This year, the University of Utah (the U.) established a Veterans Support Center to serve as a focal point for student veteran activities and to help them transition into the sometimes unnerving world of civilian life.

The center, located on the first floor of the Olpin Union Building, is officially open and under the direction of Roger L. Perkins, who came to the U from a similar position at Western Governor’s University.

The center, located on the first floor of the Olpin Union Building, is officially open and under the direction of Roger L. Perkins, who came to the U from a similar position at Western Governor’s University.

“The charter of the center is to increase the visibility and success of veterans on campus while streamlining their access to whatever support they need,” Perkins says.

He notes that the center is set up to help with the myriad needs accompanying any student navigating a large university system for the first time, in addition to the specific needs that may arise in the veteran population. “The center and our staff can help with anything from finding a tutor for that pesky organic chemistry class, to helping find part-time employment, to arranging counseling for post traumatic stress disorder,” Perkins explains.

The center’s team also will work to help veterans with their educational benefits. Perkins and staff advise students about how to apply for veterans benefits and where to go on campus for various services. They also act as advocates for student veterans should the need arise.

The Veterans Support Center falls under the auspices of Student Affairs at the university. Associate Vice President for Student Development Kari Ellingson says that the office grew out of a “perfect storm” of newly collected data on student veterans issues coupled with establishing the National Center for Veterans Studies (NCVS) on campus and support from the Office of Budget and Planning.

David Rudd, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science and co-director of the university’s NCVS, explains there is a great need to provide support for this portion of the population at large. “After ten years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, large numbers of veterans will be making their way to college and university campuses around the country. In addition to navigating a somewhat complex Veterans Affairs benefit process, a student veteran service center will allow us to target additional needs across the full academic and social spectrum. Some of the research we’re completing with the NCVS is revealing a range of unique characteristics and needs of student veterans.”

The center is not only designed to help veterans, Ellingson notes, but she and Perkins see a twofold education process: educating veterans about how to transition into civilian life and educating others on campus about how to better serve a quickly growing veteran population. She said Perkins is the clear choice to take on this task.

Perkins, a veteran himself, wants to make sure student veterans are treated with respect and understanding: “I want to provide a comfortable place where a recently deployed veteran can speak openly about his or her experiences without the fear of offending anyone if they accidentally slip up and use colorful language.” He looks forward to helping veterans better understand how life at a university works.

And he says the center can help build communication between faculty, staff, veteran and non-veteran students.

While infrequent, there have been misunderstandings between veterans and others based on what Perkins refers to as a “clash of cultures.” He notes, “A simple example of the misunderstandings that arise is that there isn’t a lot of time to waste in the military, so most recently deployed vets speak directly in order to get to the point and move on. This can come across as overly-assertive and can put off someone who is more familiar with the slower pace of a university.” By paying attention to these small but important details, Perkins hopes to reduce these clashes and increase the understanding on both sides of the issue.

This summer Perkins is focusing on getting the center, its Web site, and other key infrastructure up and running while meeting with staff, establishing a student advisory council and developing partnerships with other offices on campus. He will reach out to student veterans through a public awareness campaign, information booths and other efforts when fall semester is underway.

Perkins points out that while it’s obvious there are veterans on campus who are going to school using their GI Bill benefits, there are also “hidden” veterans who, for a variety of reasons, do not receive those benefits and are frequently overlooked. By establishing the center, he hopes the university has provided a clearing house for all veterans who attend the U and that he can help these men and women succeed in their educational efforts in a “vet-friendly” community.

The center’s Web site houses a survey where these “hidden” veterans can identify themselves. It also provides demographic data about the U’s student veteran population. Go to veteranscenter.utah.edu for more information.

Source: University of Utah

Paying high stud fees for a racehorse does not always buy the best genes says research published today (Wednesday 19 December 2007) in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh used pedigree data from over 4,000 racehorses to see whether stud fees – the price paid for a stallion to father a racehorse -are a useful measure of a stallion’s genetic quality and its offspring’s prize-winning potential. They found that while there are good genes to be bought, a stallion’s fees are not an honest signal of his genetic quality and are a poor predicator of a foal’s prize winning potential.

