Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

• Nov. 30, 2012 - British scientists have created induced pluripotent stem cells from cells in blood. Several previous methods used skin cells from tissue biopsies, and the researchers believe creating stem cells from blood samples would be more practical and less intrusive.

• Sept. 27, 2012 - Researchers from the Mayo Clinic said they discovered a safer way to transform induced pluripotent stem cells into cells needed for potential treatments. Using a chemical, they are able to destroy any residual cells still in an embryonic-like state that could cause tumor growth in patients.

• May 1, 2012 - Researchers say that improved methods used to create induced pluripotent stem cells cause about as many genetic changes as normal cell growth would. Earlier methods to create iPS cells showed concerns that genetic changes could potentially cause disease or cancer if the cells were used in patients.

• Sept. 30, 2010 - Harvard researchers have improved techniques used to transform regular skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, which are alternatives to embryonic stem cells. The new technique replaces viruses or chemicals by using RNA molecules to reprogram the cells.

• Oct. 18, 2009 - Scientists from Scripps Research Institute have developed a faster and more efficient process for turning regular cells into induced-pluripotent stem cells. Researchers used three chemicals to create 200-times the number of iPS cells in half the time of past techniques.

• Oct. 8, 2009 - Researchers have developed several different techniques to activate the four genes needed to transform regular cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. This latest advance involves use of so-called small molecules to replace two of the genes. The researchers hope to overcome any safety concerns with using iPS cells in treatments by replacing all four genes.

• July 24, 2009 - Chinese scientists have created live mice by injecting iPS cells into mouse embryos. Researchers say the test proves that iPS cells can function exactly like embryonic stem cells. "This clearly says for the first time that iPS cells pass the most stringent test," said Konrad Hochedlinger, a stem cell researcher at Harvard University.

• Apr. 27, 2009 - Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute announced that they were able to transform regular skin cells from mice into cells that have the same properties as embryonic stem cells using proteins. Previously, researchers had been able to create induced pluripotent stem cells by manipulating the genes in skin cells but using proteins is considered safer.

• Aug. 2, 2008 - Dr. David Prentice from the Family Research Council writes about the recent advance with turning skin cells from patients with ALS into a neuron similar to the type the disease attacks. This shows for the first time iPS cells can produce specialized cells from a patient with a disease. “The results of this study should put another nail in cloning's coffin,” Dr. Prentice said.

• Nov. 20, 2007 - Numerous media outlets reported on breakthrough research by two groups of researchers. Researchers from Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin in independent experiments reprogrammed human skin cells to make them act like embryonic stem cells. These new cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells. This research was done without killing or cloning human embryos.

Stem Cell Alternatives

• Dec. 3, 2012 - Researchers at the Salk Institute claimed to have developed a faster method of creating stem cells from adult cells. Rather than directly changing one adult cell into another cell type, or using the induced pluripotent method to change an adult cell into an embryonic-like state, the researchers created a new process they call indirect lineage conversion.

• Apr. 23, 2012 - An experimental study showed that scarred heart tissue from mice can be reprogrammed into functioning heart cells. The discovery could lead to treating damage left from heart attacks some day.

• Apr. 11, 2012 - German researchers have announced they have greatly improved the efficiency of cell reprogramming, turning skin cells into nerve cells. Direct cell reprogramming is a method that skips stem cells entirely and turns one type of cell into another for potential treatment or research purposes.

• Dec. 13, 2011 - Researchers were able to reprogram a type of nerve cell into functioning neurons. The researchers hope the discovery could lead to treating Parkinson's, which is caused by degeneration of neurons that produce the brain chemical dopamine.

• Jan. 31, 2011 - Scripps Research Institute researchers have directly reprogrammed skin cells to become beating heart cells. This process avoids embryonic stem cells or having to revert cells into an embryonic-like state, which increases the risk the cells could be cancerous if used in treatments.

• Nov. 7, 2010 - Nature Online reported that Canadian researchers have directly reprogrammed skin cells into blood cells. This ethical process skips steps necessary in embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cell research that could cause tumor formation.

