Stem Cell Surgery Trials In Heart Failure And Diabetes

This book examines the application of stem cell surgery for diabetes and heart failure. Organized into two sections, the first identifies and summarizes the current worldwide stem cell trials for heart failure. Subsequent chapters in part two analyze the current worldwide stem cell trials in patients with Diabetes Mellitus. Both sections utilize studies that include non-expanded stem cells; each study is grouped by stem cell type and geographic location. Stem Cell Surgery Trials in Diabetes and Heart Failure is a comprehensive, convenient reference for cardiologists, endocrinologists, internists, and family physicians.

This Volume of the series Cardiac and Vascular Biology offers a comprehensive and exciting, state-of-the-art work on the current options and potentials of cardiac regeneration and repair. Several techniques and approaches have been developed for heart failure repair: direct injection of cells, programming of scar tissue into functional myocardium, and tissue-engineered heart muscle support. The book introduces the rationale for these different approaches in cell-based heart regeneration and discusses the most important considerations for clinical translation. Expert authors discuss when, why, and how heart muscle can be salvaged. The book represents a valuable resource for stem cell researchers, cardiologists, bioengineers, and biomedical scientists studying cardiac function and regeneration.

During the last years the understanding for the aetiology of cardiomyopathies could be greatly improved. A great deal of information has accumulated in the field of inherited metabolic diseases, which provides a new basis for our understanding of many heart muscle problems and their corresponding clinical disease entities. This book is meant to give the reader a comprehensive overview of the cardiological manifestations of inborn errors of metabolism. Latest information, such as cardiomyopathy in Fabry disease or in patients with CDG-syndrome is included. It should be helpful, not only to cardiologists, paediatricians, internists and general practicioners, but also to all those interested in a better understanding of the metabolic basis of clinical disease entities.

Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made to develop stem cell-based therapies for difficult to treat diseases. Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, also referred to as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), appear to hold great promise in regards to a regenerative cell-based therapy for the treatment of these diseases. Currently, more than 200 clinical trials are underway worldwide exploring the use of MSCs for the treatment of a wide range of disorders including bone, cartilage and tendon damage, myocardial infarction, graft-versus-host disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, critical limb ischemia and many others. MSCs were first identified by Friendenstein and colleagues as an adherent stromal cell population within the bone marrow with the ability to form clonogenic colonies in vitro. In regards to the basic biology associated with MSCs, there has been tremendous progress towards understanding this cell population’s phenotype and function from a range of tissue sources. Despite enormous progress and an overall increased understanding of MSCs at the molecular and cellular level, several critical questions remain to be answered in regards to the use of these cells in therapeutic applications. Clinically, both autologous and allogenic approaches for the transplantation of MSCs are being explored. Several of the processing steps needed for the clinical application of MSCs, including isolation from various tissues, scalable in vitro expansion, cell banking, dose preparation, quality control parameters, delivery methods and numerous others are being extensively studied. Despite a significant number of ongoing clinical trials, none of the current therapeutic approaches have, at this point, become a standard of care treatment. Although exceptionally promising, the clinical translation of MSC-based therapies is still a work in progress. The extensive number of ongoing clinical trials is expected to provide a clearer path forward for the realization and implementation of MSCs in regenerative medicine. Towards this end, reviews of current clinical trial results and discussions of relevant topics association with the clinical application of MSCs are compiled in this book from some of the leading researchers in this exciting and rapidly advancing field. Although not absolutely all-inclusive, we hope the chapters within this book can promote and enable a better understanding of the translation of MSCs from bench-to-bedside and inspire researchers to further explore this promising and quickly evolving field.

Recent scientific breakthroughs, celebrity patient advocates, and conflicting religious beliefs have come together to bring the state of stem cell researchâ€"specifically embryonic stem cell researchâ€"into the political crosshairs. President Bush's watershed policy statement allows federal funding for embryonic stem cell research but only on a limited number of stem cell lines. Millions of Americans could be affected by the continuing political debate among policymakers and the public. Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine provides a deeper exploration of the biological, ethical, and funding questions prompted by the therapeutic potential of undifferentiated human cells. In terms accessible to lay readers, the book summarizes what we know about adult and embryonic stem cells and discusses how to go about the transition from mouse studies to research that has therapeutic implications for people. Perhaps most important, Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine also provides an overview of the moral and ethical problems that arise from the use of embryonic stem cells. This timely book compares the impact of public and private research funding and discusses approaches to appropriate research oversight. Based on the insights of leading scientists, ethicists, and other authorities, the book offers authoritative recommendations regarding the use of existing stem cell lines versus new lines in research, the important role of the federal government in this field of research, and other fundamental issues.

Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes, one of the latest installments of the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series, reviews the three main approaches for generation of sufficient numbers of insulin-producing cells for restoration of an adequate beta-cell mass: beta-cell expansion, stem-cell differentiation, and nuclear reprogramming. Adeptly collecting the research of the leading scientists in the field, Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes compares the merits of employing autologous versus banked allogeneic cell sources for generation of surrogate beta cells, and addresses tissue engineering and ways for cell protection from recurring autoimmunity and graft rejection. Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes provides essential reading for those especially interested in tracking the progress in applying of one of the most exciting new developments in bio-medicine towards a cure for diabetes.

Stem cells appear to be fundamental cellular units associated with the origin of multicellular organisms and have evolved to function in safeguarding the cellular homeostasis in organ t- sues. The characteristics of stem cells that distinguish them from other cells have been the fascinating subjects of stem cell research. The important properties of stem cells, such as ma- tenance of quiescence, self-renewal capacity, and differentiation potential, have propelled this exciting ?eld and presently form a common theme of research in developmental biology and medicine. The derivation of pluripotent embryonic stem cells, the prospective identi?cation of multipotent adult stem cells, and, more recently, the induced pluripotent stem cells (popularly called iPS) are important milestones in the arena of stem cell biology. Complex networks of transcription factors, different signaling molecules, and the interaction of genetic and epi- netic events constantly modulate stem cell behavior to evoke programming and reprogramming processes in normal tissue homeostasis during development. In any given cellular scenario, the regulatory networks can pose considerable complexity and yet exert an orderly control of stem cell differentiation during normal development. An aberration in these ?nely tuned processes during development usually results in a spectrum of diseases such as cancers and neurological disorders. Thisunderscorestheimminentneedforamorecompleteunderstandingofmolecular mechanisms underlying the regulatory circuitries required for stem cell maintenance. Overthepast3–5years,adiversegroupofbenchandphysicianscientistshaveprospectively enhanced our knowledge of stem cell biology. These studies are unveiling many unrecognized or previously unknown fundamentals of developmental biology.