Amniotic fluid, the protective liquid surrounding an unborn baby, is discarded as medical waste during caesarean section deliveries. However, there is increasing evidence that this fluid is a source of valuable biological material, including stem cells with the potential for use in cell therapy and regenerative medicine. A team of scientists and clinicians at Lund...
Year: <span>2017</span>
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Drug suppresses spread of breast cancer caused by stem-like cells
A rare-stem like tumor cell, which plays a critical role in the spread of breast cancer, is identified with immunostaining for the β3 integrin subunit (blue) and transcription factor Slug (brown). Rare stem-like tumor cells play a critical role in the spread of breast cancer, but a vulnerability in the pathway that powers them...
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Study explores use of checkpoint inhibitors after relapse from donor stem cell transplant
Immunotherapy agents known as checkpoint inhibitors have shown considerable promise in patients with hematologic cancers who relapse after a transplant with donor stem cells. Preliminary results from the first clinical trial in these patients of one such agent – nivolumab – indicate that along with signs of effectiveness, it also produced significant side effects at...
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Inhibiting TOR boosts regenerative potential of adult tissues
Adult stem cells replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues throughout our lifetime. We lose many of those stem cells, along with their regenerative capacity, as we age. Working in flies and mice, researchers at the Buck Institute and elsewhere discovered that TOR, a nutrient sensing pathway which is central to the aging process, drives...
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Novel harvesting method rapidly produces superior stem cells for transplantation
A new method of harvesting stem cells for bone marrow transplantation – developed by a team of investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute – appears to accomplish two goals: making the donation process more convenient and less unpleasant for donors and providing cells that are superior...
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Diabetes drug and over-the-counter aspirin could improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment, reveal studies
Metformin may slow breast cancer growth and reverse treatment resistance Adding aspirin to a cancer drug could help combat tumors resistant to therapies These include pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers, as well as melanomas A widely-used diabetes drug and over-the-counter aspirin could help boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments, two studies suggest. Research has found that metformin...
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Diabetes drug metformin inhibits multidrug-resistant breast cancer
The drug metformin, typically prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, keeps breast cancer cells from developing multiple drug resistance (MDR) and can reverse MDR after it¹s appeared, according to a study published December 6, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Terra Arnason from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and colleagues. Previous studies have shown that...
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Stem cells pave the way for new treatment of diabetes
415 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with diabetes. And the number continues to rise. Common to all diabetes patients is that they lack the ability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin, which regulates the blood sugar in the body. This can lead to a number of complications and in many cases be potentially fatal....
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Scientists ‘Inject’ Information Into Monkeys’ Brains
Scientists ‘Inject’ Information Into Monkeys’ Brains When you drive toward an intersection, the sight of the light turning red will (or should) make you step on the brake. This action happens thanks to a chain of events inside your head. Your eyes relay signals to the visual centers in the back of your brain. After...
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Is prescribing drugs ‘off label’ bad medicine?
A woman, let’s call her Sarah, is a young actor looking to make her debut at a major theatre. She is fit and healthy, but gets nervous on opening nights and can’t sleep. She’s tried zopiclone, but it didn’t work, so her GP prescribes a course of quetiapine. Quetiapine is usually used to treat bipolar disorder,...