Therapeutic/Technology: Donor cell therapy
Human ES cell-derived MGE inhibitory interneuron transplantation for spinal cord injury
Transplantation of neuronal precursors into the central nervous system offers great promise for the treatment of neurological disorders including spinal cord injury (SCI). Among the most significant consequences of SCI are bladder spasticity and neuropathic pain, both of which likely result from a reduction in those spinal inhibitory mechanisms that are essential for normal bladder […]
Inhibitory Nerve Cell Precursors: Dosing, Safety and Efficacy
Many neurological disorders are characterized by an imbalance between excitation and inhibition. Our ultimate goal: to develop a cell-based therapy to modulate aberrant brain activity in the treatment of these disorders. Our initial focus is on epilepsy. In 20-30% of these patients, seizures are unresponsive to drugs, requiring invasive surgical resection of brain regions with […]
Liver Cell Transplantation
Because there is still considerable morbidity and mortality associated with the process of whole liver transplantation, and because more than a thousand people die each year while on the liver transplantation list, and tens of thousands more never get on the list because of the lack of available livers, it is evident that improved and […]
Neural restricted, FAC-sorted, human neural stem cells to treat traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects 1.4 million Americans a year; 175,000 in California. When the brain is injured, nerve cells near the site of injury die due to the initial trauma and interruption of blood flow. Secondary damage occurs as neighboring tissue is injured by the inflammatory response to the initial injury, leading to a […]
Systemic Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoporosis-Related Vertebral Compression Fractures
Vertebral compression fractures are the most common fractures associated with osteoporosis. Approximately 700,000 osteoporosis-related vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) occur each year in the US. Currently, treatment is focused primarily on prevention. When fractures occur in patients with osteoporosis, treatment options are limited because open surgery with implants often fails. Recently, new therapies involving injection of […]
Repair of Conus Medullaris/Cauda Equina Injury using Human ES Cell-Derived Motor Neurons
Injuries to the spinal cord commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, traumatic falls, diving, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding accidents, other forms of sports injuries, as well as from gunshot injuries in victims of violent crimes. Injuries to the anatomically lowest part of the spinal cord, the lumbosacral portion and its associated nerve roots commonly cause […]
Repair of Conus Medullaris/Cauda Equina Injury using Human ES Cell-Derived Motor Neurons
Injuries to the spinal cord commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, traumatic falls, diving, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding accidents, other forms of sports injuries, as well as from gunshot injuries in victims of violent crimes. Injuries to the anatomically lowest part of the spinal cord, the lumbosacral portion and its associated nerve roots commonly cause […]
Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Heal Chronic Diabetic Wounds
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), chronic, non-healing wounds on the feet of diabetic patients, present a serious challenge to global health. These ulcers affect between 15-25% of the 18-21 million Americans who have diabetes (world-wide incidence of diabetes: 366 million people). DFUs have a huge impact on our health care system, not only in terms of […]
Stem cell-based carriers for RCR vector delivery to glioblastoma
Modified viruses can be used to infect tumor cells and alter the tumor cell to make anti-tumor proteins. Most researchers use virus that can infect and modify the tumor cell it enters, but can not make more of itself to infect additional cells surrounding the original infected cell. This type of virus is called replication-incompetent […]
Human retinal progenitor cells as candidate therapy for retinitis pigmentosa
The targeted disease is retinitis pigmentosa (RP), is a severe form of blindness that runs in families. This disease is not overly common, yet represents an attainable near term target for stem cell therapy for a number of reasons: 1) RP destroys the light detecting cells of the retina but generally leaves the rest of […]