Global leader in animal stem cell technology is poised for significant expansion through new partnership with top U.S. companion animal health distribution company.

Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) February 22, 2012

MediVet-America, the global leader in veterinary stem cell technology and regenerative medicine, has entered into a distribution partnership with Butler Schein Animal Health, a division of Henry Schein, the leading companion animal health distribution company in the U.S., to sell and distribute stem cell kits and equipment to veterinarians serving the nation’s fast-growing $50 billion pet industry.

The announcement was made today at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas by Jeremy Delk, CEO of MediVet-America.

The two companies will partner to sell and distribute MediVet-America’s advanced stem cell technology to more than 26,000 veterinary clinics nationwide. Adult animal stem cell technology uses the body’s own regenerative healing power to help treat dogs, cats, horses and other animals suffering from painful arthritis, hip dysplasia and tendon, ligament and cartilage injuries and other ailments.

The Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Procedure Kit and state of the art equipment, co-developed with Medical Australia, enable veterinarians to remove a small sample of fat, separate the stem cells, then activate and inject them into affected areas.

“We are pleased to be teaming up with Butler Schein, the largest companion animal health distribution company in the nation,” said Delk. “Their strong track record in sales and distribution will further fuel our rapid growth and bring this breakthrough technology to more leading veterinary practices across the country.”

To introduce the distribution partnership, Delk said MediVet-America has developed an exclusive program of product and service offers that will be made available only to Butler Schein customers.

Veterinary practitioners in more than 200 markets throughout 42 states now perform the drug-free procedure entirely in their own clinics more quickly, effectively and economically than earlier generation animal stem cell therapy. MediVet-America’s new treatment, developed in Australia, is available in 26 countries worldwide.

“This exciting partnership will allow even more of our colleagues unparalleled access to MediVet-America’s superior technology, providing the most affordable and efficacious stem cell therapy in the industry,” said Mike Hutchinson, D.V.M., the world’s leading animal stem cell practitioner. Dr. Hutchinson, who has spoken around the world about stem cell therapy, most recently in Tokyo, has performed more than 300 procedures over the last 18 months in his practice near Pittsburgh, PA.

Partnering with the leading animal health manufacturers in the world, Butler Schein maintains an order-fill ratio greater than 98 percent, and is positioned to bring the broadest selection of veterinary products and strategic business solutions to veterinarians, including:

    A comprehensive product offering for companion animal, equine and large animal practices including biologicals, diagnostics, nutritionals, parasiticides and pharmaceuticals

    Technology hardware and software solutions     Capital equipment, supply products and repair services     Practice design and remodeling, client marketing and financial solutions

Stem cells are basic biological cells with the ability to differentiate into specialized tissue cells and regenerate new cells to replace or repair damaged tissue. The stem cells used in veterinary medicine are not embryonic, which have attracted controversy over the years, but are taken from adipose (fat) tissue of the adult animal.

Americans spent an estimated $50.8 billion in 2011 on their companion animals, according to the American Pet Products Association, up from $28.5 billion in 2001. MediVet-America’s stem cell treatment costs about $1,800 for small animals, $2,400 for horses. Stem cells also can be frozen and banked for future use through MediVet Lab Services.

MEDIVET-AMERICA

A research and development company and global leader in veterinary stem cell technology, MediVet-America provides innovative cell applications for the therapeutic care of animals. Headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, MediVet-America develops advanced cellular designed kits and services for the treatment of arthritis and degenerative joint disease. The company also offers MediVet Lab Services in multiple locations around the world that provides technical support for in-house stem cell vets, as well as regional and national Adipose stem cell processing and cryo banking services for pets at a young age or for a maintenance program, autologous conditioned serum processing, and cell counting for in-house stem cell procedures. http://www.MediVet-America.com

