Stories that caught our eye: SanBio’s Traumatic Brain Injury trial hits its target; A new approach to endometriosis; and a SCID kid celebrates Halloween in style

Hopeful signs for treating brain injuries There are more than 200,000 cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the US every year. The injuries can be devastating, resulting in everything from difficult sleeping to memory loss, depression and severe disability. There is no cure. But this week the SanBio Group had some encouraging news from … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: SanBio’s Traumatic Brain Injury trial hits its target; A new approach to endometriosis; and a SCID kid celebrates Halloween in style

Living with sickle cell disease: one person’s story of pain and prejudice and their hopes for a stem cell therapy

Whenever we hold an in-person Board meeting at CIRM we like to bring along a patient or patient advocate to address the Board. Hearing from the people they are trying to help, who are benefiting or may benefit from a therapy CIRM is funding, reminds them of the real-world implications of the decisions they make … Continue reading Living with sickle cell disease: one person’s story of pain and prejudice and their hopes for a stem cell therapy

How stem cells may help children battling birth injuries

From time to time we invite patients or patient advocates to post a guest blog on the Stem Cellar. Today we are featuring Brigitta Burguess, a mother and writer from Michigan, who focuses on pregnancy, parenting, and children with disabilities. Brigitta writes for the HIE Help Center, a website that offers information and supportive resources … Continue reading How stem cells may help children battling birth injuries

Hits and Myths as people celebrate Stem Cell Awareness Day

Every year, the second Wednesday in October is set aside as Stem Cell Awareness Day, a time to celebrate the progress being made in the field and to remind us of the challenges that lie ahead. While the event began here in California in 2008, with then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger highlighting the work of CIRM, saying: … Continue reading Hits and Myths as people celebrate Stem Cell Awareness Day

New partnership to make CIRM supported treatment for type 1 diabetes even better

  ViaCyte, a regenerative medicine company long backed by CIRM, announced a partnership with CRISPR Therapeutics to increase the number of people with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) who could benefit from their PEC-Direct therapeutic implant. Last year, CIRM granted ViaCyte $20 million to facilitate development of PEC-Direct, a device that both transplants pancreatic progenitor stem … Continue reading New partnership to make CIRM supported treatment for type 1 diabetes even better

California’s Stem Cell Agency Accelerates Treatments to Patients

The following article is an Op Ed that appeared in today's print version of the San Francisco Chronicle Biotechnology was born in California in the 1970s based on the discovery out of one of its universities and California is responsible for an industry that has impacted the lives of billions of people worldwide. In 2004, … Continue reading California’s Stem Cell Agency Accelerates Treatments to Patients

A cancer therapy developed at a CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic tests its legs against breast cancer

A Phase 1 clinical trial co-sponsored by CIRM and Oncternal Therapeutics, has started treating patients at UC San Diego (UCSD). The goal of the trial is to test the safety and anti-tumor activity of the Oncternal-developed drug, cirmtuzumab, in treating breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer to occur in women, regardless … Continue reading A cancer therapy developed at a CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic tests its legs against breast cancer

Saying goodbye to a good friend and a stem cell pioneer: Karl Trede

Sometimes even courage and determination are not enough. Karl Trede had courage and determination in droves as he fought a 12 year battle against cancer. He recently lost that battle. But he remains an inspiration for all who knew him. I got to know Karl for our 2016 Annual Report. Karl had been diagnosed with … Continue reading Saying goodbye to a good friend and a stem cell pioneer: Karl Trede

A stepping stone for bringing stem cell therapy to patients with ALS

Imagine being told that you have a condition that gradually causes you to lose the ability to control your body movements, from picking up a pencil to walking to even breathing. Such is the reality for the nearly 6,000 people who are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) every year, in the United States alone. … Continue reading A stepping stone for bringing stem cell therapy to patients with ALS

Has Regenerative Medicine Come of Age?

For the past few years the Signals blog site -  which offers an insiders’ perspectives on the world of regenerative medicine and stem cell research - has hosted what it calls a "Blog Carnival". This is an event where bloggers from across the stem cell field are invited to submit a piece based on a … Continue reading Has Regenerative Medicine Come of Age?