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Ottawa scientists have discovered a trigger that turns muscle stem cells into brown fat, a form of good fat that could play a critical role in the fight against obesity. The findings from Dr. Michael Rudnicki's lab, based at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, were published today in the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism. "This discovery significantly advances our ability to harness this good fat in the battle against bad fat and all the associated health risks that come with being overweight and obese," says Dr. Rudnicki, a senior scientist and director for the Regenerative Medicine Program and Sprott Centre for...

A retired military service dog is getting a new lease on life in Washington, D.C., after undergoing a revolutionary stem cell treatment. ... The cutting-edge treatment helps dogs grow new cartilage by injecting stem cells from their own fat, normally from the abdomen, into the affected joint. The treatment takes about three days and has an 80 percent success rate, MyFoxDC.com reported.

April 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A preliminary study on the use of stem cells obtained from a patient's own adipose tissue in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has shown promising results. The three case studies, described in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine support further clinical evaluation of what are known as stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells in MS and other autoimmune conditions. Thomas Ichim, from Medistem Inc., and Dr. Boris Minev, from the Division of Neurosurgery, University of California San Diego, worked with a team of researchers to demonstrate the possible effectiveness of SVF cells in...

A study published in the current issue of CELL TRANSPLANTATION (Vol.17, No. 8) suggests that mature adipocytes - fat cells - could become a source for cell replacement therapy to treat central nervous system disorders. According to the study's lead researcher, Dr. Yuki Ohta of the Institute of Medical Science, St. Mariana University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan, adipose-derived stem/stromal cells have in the past been shown to differentiate into neuronal cells in an in vitro setting. In their study, for the first time fat cells have been shown to successfully differentiate into neuronal cells in in vivo tests. The...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - For the first time, doctors have used stem cells from liposuctioned fat to fix breast defects in women who have had cancerous lumps removed. The approach is still experimental, but holds promise for millions of women left with cratered areas and breasts that look very different from each other after cancer surgery. It also might be a way to augment healthy breasts without using artificial implants. So far, it has only been tested on about two dozen women in a study in Japan. But doctors in the United States say it has great potential. "This is...

Adipose tissue has proven to be an abundant source of adult stem cells with the potential to form new bone and regenerate tissue. SpineSmith Partners, LP acquired rights in spine for Tissue Genesis, Inc.’s adipose (fat) tissue derived cell technology. Tissue Genesis’ TGI 100™ cell isolation kits and TGI 1000™ automated cell isolation systems will rapidly process autologous (patient-derived) adipose tissue and isolate large quantities of regenerative cells, which can be utilized to treat a number of spine related diseases (www.spinesmithusa.com).  Adiposetissue has proven to be an abundant source of adult stem cells with the potential to form new...

WASHINGTON --In the buffet of reasons for why Americans are getting fatter, researchers are piling more evidence on the plate for one still-controversial cause: a virus. New research announced Monday at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Boston found that when human stem cells -- the blank slate of the cell world -- were exposed to a common virus they turned into fat cells. They didn't just change, they stored fat, too. While this may be a guilt-free explanation for putting on pounds, it doesn't explain all or even most of America's growing obesity problem. But it adds to...

Ahmedabad, July 07: Ritaben Goyal, 33, can now walk for an hour everyday with the support of crutches. After being completely bed-ridden for more than a year, this is a significant improvement in her case. Thanks to the advances made in stem cell therapy, Ritaben and many others like her who had suffered serious spinal injuries now have hope. Ritaben was injected with stem cells at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC)- Institute of Transplantation Sciences (ITS). Dr. H. L. Trivedi, the director of the institute, says: “We were working on stem cells in relation with organ...

Improving urethral function has been an elusive target for researchers seeking viable treatments for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). However, Los Angeles researchers suggest that adipose-derived pluripotent cells may be a viable means to treat SUI and also improve urethral function. Using human cells obtained from liposuction specimens, investigators differenciated stem cells into smooth muscle, seeded the cells on carrier matrices and injected them into the proximal urethra of incontinent nude rats. Abdominal leak-point pressure and retrograde urethral perfusion pressure were measured both pre- and post-operatively. Smooth muscle cells seeded on the carrier matrix demonstrated long-term improvement, providing immediate bulking effects...

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Stem cells derived from a patient's own fat can cure a perianal fistula, a Spanish researcher said here. Explain to interested patients that perianal fistulas are difficult-to-treat complications seen in Crohn's and other bowel diseases. Note that this study suggests a stem cell approach to healing fistulas that appears to be highly effective. This study was published as an abstract and presented orally at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary as they have not yet been reviewed and published in a peer-reviewed publication. In a phase II clinical trial, patients...

