Jake Javier, a patient in the spinal cord injury stem cell therapy clinical trial It’s always satisfying to see two projects you have supported for a long time do well. That’s particularly true when the projects in question are targeting conditions that have no other effective therapies. This week we learned that a clinical trial … Continue reading Good news for two CIRM-supported therapies
oligodendrocytes
A new stem cell derived tool for studying brain diseases
Sergiu Pasca’s three-dimensional culture makes it possible to watch how three different brain-cell types – oligodendrocytes (green), neurons (magenta) and astrocytes (blue) – interact in a dish as they do in a developing human brain. Courtesy of the Pasca lab Neurological diseases are among the most daunting diagnoses for a patient to receive, because they … Continue reading A new stem cell derived tool for studying brain diseases
CIRM-funded research is helping unlock the secrets behind “chemo brain”
Every year millions of Americans undergo chemotherapy. The goal of the treatment is to destroy cancer, but along the way more than half of the people treated lose something else. They suffer from something called “chemo brain” which causes problems with thinking and memory. In some cases it can be temporary, lasting a few months. … Continue reading CIRM-funded research is helping unlock the secrets behind “chemo brain”
Adding the missing piece: “mini-brain” method now includes important cell type
Although studying brain cells as a single layer in petri dishes has led to countless ground-breaking discoveries in neurobiology, it’s pretty intuitive that a two-dimensional “lawn” of cells doesn’t fully represent what’s happening in our complex, three-dimensional brain. In the past few years, researchers have really upped their game with the development of brain organoids, … Continue reading Adding the missing piece: “mini-brain” method now includes important cell type
Stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury offers improved chance of independent life for patients
A spinal cord injury is devastating, changing a person’s life in a heartbeat. In the past there was little that doctors could do other than offer pain relief and physical therapy to try and regain as much muscle function as possible. That’s why the latest results from the CIRM-supported Asterias Biotherapeutics spinal cord injury trial … Continue reading Stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury offers improved chance of independent life for patients
“A limitless future”: young crash victim regains hand, finger movement after CIRM-funded trial
Back in March, we reported on Asterias Biotherapeutics’ exciting press release stating that its CIRM-funded stem cell-based therapy for spinal cord injury had shown improvement in six out of the six clinical trial patients receiving a ten million cell dose. What’s even more exciting is hearing stories about the positive impact of that data on … Continue reading “A limitless future”: young crash victim regains hand, finger movement after CIRM-funded trial
First spinal cord injury trial patient gets maximum stem cell dose
There comes a pivotal point in every experiment where you say “ok, now we are going to see if this really works.” We may be at that point in the clinical trial we are funding to see if stem cells can help people with spinal cord injuries. Today Asterias Biotherapeutics announced they have given the … Continue reading First spinal cord injury trial patient gets maximum stem cell dose
The Stem Cellar 