BUTLER SCHEIN ANIMAL HEALTH

Butler Schein Animal Health is the leading U.S. companion animal health distribution company. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company operates through 18 distribution centers and 12 telecenters. Approximately 900 Butler Schein Animal Health team members, including 300 field sales representatives and 200 telesales and customer support representatives, serve animal health customers in all 50 states. http://www.ButlerShein.com

###

Dick Roberts
Roberts Communications
(412) 535-5000
Email Information

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MediVet-America Partners With Butler Schein Animal Health to Distribute World's Leading Animal Stem Cell Technology to …

GAITHERSBURG, MD–(Marketwire -02/16/12)- Cytomedix, Inc. (OTC.BB: CMXI.OB – News) (the “Company”), a leading developer of biologically active regenerative therapies for wound care, inflammation and angiogenesis, today announced that Chief Operating Officer Edward L. Field will present a clinical overview of Aldagen's autologous cell therapy technology at two upcoming meetings: The Cell Society's 2nd Annual Clinical Meeting being held February 17-18 at the Coronado Marriott Resort in San Diego; and the 7th Annual New York Stem Cell Summit being held on February 21 at Bridgewaters New York in New York City.

Mr. Field will present during the session, “Commercialization Opportunities with Adult Stem Cell Therapies,” on Friday, February 17 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Pacific time at the Cell Society meeting.

Cell Society International is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the clinical application of adult stem cell therapies worldwide. Cell Society's 2nd Annual Clinical Meeting will continue in the tradition established at the 1st Annual Meeting and will offer a unique opportunity for multidisciplinary, international clinical collaboration designed to enhance understanding and thought-provoking insight into treatments and cures for disease and agonizing medical conditions. This year's clinical focus will center on therapies particularly relevant to cardiology, neurology, and orthopedic and plastic surgery.

At the Stem Cell Summit, Mr. Field will present at 2:35 p.m. Eastern time. This meeting showcases more than 30 of the world's leaders in this rapidly evolving industry. The New York Stem Cell Summit brings the future of this dynamic industry to life for investors, industry, practitioners and analysts so they can learn about the investment opportunities in the stem cell marketplace, groundbreaking stem cell products that physicians use today and the growing market potential in terms of revenues.

About Cytomedix, Inc.

Cytomedix, Inc. develops, sells and licenses regenerative biological therapies primarily for wound care, inflammation and angiogenesis. The Company markets the AutoloGel™ System, a device for the production of autologous platelet rich plasma (“PRP”) gel for use on a variety of exuding wounds; the Angel® Whole Blood Separation System, a blood processing device and disposable products used for the separation of whole blood into red cells, platelet poor plasma (“PPP”) and PRP in surgical settings; and the activAT® Autologous Thrombin Processing Kit, which produces autologous thrombin serum from PPP. The activAT® kit is sold exclusively in Europe and Canada, where it provides a completely autologous, safe alternative to bovine-derived products. On February 8, 2012 Cytomedix announced the acquisition of Aldagen, a biopharmaceutical company developing regenerative cell therapies based on its proprietary ALDH bright cell (“ALDHbr”) technology, currently in a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of ischemic stroke. For additional information please visit www.cytomedix.com

Safe Harbor Statement
Statements contained in this communication not relating to historical facts are forward-looking statements that are intended to fall within the safe harbor rule for such statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information contained in the forward-looking statements is inherently uncertain, and Cytomedix' actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond Cytomedix' ability to predict or control, including many among others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company's ability to successfully integrate this acquisition, to successfully manage contemplated clinical trials, to manage and address the capital needs, human resource, management, compliance and other challenges of a larger, more complex and intergrated business enterprise, viability and effectiveness of the Company's sales approach and overall marketing strategies, commercial success or acceptance by the medical community, competitive responses, the Company's ability to raise additional capital and to continue as a going concern, and Cytomedix's ability to execute on its strategy to market the AutoloGel™ System as contemplated. To the extent that any statements made here are not historical, these statements are essentially forward-looking. The Company uses words and phrases such as “believes,” “forecasted,” “projects,” “is expected,” “remain confident,” “will” and/or similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements in this press release. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ from the forward-looking statements. More information about some of these risks and uncertainties may be found in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Cytomedix, Inc. Cytomedix operates in a highly competitive and rapidly changing business and regulatory environment, thus new or unforeseen risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Except as is expressly required by the federal securities laws, Cytomedix undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future events or for any other reason. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the SEC and other subsequent filings. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov.