Human fatty tissue has been shown to be a viable, pluripotent source for stem cells that can be differentiated into a variety of cell lineages, including bone, muscle and neural cell types. San Francisco researchers investigated whether autologous adipose-derived stem cells could be differentiated into urologic tissues that could be used for reconstructive purposes. Investigators harvested paragonadal adipose tissue from rat specimens and processed the tissue to yield the stem cells, which were then suspended in a phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) and injected into the bladder and proximal urethra of 16 Sprague-Dawley rats. A control group of 16 animals received PBS...

This week, for the first time in humans, a heart failure patient received adult stem cells – taken from his own adipose (fat) tissue – which were processed and injected directly into the heart muscle with a special catheter. Francisco Fernandez-Avilés, M.D. performed the procedure in Madrid. The Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is leading the collaborative clinical trial which will involve 30 patients. The trial site for the study is Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Fernandez-Avilés, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Chief of Cardiology Service at Gregorio Marañón and Dr. Perin, Director...

Science Daily — Expanding waistlines, unsightly bulges: people will gladly remove excess body fat to improve their looks. But unwanted fat also contains stem cells with the potential to repair defects and heal injuries in the body. A team led by Philippe Collas at the University of Oslo in Norway has identified certain chemical marks that allow him to predict which, among the hundreds of millions of stem cells in liposuctioned fat, are best at regenerating tissue. Uncovering the nature and location of these molecular tags could allow scientists to pull off the ultimate trick of taking a patient’s own...

Doctors, fat researchers and tissue engineers from around the world will trade techniques and their latest research findings to improve the use of human fat tissue in medical therapies like facial, breast, bone, vocal cord and other tissue reconstruction. Members of the International Fat Applied Technology Society (IFATS) will explore both the use of fat in traditional means - injection into damaged soft-tissue, for example - as well as more futuristic uses, like blending of stem cells into fat before injection, and converting fat stem cells to bone. They will also learn from their basic research colleagues about the amplifying...

Scientists hope to rebuild breasts using stem cells to grow new ones, it has emerged.The technique could see an end to reconstructive surgery for women recovering from breast cancer. Scientists in the US are looking at using stem cells derived from a patient's own fat to regenerate lost breast tissue. An initial three-year programme of animal research will see stem cells "seeded" on to scaffold structures. These will provide platforms around which replacement tissue can be grown. Stem cells are cells at an early stage of development which can be directed to produce different kinds of tissue. Experts believe they...

a biotechnology development firm specializing in the development and commercialization of biopharmaceutical and biomedical products, announced today that it featured a seminal presentation for the applications of adult stem cell technology. The presentation was in Singapore at NGS (National University of Singapore) Center for Life Sciences. The Company's fat-based stem cell technology is focused on growing different cell types from adult stem cells utilizing a proprietary process. Therapies utilizing this process have varied applications for use in plastic, reconstructive, orthopedic, vascular, and cardiac surgery. Healtheuniverse is currently locating research and development operations in Biopolis Singapore to take advantage of its...

Pennington Scientists Turn Human Fat Cells Into Bone 5/7/2004 BATON ROUGE - Calling human fat a new and more abundant source of adult stem cells, Pennington Biomedical Research Center scientists have witnessed human fat stem cells convert into bone when slipped under the skin of mice. Pennington center expert and senior scientist Dr. Jeffrey Gimble, working with Kevin Hicok and Dr. Lyndon Cooper at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and colleagues from Artecel Sciences, found that adult stem cells isolated from human fat can form bone. Their latest findings, published this week in the journal Tissue Engineering, are among...

Getting rid of that spare tire around your middle could help your heart in more ways than you might expect, according to a San Diego biotechnology company.   Cytori Therapeutics has developed a machine that pulls stem cells and other regenerative cells out of fat so they can be re-injected into the body to repair tissue damaged by heart attack or disease.  Several studies, including some in which Cytori scientists have participated, have shown that stem cells and other regenerative material from fat can help build blood supply and restore blood flow to cardiac muscle that has been damaged by a...

Israeli researchers engineered mesenchymal stem cells to repair tendons. Weekend athletes who overexert themselves running or playing basketball may one day reap the benefits of research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that shows that adult stem cells can be used to make new tendon or ligament tissue. Tendon and ligament injuries present a major clinical challenge to orthopedic medicine. In the United States, at least 200,000 patients undergo tendon or ligament repair each year. Moreover, the intervertebral disc, which is composed in part of tendon-like tissue, tends to degenerate with age, leading to the very common phenomenon of low-back...

Stem cells taken from human fat can be transformed into smooth muscle cells, offering a way to treat many kinds of heart disease, gastrointestinal and bladder ills, US researchers reported yesterday. While the experiment does not quite offer a way to turn a pot belly into a flat stomach, the researchers said the transformed cells contracted and relaxed just like smooth muscle cells. These cells help the heart beat and blood flow, push food through the digestive system and make bladders fill and empty, the researchers reported. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is...