BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) – Brazil’s Supreme Court says scientists can conduct research using embryonic stem cells.
The research holds the promise of curing Parkinson’s disease and diabetes but raises ethical concerns about the limits on human life.
Six of the court’s 11 justices today upheld a 2005 law allowing embryonic stem cell research by turning down a petition arguing that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the right to life.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, announced that Dr. Daniel Offen, the Company’s Chief Scientist, will present results of a most recent study in the Parkinson’s disease project, under the title: “Human Bone Marrow Stem Cells Induced To Secrete Neurotrophic Factors As A New Strategy For Autologous Cell Therapy In Neurodegenerative Diseases”, the lecture will be given at the Second International Stem Cell Meeting: “The Potency of Stem Cells” to be held from May 27-29, 2008 in Tel-Aviv in conjunction with the ILSI-Biomed Israel 2008 Conference.
Over the past few months, Dr. Offen and his team have conducted a study, using Brainstorm’s NTF cells, in which they were transplanted into rats model of Parkinson’s disease. The rats were examined to compare their motor function to the control group. The results will be presented at the conference.
About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is an emerging company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The NurOwn(TM) patent pending technology is based on discoveries made by the scientific team led by prominent neurologist Professor Eldad Melamed, Head of Neurology at Rabin Medical Center, and expert cell biologist Dr. Daniel Offen, Head of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Felsenstein Medical Research Center of Tel-Aviv University. The technology allows for the differentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells into functional neurons and astrocytes, as demonstrated in animal models. The Company holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel-Aviv University. The Company’s initial focus is on Parkinson ALS and Spinal Cord Injury, although its technology has promise for treating several others diseases including MS, Huntington’s disease and stroke.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute “forward-looking statements” and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.’s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including BrainStorm’s ability to complete its equity financing transactions previously disclosed,. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks associated with BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.’s limited operating history, history of losses and expectation to incur losses for the foreseeable future; dependence on its license to Ramot’s technology; ability, together with its licensor, to adequately protect the NurOwn(tm) technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to identify, negotiate and successfully implement strategic partnering relationships; ability to complete clinical trials successfully and to obtain required regulatory approvals; competition with companies, some of which have greater resources and experience in developing and obtaining regulatory approval for treatments in BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.’s market; the limited public trading market for BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.’s stock which may never develop into an active market; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.’s annual report on Form 10-KSB, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission available at http://www.sec.gov/ or by request to the Company. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us.
I just stumbled across an article that I think is a great read about the race among neurotech companies racing to find cures for brain diseases/disorders. The one who finds a cure first will get a big piece of the estimated $2 trillion dollar market. To read the article that I read that breaks this down click here.
On Saturday, May 31st, a “Family & Friends Walk-A-Thon” will be held at The Village at Mariner’s Point in East Haven with proceeds going toward finding a cure and treatments for this debilitating disease.
Information provided by our guests:
1-877-282-7328 or visit: www.ctapda.org.
(this event is rain or shine)
Village at Mariner’s Point to Host Family & Friends Walk-A-Thon
Annual Event Helps Combat Parkinson’s Disease
East Haven, Conn: In the ongoing effort to combat Parkinson’s disease, The Village at Mariner’s Point will host the 2008 Family & Friends Walk-A-Thon and Festival on Saturday, May 31, rain or shine. The event offers a great time for a good cause in a wonderful walking venue along Long Island Sound. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by opening remarks from East Haven Mayor April Capone Almon. The walk starts at 10:15 a.m.
The Walk-A-Thon is being organized and coordinated by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association, which will provide Parkinson’s educational programming throughout the event. Family activities include a hotdog roast, pony rides, face painting, balloon sculptures, bingo, disc jockey entertainment and swimming in The Village at Mariner’s Point’s indoor pool. The Village at Mariner’s Point is located at 111 South Shore Drive in East Haven, Conn.
Organizers anticipate about 250 to 300 participants and expect to raise more than $25,000. Monies raised at the event will benefit national research efforts and in-state Parkinson’s disease support services. Individuals donating $25 or more receive a T-shirt, goodie bag and picnic lunch. Raffles, prizes and closing remarks will be about 1:15 p.m.