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Cytomedix to Showcase Aldagen's Promising Autologous Cell Therapy Technology at Two Regenerative Medicine Meetings

BY ALBERT CASTRO

CENTURY Properties Group, Inc. has partnered with a group of landowners to have a resort developed in Batangas, boosting further its tourism-related portfolio.

Century Properties, one of the most active property developers in the Philippines, has formed a joint venture with Group Developers, Inc. Caylaway Development Corp. and Batulao Bio-loop farms, Inc. which would develop a 142-hectare property in Batulao Batangas.

Property consultant Colliers, Inc. recently identified Century Properties as one of the most aggressive developers in the market, having grown its market share to 10 percent in the upper-middle market segment as of September last year from 6 percent the previous year.

The Batangas property will be developed into a “leisure and resort community estate for both the local and foreign markets,” said Century Properties Group.

The project, whose details have yet to be released by Century Properties, will complement the company’s medical tourism portfolio being developed under Centuria Medical City located in the company’s mixed-use community development Century City — the site of the old International School of Manila in Makati City.

In Centuria Medical City, Century Property is spending $100 million for the mainly outpatient medical complex which is being put up in partnership with Dow-listed General Electric (GE).

Centuria Medical Makati is being positioned as the next “world-class outpatient medical arts building” in Makati catering to both local patients and medical travelers. Its 28-floor structure can accommodate more than 500 clinic spaces.

Century Properties said Centuria “will use the latest technology and equipment that will enable doctors to practice their disciplines with great ease, as well as provide fast and convenient services to patients.”

“The building will comprise doctors’ clinics specializing in different disciplines of medicine; floors devoted to diagnostic equipment and services; rooms for aesthetic procedures; recovery suites; cafes and restaurants; a VIP lift, and units for other service providers in health, wellness and preventive medicine,” the company said.

Under the partnership, GE will be responsible for best practice model and for the equipment and would act as a consultant for the formation of an in-house team that would operate the facility.

Centuria Medical City is seen to generate about 5,000 jobs upon the start of operations in the latter part of 2013 or early 2014.

Century Properties is positioning itself in the tourism business as the government eyes to improve the tourism market.

Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu, another property consultant, said tourism is the next sector to grow in the Philippines as the government works to prop up the industry.

Tourism prospects in the Philippines “could be the same” as in Thailand if not more, according to Leechiu, once “familiar global brands” come to Philippine shores.

The property consultancy firm said tourism-related growth could spring up “all over the Philippines” particularly when the government starts opening up the other international airports in the country like Bacolod, and Iloilo and once it allows increased flights into and out of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, in Clark Pampanga.

About 4,000 to 5,000 hotel rooms are under construction and set for completion by 2014 in PAGCOR City in Pasay City, which also offers good prospects for the country’s gaming industry.

In the medical tourism segment, Asia is becoming a preferred destination. About 62 percent of the $25.3 million revenue in the Philippines for 2010 was attributed to foreign clients who opt to have their medical needs attended locally.

It is estimated that some 600,000 medical travelers arrived in the Philippines that year.

The Philippines expects to generate $3 billion in revenues from medical tourism by 2015, with as much as 1 million foreign patients arriving annually.

There are about 30-member hospitals, clinics, wellness center and resorts, that comprise the Philippine Medical Tourism industry.

Medical tourism is also popular in countries like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and India.

A 2008 McKinsey and Co. Report states that 40 percent of medical tourists seek advanced technology, 32 percent better healthcare, 15 percent faster medical services, while 9 percent seek lower healthcare costs.

