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Biotech / Medical : Stem Cell Research -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SnowShredder who wrote (32)	2/10/2004 6:36:13 PM
From: SnowShredder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 495

Just Parking...SS >>> news.bbc.co.uk Stem cells 'could boost breasts' Many women do not want artificial implants Doctors may have found a way to use a combination of a woman's own fat and stem cells to make a natural breast implant, say Japanese researchers. It is hoped that the method could prove an alternative to artificial implants filled with salt water or silicone. Previous attempts to increase breast size with fat have failed because some of the tissue dies, forming hard lumps. Adding stem cells could coax the growth of new blood vessels, say experts from the University of Tokyo. The patient's fat reserves are often raided by cosmetic surgeons to provide raw material to smooth out facial wrinkles or cover up scars. However, the sheer quantity of tissue needed to bulk out the breast has been the stumbling block. However, Dr Kotaro Yoshimura believes he has found a way to create the desired effect with no complications, reports the Nature website. During the operation, surgeons suck fat cells from the stomach or thigh, and this "slurry" is enriched so that there are higher numbers than usual of stem cells. Cell source These are "master" cells which are capable of making new fat cells. When the enriched stem cell mixture is combined with normal fat tissue, it can then be injected into the breast area. Using the woman's own tissue has a number of potential advantages - not only do few patients object to losing fat from around the thighs or stomach, but the tissue has no chance of being rejected by the immune system. Eventually, artificial implants may have to be removed to ensure the patient is safe in the long term. The Japanese team has carried out the procedure on his first patient last month, and hopes to complete dozens more operations. Plastic surgeon Adam Katz from the University of Virginia told Nature: "There's a good shot that this will work." He called for more animal trials before widespread use of the technique in human patients.

To: SnowShredder who wrote (32)	4/27/2004 10:45:24 PM
From: SnowShredder	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 495

Adipose-Derived Cells Have the Potential to Engraft and Differentiate Into Heart Muscle Just Parking...Best of Luck, SS >>>> MacroPore Biosurgery Pre-Clinical Findings Suggest That Adipose-Derived Cells Have the Potential to Engraft and Differentiate Into Heart Muscle - Results Presented at the Cardiovascular Cell and Gene Therapy Conference II - San Diego, CA, and Cambridge, MA, April 13, 2004 - MacroPore Biosurgery, Inc. (Frankfurt: XMP) (MACP.DE) (XMP:GR) today announced pre-clinical findings that suggest for the first time that adipose-derived regenerative cells have the potential to engraft injured myocardium and express markers consistent with differentiation into cardiac myocytes. These results provide early indication that adipose-derived regenerative cells, which include adult stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells and other growth factor producing cells, and which were discovered by scientists at MacroPore Biosurgery, have the potential to repair damage associated with injured cardiac muscle following heart attack. The findings of the study, conducted by a MacroPore Biosurgery team led by John Fraser, Ph.D., Vice President Research & Technology for MacroPore Biosurgery, were reported at the Cardiovascular Cell and Gene Therapy Conference II in Cambridge, MA. The study protocol involved injecting approximately 1.0 million regenerative cells isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue of Rosa26 mice into recipient mice with injured myocardium. Control mice received saline injections. Engraftment was demonstrated by detection of donor cells one, seven and 14 days following injection of the regenerative cells. Donor cells were not detected in uninjured mice or in infarcts of the control animals. At 14 days after injection, expression of cardiac markers Myosin Heavy Chain and Troponin I was observed on donor cells consistent with the differentiation of adipose tissue- derived regenerative cells into cardiac myocytes. 'We are encouraged by our early findings, which are the first in a series of detailed studies we expect to issue on the use of adipose-derived regenerative cells for the treatment of heart disease,' said Marc H. Hedrick, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer of MacroPore Biosurgery. 'These results are consistent with our preliminary research and with studies being performed at many other research institutes in the U.S. and abroad, which are increasingly using adipose tissue- derived cells for a variety of tissue repair applications.' MacroPore Biosurgery and its collaborators have shown that adipose tissue is the richest known source of regenerative cells. MacroPore Biosurgery believes that therapeutically useful quantities of autologous regenerative cells can be harvested in real-time using adipose tissue as a cell source. These studies are funded in part through a National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grant awarded to Dr. Fraser to study the role of adipose-derived regenerative cells in cardiac tissue repair. The company is also conducting pre- clinical studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Other potential applications the company is exploring include bone regeneration, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery and wound healing.