Participants that want to register online for the Walk-A-Thon can do so at www.ctapda.org
Now, I don’t want to sell MJF short, because he has certainly done a lot as an actor and as an advocate for Parkinson’s disease, but I am so impressed with him as a father and a husband. From my point of view (which isn’t necessarily close and personal) I’m impressed with the way he involves his family in the things that he is trying to do. I’ve seen his family do interviews with him and they all seem to rally around this cause of Parkinson’s disease. I wish more families did that together. It seems that the world seems to go about these things alone too much. When life changing diseases strike or when circumstances can be life changing many people try to make the new and difficult journey alone. Family is there to lean and depend upon.
Family has certainly been on my mind, partially because I just read a friends blog who wrote about that her family will never understand what Parkinson’s disease is, even if they researched it everyday all day–or that’s what I gathered she said. Lets face it how can family understand the depression caused by certain drugs that must be taken to quell tremors and shakes or how can family understand freezing up for small walk that took 1 hour instead of ten minutes, they can’t; but they can be an amazing support. I hope we understand how important family is during the difficult times with Parkinson’s disease (and even if we don’t have Parkinson’s disease) and that they are used much, much more. Although Michael J. Fox was given an honorary award for being an advocate for Parkinson’s disease, I’m sure he would be the first to to acknowledge that he shares that award with his family.
Great news article, and because it is I figured I would post it in its entirety, my personal comments will later.
Companies Racing to Use Stem Cells to Find and Test New Drugs
By Rob Waters
May 20 (Bloomberg) — Two companies that produce different types of stem cells have signed contacts to sell their products to drugmakers, showing the new technology will be used to help discover medicines not just to repair or replace damaged cells.
California Stem Cells Inc., an Irvine, California, biotechnology company that turns embryonic stem cells into neurons, said today it’s selling the brain cells to researchers trying to find drugs to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease. CellDesign Inc., of New Haven, Connecticut, said it has contracts with four drugmakers seeking to use its product to find new medicines for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.
The efforts of these two closely held companies indicate stem cells will aid in the search for old-fashioned drugs long before they’re infused into patients. It also suggests that the first businesses to benefit from stem cell technology will be traditional pharmaceutical companies and their suppliers not developers of new kinds of therapies.
“It’s similar to what happened in the last century with molecular biology” and gene therapy, said John Hambor, CellDesign’s founding chief executive officer, in a telephone interview yesterday. “We’re now going down a similar path with stem cell biology. While it may lead to cures by itself, it will drive the next generation of drug discovery.”
California Stem Cell will provide hundreds of batches of its neural cells over the next year to BioFocus DPI, a unit of the Belgian drug discovery company Galapagos NV, said Chris Airriess, the California company’s chief operating officer, in a telephone interview yesterday.
Manipulating Cells
BioFocus researchers will manipulate the neurons so they match the damage found in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, said Katherine Hilyard, BioFocus vice president for biological sciences. Then researchers will run the altered neurons through machines that can rapidly test huge libraries of so-called gene silencers — bits of genetic material that can block the action of proteins — to see if they can fix the damage.
“Stem cells let us create systems that mimic what’s happening in the patient so we can find a better drug,” Hilyard said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The project is funded by the ALS Association, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that works to develop treatments for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The condition kills nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, robbing patients of muscular control and eventually leading to paralysis.
“This is a quick way to look for potential targets,” said Lucie Bruijn, the association’s science director. “To test all these things in an animal model is so much more expensive.”
Airriess said the agreement with BioFocus is one of many he and his colleagues are developing. The company also is negotiating with drug companies to supply neural and heart cells.
`Very Profitable’
“It’s potentially a very profitable business,” he said.
Three European pharmaceutical companies, Roche Holding AG, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, announced last October they’d work together to develop ways to use stem cells for drug screening. The work will be coordinated by a new London-based organization, Stem Cells for Safer Medicines, funded by the companies and the British government.
The group’s goal is to find more efficient ways to identify new drugs and test them for potential side effects earlier in the drug development process, said Philip Wright, the group’s executive director.
“If you look at attrition or failure of drugs in clinical development, by far the largest cause is through unexpected toxicities that haven’t been predicted” in animal tests, Wright said.
