The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded $5,444,353 to Dr. Natalia Gomez-Ospina and her team at Stanford University for a late-stage preclinical program targeting Severe Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1, also known as Hurler syndrome. This is an inherited condition caused by a faulty gene. Children with Hurler syndrome lack an enzyme that the body needs to digest … Continue reading Investing in a stem cell treatment for Hurler syndrome
Author: Katie Sharify
Advancing cutting-edge treatment to improve kidney transplantation in children
Stanford physician-scientist Alice Bertaina, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics has received about $18 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for a clinical trial to allow kidney transplantation without the need for long-term immunosuppression. Dr. Bertaina and her team at Stanford University were awarded $11,998,188 to test an approach that uses combined … Continue reading Advancing cutting-edge treatment to improve kidney transplantation in children
Investing in CAR T-cell therapy to treat cancer
Photo credit: UC Regents The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is investing $4 million to support Dr. William Murphy and UC Davis researchers to develop and test a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to treat various B-cell malignancies, ranging from lymphomas to leukemias. In this Q&A—courtesy of UC Davis Health—Dr. Murphy discusses the importance of T-cell therapy and its implications … Continue reading Investing in CAR T-cell therapy to treat cancer
Update on SCID patient enrolled in CIRM-funded gene therapy trial
Photo credit: UCSF Hataalii Tiisyatonii Begay (HT) is paving the road for newborns with SCID. When HT was born in 2018 in a remote part of the Navajo nation, he was quickly diagnosed with a rare and -usually fatal- condition. Today, thanks to a therapy developed at UCSF and funded by CIRM, he’s a healthy … Continue reading Update on SCID patient enrolled in CIRM-funded gene therapy trial
Update on spinal cord injury patient enrolled in CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial
Jake Javier and his parents at Duke University A spinal cord injury (SCI) is devastating, changing a person’s life in an instant. Every year, around the world, between 250,000 and 500,000 people suffer a spinal cord injury. Most of these are caused by trauma to the spinal column, thereby affecting the spinal cord's ability to … Continue reading Update on spinal cord injury patient enrolled in CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial
Neurona Therapeutics Update: First two patients who received treatment experienced significantly less seizures
Nearly 3.5 million Americans suffer from some form of epilepsy. It can affect people in different ways from stiff muscles or staring spells, to violent shaking and loss of consciousness. The impact it has on people’s lives extends far beyond the condition itself. People who suffer from epilepsy experience a higher frequency of depression and other mood … Continue reading Neurona Therapeutics Update: First two patients who received treatment experienced significantly less seizures
Myocarditis in Cancer Patients Is Driven by Specific Immune Cells
In a new study, researchers from UC San Francisco and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified specific immune cells that cause a potentially lethal heart inflammation -called myocarditis- in a small fraction of patients treated with powerful cancer immunotherapy drugs. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. It can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, … Continue reading Myocarditis in Cancer Patients Is Driven by Specific Immune Cells
Dr. Deborah Deas and Ysabel Duron recognized for their contributions to advancing public health
Dr. Deborah Deas The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has two reasons to celebrate today. Earlier this month, Dr. Deborah Deas was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine, or NAM. Membership in the academy is one of the highest national honors in health and medicine. Dr. Deas is the vice … Continue reading Dr. Deborah Deas and Ysabel Duron recognized for their contributions to advancing public health
California researchers developing vaccine to curb the spread of Zika virus
Zika is caused by a virus that is mainly transmitted by infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes but also through sexual intercourse. People infected by Zika virus usually have mild symptoms that normally last for two to seven days and can include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, or headaches. Zika also causes devastating … Continue reading California researchers developing vaccine to curb the spread of Zika virus
Two common viruses could trigger Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers from Tufts University and the University of Oxford have found that two common viruses —the varicella zoster and herpes simplex viruses— could trigger Alzheimer's disease. Varicella zoster (VZV) is an extremely common virus causes which causes chickenpox. Once cured of the first infection, the virus tends to linger in peripheral nerves where they remain dormant. When these dormant viruses are … Continue reading Two common viruses could trigger Alzheimer’s disease
The Stem Cellar 