• Aug. 8, 2010 - The Washington Post featured a story on how Harvard biologists were able to transform one type of cell from mice into a completely different cell type. Researchers hope they'll eventually be able to use this research to reprogram ordinary adult cells into cells which could help treat various diseases like diabetes.

Cancer

• May 9, 2012 - Researchers have found that giving three glioblastoma patients modified bone marrow stem cells along with chemotherapy decreased the side effects. Glioblastoma is a lethal brain cancer and the aggressive chemotherapy treatments can significantly damage patient’s bone marrow.

• Jan. 13, 2012 - The first American patient has received a synthetic trachea to treat his throat cancer. The trachea scaffold is made of plastic and used the patient’s own adult stem cells to add living tissue. Other patients have received donated and synthetic windpipes in successful stem cell experiments.

• Nov. 2, 2011 - New research has shown that less-intense treatment methods have helped older patients suffering from blood cancers. Past treatments were age-restricted and considered dangerous and ineffective for older patients.

• July 22, 2011 - A Stanford study found that metastatic breast cancer treatments involving high-dose chemotherapy followed by injections of purified adult stem cells worked better than normal stem cell transplants. Earlier studies showed high-dose chemotherapy was not an effective treatment because cancer cells were present in the normal transplants.

• July 8, 2011 - Swedish doctors treated a patient suffering from a fatal tumor in his windpipe. Researchers created the world's first artificial windpipe by growing the patient's own bone marrow stem cells on an artificial scaffold shaped like his windpipe.

• Oct. 24, 2010 - The Lansing State Journal reported that Dansville, Mich., resident Heather Allen received an adult stem cell treatment for her aggressive form of leukemia. Her brother, recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, donated his own blood for the bone marrow stem cell transplant.

• Aug. 2, 2010 - ABC News reported that two patients suffering from a rare form of trachea cancer received transplanted windpipes that utilized their own adult stem cells. The donor windpipes were stripped of living cells, and the patients' stem cells were able to regenerate and create a functioning windpipe. This technique, used in other cases to replace injured windpipes, eliminates concerns that patients' bodies might reject the donated tissue.

• July 28, 2007 - Medical News Today reported on a retrospective study by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The study found that patients with testicular cancer who aren’t treated successfully using traditional methods can be cured using high doses of chemotherapy and a transplant of their own stem cells.

• July 11, 2007 - Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have used stem cells from umbilical cord blood to help treat patients suffering from leukemia. They've also been working on a method of growing the umbilical cord stem cells more quickly so patients spend less time being vulnerable to infection.

Heart

• Mar. 20, 2012 - Researchers from Yale University are using an experimental adult stem cell treatment to help a girl born with only half of a working heart. The girl's own bone marrow stem cells were used to create a natural blood vessel tube that can grow with her to help heart function. Children born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome typically require an implanted artificial tube to survive.

• Feb. 14, 2012 - Time reported that Cedars Sinai Heart Institute researchers for the first time have used patient’s own cardiac stem cells to heal heart scarring resulting from heart attacks. The researchers hope additional experiments will improve heart function.

• July 7, 2011 - Doctors at Northwestern University have shown success using patients' own adult stem cells to treat their otherwise untreatable angina. Patients had less chest pain and had better scores on exercise stress tests.

• Mar. 17, 2011 - A small study showed promise in shrinking the enlarged hearts of heart attack patients by using their own bone marrow stem cells. The experiment achieved better results than traditional treatments.

• Nov. 16, 2010 - Nine of 14 patients in a clinical trials using patients' own cardiac stem cells to treat heart failure showed significant improvement.

• Feb. 24, 2010 - Two studies published in the journal Cell Transplantation show further advances in using bone marrow adult stem cells to treat heart conditions.

• May 19, 2009 - Reuters reported a study showing that injecting bone marrow adult stem cells into patients with ischemic heart disease can help improve their condition. The treatments resulted in improved blood flow and ability to exercise.

• July 27, 2007 - Medical News Today reported that an international biotechnology company called Theravitae claims to have successfully treated a man suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy using his own stem cells.

