Starting a clinical trial is like taking a step into the unknown. It’s moving a potential therapy out of the lab and testing it in people. To reach this point the researchers have done a lot of work trying to ensure the therapy is safe. But that work was done in the lab, and on … Continue reading Clearing the first hurdle: spinal cord injury trial passes safety review
Month: August 2016
Beige isn’t bland when it comes to solving the obesity epidemic
Americans spend over $60 billion a year to lose weight and yet two-thirds (that’s more than 200 million) are considered overweight or obese. Losing weight should be easy: just eat less and exercise more, right? But our body’s metabolism is a very complex thing and appears to fight against our best efforts to shed pounds. … Continue reading Beige isn’t bland when it comes to solving the obesity epidemic
Seeing is believing: how some scientists – including two funded by CIRM – are working to help the blind see
“A pale hue”. For most of us that is a simple description, an observation about color. For Kristin Macdonald it’s a glimpse of the future. In some ways it’s a miracle. Kristin lost her sight to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). For many years she was virtually blind. But now, thanks to a clinical trial funded by … Continue reading Seeing is believing: how some scientists – including two funded by CIRM – are working to help the blind see
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Salamander limb regrowth, mass producing cells for kidneys and halting cancer stem cells
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Fun with axolotls. Axolotls, the albino aquatic critters that look like they have feathers growing out of the backs of their heads, have long been … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Salamander limb regrowth, mass producing cells for kidneys and halting cancer stem cells
How many stem cell trials will it take to get a cure?
When I think about how many clinical trials it will take before a stem cell therapy is available to patients, I’m reminded of the decades old Tootsie Pop commercial where a kid asks a series of talking animals, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” … Continue reading How many stem cell trials will it take to get a cure?
Sleep inducing hormone puts breast cancer cells to rest
It’s pretty easy to connect the dots between a lack of sleep and an increased risk of a deadly car crash. But what about an increased risk of cancer? A 2012 study of 101 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer found that those with inadequate sleep were more likely to have more aggressive tumors. Though … Continue reading Sleep inducing hormone puts breast cancer cells to rest
New approach could help turn back the clock and reverse damage for stroke patients
Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the US. Every year almost 800,000 people suffer from a stroke. The impact on their lives, and the lives of those around them can be devastating. Right now the only treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tissue plasminogen activator or … Continue reading New approach could help turn back the clock and reverse damage for stroke patients
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Zika virus and adult brains, a step toward precision medicine and source of blood stem cells
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Zika virus and the adult brain. While almost all the press attention for the Zika virus has centered on pregnant women and the devastating impact … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Zika virus and adult brains, a step toward precision medicine and source of blood stem cells
Better, Faster Quality Control for Stem Cell-Based Therapies
“Based”. It’s a pretty boring word but I make sure to include it when writing about the development of stem cell therapies, as in: “Asterias Biotherapeutics is testing an embryonic stem cell-based treatment for spinal cord injury”. It’s a key word here because no legitimate clinic would transplant embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or induced pluripotent … Continue reading Better, Faster Quality Control for Stem Cell-Based Therapies
A look back at the last year – but with our eyes firmly on the future
Better. With that single word Randy Mills, our President and CEO, starts and ends his letter in our 2015 Annual Report and lays out the simple principle that guides the way we work at CIRM. Better. But better what? “Better infrastructure to translate early stage ideas into groundbreaking clinical trials. Better regulatory practices to advance … Continue reading A look back at the last year – but with our eyes firmly on the future
The Stem Cellar 