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Scientists have discovered a biological switch that gives energy-storing white fat the characteristics of energy-burning brown fat. The findings could lead to new strategies for treating obesity. The animal study by researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center shows that the change is due to the activation of a nerve and biochemical pathway that begins in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in energy balance, and ends in white fat cells. This pathway, called the hypothalamic-adipocyte axis, also induces brown-fat-like cells within masses of white fat. The white-to-brown fat transformation occurs when animals are placed in an...

Groundbreaking surgery to regrow part of a human bone was carried out on Tuesday at HaEmek Hospital in the northern Israeli town of Afula. Danny, a resident of a nearby kibbutz who had part of his shinbone removed eight months ago after a car accident, was treated in the procedure, which was hailed by medical staff as “science fiction.” During the surgery, the first of its kind in the world, doctors took fat cells from the patient, grew them in a lab and injected them back into his body for them to generate the missing parts of the bone, the...

Enlarge Image Burning fat in the cold. White fat cells sense cold directly, and release energy to warm up. Credit: Biophoto Associates/Science Source Transforming fat cells into calorie-burning machines may sound like the ultimate form of weight control, but the idea is not as far-fetched as it sounds. Unexpectedly, some fat cells directly sense dropping temperatures and release their energy as heat, according to a new study; that ability might be harnessed to treat obesity and diabetes, researchers suggest. Fat is known to help protect animals from the cold—and not only by acting as insulation. In the early 1990s,...

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...

Not just the eating but also the actual position of “couch potatoes” is harmful, new research shows. It has been known for some time that people who watch hours of TV a day tend to be at higher risk of becoming overweight or obese. The connection was thought to be because of munching junk food while watching. But Tel Aviv University researchers have found that not just the eating but also the actual position of “couch potatoes” is harmful. Being stretched out in front of the TV is considered to be “active inactivity” and causes viewers to gain weight. Such...

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...

Every year, whether you are fat or thin, whether you lose weight or gain, 10 percent of your fat cells die. And every year, those cells that die are replaced with new fat cells, researchers in Sweden reported Sunday. The result is that the total number of fat cells in the body remains the same, year after year throughout adulthood. Losing or gaining weight affects only the amount of fat stored in the cells, not the number of cells. The finding was published online Sunday in the journal Nature. Obesity investigators say the study raises tantalizing questions: What determines how...

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: There is good news for diabetes patients as there may be a stem cell cure for the disease. Dr H L Trivedi and his team from Ahmedabad claim that they have discovered a cell that is present in human fat that can produce insulin, when cultivated. "If we could transplant stem cells which have the ability to cure diabetes, then it's the final of final and ultimate of ultimate as far as cure for diabetes is concerned,” says Dr Trivedi, who is the director of Institute of Kidney Diseases, The miracle stem cell can be transplanted into the liver,...

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...

Turning Stem Cells Taken From Fat Tissue Into Personalized, Cancer-targeted Therapeutics Researchers in Slovakia have been able to derive mesenchymal stem cells from human adipose, or fat, tissue and engineer them into "suicide genes" that seek out and destroy tumors like tiny homing missiles. This gene therapy approach is a novel way to attack small tumor metastases that evade current detection techniques and treatments, the researchers conclude in the July 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "These fat-derived stem cells could be exploited for personalized cell-based therapeutics," said the study's lead investigator,...

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...

Taiwan scientists have found evidence that suggests capsaicin -- the substance that gives red pepper a spicy kick -- can reduce the growth of fat cells. Gow-Chin Yen and colleagues at the National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan, cite previous research suggesting obesity can be reduced by preventing immature fat cells, called adipocytes, from developing into mature cells. Past research also linked capsaicin to a decrease in the amount of fat tissue and decreased blood-fat levels. With that knowledge, the researchers tested capsaicin's effects on pre-adipocytes and adipocytes growing in laboratory cultures. They found capsaicin prevented pre-adipocytes from filling...

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...

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...