How Youth Factor Can Help Repair Old Bones As we get older things that used to heal quickly tend to take a little longer to get better. In some cases, a lot longer. Take bones for example. A fracture in someone who is in their 70’s often doesn’t heal as quickly, or completely, as in … Continue reading Stories that Caught Our Eye: New ways to heal old bones; and keeping track of cells once they are inside you
Blood stem cells
New hope for stem cell therapy in patients with leukemia
Of the many different kinds of cancer that affect humans, leukemia is the most common in young people. As with many types cancer, doctors mostly turn to chemotherapy to treat patients. Chemotherapy, however, comes with its own share of issues, primarily severe side effects and the constant threat of disease recurrence. Stem cell therapy treatment … Continue reading New hope for stem cell therapy in patients with leukemia
Support cells have different roles in blood stem cell maintenance before and after stress
A new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, reveals how different types of cells in the bone marrow are responsible for supporting blood stem cell maintenance before and after injury. It was already well known in the field that two different cell types, namely endothelial cells (which line blood vessels) and stromal cells … Continue reading Support cells have different roles in blood stem cell maintenance before and after stress
Stem cell gene therapy combination could help children battling a rare genetic disorder
Hunter syndrome is devastating. It’s caused by a single enzyme, IDS, that is either missing or malfunctioning. Without the enzyme the body is unable to break down complex sugar molecules and as those build up they cause permanent, progressive damage to the body and brain and, in some instances, result in severe mental disabilities. There … Continue reading Stem cell gene therapy combination could help children battling a rare genetic disorder
Fish umbrellas and human bone: protecting blood stem cells from the sun’s UV rays
Most people probably do not question the fact that human blood stem cells – those that give rise to all the cells in our blood – live inside the marrow of our bones, called a stem cell “niche”. But it is pretty odd when you stop to think about it. I mean, it makes sense … Continue reading Fish umbrellas and human bone: protecting blood stem cells from the sun’s UV rays
Friday Roundup: A better kind of blood stem cell transplant; Encouraging news from spinal cord injury trial; Finding an “elusive” cell that could help diabetics
Cool Instagram image of the week: Chemo- and radiation-free blood stem cell transplant showing promise Bubble baby disease, also known as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), is an inherited disorder that leaves newborns without an effective immune system. Currently, the only approved treatment for SCID is a blood stem cell transplant, in which the patient’s defective … Continue reading Friday Roundup: A better kind of blood stem cell transplant; Encouraging news from spinal cord injury trial; Finding an “elusive” cell that could help diabetics
Using the AIDS virus to help children battling a deadly immune disorder
More than 35 million people around the world have been killed by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. So, it’s hard to think that the same approach the virus uses to infect cells could also be used to help children battling a deadly immune system disorder. But that’s precisely what researchers at UC San Francisco … Continue reading Using the AIDS virus to help children battling a deadly immune disorder
Surprise findings about bone marrow transplants could lead to more effective stem cell therapies
Some medical therapies have been around for so long that we naturally assume we understand how they work. That’s not always the case. Take aspirin for example. It’s been used for more than 4,000 years to treat pain and inflammation but it was only in the 1970’s that we really learned how it works. The … Continue reading Surprise findings about bone marrow transplants could lead to more effective stem cell therapies
New research suggests taking a daily dose of vitamin C could prevent leukemia
Did you take your vitamins today? It’s not always easy to remember with such busy lives, but after you read this blog, you’ll be sure to make vitamins part of your daily routine if you haven’t already! Two recent studies, published in the journals Nature and Cell, reported that vitamin C has a direct impact … Continue reading New research suggests taking a daily dose of vitamin C could prevent leukemia
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: lab-grown blood stem cells and puffer fish have the same teeth stem cells as humans
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Scientists finally grow blood stem cells in the lab! Two exciting stem cell studies broke through the politics-dominated headlines this week. Both studies, published in … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: lab-grown blood stem cells and puffer fish have the same teeth stem cells as humans