Globally, the health and wellness industry is estimated to have reached $ 2 trillion, with the biggest moneymaker being the beauty and anti-aging industry, hauling in $679 billion.

Century Properties said that research shows that the Philippines has an even bigger potential in attracting medical tourists because of its culture of hospitality, quality healthcare services, competent medical practitioners, and cheaper medical treatments of as low as 70 percent compared to other Asian countries.

Century Properties in the first 10 month of 2011 posted profits of P781 million, up from the previous year’s P143 million.

Century’s pre-sales data indicated that it pre-sold P18.4 billion for the full year 2011, which equals 129 percent growth as compared to its P8 billion in pre-sales for the full year 2010.

On a unit basis, Century pre-sold 5,367 units for the full year 2011, as compared to 2,325 units for the full year 2010. Century believes it was able to attain this sales growth in large part due to its efforts to sell to Filipinos living overseas, as well as foreign nationals.

Approximately 67 percent (in terms of value) of Century’s pre-sales came from international markets.

Jose Carlo Antonio, Century’s chief financial officer said that for 2012, the company plans to have a capital expenditure budget of P7.3 billion to P8.3 billion.

This year, Century is planning to launch a 4.4-hectare project along Commonwealth avenue in Quezon City to offer approximately 2,000 affordable housing units.

Century is also constructing a lifestyle center that is expected to include a variety of retail offerings to complement its existing developments in Century City.

Century has four current masterplanned developments, namely Century City in Makati City, Canyon Ranch in Cavite, Azure Urban Residences in Paranaque City and Acqua Residences in Mandaluyong City. Upon full completion, these four master planned developments are expected to contain 23 condominium buildings with 15,703 condominium and office units, and 955 single detached homes, with a total expected gross floor area of 1,185,024 sq.m.

More:
Century Properties boosts tourism portfolio

February 14, 2012, 3:17 PM EST

By Ryan Flinn

(Adds comment from researcher in 13th paragraph.)

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Stem cells grown from patients’ own cardiac tissue can heal damage once thought to be permanent after a heart attack, according to a study that suggests the experimental approach may one day help stave off heart failure.

In a trial of 25 heart-attack patients, 17 who got the stem cell treatment showed a 50 percent reduction in cardiac scar tissue compared with no improvement for the eight who received standard care. The results, from the first of three sets of clinical trials generally needed for regulatory approval, were published today in the medical journal Lancet.

“The findings in this paper are encouraging,” Deepak Srivastava, director of the San Francisco-based Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said in an interview. “There’s a dire need for new therapies for people with heart failure, it’s still the No. 1 cause of death in men and women.”

The study, by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, tested the approach in patients who recently suffered a heart attack, with the goal that repairing the damage might help stave off failure. While patients getting the stem cells showed no more improvement in heart function than those who didn’t get the experimental therapy, the theory is that new tissue regenerated by the stem cells can strengthen the heart, said Eduardo Marban, the study’s lead author.

“What our trial was designed to do is to reverse the injury once it’s happened,” said Marban, director of Cedars- Sinai Heart Institute. “The quantitative outcome that we had in this paper is to shift patients from a high-risk group to a low- risk group.”

Minimally Invasive

The stem cells were implanted within five weeks after patients suffering heart attacks. Doctors removed heart tissue, about the size of half a raisin, using a minimally invasive procedure that involved a thin needle threaded through the veins. After cultivating the stem cells from the tissue, doctors reinserted them using a second minimally invasive procedure. Patients got 12.5 million cells to 25 million cells.

A year after the procedure, six patients in the stem cell group had serious side effects, including a heart attack, chest pain, a coronary bypass, implantation of a defibrillator, and two other events unrelated to the heart. One of patient’s side effects were possibly linked to the treatment, the study found.

While the main goal of the trial was to examine the safety of the procedure, the decrease in scar tissue in those treated merits a larger study that focuses on broader clinical outcomes, researchers said in the paper.

