THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Darryl D'Lima: Scripps Health Every year millions of Americans suffer damage to their cartilage, either in their knee or other joints, that can eventually lead to osteoarthritis, pain and immobility. Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved two projects targeting … Continue reading Two Early-Stage Research Programs Targeting Cartilage Damage Get Funding from Stem Cell Agency
Heart Disease/Stroke
How two California researchers are advancing world class science to develop real life solutions
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST In our recently launched 5-year Strategic Plan, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) profiled two researchers who have leveraged CIRM funding to translate basic biological discoveries into potential real-world solutions for devastating diseases. Dr. Joseph Wu is director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and the recipient … Continue reading How two California researchers are advancing world class science to develop real life solutions
How some brilliant research may have uncovered a potential Alzheimer’s therapy
Dr. Nicole Koutsodendris, photo courtesy Gladstone Institutes In the world of scientific research, the people doing clinical trials tend to suck up all the oxygen in the room. They’re the stars, the ones who are bringing potential therapies to patients. However, there’s another group of researchers who toil away in the background, but who are … Continue reading How some brilliant research may have uncovered a potential Alzheimer’s therapy
Lack of diversity impacts research into Alzheimer’s and dementia
THIS BLOT IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY A National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases clinical trial admissions coordinator collects information from a volunteer to create a medical record. Credit: NIAID Alzheimer’s research has been in the news a lot lately, and not for the right reasons. The controversial decision by the … Continue reading Lack of diversity impacts research into Alzheimer’s and dementia
Stem cell therapy may help mend a broken heart
Blausen.com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014 Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a condition where the muscles of the heart are weak and can lead to heart failure, is considered rare in children. However, because the symptoms are not always easy to recognize the condition can go unnoticed for many years, and in severe cases … Continue reading Stem cell therapy may help mend a broken heart
CIRM funds clinical trials targeting heart disease, stroke and childhood brain tumors
Gary Steinberg (Jonathan Sprague) Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death and disability and for people who have experienced either their treatment options are very limited. Current therapies focus on dealing with the immediate impact of the attack, but there is nothing to deal with the longer-term impact. The CIRM … Continue reading CIRM funds clinical trials targeting heart disease, stroke and childhood brain tumors
A new way to evade immune rejection in transplanting cells
Immune fluorescence of HIP cardiomyocytes in a dish; Photo courtesy of UCSF Transplanting cells or an entire organ from one person to another can be lifesaving but it comes with a cost. To avoid the recipient’s body rejecting the cells or organ the patient has to be given powerful immunosuppressive medications. Those medications weaken the … Continue reading A new way to evade immune rejection in transplanting cells
Two voices, one message, watch out for predatory stem cell clinics
Last week two new papers came out echoing each other about the dangers of bogus “therapies” being offered by predatory stem cell clinics and the risks they pose to patients. The first was from the Pew Charitable Trusts entitled: ‘Harms Linked to Unapproved Stem Cell Interventions Highlight Need for Greater FDA Enforcement’ with a subtitle: … Continue reading Two voices, one message, watch out for predatory stem cell clinics
How stem cells play “follow the leader”
Todd McDevitt, PhD Photo courtesy: Gladstone Institutes It’s hard enough trying to follow the movements of individuals in a crowd of people, but imagine how much harder it is to follow the movements of stem cells crowded into a tiny petri dish. Well, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco have done just that. … Continue reading How stem cells play “follow the leader”
Persistence pays off in search for clue to heart defects
A team of scientists led by Benoit Bruneau (left), including Irfan Kathiriya (center) and Kavitha Rao (right), make inroads into understanding what genes are improperly deployed in some cases of congenital heart disease. Photo courtesy Gladstone Institute For more than 20 years Dr. Benoit Bruneau has been trying to identify the causes of congenital heart … Continue reading Persistence pays off in search for clue to heart defects