Umbilical Cord Stem Cells: Regeneration, Repair, Inflammation and Autoimmunity - Neil Riordan PhD (Part 2 of 2)

In part 2, Dr. Riordan discusses how mesenchymal stem cells can affect tissue repair in spinal cord injury and in heart failure; benefit to heart is not the actual MSCs modeling new tissue. It is due to the trophic effects of MSC secretions; In rats, severed spinal cords re-grew after MSCs were implanted but the human MSCs did not form new cord tissue. The trophic factors secreted by the MSCs enable the spinal cord to repair itself.; Trophic factors from MSCs modulate the immune system by blocking clonal expansin of cytotoxic T-cells; There are 35 ongoing clinical trials using mesenchymal stem cells for autoimmune diseases; Safety of donor MSCs; Every mother has MSCs from each baby she has carried; Mothers have a lower incidence of autoimmune disease; Lifespan of mothers increased linearly with each child up to 14; There are 85 ongoing clinical trials using donor MSCs. Allogeneic MSCs from bone marrow have been approved in Canada and New Zealand to treat graft vs. host disease; limbal cells used in corneal transplants are MSCs; MSCs are useful in preventing donated organ rejection; glioma growth was found to be inhibited by MSCs; MSCs eliminated breast cancer in rats.

Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Regeneration, Repair, Inflammation and Autoimmunity – Neil Riordan, PhD (Part 1 of 2)

Neil Riordan, PhD is the Founder of the Stem Cell Institute in Panama. He is also the Co-Founder of Medistem Inc in San Diego and the current President of Medistem Panama. Dr. Riordan is speaking at a Stem Cell Institute patient outreach event held in Miami in May 2013.

In part 1, Dr. Riordan discusses the background of Medistem Panama and the Stem Cell Institute (SCI) in Panama. He presents the types of stem cells used at SCI: Patient’s own bone marrow, Patient’s own fat tissue and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells donated from live, healthy births. Dr. Riordans goes on to discuss: collaborations with UC San Diego, Indiana University, University of Utah and University of Western Ontario; patents and publications; Medistem Panama lab, clean rooms and equipment; Why the Stem Cell Institute is in Panama; Panamanian stem cell laws; What are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) ?, mesenchymal stem cell homing, how MSCs induce repair, how MSCs modulate the immune system, young vs. old MSCs, Are MSCs safe?; MSCs are actually pericytes. They are found throughout the body in all vascular tissues around blood vessels, bone marrow, umbilical cord, placental tissue, menstrual blood and teeth; Stem Cell Institute’s source of umbilical cord MSCs: live, healthy birth, mother screened for medical history, consent from family for donation, mother tested for infectious diseases, cord tested for infectious diseases and sterility; the mesengenic process; how pericytes respond to injury and form “medicinal MSCs”; MSCs are anti-apoptotic, anti-scaring, angiogenic, and mitotic.; MSCs are also immunomodulatory; MSC homing in rats; Human MSCs decline drastically with age; Stem Cell Institute uses umbilical cord-derived MSCs because they are non-tumorigenic, very robust – high number of doublings, faster doubling time,; What does ‘doubling’ mean?; Effects of aging on MSCs.

VIDEO - The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine - Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 2)

In part 2, Prof. Caplan discusses the two types of regenerative medicine: tissue engineering and in vivo tissue regeneration, hematapoietic and mesenchymal stem cells. All mesenchymal stem cells are pericytes and have immuno-modulatory and trophic properties

VIDEO - The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine - Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 1)

Professor Arnold Caplan of Case Western Reserve University is widely regarded as "The Father of the Mesenchymal Stem Cell". This lecture is a "must see" for anyone interested in stem cell therapy. In Part 1, Prof. Caplan presents a new regulatory pathway for approval of cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine called "Progressive Approval" to replace the current US FDA system that is now in place.

Prof. Caplan was speaking in Panama City, Panama at "La Medicina Del Futuro En El Presente", an event organized by the honarable Ruben Berrocal MD, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation SENACYT (National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation) and Prof. K. S. Jagannatha Rao, Ph.D., FNASc, FABAP, FASB, FLS (Reino Unido) Director INDICASAT-AIP (Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas y Servicios de Alta Tecnologia -- Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services).