Dr. Sandip Patel (left) and Dr. Dan Kaufman (center) of UC San Diego School of Medicine enjoy a light-hearted moment before Derek Ruff (right) receives the first treatment for cancer using human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Photo courtesy of UC San Diego Health. For patients battling cancer for the first time, it can be quite … Continue reading First patient treated for colon cancer using reprogrammed adult cells
Clinical Trials
Mending Stem Cells: The Past, Present & Future of Regenerative Medicine
UCSF's Mission Bay Campus For years we have talked about the “promise” and the “potential” of stem cells to cure patients. But more and more we are seeing firsthand how stem cells can change a patient’s life, even saving it in some cases. That’s the theme of the 4th Annual CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics … Continue reading Mending Stem Cells: The Past, Present & Future of Regenerative Medicine
Promising start to CIRM-funded trial for life-threatening blood disorder
Aristotle At CIRM we are always happy to highlight success stories, particularly when they involve research we are funding. But we are also mindful of the need not to overstate a finding. To quote the Greek philosopher Aristotle (who doesn’t often make an appearance on this blog), “one swallow does not a summer make”. In … Continue reading Promising start to CIRM-funded trial for life-threatening blood disorder
Rats, research and the road to new therapies
Don Reed Don Reed has been a champion of CIRM even before there was a CIRM. He's a pioneer in pushing for funding for stem cell research and now he's working hard to raise awareness about the difference that funding is making. In a recent article on Daily Kos, Don highlighted one of the less … Continue reading Rats, research and the road to new therapies
Gene therapy gives patient a cure and a new lease on life
Brenden Whittaker (left), of Ohio, is a patient born with a rare genetic immune disease who was treated at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in a CIRM funded gene therapy trial. Dr. David Williams (on right) is Brenden's treating physician.Photo courtesy of Rose Lincoln - Harvard Staff Photographer Pursuing an education can … Continue reading Gene therapy gives patient a cure and a new lease on life
Mending Stem Cells: The Past, Present and Future of Regenerative Medicine
To Mend: (verb used with object) to make (something broken, worn, torn or otherwise damaged) whole, sound or usable by repairing. It’s remarkable to believe, but today doctors literally have the tools to repair damaged cells. These tools are being used to treat people with diseases that were once incurable. The field of regenerative medicine has made tremendous … Continue reading Mending Stem Cells: The Past, Present and Future of Regenerative Medicine
Rare Disease Day – fighting for awareness and hope
It’s hard thinking of something as rare when one in 20 people are at risk of experiencing it in their lifetime. But that’s the situation with rare diseases. There are more than 7,000 of them and each affects under 200,000 people. In some cases they may only affect a few hundred people. But for each … Continue reading Rare Disease Day – fighting for awareness and hope
Antibody effective in cure for rare blood disorders
3D illustration of an antibody binding to a designated target. Illustration created by Audra Geras. A variety of diseases can be traced to a simple root cause: problems in the bone marrow. The bone marrow contains specialized stem cells known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that give rise to different types of blood cells. As … Continue reading Antibody effective in cure for rare blood disorders
Stories that caught our eye: National Geographic takes a deep dive into iPS cells; Japanese researchers start iPS cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury; and do high fat diets increase your risk of colorectal cancer
Can cell therapy beat the most difficult diseases? That’s the question posed in a headline in National Geographic. The answer; maybe, but it is going to take time and money. The article focuses on the use of iPS cells, the man-made equivalent of embryonic stem cells that can be turned into any kind of cell … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: National Geographic takes a deep dive into iPS cells; Japanese researchers start iPS cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury; and do high fat diets increase your risk of colorectal cancer
CIRM Invests in Chemotherapy-Free Approach to Rare But Deadly Childhood Disease
David Vetter, boy diagnosed with SCID Imagine being told that your seemingly healthy newborn baby has a life-threatening disease. In a moment your whole world is turned upside down. That’s the reality for families with a child diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Children with SCID lack a functioning immune system so even a simple … Continue reading CIRM Invests in Chemotherapy-Free Approach to Rare But Deadly Childhood Disease
The Stem Cellar 