• Mar. 26, 2007 - Researchers have extracted adult stem cells from the legs of patients suffering from heart failure and then injected them into the patient's heart. The researchers saw improvement in the health of patients who received the adult stem cell treatment while the health of patients who received traditional treatment worsened.

• Sept. 21, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times reported on research by German scientists who found that adult stem cells could improve the function of patients’ hearts who experienced heart attacks in the past. Researchers were also optimistic that repeated treatments could continue to improve the function of damaged hearts.

Blood/Vascular/Respiratory System

• Aug. 6, 2012 - Israeli company Pluristem announced that it successfully treated the bone marrow failure of a woman using stem cells from placentas. The woman had an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant after undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma.

• Nov. 11, 2011 - The Food and Drug Administration has given first-time approval for a product that uses umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat patients with blood cancers and immune system disorders. Numerous experiments have previously shown promise in helping patients suffering from many diseases.

• Sept. 1, 2011 - The first human patient has received a blood transfusion created using the patient's own adult stem cells. The lab-grown blood survived about as long as natural blood cells in the patient. Creating blood from stem cells may help with blood donation shortages.

• Oct. 14, 2010 - Duke University doctors have treated a patient suffering from peripheral artery disease in his leg using stem cells from placentas. Placentas and umbilical cord blood are usually discarded as medical waste after birth.

• Dec. 9, 2009 - Reuters reported that National Institutes of Health researchers cured sickle cell disease in 9 out of 10 patients using adult stem cells from the bone marrow of the patients' siblings.

• Apr. 5, 2009 - The Charleston Post & Courier reported a study showing that bone marrow stem cells can treat limb ischemia. Doctors successfully healed a man with poor circulation in his foot caused by diabetes, saving the foot from amputation.

• Nov. 27, 2008 - Biotechnology firm Regenocyte Therapeutic claimed their study showed promise in treating pulmonary hypertension with adult stem cells. Researchers used the adult stem cells from the patients' own blood to grow new blood vessels and reduce the high blood pressure affecting their lungs.

• May 11, 2008 - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram featured a story on how a young man’s adult stem cells were used to treat his tissue decay, which he was suffering due to meningitis. Doctors believe this treatment saved his arms and legs and they’re hoping it will also save his hands and feet.

Spinal Cord/Nervous System

• Mar. 14, 2014 - A study from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey found that physical therapy combined with adult bone marrow stem cells treatments can heal damage from spinal cord injuries. Significant improvement was found in 23 of 50 patients who received the treatments.

• Mar. 21, 2011 - Greek doctors have used chemotherapy and a transplant of patients' own adult stem cells to stop the progression of aggressive multiple sclerosis in some patients.

• Mar. 10, 2011 - A University of Texas trial using children's own bone marrow cells to treat traumatic brain injuries showed the procedure is safe. The trial was only testing safety but all 10 patients showed significant improvement.

• Dec. 14, 2009 - ABC News in Australia reported a man named Ben Leahy is now able to walk again after his multiple sclerosis was treated with his own bone marrow stem cells. The treatment involves destroying a patient's immune system and then replenishing it with bone marrow stem cells.

• Nov. 9, 2009 - FOX News reported that a Colorado girl who suffered from cerebral palsy was successfully treated with adult stem cells from her own umbilical cord blood. The girl was two years old at the time of her treatment in 2008. The lead doctor of the study will conduct a clinical trial of the procedure in the near future, according to the story.

• Mar. 28, 2009 - Science Daily reported that California researchers have published a report showing that bone marrow adult stem cells could be used to treat spinal cord injuries. Eight patients in the study showed some improvement after the bone marrow cells were injected into them by multiple routes.

• Mar 13, 2008 - The Vancouver Sun reported on a young woman with multiple sclerosis who was treated in Canada with her own blood stem cells. She is one of 17 patients in Canada who have undergone this experimental treatment.

• Apr. 10, 2006 - The Baptist Press contained a story on a young woman who received a transfer of olfactory stem cells from her nose to help with her paralysis. Jacki Rabon was paralyzed after being thrown from a car in August of 2003. In October of 2005, she traveled to Portugal to receive the surgery and then later went to Detroit for rehabilitation. She is now walking with the help of braces and a parallel bar.