Heart Regeneration

“If we can regenerate the whole heart, then the patient would be completely normal,” Marban said. “We haven’t fulfilled that yet, but we’ve gotten rid of half of the injury, and that’s a good start.”

While the study resulted in patients having an increase in muscle mass and a shrinkage of scar size, the amount of blood flowing out of the heart, or the ejection fraction, wasn’t different between the control group and stem-cell therapy group. The measurement is important because poor blood flow deprives the body of oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly, Srivastava said.

“The patients don’t have a functional benefit in this study,” said Srivastava, who wasn’t not involved in the trial.

The technology is being developed by closely held Capricor Inc., which will further test it in 200 patients for the second of three trials typically required for regulatory approval. Marban is a founder of the Los Angeles-based company and chairman of its scientific advisory board. His wife, Linda Marban, is also a founder and chief executive officer.

“We’d like to study patients who are much sicker and see if we can actually spare them early death, or the need for a heart transplant, or a device,” Eduardo Marban said.

–Editors: Angela Zimm, Andrew Pollack

#<184845.409373.2.1.99.7.25># -0- Feb/14/2012 17:13 GMT

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at rflinn@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

View post:
Scarred Hearts Can Be Mended With Stem Cell Therapy

February 14, 2012, 12:22 AM EST

By Ryan Flinn

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Stem cells grown from patients’ own cardiac tissue can heal damage once thought to be permanent after a heart attack, according to a study that suggests the experimental approach may one day help stave off heart failure.

In a trial of 25 heart-attack patients, 17 who got the stem cell treatment showed a 50 percent reduction in cardiac scar tissue compared with no improvement for the eight who received standard care. The results, from the first of three sets of clinical trials generally needed for regulatory approval, were published today in the medical journal Lancet.

“The findings in this paper are encouraging,” Deepak Srivastava, director of the San Francisco-based Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said in an interview. “There’s a dire need for new therapies for people with heart failure, it’s still the No. 1 cause of death in men and women.”

The study, by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, tested the approach in patients who recently suffered a heart attack, with the goal that repairing the damage might help stave off failure. While patients getting the stem cells showed no more improvement in heart function than those who didn’t get the experimental therapy, the theory is that new tissue regenerated by the stem cells can strengthen the heart, said Eduardo Marban, the study’s lead author.

“What our trial was designed to do is to reverse the injury once it’s happened,” said Marban, director of Cedars- Sinai Heart Institute. “The quantitative outcome that we had in this paper is to shift patients from a high-risk group to a low- risk group.”

Minimally Invasive

The stem cells were implanted within five weeks after patients suffering heart attacks. Doctors removed heart tissue, about the size of half a raisin, using a minimally invasive procedure that involved a thin needle threaded through the veins. After cultivating the stem cells from the tissue, doctors reinserted them using a second minimally invasive procedure. Patients got 12.5 million cells to 25 million cells.

A year after the procedure, six patients in the stem cell group had serious side effects, including a heart attack, chest pain, a coronary bypass, implantation of a defibrillator, and two other events unrelated to the heart. One of patient’s side effects were possibly linked to the treatment, the study found.

While the main goal of the trial was to examine the safety of the procedure, the decrease in scar tissue in those treated merits a larger study that focuses on broader clinical outcomes, researchers said in the paper.

Heart Regeneration

“If we can regenerate the whole heart, then the patient would be completely normal,” Marban said. “We haven’t fulfilled that yet, but we’ve gotten rid of half of the injury, and that’s a good start.”

While the study resulted in patients having an increase in muscle mass and a shrinkage of scar size, the amount of blood flowing out of the heart, or the ejection fraction, wasn’t different between the control group and stem-cell therapy group. The measurement is important because poor blood flow deprives the body of oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly, Srivastava said.

“The patients don’t have a functional benefit in this study,” said Srivastava, who wasn’t not involved in the trial.

