June 11, 2019
Stem Cell Research
June 7, 2019
China Urged to Abandon Plan to Sell Unproven Cell Therapies
June 5, 2019
Creating Eggs and Sperm from Stem Cells: The Next Big Thing in Assisted Reproduction?
June 5, 2019
Expanded Potential Stem Cells of Both Pig and Human Cells Created
June 4, 2019
FDA Wins Major Victory in Campaign Against Stem Cell Clinic
June 3, 2019
Citing “Safety Concerns,” FDA Cautions National Marketer of Unproven Stem Cell Treatments
May 14, 2019
Stem Cell Treatments Flourish with Little Evidence That They Work
May 7, 2019
The Birth-Tissue Profiteers
(ProPublica) – Because amniotic stem cell treatments don’t undergo the clinical trials required for FDA approval, there’s little data or research on them. Their efficacy is highly questionable and, in one case where bacteria contaminated the supply, the lack of … Read More
May 7, 2019
Clinical Trial Underway for a Natural Killer Cell Therapy
(The Scientist) – In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, a natural killer cell immunotherapy derived from induced pluripotent stem cells is being tested for safety in 64 patients with a variety of solid tumors. The first patients received the cells in … Read More
April 30, 2019
Donor-Derived iPS Cells Show Promise for Treating Eye Disease
(The Scientist) – The results of the first clinical trial using induced pluripotent stem cells from donors point to signs of efficacy for treating the progressive form of blindness known as age-related macular degeneration. Last week, the Japanese team of … Read More
April 25, 2019
While Bioethics Fiddles
(The New Atlantis) – In the past, embryonic stem cells were used for these experiments. But researchers have begun to favor a relatively recent innovation: induced pluripotent stem cells, which have essentially the same properties as embryonic stem cells but … Read More
April 16, 2019
Scientists Say They Just Created the World’s First 3D-Printed Heart
(Quartz) – The new experimental organ is tiny—about the size of a rabbit’s heart, or half the size of your thumb, say. It doesn’t yet beat, which means it can’t pump blood, and that of course is an extremely important … Read More
April 5, 2019
The FDA Sends Letters to 20 Companies in Attempt to Rein in Stem Cell Industry
(Washington Post) – The letters are part of an ongoing attempt by the FDA to rein in the booming industry , which critics say has injured dozens of patients and cheated thousands more. In recent years, hundreds of clinics have … Read More
April 4, 2019
Dozens of Clinics Market Risky Cell Therapies to Treat Eye Disorders
(Reuters) – Scores of clinics across the United States directly advertise expensive – but unproven – cell therapy procedures to patients with serious eye diseases, often with devastating results, a new study warns. Although there are no approved stem cell … Read More
April 2, 2019
Elite Hospitals Plunge Into Unproven Stem Cell Treatments
(Kaiser Health News) – It was sponsored by Swedish Medical Center, the largest nonprofit health provider in the Seattle area. Swedish is one of a growing number of respected hospitals and health systems — including the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland … Read More
April 2, 2019
Second Example Reported of a Stem-Cell Transplant in the Clinic Leading to HIV Remission
(Nature) – HIV infects immune cells, and the current standard treatment is long-term use of antiretroviral drugs. This keeps virus levels low in the bloodstream but doesn’t eradicate HIV from cells in the body. In 2009, it was reported1 that … Read More
April 1, 2019
Pregnancy Outcomes ‘Very Good’ After Stem Cell Transplant
(Medscape) – Women due to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) can be reassured that, even if they have to rely on artificial reproductive techniques (ART) to achieve a later pregnancy, the likelihood of the normal delivery or a normal … Read More
March 28, 2019
False Hope for Autism in the Stem Cell Underground
(Spectrum) – Many parents of autistic children are, like the Perskins, turning to social media to exchange information on stem cell clinics, which have proliferated in the United States and abroad over the past few years. These forums play down … Read More
March 25, 2019
A New Edition of Medical Law International Is Now Available
Medical Law International (vol. 18, no. 1, 2018) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Rethinking Necessity and Best Interests in New Zealand Mental Capacity Law” by Alison Douglass The Regulation of Stem Cell Research in Ireland: From the … Read More
March 22, 2019
Revolutions: The Incredible Potential of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
(New Atlas) – Thirteen years on, Yamanaka has earned a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery (jointly award to him and Sir John B. Gurdon in 2012), and scientists have built on his work and tweaked his … Read More
March 18, 2019
Adult Stem Cells
(American Heart Association) – Adult stem cells are the successful standard for stem cells. Although in the past their regenerative/reparative capacity was ignored, misunderstood, or even maligned, a rapidly growing host of clinical applications are being developed, and the clinical … Read More
March 6, 2019
Japan Relaxes Rules on iPS Cell Research, Potentially Paving Way for Growth of Human Organs in Animals
(The Japan Times) – The green light has been given to a controversial research process that involves implanting human stem cells inside animals and could eventually lead to growing human organs for transplant inside animal hosts. The decision by the … Read More
March 5, 2019
Ten Years After the ‘Berlin Patient,’ Doctors Announce a Second Person Has Been Effectively ‘Cured’ of HIV
(STAT News) – For the second time, doctors appear to have put HIV into “sustained remission” with a stem cell transplant — effectively curing the recipient. Their work, which was published in Nature and will be presented at the annual … Read More
March 5, 2019
Nicotine Could Affect Human Embryonic Development at the Single-Cell Level
(News-Medical) – Nicotine induces widespread adverse effects on human embryonic development at the level of individual cells, researchers report February 28th in the journal Stem Cell Reports. Single-cell RNA sequencing of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived embryoid bodies revealed that … Read More
March 1, 2019
A Newly Discovered Stem Cell That Keeps Bones Growing
(Nature) – Round chondrocytes in the resting zone of the growth plate differentiate into flat, proliferating chondrocytes that form columns along the bone’s longitudinal axis. These cells later become hypertrophic chondrocytes that cease to proliferate and are replaced by bone … Read More
