Earlier this year, CIRM welcomed many energetic, enthusiastic high school students to the 2022 SPARK Program annual conference in Oakland. The SPARK program is one of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s (CIRM) many programs dedicated to building a diverse and highly skilled workforce to support the growing regenerative medicine economy right here in California. … Continue reading High school SPARK intern presents stem cell research
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
HOPE for patients with a muscle destroying disease
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
New Gene Therapy Approach Could Improve Treatment for Muscle Diseases
Credit : Allison Dougherty, Broad Communications For Sharif Tabebordbar, the search for better treatments for genetic muscle diseases is deeply personal. As a teenager, he watched his father develop a rare inherited muscle disorder. Over time, the disease progressed until his father could no longer walk. That experience inspired Tabebordbar to pursue a career in … Continue reading New Gene Therapy Approach Could Improve Treatment for Muscle Diseases
Repairing damaged muscles
Close-up of the arm of a 70-year-old male patient with a torn biceps muscle as a result of a bowling injury; Photo courtesy Science Photo Library In the time of coronavirus an awful lot of people are not just working from home they’re also working out at home. That’s a good thing; exercise is a … Continue reading Repairing damaged muscles
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
Encouraging Progress for Two CIRM Supported Clinical Trials
This past Wednesday was Stem Cell Awareness Day, a day that is meant to remind us all of the importance of stem cell research and the potential it has to treat a wide variety of diseases. On this day, we also released an independent Economic Impact Report that showed how $10.7 Billion (yes, you read … Continue reading Encouraging Progress for Two CIRM Supported Clinical Trials
UCLA scientists on track to develop a stem cell replacement therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Last year, we wrote about a CIRM-funded team at UCLA that’s on a mission to develop a stem cell treatment for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Today, we bring you an exciting update on this research just in time for the holidays (Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and Kwanza to our readers!). DMD is … Continue reading UCLA scientists on track to develop a stem cell replacement therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
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
Duchenne muscular dystrophy and short telomeres
Short telomeres associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle wasting disease that typically affects young men. There is no cure for DMD and the average life expectancy is 26. These are troubling facts that scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are hoping to change with their recent findings in … Continue reading Duchenne muscular dystrophy and short telomeres