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Stem Cells, Remyelination and Repair

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:12 am
by Rokkit
Stem Cells, Remyelination and Repair in the Central Nervous System: Prospects for Multiple Sclerosis

Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 7:00 AM to 1:30 PM
The Wayne State University fifth annual Multiple Sclerosis Symposium.

http://www.events.wayne.edu/view/19196/date/90862/

This caught my eye because somewhere in this forum I saw mentioned that an IR from Wayne State was becoming involved with CCSVI, maybe through Dr Haacke? Anyway, now that I have stents, the next step is to find out what will repair the existing damage. I was hoping someone who lives nearby could attend and give us a report.

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:10 am
by mrhodes40
Wow I hope someone goes! Though it kind of belongs in stem cells I also am wondering if these strategies will end up being effective on top of stents for MS--

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:00 am
by sou
This is only my personal opinion, but I really doubt that stem cells will be the answer to CNS repair. Most of our disability is caused by cut axons and scar tissue formation that takes up space.

Stem cells can not remove scar tissue.

Stem cells can not reconnect damaged axons.

Stem cells can not replace oligodentrocytes. Even if they did, there would be no axon to myelinate, so...

Personally, I consider stem cells a waste of our time and energy. Until the time our "science" manages to make something useful out of them, we will be long dead and our grandchildren (grand-grand children for those over 50) will say: "That could have helped grandpa!"

sou

Edit: Stem cells are a waste for patients, not scientists. The latter slowly pave the way to make them useful sometime near the end of the century.

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:53 am
by mrhodes40
The brain makes some new nerves after stroke, this is well known. The connection of those nerves to the old circuits varies from completely effective to clumsy mis connections that are not useful. But new nerves can be created and they can be effective at replacing old function- but no always.

Here is an abstract related to the use of bone marrow stem cells after a stroke
Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation improves recovery from ischemic stroke in animals. We examined the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of cell therapy using culture-expanded autologous MSCs in patients with ischemic stroke. We prospectively and randomly allocated 30 patients with cerebral infarcts within the middle cerebral arterial territory and with severe neurological deficits into one of two treatment groups: the MSC group (n = 5) received intravenous infusion of 1 × 108 autologous MSCs, whereas the control group (n = 25) did not receive MSCs. Changes in neurological deficits and improvements in function were compared between the groups for 1 year after symptom onset. Neuroimaging was performed serially in five patients from each group. Outcomes improved in MSC-treated patients compared with the control patients: the Barthel index (p = 0.011, 0.017, and 0.115 at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively) and modified Rankin score (p = 0.076, 0.171, and 0.286 at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively) of the MSC group improved consistently during the follow-up period. Serial evaluations showed no adverse cell-related, serological, or imaging-defined effects. In patients with severe cerebral infarcts, the intravenous infusion of autologous MSCs appears to be a feasible and safe therapy that may improve functional recovery. Ann Neurol 2005;57:874-882
FROM HERE

It's small and early work but more is going along those lines all over the world for stroke and MS. A canadian company called Stem Cell Therapeutics is susing human chorionic gonadotropin and an erythropoietin stimulator together to cause the persons post stroke to MAKE a lot of stem cells themselves. I find that idea really cool--it's just a couple of medications... They seem to be having results with their early patients post stroke.
From their website
Our lead program, NTx®-265, is a regimen of two approved and marketed drugs targeting the treatment of stroke. The therapy works by stimulating the growth and differentiation of new neurons to replace the brain cells that are lost or damaged by the stroke and importantly, to direct motor, visual and cognitive recovery after acute ischemic stroke. Our approach avoids surgical transplantation of stem cells; instead we use drugs to stimulate the body’s own existing adult stem cells
But it also may be true that such a therapy is no better than aggressive physical therapy... Before my computer blew up and I lost my fav links I had one to a study where people 6 years post strokewere given aggressive PT and even THEY got better.

I am glad they are going forward with this kind of stuff though.

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:05 am
by Rokkit
mrhodes40 wrote:Though it kind of belongs in stem cells...
I see your point now. :)
sou wrote:Personally, I consider stem cells a waste of our time and energy.
I don't think it would be a waste of someone's time and energy to attend this event and let us all know what was said. Particularly since the subject of CCSVI may well come up. Dr. Haacke is at Wayne State University. Dr. James Garbern, listed as a collaborator on Dr. Haacke's ms-mri.com site, is a neurologist and researcher at Wayne State. I would swear someone mentioned there was an interventional radiologist from Wayne State who is getting involved, but I can't find it now, maybe he was just in the detroit area.

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:16 am
by chrishasms
123

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:36 am
by mrhodes40
Chris revimmune is not quite the same in that they ablate the peripheral immune system--we are not talking about doing anything to kill the existing immune system simply getting stem cells all by themselves...

JH is well positioned to provide that kind of therapy the minute it is known to be useful though.

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:40 am
by Ruthless67
Here's alittle more hope for stem cell therapy research.

Modifying Neural Stem Cells Improves Their Therapeutic Efficacy
Guang-Xian Zhang and colleagues, at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, have developed an approach to enhance the therapeutic effects of aNSCs in this model of multiple sclerosis. Specifically, the researchers genetically engineered aNSCs to express the anti-inflammatory molecule IL-10 and found that these cells induced more extensive functional and pathological recovery from ongoing disease than did nonengineered aNSCs. Importantly, the IL-10-aNSCs mediated their effects in multiple ways, suppressing immune system attack of nerve cells, promoting nerve cell repair, and promoting production of the nerve cell protective sheath. The authors hope these results might increase the chance that aNSC-based therapies might one day be developed for clinical use.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169587.php

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:15 am
by sou
One day in the veeery distant future... This is not for us. :-)

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:00 am
by chrishasms
123

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:02 pm
by Jamie
The stem cells in your marrow regenerate the immune system, white cells etc.

regenerative stem cell treatment is different, its aimed at injected or inducing the mobilisation of neuronal stem cells to directly repair the damage.

Same as with spinal repair etc.