Snippet-MS in Ireland

Snippet-MS in Ireland

I reported last week on the Irish physician who was under investigation for providing unlicensed stem cell treatments to patients with multiple sclerosis. The Irish newspaper The Kildare Nationalist has now printed a story about a man who underwent the treatment and reports feeling much better and having some improvement to his vision. He had originally intended to go to the Netherlands for the treatment but had it at an undisclosed location in Ireland in February; the stem cells were administered by the staff of the Rotterdam clinic.

I’m happy that he’s feeling better, but it’s too soon to be sure if there will be any lasting long-term effect.

Stem Cell Bill Signed by Maryland Governor

Stem Cell Bill Signed by Maryland Governor

The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that Governor Robert Ehrlich of Maryland had scheduled a 9:00 am signing ceremony for the stem cell bill passed last week by the state House, and the Sun reported an hour ago that the bill has indeed been signed.
The measure provides $15 million of funding this year, including funding for embyonic stem cell research, and Regional Catholic bishops sent a letter to the governor yesterday urging him not to sign the bill. (The Catholic story is reported in the Washington Post and on variuous television stations, including WJLA.)

The Maryland Gazette reported today on the business implications of the legislations, which is expected to encourage the growth of the biotech industry in Maryland. It may also increase venture capital going to stem cell biotech companies.

Overview of Canadian Research

Overview of Canadian Research

The Toronto Star published an article describing the research several Canadian scientists are doing with stem cells. It’s not a report of new research findings, but it is an interesting look at where some of the science is going. One researcher is working with stem cell development in general after having done work with mouse placentas and embryonic stem cells; she is also working on a project to try to form new blood vessels from human embryonic stem cells. Another researcher is working on trying to get stem cells derived from skin to differentiate into neural cells producing myelin, and another is examining brain tumors.

Leukemia Causing Stem Cells Can be Identified

Leukemia Causing Stem Cells Can be Identified

Researchers at several US institutions have collaborated on work distinguishing leukemia-causing stem cells from normal stem cells. The news is reported on the website for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; the study will be published in Nature. It has been reasonably well-established that cancer stem cells exist for several different forms of cancer; these stem cells proliferate at a different rate from the cancer cells themselves, and thus are often not targeted by drugs. Killing them might lead to killing normal stem cells. Previous research had shown that the gene Pten acted significantly differently in normal stem cells than in cancer-causing stem cells; when the gene is inactivated, normal cells stop growing but cancer cells grow rapidly.

In the study being reported on now, the researchers used the existing anti-cancer drug rapamycin to target the Pten pathway, leading the drug to kill the cancer stem cells without harming the normal stem cells. The experiment was done on mice, but since rapamycin is already an FDA approved cancer drug, researchers believe that it should be possible to begin clinical trials on humans relatively soon. Rapamycin also helps restore normal stem cells and increased the animals’ ability to make immune system cells after damage to the bone marrow.