It’s not hard to find people who don’t like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the government agency that, among other things, regulates medical therapies. In fact, if you type “do people like the FDA?” into an internet search engine you’ll quickly find out that for a lot of people the answer is “no”. … Continue reading FDA creates a forum for patients to guide its decision making
stem cell research
ViaCyte treats first patients in PEC-Direct stem cell trial for type 1 diabetes
Today, ViaCyte shared an update on its latest clinical trial for type 1 diabetes (T1D). The company is based in San Diego and is developing two stem cell-based products that attempt to replace the pancreatic beta islet cells that are attacked by the immune system of patients with T1D. Their first product, called VC-01 or … Continue reading ViaCyte treats first patients in PEC-Direct stem cell trial for type 1 diabetes
Family, faith and funding from CIRM inspire one patient to plan for his future
Having been to many conferences and meetings over the years I have found there is a really simple way to gauge if someone is a good speaker, if they have the attention of people in the room. You just look around and see how many people are on their phones or laptops, checking their email … Continue reading Family, faith and funding from CIRM inspire one patient to plan for his future
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: CRISPRing Human Embryos, brain stem cells slow aging & BrainStorm ALS trial joins CIRM Alpha Clinics
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! Scientists claim first CRISPR editing of human embryos in the US. Here’s the big story this week. Scientists from Portland, Oregon claim they genetically modified human embryos using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. While their results have yet to be published in … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: CRISPRing Human Embryos, brain stem cells slow aging & BrainStorm ALS trial joins CIRM Alpha Clinics
UC Irvine scientists engineer stem cells to “feel” cancer and destroy it
By blocking cell division, chemotherapy drugs take advantage of the fact that cancer cells multiply rapidly in the body. Though this treatment can extend and even save the lives of cancer patients, it’s somewhat like destroying an ant hill with an atomic bomb: there’s a lot of collateral damage. The treatment is infused through the … Continue reading UC Irvine scientists engineer stem cells to “feel” cancer and destroy it
CIRM-funded life-saving stem cell therapy gets nod of approval from FDA
If you have read our 2016 Annual Report (and if you haven’t you should, it’s brilliant) or just seen the cover you’ll know that it features very prominently a young girl named Evie Padilla Vaccaro. Evie was born with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency or SCID – also known as “bubble baby disease”; we’ve written about it … Continue reading CIRM-funded life-saving stem cell therapy gets nod of approval from FDA
Why Stem Cell Advocates Texans for Cures say “Right to Try” Legislation Should be Fought
This week in Washington DC a delegation from the stem cell advocacy group Texans for Cures is meeting with members of Congress from both parties. The focus of the meetings are three bills promoting “Right to Try” legislation. Supporters of the bills say they will empower patients battling terminal illness. Texans for Cures say, … Continue reading Why Stem Cell Advocates Texans for Cures say “Right to Try” Legislation Should be Fought
Stem Cell Roundup: Battle of the Biotech Bands, “Cells I See” Art Contest and Teaching Baseball Fans the Power of Stem Cells
This Friday’s stem cell roundup is dedicated to the playful side of stem cell science. Scientists are often stereotyped as lab recluses who honorably forgo social lives in the quest to make game-changing discoveries and advance cutting-edge research. But as a former bench scientist, I can attest that scientists are normal people too. They might … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Battle of the Biotech Bands, “Cells I See” Art Contest and Teaching Baseball Fans the Power of Stem Cells
Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease
At CIRM we don’t have a disease hierarchy list that we use to guide where our funding goes. We don’t rank a disease by how many people suffer from it, if it affects children or adults, or how painful it is. But if we did have that kind of hierarchy you can be sure that … Continue reading Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease
Novel diabetes therapy uses stem cell “teachers” to calm immune cells
Type 1 diabetes is marked by a loss of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, blood sugar can’t shuttle into the body’s energy-hungry organs and tissues. As a result, sugar accumulates in the blood which, over time, causes many serious complications such as kidney disease, heart disease and stroke. An over-reactive immune system … Continue reading Novel diabetes therapy uses stem cell “teachers” to calm immune cells
The Stem Cellar 