is often a disbelief that cord blood stem cells can be used for successful transplantation. Although, I've been doing my very best to inform them that many adults have also been treated with cord blood stem cells, and that the applications are not limited to pediatric leukemias, I guess the detractors always get more attention for their comments than the published evidence.

Now, I'm happy to see this news published in the prestigious medical journal BLOOD* which states the results of a study conducted by researchers in Japan who compared the outcomes of patients with leukemia or lymphoma who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplants from either cord blood, peripheral blood or bone marrow.

The results were succinctly stated as follows:

At three years mortality related to treatment was 9% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 13% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

At three years relapses occurred in 17% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 26% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

At three years cancer-free survival was 70% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 60% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

For patients who were at a standard risk of developing a recurrence, cancer-free survival at three years was 93% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 85% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

For patients who were at a high risk of developing a recurrence, cancer-free survival at three years was 56% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants, compared with 45% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

GVHD was less frequent after umbilical cord transplants compared with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.
The researchers concluded that umbilical cord transplants provide results that are comparable to or better than those achieved with standard allogeneic stem cell transplants utilizing peripheral blood or bone marrow stem cells from a related donor.


These results provide additional evidence that the use of umbilical cord stem cells may be an effective alternative to an allogeneic stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.


With these results, I'm hoping that haematologists will be considering cord blood stem cells as a source and option for patients equivalent terms, not just as a last resort as it is often currently viewed today. And, if all babies bank their own cord blood stem cells, this will avail them to those units as adults in the future**.



*Reference: Takahashi S, Ooi J, Tomonari A, et al. Comparative single-institute analysis of cord blood transplantation from unrelated donors with bone marrow or peripheral blood stem-cell transplants from related donors in adult patients with hematologic malignancies after myeloablative conditioning regimen. Blood. 2007;109:1322-1330.


**StemLife provides cord blood and adult stem cell banking services for individuals and families. If you've missed the cord blood stem cell banking service for your child, you can consider enrolling in our adult stem cell banking service. Do contact us if you'd like more information.

Giant Cartilage Weaving Stem Cell Machine

If you're into the whole bio-engineering scene or are planning to work in labs which create polymers for human regenerative use, this machine might interest you. Check out this cool photo of a giant stem cell scaffold weaving loom.


Our collaborators in the National University of Singapore have something like this in Prof. Seeram Ramakrishna's lab but I haven't had the privilege of seeing at work. Right now, they use it to spin the polymers made of gelatin and other organic substances but I don't think its for commercial application just yet.