Using stem cells and smart machines to warn of heart problems

Despite advances in treatments in recent years heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US. It accounts for one in three deaths in this country, and many people are not even aware they have a problem until they have a heart attack. One of the early warning signs of danger is a … Continue reading Using stem cells and smart machines to warn of heart problems

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

CIRM funded study uses drug development in a dish for treatment of heart arrhythmias

Image Credit: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cardiac (heart) arrhythmias occur when electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don't work properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow, or in an irregular manner. In the U.S. alone, almost one million individuals are hospitalized every year for heart arrhythmias. Close to 300,000 … Continue reading CIRM funded study uses drug development in a dish for treatment of heart arrhythmias

An Atlas of the Human Heart that May Guide Development of New Therapies

By Lisa Kadyk, PhD. CIRM Senior Science Officer Illustration of a man's heart - Courtesy Science Photo I love maps; I still have auto club maps of various parts of the country in my car.  But, to tell the truth, those maps just don’t have as much information as I can get by typing in … Continue reading An Atlas of the Human Heart that May Guide Development of New Therapies

Precision guided therapy from a patient’s own cells

Dr. Wesley McKeithan, Stanford Imagine having a tool you could use to quickly test lots of different drugs against a disease to see which one works best. That’s been a goal of stem cell researchers for many years but turning that idea into a reality hasn’t been easy. That may be about to change. A … Continue reading Precision guided therapy from a patient’s own cells

Scientists at UC Davis discover a way to help stem cells repair heart tissue

Researchers Phung Thai (left) and Padmini Sirish were part of a research team seeking stem cell solutions to heart failure care.  Image Credit: UC Davis Repairing the permanent damage associated with a heart attack or long-term heart disease has been a challenge that scientists have been trying to tackle for a long time. Heart failure … Continue reading Scientists at UC Davis discover a way to help stem cells repair heart tissue

Stem Cell Roundup: watching brain cells in real time, building better heart cells, and the plot thickens on the adult neurogenesis debate

Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Watching brain cells in real time Our stem cell photo of the week is brought to you by the Khakh lab at UCLA Health. The lab developed a new method that allows scientists to watch brain cells interact in real time. Using a … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: watching brain cells in real time, building better heart cells, and the plot thickens on the adult neurogenesis debate

Gladstone scientists tackle heart failure by repairing the heart from within

Modern medicine often involves the development of a drug or treatment outside the body, which is then given to a patient to fix, improve or even prevent their condition. But what if you could regenerate or heal the body using the cells and tissue already inside a patient? Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes are pursuing … Continue reading Gladstone scientists tackle heart failure by repairing the heart from within

Stem Cell Roundup: Improving muscle function in muscular dystrophy; Building a better brain; Boosting efficiency in making iPSC’s

Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Photos of the week TGIF! We’re so excited that the weekend is here that we are sharing not one but TWO amazing stem cell photos of the week. Photo #1 is borrowed from a blog we wrote earlier this week about a new … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Improving muscle function in muscular dystrophy; Building a better brain; Boosting efficiency in making iPSC’s

Making beating heart cells from stem cells just got easier

Here’s a heartwarming story for the holidays. Scientists from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California have figured out a simple, easy way to make beating heart cells from human stem cells that will aid research and therapy development for heart disease. Their study, which received funding support from CIRM, was published last week in … Continue reading Making beating heart cells from stem cells just got easier