Growing New Teeth With Stem Cells - Odontis

In 2004 scientists at King's College London set up a company called Odontis. They have been working on developing human teeth from stem cells. This biological replacement tooth has been trademarked as BioTooth.

The idea is to take adult stem cells, treat them in a cell culture so they would be programmed to develop into teeth and then transplanted into the patients jaw where the gap is. Then a replacement tooth grows just as happens when humans grow their original adult teeth. It is thought it would then take two to three months for the tooth to fully develop. The cost should not be more than existing treatments making it an attractive alternative to other technologies such as implants and dentures.

By 2007 Dr. Paul Sharpe and his team had learned to control the type of tooth formed and control the basic shapes, i.e. molar, incisor. Tooth development involves a network of thousands of genes. It's not necessary to understand what all the genes are doing to get the ball rolling, Sharpe says. Rather, by watching when a few key genes are turned on and off, the researchers have learned which are most important in the control of size and shape. Some genes only work in the upper jaw, others only where molars grow. In one experiment, Sharpe's team took early tooth buds from growing embryos and switched on a gene known to be active in growing molars. They implanted the buds in the front of the jaws of mice, where incisors would normally grow. The rodents emerged with molars in front and back.

The teeth are grown in mice kidney capsules because they provide a convenient site for prolonged growth due to the bountiful blood supply to the developing tooth. Dr. Sharpe’s aim was never to grow teeth in kidneys. This is just his experimental test system. In the future its likely that the teeth will be grown in some sort of artificial bio-reactor which itself is still in development.

The tooth bud is then implanted in the jaw and the gum stitched or sealed with a clinical "glue". They have not started human clinical trials yet, however they expect the procedure to be less invasive than a tooth extraction and the requirements for post-procedure care would be similar. After implantation it takes the tooth about 3 weeks to set in the jaw of a mouse. As long as the tooth is not under heavy load, it sets well.
The technology to grow replacement teeth could mean the end of dentures. Living teeth would be much better than dentures because they can respond to a persons bite. They move and in doing so they maintain the health of the surrounding gums and teeth. Dr. Sharpe has patented the technique and hopes to begin human trials in a few years once they perfect their techniques.

Predicting a release date to market is difficult as its still in development but according to their website they are expecting it to be available in "several years".

Source: Odontis.com

Visit http://www.healthandfitness4ever for more information on stem cell technology.

Scientists Grow Intestine Using Stem Cells

For the first time, scientists have created functioning human intestinal tissue in the lab from pluripotent stem cells. The scientists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in the U.S. say their findings will open the door to unprecedented studies of human intestinal development, function and diseases.

Other research areas opened up include creating intestinal tissue for transplantation and investigating drugs than can be better absorbed by the body, since the intestine absorbs most drugs taken orally.




To make the intestinal tissue, two types of pluripotent cells: human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were generated by reprogramming biopsied human skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. hESCs are called pluripotent because they can become any of the more than 200 different cell types in the human body. iPSCs can be generated from the cells of individual patients, and therapeutic cells derived from those iPSCs would have that person’s genetic makeup and not be at risk of rejection. Because iPSC technology is new, it remains unknown if these cells have all of the potential of hESCs. This prompted the researchers to use both iPSCs and human embryonic stem cells in this study so they could further test and compare the transformative capabilities of each.


A series of timed cell manipulations using chemicals and proteins called growth factors were used to mimic embryonic intestinal development in the laboratory.
The first step turned pluripotent stem cells into an embryonic cell type called definitive endoderm, which gives rise to the lining of the esophagus, stomach and intestines as well as the lungs, pancreas and liver. Next, endoderm cells were instructed to become one those organ cell types, specifically embryonic intestinal cells called “hindgut progenitors.” The researchers then subjected the cells to what they describe as a “pro-intestinal” cell culture system that promoted intestinal growth.


Within 28 days, these steps resulted in the formation of three-dimensional tissue resembling fetal intestine that contained all the major intestinal cell types – including enterocytes, goblet, Paneth and enteroendocrine cells. The tissue continued to mature and acquire both the absorptive and secretory functionality of normal human intestinal tissues and also formed intestine-specific stem cells.

In the study, the team of scientists was led by Dr. Wells and study first author Jason Spence, PhD – a member of Dr. Wells’ laboratory.

Source: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/about/news/release...

More information on stemcell technology @ http://www.healthandfitness4ever.com

Stem Cells From Your Thighs Can Be Used for Your Face-Lift

Back in the days of the Bush administration, the scientific advances provided by stem-cellresearch were significantly reduced due to his ban on federal funding. 

Since Obama lifted the ban in March 2009, research and development using these cells has resumed and continues to aid in the search for treatments for many cancers and degenerative diseases. 

And there are the aesthetic innovations, namely in skin care (use of apple stem cells in products by Dr. Brandt, Lather, and Emerge Labs is said to preserve skin's youthful appearance) and plastic surgery. 