• May 19, 2005 - Science Daily reported the results of a study which found transplants of stem cells from umbilical cord blood could treat infants with a deadly degenerative disorder called Krabbe’s disease.

Bone/Muscles

• Jan. 28, 2013 - A small British study found that treating cartilage damage with umbilical cord blood stem cells led to a 67 percent improvement in tissue regeneration in patients. Other clinical trials using the procedure are ongoing.

• July 30, 2012 - University of Michigan researchers have found that patients' own bone marrow stem cells were more effective in treating dental bone loss than traditional bone regeneration therapy. The small study backs up the theory that patients’ own cells would improve healing more than the artificial foreign materials used in the traditional therapy.

• July 25, 2012 - A British boy has had the world's first successful trachea transplant in a child using the child's own adult stem cells. An earlier trachea transplant failed, so doctors took a donor trachea, destroyed the living cells and created a new one by seeding the boy's bone marrow cells on it to avoid rejection by his immune system

• Dec. 12, 2011 - A Stanford University study found that induced pluripotent stem cells are as effective as embryonic stem cells in studying Marfan syndrome and potentially other genetic diseases. Patients suffering from Marfan syndrome have trouble forming bone and cartilage. The study authors said using iPS cells for studying diseases could have several advantages over using cells taken from destroyed human embryos.

• Sept. 30, 2010 - The Telegraph reported that doctors used a woman's own adult bone marrow stem cells to save her leg from being amputated. The British woman's left leg was shattered after being struck by a car.

• June 22, 2010 - Italian researchers have successfully treated seven patients suffering from periodontal disease by injecting their gums with bone marrow stem cells. Periodontitis destroys the bone tissue underneath the damaged gums. Traditional treatment options include bone grafts.

• Apr. 20, 2010 - British and Italian doctors performed a stem cell organ treatment on a child to replace his windpipe. Doctors gave the boy a donor windpipe with his own adult bone marrow stem cells grafted onto it.

• Dec. 16, 2009 - Sky News reported that British doctors successfully treated a man named Andrew Kent with stem cells from his own bone marrow after a boulder fell on him and broke his leg in five places. Without the treatment, Kent would have likely had to have his leg amputated.

• Sept. 1, 2009 - The Telegraph reported that a British hospital used an adult stem cell treatment as an alternative to artificial hip replacements. The technique uses adult stem cells from a patient's own bone marrow mixed with ground-up bone fragments. Five of the six patients have had successful treatments.

• Nov. 19, 2008 - Claudia Castillo talks about how doctors in were able to create a new windpipe for her using adult stem cells in an exclusive interview with the Telegraph. Scientists used a windpipe from a donor and added Castillo's own stem cells to create the new tissue, which has avoided immune rejection. Read more about the story from the BBC.

• Feb. 1, 2008 - Reuters reported on how Finnish researchers used stem cells taken from a patient’s own fat to help create a bone transplant to replace his upper jaw. The 65-year-old patient, whose upper jaw was removed because of cancer, was unable to eat or speak without a prosthesis before the transplant.

Diabetes/Immune System

• Jan. 11, 2012 - By passing immune system cells from patients through donated umbilical cord blood to “retrain” them, researchers were able to lessen diabetes patients’ dependence on insulin injections. Type-1 diabetes is caused by a patient’s immune system continually attacking cells which produce insulin in their pancreas.

• Dec. 20, 2010 - A child who had spent more than 700 days in the hospital due to a mysterious condition was successfully treated with a cord blood stem cell transplant. Doctors had to sequence the boy's entire genetic code to discover his ailment.

• May 17, 2010 - Medical News Today reported that Australian researchers have successfully treated a woman suffering from a previously unidentified disease. The disease damaged the woman's immune system, so doctors destroyed her immune system and regrew it using adult stem cells from bone marrow.

• Apr. 15, 2009 - The BBC reported that adult stem cells have been used to successfully treat patients with type 1 diabetes. Twenty of twenty-three patients were insulin-free for a period of months or years after receiving a treatment of their own adult stem cells.

