Category: Stem cells

Stem cell treatment for HIV and AIDS treatment

December 9, 2009 by srrpenna

UCLA researchers this week published data that for the first time shows human blood stem cells can be engineered to attack HIV-infected cells and that the process could not only prove to be a breakthrough for AIDS patients but also for the sufferers of other viral diseases.

The UCLA AIDS Institute study was published this week in the online journal Plos ONE. The research proves the feasibility "that human stem cells can be engineered into the equivalent of a genetic vaccine," according to an institute statement.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/city-news/huge-aids-breakthrough-from-uc/

Italian researchers develop heart-repair method with adult stem cells

August 21, 2009 by srrpenna

Italian researchers have developed a method to repair a damaged heart using adult stem cells, and said it confirmed that the adult cells were more therapeutically useful than embryonic stem cells.

"The adult stem cell is already prepared to differentiate in the tissue we want to repair. And it is certainly more productive, less wasteful and less dangerous -- beyond the ethical aspects -- to work with adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells," said Settimio Grimaldi, an expert at the Institute of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine in Rome, which carried out the research.

Reprogramming Human Cells Without Inserting Genes

July 29, 2009 by srrpenna

A research team comprised of faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC) and investigators at CellThera, a private company also located at the LSBC, has discovered a novel way to turn on stem cell genes in human fibroblasts (skin cells) without the risks associated with inserting extra genes or using viruses.

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