Mouse Cells
Drug companies already use mouse embryonic stem cells to search for and test drugs and some are interested in using human embryonic cells, Wright said.
“But they’re taking a very conservative approach” because of the ethical controversies that surround the use of cells from human embryos, he said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Until recently, scientists recognized two basic types of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells, derived from embryos in the first few days after they’re fertilized, have the potential to become any of the body’s roughly 210 cell types. Extracting the cells with current methods kills the embryo, prompting opposition from critics including President George W. Bush. Adult stem cells, found in developed tissue, have more limited potential to become other cells.
If scientists can refine a new technique that reprograms cells found in mature organs to give them the power of embryonic cells, drug companies will be interested in the method as a way to develop heart, liver and other cells that can be used to test drugs, Wright said.
Funding Research
Wright’s group will soon award 1 million pounds ($1.97 million) to back research into the use of stem cells for drug testing to be followed with another 10 million pounds ($19.7 million) over five years.
Hambor, the chief executive of CellDesign and a former Pfizer Inc. scientist, said the potential for stem cells to find new medicines helped attract a venture capital firm, Toucan Capital Corp. of Bethesda, Maryland, to invest in his fledgling company. Toucan Capital, which confirmed its investment, declined to say how much.
“The immediate impact of stem cell technology will be as a tool for discovering new drugs,” Hambor said. “Where else could you get human brain at the scale needed to do drug discovery?”
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aYKfThhsUVwI&refer=home
Although this is fairly old news, it’s still important news that I wanted to make sure all of my blog readers and especially their kin knew about.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Wednesday signed legislation to protect people from losing their jobs or health insurance when genetic testing reveals they are susceptible to costly diseases.
Broadly embraced in Congress, the anti-discrimination measure aims to ensure that advances in DNA testing won’t end up being used against people.
The new law forbids employers and insurance companies from denying employment, promotions or health coverage to people when genetic tests show they have a predisposition to cancer, heart disease or other ailments.
Bush praised the bill for protecting “our citizens from having genetic information misused.”
Sponsors of the legislation call it a groundbreaking protection of civil rights. About a dozen of them gathered in the Oval Office as Bush signed the bill, but not Sen. Edward Kennedy, to whom the president paid particular tribute.
Kennedy, who learned this week that he has a malignant brain tumor, has called the genetic anti-discrimination bill “the first major new civil rights bill of the new century.” The Democratic senator from Massachusetts left the hospital on Wednesday.
“All of us are so pleased that Senator Kennedy has gone home, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family,” Bush said.
People today have far more information about their hereditary disposition to crippling afflictions. Bill sponsors said that has increased the likelihood that insurers or employers might deny people work or insurance to avoid costly risks.
“This is a tremendous victory for every American not born with perfect genes — which means it’s a victory for every single one of us,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., one of the bill’s key sponsors. “Since all of us are predisposed to at least a few genetic-based disorders, we are all potential victims of genetic discrimination.”
Genetic tests look for alterations in a person’s genes, and abnormal results can mean that someone has an inherited disorder. The tests look for signs of a disease or disorder in DNA taken from a person’s blood, body fluids or tissues.
Researchers have supported the bill because Americans have been refusing to take genetic tests or have been using false names and paying cash because they didn’t want the information used against them by their employer or insurance company.
The new law prohibits health insurance companies from using genetic data to set premiums or determine enrollment eligibility.
Federal law already bans discrimination by race and gender.
Congressional efforts to protect people from genetic discrimination go back more than a decade.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican and longtime advocate for the legislation, said the signing of the bill “is a landmark moment in our ongoing effort to fight discrimination.”
Genetic testing can lead to early, lifesaving therapy for a wide range of diseases with hereditary links such as breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease. Yet increasingly, people fear that the data gleaned from such tests will be used against them.
A 2001 study by the American Management Association showed that nearly two-thirds of major U.S. companies require medical examinations of new hires.
Each person probably has six or more genetic mutations that place them at risk for some disease, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute.
The House voted 414-1 for the new legislation. The Senate passed it in a 95-0 vote.
Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5goylSmP7SY6IWVvAtUWy7AUntMsAD90Q9LHO0
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