• Feb. 11, 2009 - CNN reported that a team of German scientists used adult stem cells to treat a leukemia patient who was HIV-positive and this treatment appears to have eliminated HIV from his body. The doctors used stem cells from a donor with a gene mutation that is resistant to HIV. Two years after the treatment the patient has no signs of HIV.

• June 25, 2007 - Researchers from the University of Florida reported they found that children with juvenile diabetes can be treated with blood from their own umbilical cords. Children given infusions of their own cord blood had less severe symptoms. Researchers suspect the stem cells in the umbilical cord blood played a role in helping these children.

• Apr. 11, 2007 - Researchers in Brazil have used a patient's own stem cells to help treat juvenile diabetes. One patient has been insulin free for nearly three years.

• Jan. 31, 2006 - The New Scientist carried a story on 33 people with lupus who haven’t had lupus symptoms since they received a transplant of stem cells from their own bone marrow. The study of these patients appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

• Jan. 9, 2002 - Science Daily reported that Duke University researchers reported a 95 percent sucess rate in treating infants afflicted with the autoimmune disease SCID by giving them adult stem cell injections from bone marrow. The long-term study lasted for 19 years.

Liver/Digestive/Urinary System

• Mar. 8, 2012 - A study showed five of eight transplant patients who received blood stem cells along with kidneys from unmatched donors were able to stop taking immune-suppressing drugs in a year.

• Oct. 6, 2011 - A small study at Stanford University has shown that several patients who had kidney transplants were able to forgo immune-suppressing drugs after being treated with adult stem cells. The drugs required after transplants carry a risk of hazardous side effects.

• Jan. 11, 2011 - A study testing the safety of using bone marrow adult stem cells to treat patients suffering from liver failure showed some benefit to the 48 patients involved.

• Oct. 30, 2010 - The BBC reported that University of Wake Forest researchers have created functional miniature livers using adult stem cells. They hope they will eventually be able to create livers large enough for patient transplants.

• Apr. 8, 2010 - Reuters reported that Biotech company Celgene has used adult stem cells from placentas in a clinical trial to treat Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. The preliminary trial tested safety of the procedure and resulted in remission in four of 12 patients. Umbilical cord blood and placentas are usually thrown away if not donated after birth.

• Jan. 24, 2008 - Scientists were able to use adult stem cells from a kidney donor’s bone marrow to help kidney recipients live without taking drugs that suppress their immune system. The scientists discovered the transplanted stem cells multiplied and protected the transplanted organ from the patients’ immune systems.

• May 21, 2007 - Researchers have used adult stem cells from the muscle tissue of patients to treat urinary incontinence.

• Mar. 27, 2007 - The United Kingdom’s Daily Mail shared the story of how researchers have used adult stem cells from the hip bones of patient and then injected those cells into the liver of patients with liver cancer. This allowed the patients’ livers to grow so they could remove the cancerous part of their livers.

• Oct. 31, 2006 - Researchers from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have used stem cells from umbilical cord blood to create “mini-livers.” They hope these “mini-livers” could be used to test drugs and think they could be used to treat patients in possibly 10-15 years.

Ear/Eye/Hair/Skin

• December 13, 2010 - Researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed sutures seeded with adult stem cells. The threads keep cells at the site of the injury for more efficient healing.

• June 18, 2010 - USA Today reported that stem cells taken from patients' damaged eyes were used to treat their blindness caused by chemical burns. Of 112 patients treated, more than 75 percent had their vision restored.

• Dec. 22, 2009 - The Guardian reported that British researchers have restored sight to eight patients suffering from Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency (LSCD) using their own bone marrow stem cells. A larger study of the treatment is underway according to the story.

• May 28, 2009 - The BBC reported that researchers from Australia used adult stem cells grown on contact lenses to heal the damaged corneas of three patients. According to researchers, each patient saw dramatic improvement in their vision in weeks.

• June 3, 2008 - A 2-year-old boy with a fatal skin disease, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, was treated after receiving a transplant of stem cells from his brother.