The technology is being developed by closely held Capricor Inc., which will further test it in 200 patients for the second of three trials typically required for regulatory approval. Marban is a founder of the Los Angeles-based company and chairman of its scientific advisory board. His wife, Lisa Marban, is also a founder and chief executive officer.

–Editors: Angela Zimm, Andrew Pollack

-0- Feb/13/2012 22:32 GMT

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at rflinn@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

Continue reading here:
Scarred Hearts Can Be Mended With Stem Cell Therapy, Study Shows

US researchers have begun a groundbreaking trial to test the potential of umbilical cord blood transplants, a kind of stem cell therapy, to treat and possibly reverse hearing loss in infants.

The phase I trial follows promising studies on mice showing that such transplants were able to rebuild the structures of the inner ear, and some anecdotal evidence from humans, sparking hope of a cure for some forms of deafness.

One of those people is two-year-old Finn McGrath, who suffered brain damage after being deprived of oxygen during a prolonged and complicated delivery, according to his mother, Laura.

“His doctors told us he was at high risk for cerebral palsy, vision issues, hearing problems and mental retardation,” she said in an interview with AFP.

Finn's early days were an all-out struggle to survive, so for his parents, learning that he had failed his hearing tests and had damaged hair cells — the sensory receptors in the inner ear that pick up sounds — was almost an afterthought.

He had organ failure, breathing problems, and his cerebral palsy left him unable to roll, crawl or walk, hold his head up, talk or eat.

As his parents searched for ways to help him, they came upon stories online that told of studies using cord blood to help children with cerebral palsy and other disorders.

Prior to his birth, the McGraths had arranged to privately bank his umbilical cord blood, a procedure that costs around $2,000 plus storage fees, and remains controversial among pediatricians.

Private companies such as the Cord Blood Registry, which is funding the Texas study on hearing loss, urge expecting parents to bank their umbilical cord blood and reserve it for personal use as a way to protect their family.

That advice runs counter to the guidelines issues by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2007, which calls such claims “unsubstantiated” and says banking for personal or family use “should be discouraged” but is “encouraged” if it is to be stored in a bank for public use.

Since Finn's parents had already banked his, they enrolled him in cord blood trial for cerebral palsy in North Carolina and he received his first transplant in November 2009 when he was about seven weeks old.

A second transfusion followed and by May, his parents began to notice a change.

Nighttime noises, like an alarm on his food pump or the sound of ripping medical tape, would suddenly startle him awake, his mother recalled.

“He started vocalizing sounds and we could tell that he was anticipating things that we would say. Like, if he had heard a story a number of times or a song, he would smile like he recognized the song or the story.”

Finn had a third infusion in September 2010, when he was one year old. Four months later, an otoacoustic emissions test (OAE), which plays a sound and picks up vibrations in the cochlea and hair cells, came back normal.

The early hearing tests that showed hearing loss were not exactly the same as the later tests that came back normal, so McGrath is cautious about comparing them directly, but she believes the cord blood transfusions may have helped.

“All I can tell you is anecdotally he was not able to hear for probably the first three or four months of his life, and then when he was about six to eight months old, he started hearing.”

The hearing trial in Texas aims to take a first step in testing the safety, and later the efficacy, of transfusing cord blood in children age six weeks to 18 months who have sustained post-birth sensorineural hearing loss.

Some reasons that children lose their hearing at or after birth may include oxygen deprivation, head injury, infection, strong doses of antibiotics or loud noises.

Sensorineural hearing loss affects approximately six per 1,000 children, and there is no available medical treatment. Hearing aids or cochlear implants are typically offered to boost the ability of the damaged tissues.

“Stem cell therapy may potentially repair the damaged structures of the inner ear and restore normal hearing,” lead investigator Sami Fakhri told AFP.

“We are at the initial stages of this process and the results are looking promising,” Fakhri added.

