Caleb Sizemore, photo by Todd Dubnicoff Caleb Sizemore says growing up with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) was tough. Caleb's story The disease is a rare genetic disorder that slowly destroys a person’s muscles, impairing their ability to walk or breathe. Eventually, it attacks the heart, leading to premature death. Caleb says the disease meant “I … Continue reading HOPE for patients with a muscle destroying disease
Capricor
CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure progresses
Kidney transplant surgery. Medeor Therapeutics, which is running a CIRM-funded clinical trial to help people getting kidney transplants, just got some really good news. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just granted their product Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation. That’s a big deal because it may allow them to apply for faster … Continue reading CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure progresses
Two rare diseases, two pieces of good news
Dr. Stephanie Cherqui Last week saw a flurry of really encouraging reports from projects that CIRM has supported. We blogged about two of them last Wednesday, but here’s another two programs showing promising results. UC San Diego researcher Dr. Stephanie Cherqui is running a CIRM-funded clinical trial for cystinosis. This is a condition where patients … Continue reading Two rare diseases, two pieces of good news
New CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic offers HOPE for boys with deadly disease
For people battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare and fatal genetic disorder that slowly destroys muscles, hope has often been in short supply. There is no cure and treatments are limited. But now a new clinical trial at the site of one of the newest CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Network members could change … Continue reading New CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic offers HOPE for boys with deadly disease
Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Stem Cell Therapies for Stroke and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients
With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us, we’re back to the grind at CIRM. Here are two exciting CIRM-funded stem cell stories that happened while you were away. Stanford Scientists Are Treating Stroke Patients with Stem Cells Smithsonian Magazine featured the work of a CIRM-funded scientist in their December Magazine issue. The article, “A Neurosurgeon’s Remarkable … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Stem Cell Therapies for Stroke and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients
Using heart stem cells to help boys battling a deadly disorder
It’s hard to imagine how missing just one tiny protein can have such a devastating impact on a person. But with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) the lack of a single protein called dystrophin has deadly consequences. Now a new study is offering hope we may be able to help people with this rare genetic … Continue reading Using heart stem cells to help boys battling a deadly disorder
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
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
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: update on Capricor’s heart attack trial; lithium on the brain; and how stem cells do math
Today our partners Capricor Therapeutics announced that its stem cell therapy for patients who have experienced a large heart attack is unlikely to meet one of its key goals, namely reducing the scar size in the heart 12 months after treatment. The news came after analyzing results from patients at the halfway point of the … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: update on Capricor’s heart attack trial; lithium on the brain; and how stem cells do math
Capricor reports positive results on CIRM-funded stem cell trial for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Capricor Therapeutics, a Los Angeles-based company, published an update about its CIRM-funded clinical trial for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a devastating degenerative muscle disease that significantly reduces life expectancy. The company reported positive results from their Phase I/II HOPE trial that’s testing the safety of their cardiosphere stem cell-based therapy called CAP-1002. The trial had … Continue reading Capricor reports positive results on CIRM-funded stem cell trial for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy