StemSave Blog

Researchers at UCLA, in a step toward clinical trials, have sent subjects to space to test an osteoporosis drug under development. In the latest trial, mice that are administered the drug have been sent to the international space station, where loss of bone mass is exacerbated due to lack of gravity. The drug, NELL-1, has the ability to direct stem cells to become osteoblasts (bone-building cells), making bone restoration more prolific, as well as slowing the loss of bone mass due to age. This drug has the potential to help people with significant bone trauma, such as astronauts, who are subject to loss of bone mass due to prolonged exposure to microgravity, members of the military who experience injury, and individuals experiencing bone loss due to age.

Topics: osteoporosis, stem cell treatments, regenerative medicine

Researchers at South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have developed a new scaffolding technique that speeds up stem cell differentiation for bone formation. Utilizing carbon nitride sheets infused with stem cells, the researchers were able to regenerate bone. The carbon nitride sheets possessed photocatalytic properties, which facilitated bone growth. This study marks an important advancement in treatments for bone fractures and periodontal disease.

Topics: stem cells, regenerative medicine, bone scaffolding, osteoporosis, bone fracture

Osteoporosis, a chronic and life-threatening degenerative disease, affects more 200 million globally, and with a growing population of aging adults projected to live longer lives than in generations past, the issue of preserving and protecting skeletal bone integrity will likely become increasingly important. A group of researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have examined the relationship of therapeutic stem cell therapies in the complex endocrine system of animals with vertebral fractures, who received daily injections of parathyroid hormone(PTH) and stem cells for 21 days. The authors hypothesize that the combination of approaches enhanced the stem cell’s migration to damaged bone areas.

"We have known that used separately, both the stem cells and the hormone each have an effect on the healing process involved in bone fractures," said Dan Gazit, DMD, PhD, co-director of the Skeletal Regeneration and Stem Cell Therapy Program in the Department of Surgery and Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. "Now, we have learned that the stem cells and PTH much stronger combined than they are separately."

Topics: osteoporosis, stemsaveblog, stem cell therapies, bone fracture, regenerative medicine, endocrine system

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania school of Dental Medicine have elucidated the mechanism behind mesenchymal stem cell transplants in lupus patients, who typically suffer greater risk of osteoporosis. Prior work with stem cells has led to improvements in their condition, but until the current study, the process by which gains were made have been poorly understood.

Topics: osteoporosis, stemsaveblog, Stemcells, lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus, immune system, mesenchymal stem cells, epigenetics

For over 10 million Americans, osteoporosis presents a chronic, degenerative, and complex problem, with few current therapeutic options to promote bone growth.  A team of researchers from Loma Linda University and the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center in California have reversed the bone-degrading disease of osteoporosis in an animal model using hematopoietic stem cells [HSCs]. The research offers yet another development in our current understanding and capability for practical application in the stem cell field. Now, after having identified specific growth factors related to bone growth and proliferation, stem cell therapy is thought to holds great promise in reversing bone weakness and ultimately, morbidity and mortality.

Topics: osteoporosis, Bone loss, stemsaveblog, hematopoietic stem cells, growth factors

Epibone creates precisely measured scaffolding for stem cells to recreate damaged bone.

The New York-based startup Epibone intends to begin human testing on a procedure that will utilize stem cells to regenerate living bone tissue. The researchers, originally from Columbia University, will apply autologous [the patient’s own] stem cells to nanofiber scaffolding of the desired size and shape and direct the stem cells to differentiate into a physical and genetic replica of the patient’s own bone.

Topics: osteoporosis, limbs, Fingers, Jaw, Bone loss, Joints, Bone, Debilitating Diseases, Arthritis, Stemcells, Knee, hip, autologousstemcells, cartilage, grants, Mandibular bone, young stem cells, stemsaveblog

Remote controlled nanoparticles may allow stem cells to regenerate bone tissue

Medical researchers from Keele University and Nottingham University have integrated remote controlled magnetic nanoparticles to incite the differentiation of stem cells into new bone tissue for the treatment of bone diseases, disorders, and injuries. In pre-clinical trials, the nanoparticles were coated with proteins that stimulate the stem cells, and then delivered directly to the damaged tissue via an external magnetic field.

Topics: osteoporosis, Bone loss, knee replacement, Bone, Debilitating Diseases, Stemcells, Hip replacement, autologousstemcells, Cartilage degradation, spinal cord injuries, stemsaveblog

The transplantation of stem cells into areas affected by osteoarthritis allow lost cartilage tissue to regenerate.

In recent clinical trials, researchers at the National University of Ireland Galway have successfully utilized adult stem cells to treat patients with osteoarthritis. The treatment involves recovering the patients’ own [autologous] stem cells and then injecting the stem cells into cartilage to stimulate the regeneration of lost tissue.

Topics: osteoporosis, Fingers, Phase III, Bone loss, Joints, knee replacement, clinical trials, Bone, Debilitating Diseases, Arthritis, Stemcells, Feet, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hip replacement, Knee, hip, autologousstemcells, cartilage, Cartilage degradation, stemsaveblog

Stem cells are allowing doctors to personalize treatments to repair damaged or diseased bone.

A team of medical researchers at Saint Luc University Clinic have developed a method of repairing bones utilizing autologous [the patient’s own] stem cells. The process involves harvesting the stem cells from the patient, differentiating the stem cells in-vitro to grow bone, pairing the cells with a scaffolding matrix and then molding the material to repair damaged or diseased bone within the patient.

Topics: osteoporosis, Bone loss, Joints, clinical trials, Bone, Debilitating Diseases, Phase II, Stemcells, autologousstemcells, stemsaveblog

In a follow-up study, stem cells from teeth were found to provide a viable and stable repair mechanism for mandibular bone defects. Three years after the clinical trial was initiated, the bone is still functioning properly.

Topics: osteoporosis, Jaw, Bone loss, clinical trials, oral cancer, Bone, Stemcells, dentalstemcells, Mandibular bone, stemsaveblog