Research using stem cells in cord blood, known as hematopoietic cells, is already under way on some types of brain injury, cerebral palsy, juvenile diabetes, kidney and lung disease, he said.

The new study at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is being funded by the Cord Blood Registry, a private bank, and those eligible must have already banked their own umbilical cord blood with CBR.

But to Stephen Epstein, an otolaryngologist in Maryland, that does not pose a conflict of interest, because separate medical institutions in Texas and Georgia are conducting the Food and Drug Administration-approved research.

“If both of them can reproduce the same results then I would say it has some validity to it,” said Epstein, who is not involved in the study.

“This is certainly a welcome, acceptable experiment, but it should be looked at with caution and time will tell.”

One patient is already enrolled and the study, which runs for one year, has room for nine more.

While Finn McGrath still faces many challenges due to his cerebral palsy, his mother is grateful for the things he can do.

“I don't know how much worse off he would have been without the stem cell transfusion,” McGrath said, pointing to his normal cognition, lack of seizures, good hearing and vision.

“We remain hopeful that he will continue to improve.”

ksh/ao

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US begins stem cell trial for hearing loss

Experts Recommend Taking a 'Holiday' From Bisphosphonates to Prevent Broken Bones

By Laird Harrison
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Feb. 8, 2012 — Some drugs used to strengthen bones may increase the risk of an unusual type of fracture if patients take them for many years, a new study shows.

Overall, most people with osteoporosis, a loss of bone density over time, will suffer fewer broken bones if they take bisphosphonates, a category of drugs including Actonel, Atelvia, Boniva, and Fosamax that are used to treat the disease.

But a very small proportion of those who take the drugs may experience an unusual femur (thighbone) fracture if they take the drugs on a long-term basis.

Still, “we're preventing way more fractures than we're causing,” says Richard M. Dell, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Cypress, Calif. He presented his findings today at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

The fractures are called “atypical femur fractures” and sometimes happen after a fall but often without any noticeable cause.

The fractures happen in about three to seven out of 10,000 people, mostly women in their 60s and 70s. About a third of the people who suffer from this type of fracture feel pain before it happens.

About seven years ago, researchers began to notice that many of the people who experience these unusual fractures were taking bisphosphonates.

And they found that about 20% of the people who have this type of fracture in one leg also go on to experience a similar fracture in the opposite leg.

Study Details

Dell and his colleagues studied a group of patients with such fractures to see what happened if they stopped taking bisphosphonates after the initial atypical fracture.

They collected information on all femur fractures over a period of three years in patients older than 45 years insured by Kaiser Permanente in California, which amounted to about 2.6 million patients.

Dell and his colleagues found 126 patients who were taking bisphosphonates when they had an initial atypical thigh fracture. Of those who continued taking the bisphosphonates for three or more years after the first fracture, 53.8% also broke their thigh bone in the opposite leg.

But of those who stopped taking the bisphosphonates, 19.3% experienced a second fracture in the opposite leg.

In other words, those who stopped taking the bisphosphonates within one year of the first fracture reduced their risk of having a second atypical fracture by almost 66%.

'Drug Holiday'

But why should a medication that makes bones stronger actually increase the risk of this type of unusual fracture?

Although bones may not appear to change in adults, in reality microscopic amounts of old bone are constantly being removed and replaced by new bone. During youth, more bone is added than is taken away, but starting in middle age there may be more bone loss than gain.

Bisphosphonates work by slowing the process in older people so that the old bone material stays in place. The problem is that the old bone may start to weaken. “Bisphosphonates delay the repair process,” Joseph Lane, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, tells WebMD. “Initially the bone is stronger, but eventually it's weaker.” The new study adds evidence that this may be happening.

Lane, who was not involved in the research, recommends that patients taking bisphosphonates stop after five years for a drug holiday. Then he tests the patients to see how dense their bones are and does additional tests to help determine if there is a need for further bisphosphonate therapy.

