Breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy prior to surgery had heightened levels of cancer-initiating stem cells in their bone marrow, and the level of such cells correlated to a tumor`s lymph node involvement, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. James Reuben, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Hematopathology, will present the findi...

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it`s been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes. The late cancer researcher Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology Program at Childr...

Stem cells play a role in heart muscle rejuvenation by attracting cells from the body that develop into heart muscle cells. They have been successfully used to halt or reverse cardiac injury following heart attack, but not to prevent injury before it occurs. A new study that delivered embryonic stem cells to mouse embryos in the earliest stages of development found that the resulting mice demonstr...

Transplanted embryonic stem cells are recognized as a potential treatment for patients suffering from the effects of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, in studies using embryonic stem cells transplanted into SCI laboratory animals, a serious drawback has been the development of tumors following transplantation. Publishing in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 18 No.1), a team of Japan...

Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood. Two groups of researchers from Children`s Hospital Boston, Brigham and Women`s Hospital, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) -– presenting multiple lines of evidence from zebrafish, mice and mouse embryonic stem cells -– provide an intriguing ...

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered a "molecular key" that could help increase the success of blood stem cell transplants, a procedure currently used to treat diseases such as leukemia, Hodgkin`s lymphoma and aplastic anemia. During a blood stem cell transplant, donor blood stem cells – which can produce red and white blood cells and platelets – are inj...

In a recent study, U.S. researchers have reprogrammed cells found in circulating blood into cells that are molecularly and functionally indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells, a revolutionary achievement that provides a readily accessible source of stem cells and an alternative to harvesting embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have long been coveted for their potential to treat a multi...

For the first time in the United States, a stroke patient has been intravenously injected with his own bone marrow stem cells as part of a research trial at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Roland "Bud" Henrich, 61, was transferred to Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center on March 25 after suffering a stroke while working on his farm in Liberty. He arrived too l...

An Emory University study shows some of the first direct evidence of a process required for epigenetic reprogramming between generations – a finding that could shed more light on the mechanisms of fertilization, stem-cell formation and cloning. The journal Cell published the results of the study on the nematode C. elegans in its April 17 issue. "We believe that we have demonstrated one ...

Rarely will physicians use the word "miraculous" when discussing patient recoveries. But that`s the very phrase orthopaedic physicians and scientists are using in upstate New York to describe their emerging stem cell research that could have a profound impact on the treatment of bone injuries. Results from preliminary work show patients confined to wheelchairs were able to walk or live i...