If you’ve been following the Stem Cellar blog this year, then you must be as encouraged as we are with Asterias Biotherapeutics’ CIRM-funded clinical trial, which is testing an embryonic stem cell-based therapy for spinal cord injury. Over many months, we’ve covered the company’s string of positive announcements that their cell therapy product – called … Continue reading Nine months in, stem cell-based therapy for spinal cord injury continues to improve paralyzed patients’ lives
Embryonic Stem Cells
Stories that caught our eye: color me stem cells, delivering cell therapy with nanomagnets, and stem cell decisions
Nanomagnets: the future of targeted stem cell therapies? Your blood vessels are made up of tightly-packed endothelial cells. This barrier poses some big challenges for the delivery of drugs via the blood. While small molecules are able make their way through the small gaps in the blood vessel walls, larger drug molecules, including proteins and cells, … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: color me stem cells, delivering cell therapy with nanomagnets, and stem cell decisions
Throwback Thursday: Progress to a Cure for Diseases of Blindness
Welcome back to our “Throwback Thursday” series on the Stem Cellar. Over the years, we’ve accumulated an arsenal of exciting stem cell stories about advances towards stem cell-based cures for serious diseases. This month we’re featuring stories about CIRM-funded clinical trials for blindness. 2017 has been an exciting year for two CIRM-funded clinical trials that … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Progress to a Cure for Diseases of Blindness
Stem cell study shows how smoking attacks the developing liver in unborn babies
It’s no secret that smoking kills. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) smoking is responsible for around 480,000 deaths a year in the US, including more than 41,000 due to second hand smoke. Now a new study says that damage can begin in utero long before the child is born. Previous … Continue reading Stem cell study shows how smoking attacks the developing liver in unborn babies
“A limitless future”: young crash victim regains hand, finger movement after CIRM-funded trial
Back in March, we reported on Asterias Biotherapeutics’ exciting press release stating that its CIRM-funded stem cell-based therapy for spinal cord injury had shown improvement in six out of the six clinical trial patients receiving a ten million cell dose. What’s even more exciting is hearing stories about the positive impact of that data on … Continue reading “A limitless future”: young crash victim regains hand, finger movement after CIRM-funded trial
ViaCyte Advances Cell Replacement Therapy for High Risk Type 1 Diabetes
San Diego regenerative medicine company ViaCyte announced this week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved their Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for PEC-Direct, a cell-based therapy to treat patients at risk for severe complications caused by type 1 diabetes. In the US, IND approval is the final regulatory step required before a therapy … Continue reading ViaCyte Advances Cell Replacement Therapy for High Risk Type 1 Diabetes
Positively good news from Asterias for CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury
Whenever I give a talk on stem cells one of the questions I invariably get asked is “how do you know the cells are going where you want them to and doing what you want them to?” The answer is pretty simple: you look. That’s what Asterias Biotherapeutics did in their clinical trial to treat … Continue reading Positively good news from Asterias for CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: spinal cord injury trial keeps pace; SMART cells make cartilage and drugs
CIRM-funded spinal cord injury trial keeping a steady pace Taking an idea for a stem cell treatment and developing it into a Food and Drug Administration-approved cell therapy is like running the Boston Marathon because it requires incremental progress rather than a quick sprint. Asterias Biotherapeutics continues to keep a steady pace and to hit … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: spinal cord injury trial keeps pace; SMART cells make cartilage and drugs
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: developing the nervous system, aging stem cells and identical twins not so identical
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! New theory for how the nervous system develops. There’s a new theory on the block for how the nervous system is formed thanks to a study published yesterday by UCLA stem cell scientists in the journal Neuron. The theory centers around axons, thin … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: developing the nervous system, aging stem cells and identical twins not so identical
Creating partnerships to help get stem cell therapies over the finish line
Trying to go it alone is never easy. Imagine how far Lewis would have got without Clark, or the two of them without Sacagawea. Would Batman have succeeded without Robin; Mickey without Minnie Mouse? Having a partner whose skills and expertise complements yours just makes things easier. That’s why some recent news about two CIRM-funded … Continue reading Creating partnerships to help get stem cell therapies over the finish line
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