Blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, are projected to be responsible for 10% of all new cancer diagnoses this year. These types of cancers are often treated by killing the patient’s bone marrow (the site of blood cell manufacturing), with a treatment called irradiation. While effective for ridding the body of cancerous cells, this … Continue reading Mechanical forces are the key to speedy recovery after blood cancer treatment
Bone/Muscle/Blood
Stem Cell Agency Invests in New Immunotherapy Approach to HIV, Plus Promising Projects Targeting Blindness and Leukemia
While we have made great progress in developing therapies that control the AIDS virus, HIV/AIDS remains a chronic condition and HIV medicines themselves can give rise to a new set of medical issues. That’s why the Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded $3.8 million to a team from City of Hope … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Invests in New Immunotherapy Approach to HIV, Plus Promising Projects Targeting Blindness and Leukemia
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
Research Targeting Prostate Cancer Gets Almost $4 Million Support from CIRM
A program hoping to supercharge a patient’s own immune system cells to attack and kill a treatment resistant form of prostate cancer was today awarded $3.99 million by the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) In the U.S., prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men. … Continue reading Research Targeting Prostate Cancer Gets Almost $4 Million Support from CIRM
Starving stem cells of oxygen can help build stronger bones
We usually think that starving something of oxygen is going to make it weaker and maybe even kill it. But a new study by J. Kent Leach at UC Davis shows that instead of weakening bone defects, depriving them of oxygen might help boost their ability to create new bone or repair existing bone. Leach … Continue reading Starving stem cells of oxygen can help build stronger bones
The story behind the book about the Stem Cell Agency
WHY I WROTE “CALIFORNIA CURES” By Don C. Reed It was Wednesday, June 13th, 2018, the launch day for my new book, “CALIFORNIA CURES: How the California Stem Cell Research Program is Fighting Your Incurable Disease!” As I stood in front of the audience of scientists, CIRM staff members, patient advocates, I thought to myself, … Continue reading The story behind the book about the Stem Cell Agency
CIRM funded study results in the first ever in utero stem cell transplant to treat alpha thalassemia
Imagine being able to cure a genetic disorder before a baby is even born. Thanks to a CIRM funded study, what would have been a mere dream a couple of years ago has become a reality. Drs. Tippi MacKenzie and Juan Gonzalez Velez of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have successfully treated alpha … Continue reading CIRM funded study results in the first ever in utero stem cell transplant to treat alpha thalassemia
CIRM invests in stem cell clinical trial targeting lung cancer and promising research into osteoporosis and incontinence
The five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with the most advanced stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is pretty grim, only between one and 10 percent. To address this devastating condition, the Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) today voted to invest almost $12 million in a team from UCLA that … Continue reading CIRM invests in stem cell clinical trial targeting lung cancer and promising research into osteoporosis and incontinence
Coming up with a stem cell FIX for a life-threatening blood disorder
A promising new treatment option for hemophiliacs is in the works at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. Patients with Hemophilia B experience uncontrolled, and sometimes life threatening, bleeding due to loss or improper function of Factor IX (FIX), a protein involved in blood clotting. There is no cure for the disease and patients rely … Continue reading Coming up with a stem cell FIX for a life-threatening blood disorder
Stem Cell Roundup: Gene therapy for diabetes, alcohol is bad for your stem cells and hairy skin
The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to turn a new leaf. I myself have embraced 2018 with open arms and decided to join my fellow millennials who live and die by the acronym YOLO. How am I doing this? Well, so far, I got a new haircut, I started doing squats … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Gene therapy for diabetes, alcohol is bad for your stem cells and hairy skin