SOURCES: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2012 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, Feb. 7-11, 2012.Richard M. Dell, MD, orthopedic surgeon, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Cypress, Calif.Joseph Lane, MD, professor of orthopedic surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York.

©2012 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Osteoporosis Medication Linked to Unusual Thigh Fractures

Up to 200,000 osteoporosis patients can now get easier access to a drug that helps improve bone density.

Experts said the move could greatly reduce the incidence of spine and hip fractures in nearly 30,000 older West Australians with mild forms of the disease.

The expanded Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme listing for the drug Fosamax is expected to help 200,000 Australians older than 70 get medication.

Under the PBS, the drug costs about $36 a month and $6 for pensioners. It is $45 a month when not covered.

Osteoporosis is a condition when bones lose minerals such as calcium before the body can replace them, making bones fragile and prone to breaks.

Medical director at Osteoporosis Australia Peter Ebeling said Fosamax and similar medications reduced spine and hip fractures by up to 50 per cent.

He said he would also like to see the PBS expanded to similar osteoporosis drugs.

“This is a significant move forward in terms of equitable access to medication – we do not want to see people being penalised because they are not able to pay for this drug,” Professor Ebeling said.

“We would see the number of hospital cases drop for hip and spine fractures and if people were employed they would not have to take time off work.”

Previously patients needed to have a bone mineral density score of -3 to be reimbursed for Fosamax but now those with -2.5 and older than 70 with no bone breaks are eligible. Some have waited until their condition worsened before taking the drug because of the cost.

According to a Geelong Osteoporosis Society study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, 12.9 per cent of Australian men and 42.5 per cent of Australian women over the age of 70 have osteoporosis.

There are reported links between bisphosphonates such as Fosamax and unusual thigh bone fractures and a condition called osteonecrosis of the jaw, which causes the jaw bone to die, especially when used to treat bone cancer.

Garvan Research Institute's John Eisman, who has studied osteoporosis, said the benefits of using the drug far outweighed the risks, which he said were relatively rare.

“This type of drug is used to treat people with cancer and to try and prevent the spread of cancer in the bone,” Professor Eisman said.

“The dose is at least 10 times higher than it is for osteoporosis.

“Osteonecrosis of the jaw may affect one in 100,000 people and even then it might be a relatively mild form compared to that observed in cancer patients.”

According to Osteoporosis Australia, someone is admitted to a hospital every five minutes with an osteoporosis-related fracture.

'This is a significant move forward in terms of equitable access to medication'” *Professor Peter Ebeling *

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Cheaper access to bone drug

In Europe, the number of seniors aged 70 and over will increase by 40% in the next 20 years, while those aged 80 and over will more than double. Health authorities and the medical community expect a corresponding increase in the number of people suffering costly and debilitating age-related chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, arthritis, heart and lung diseases and dementia.

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Study to evaluate vitaminD3, omega3 and home exercise in preventing age-related chronic diseases

31-01-2012 20:35 www.singularityweblog.com This morning I interviewed Daniel Kraft for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Dr. Kraft at Singularity University where he is the Medicine and Neuroscience Chair and executive director of the FutureMed Program. Daniel is one of those people with an incredibly diverse spectrum of talents and interests for he is not only a medical doctor and oncologist but also an inventor, a technology and space enthusiast, an entrepreneur and an F-16 flight surgeon. During our conversation we discuss a variety of topics such as: Daniel’s early interest and talent in technology and science; his original fascination with the Apollo Space program and eventual participation in International Space University; his passion for flying and being a pilot; his medical education and personal journey to becoming a faculty member at Singularity University; his desire to be an instigator, connector and motivator of innovation; the story behind as well as the purpose and structure of the FutureMed program; bone marrow harvesting, regenerative medicine and stem cell research; longevity and the future of medicine and health care; his greatest inspiration and concerns about the field of medicine and his belief that one doesn’t have to be a doctor to improve health care.

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Daniel Kraft on Singularity 1 on 1 (part 3) – Video