Boy, do we love a good beauty advancement! Earlier this year, StyleList reported on stem-cell injections as part of a nonsurgical face-lift, used in conjunction with fat grafts (removing fat from one area of the body, like your thighs, abs, or butt, and using it to plump the face). 

Today's Daily Mail reports, "Cells with this kind of power, it was thought, had to be harvested from embryos created in the lab or left over from fertility treatment. They were rare, precious, and extremely controversial. But this week, doctors have revealed how they are taking stem cells from adults and using them to repair faulty hearts. Those stem cells came from blood vessels. But there is another, perhaps surprising, source of stem cells -- our own fat." 

So a source of potentially regenerative cells was hiding in our fat cells all along?

This development led U.K. cosmetic surgeon Dr. Mario Russo to the idea of a nonsurgical face-lift that employs only stem cells and no fat injections (which tend to die off after being removed) in order to regenerate collagen and halt or at least slow the aging process. 

And eight weeks ago, the Daily Mail reporter volunteered to be the first recipient of this experimental procedure. At a private hospital, she had fat harvested from her abdomen and thighs (a.k.a. liposuction) and waited for it to be processed down to only its stem cells. This youth serum of sorts was immediately injected into her face dozens of times, as well as into a scar on her knee. 

Here, the reporter's initial reaction, post-procedure:

"Then I was sent home with the warning that results would be slow to show, but would continue for up to a year -- or more. Over the next few days, I developed a few tiny bruises around my eyes and there was a little swelling, but nothing I couldn't cover up. I was astonished to see results within the first fortnight. My skin, which has always been blotchy, was startlingly clear. Within a month I looked peachier, my pores were smaller and I was less hollow eyed. I woke in the morning and thought for a moment that I'd forgotten to take off my makeup, as my skin looked so even toned. After six weeks, strangers started complimenting me on my skin." 

While the injections themselves only took 20 minutes, the procedure is not pain free and costs about $11,000. Hmmm, for that we could buy a Smart Car, but who are we kidding? Smart Cars won't make us look younger or more fabulous. However, glowing, even-toned, plumper skin is priceless.

BRIEF: International Stem Cell shares jump 19 percent

Posted on: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 21:53:44 EST

 

Symbols: ISCO

OCEANSIDE, Dec 18, 2010 (North County Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

Shares of International Stem Cell Corp. rose 19 percent Friday, closing at $2.29 each, after the biotech company expanded sales of its skin care products.

On Thursday, the company said the products are now being sold to subscribers of the investment newsletter of John Mauldin, founder of Millennium Wave Investments. The products were earlier offered to investors and others associated with International Stem Cell.

The biotech company's skin care products, which it says rejuvenates the skin, are made with extracts from its stem cells. These cells are produced from "parthenogenetic," or unfertilized human egg cells. International Stem Cell says the cells act like human embryonic stem cells, although they are not made from embryos. The cells are being researched as disease therapies.

On Monday, the company announced a deal to get up to $25 million in equity financing over the next three years from Aspire Capital Fund LLC. As part of the deal, Aspire purchased 333,333 shares of ISCO stock for $1.50 per share, 7 percent more than the closing price on the previous Friday of $1.40 per share.

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Tailored stem cells on High St ‘in 20yrs’

The era of stem cells is just beginning and will yield undreamed-of forms of tailored treatment for damaged body parts and organs, said Prof David Warburton.

Testicle treatment provides hope for men with diabetes, US scientists say

MEN with insulin-dependent diabetes might one day have their condition treated with cells from their testicles, US scientists have claimed.

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), in Washington, DC, said hey transformed sperm stem cells into the pancreatic cells that make insulin, without using any extra genes to turn adult stem cells into a tissue of choice.

Japanese scientists restore paralysed monkey's mobility using stem cells

JAPANESE researchers have used stem cells to restore partial mobility in a small monkey that had been paralysed from the neck down by a spinal injury.

"It is the world's first case in which a small-size primate recovered from a spinal injury using stem cells," professor Hideyuki Okano of Tokyo's Keio University told AFP.

Your baby can save a life

(CNN) -- When Leidy Sanchez and her husband, Carlos Reyes, went to the hospital last week to deliver their baby, a nurse got her a gown, hooked her up to a fetal monitor and asked an unexpected question: Would they like to donate cells from their baby's umbilical cord blood to a public bank?"We said, 'For real, people are doing this?' " says Sanchez. "We'd never heard of it."

FDA approves second human embryonic stem cell trial

For only the second time in history, the Food and Drug Administration has approved human trial of a therapy developed from embryonic stem cells.

Stem Cells Therapy May Cure Blindness

London, Nov. 22: A revolutionary stem cell therapy that can restore sight to the blind and prevent others from losing their vision will be tested on humans, according to a report.