Program Type: Translation
Development of a Cell Replacement Therapy Product for Insulin Dependent Diabetes
With a current prevalence of greater than 170 million individuals world-wide, diabetes has attained epidemic proportions. The widespread secondary complications this disease extract a relentless and costly toll on the patients and health care establishment required for their treatment. To date, cellular replacement therapies for the treatment of diabetes has been performed either by transplantation […]
Stem Cell Therapy for Muscular Dystrophy
The goal of our team is to capitalize on the remarkable advances in stem cell biology to apply those advances to the treatment of human diseases, disorders, and injuries. We are planning to develop and initiate a clinical trial that would use stem cells for the treatment of muscular dystrophies. This application of stem cell […]
Pluripotent Stem Cell–Based Therapy for Heart Disease
Five million people in the U.S. suffer with heart failure, resulting in ~60,000 deaths/year at a cost of $30 billion/year. Heart failure occurs when the heart is damaged and becomes unable to meet the demands placed on it. Unlike other organs, the heart is unable to fully repair itself after injury. One of the common […]
Development of a Stem Cell Therapy to Promote Functional Recovery in Stroke
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. As Californians adopt health measures that minimize stroke risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking, the number one risk factor for stroke cannot be controlled: age. As the population ages the incidence of stroke is expected to markedly increase to almost 1.2 million cases per […]
Motor neuron diseases: Finding cures through basic, translational, and clinical collaboration
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are motor neuron diseases. Motor neurons control the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing; and sadly there are no known cures for motor neuron diseases at this time. SMA is a genetically inherited disorder and […]
Stem cell based treatment strategy for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Retinal degeneration represents a group of blinding diseases that are increasingly impacting the health and well being of Californians. It is estimated that by 2020, over 450,000 Californians will suffer from vision loss or blindness due to the age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of retinal degeneration diseases in the elderly. AMD is […]
A CIRM Disease Team for the Repair of Traumatically Injured and Arthritic Cartilage
Arthritis is a disabling condition that afflicts 6 million Californians, costing our state nearly $32 billion annually for health care and lost wages. Given the growth of an aging population encouraged to maintain an active lifestyle due to the overall health benefits, the impact of arthritis is expected to increase significantly. For example, the Center […]
Clinical Regenerative Wound Healing With Stem Cells
Chronic skin wounds affect a large number of patients every year who suffer from diabetes, burns, venous disease leg ulcers, arterial disease leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, and ulcers from spinal diseases. The annual health care costs for wound care in the United States is $15 billion. The purpose of our CIRM Disease Team Planning Award […]
A CIRM Disease Team for the Treatment and Cure of Diabetes
This proposal is for the establishment of a group of faculty, staff and industrial partners to develop a proposal for a Diabetes Disease Team. Diabetes is one of the most devastating diseases. Inadequate blood glucose control results on many long term complications including: kidney disease, blindness, amputation and nerve damage. The diabetes epidemic affects almost […]
Stem Cell Gene Therapy for HIV in AIDS Lymphoma Patients
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is still a major health problem. In both developed and underdeveloped nations, millions of people are infected with this virus. HIV infects cells of the immune system, becomes part of the cell’s genetic information, stays there for the rest of the life of these cells, and uses these cells as […]