Dr Alistair Wilson, University of Edinburgh said: “Although there are certainly good genes to be bought, it is not necessarily true that you get what you pay for.”

Thoroughbred horse racing is a multi-million pound international industry and there is an increasing importance being placed on using genetic tools to maximize breeding programmes. The ability to determine the genetic potential of a racehorse’s parent may prove crucial to breed high-quality racehorses. However, stud fees are not just based on genes they also take into account a horses’ racing career and performances. Breeders may therefore assume that if they pay higher stud fees then they are buying better genes, but this is only the case if the stallion’s reputation is a true reflection of his genetic quality.

royalsociety

The results of two large, randomized clinical trials published October 5, 2006, in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrate that the drug ranibizumab is an effective treatment for neovascular macular degeneration, a complication of age-related macular degeneration that leads to the vast majority of legal blindness associated with the disorder.

In an accompanying editorial, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Edwin M. Stone at the University of Iowa contends that now that these trials have shown the drug’s “miraculous” effects on patients’ eyesight, a crucial next step is to compare ranibizumab to a related drug, bevacizumab. Although it is not FDA-approved for use in the eye, bevacizumab also appears to be effective in treating neovascular macular degeneration. Importantly, a single dose of bevacizumab costs less than $150, compared to more than $2,000 per dose for ranibizumab.

Both ranibizumab and bevacizumab work by inhibiting a protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes blood vessel growth. Bevacizumab was originally designed to block blood vessel growth in tumors, halting cancer cells’ growth by eliminating their oxygen supply. In 2004, bevacizumab, which is marketed by Genentech under the brand name Avastin, was approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic colon cancer.

In neovascular macular degeneration, new blood vessels grow underneath the retina, altering the eye’s structure and function. Only about 10 percent of patients with macular degeneration develop neovascularization, but in those who do, the effects are often severe. While blocking blood vessel growth is exactly what doctors who treat neovascular macular degeneration would like to do, some scientists suspected bevacizumab might be too large a molecule to reach the part of the eye where it was needed. Ranibizumab is a smaller molecule, specifically designed to eliminate this problem.

In the two clinical trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers showed that monthly injections of ranibizumab on average improved eyesight in patients with neovascularization, whereas vision continued to decline on average in patients who received either placebo or photodynamic therapy. In June of 2006, based in part on the results of these trials, the FDA approved ranibizumab, which Genentech markets as Lucentis, for treatment of neovascular macular degeneration.

“The results of these two studies are extremely encouraging,” Stone said. “But now some important unresolved questions need to be answered.” In particular, he urges researchers to follow up on the current studies with a trial to evaluate the ideal dosing strategy for anti-VEGF drugs – suggesting that the two years of monthly injections given in the Rosenfeld, et al., study might be far more than most patients need. Equally important, Stone said, are clinical trials that directly compare the efficacy of ranibizumab to those of bevacizumab.

Prior to the completion of the ranibizumab trials, some physicians had already begun using bevacizumab as an “off-label” treatment for neovascular macular degeneration. Injecting a very small portion of the dose typically prescribed to a cancer patient directly into the eye, they found, was remarkably effective at treating neovascularization. Within months of the initial reports of the drug’s efficacy, Stone said, hundreds of doses of bevacizumab had been given, and papers reporting uncontrolled, retrospective studies began to appear. “These were not randomized, double-masked trials,” he pointed out, “but to those of us who had been taking care of people with this disease for a while, it was evident that this was pretty potent stuff — the best we’d ever had.”

“Tens of thousands of doses of Avastin were given nationwide, while doctors were waiting for ranibizumab to get approved,” Stone said. “And it often worked very well. But what no one knows at the moment is whether one drug is really significantly better than the other.”

It’s important to find out, Stone argues, because a single dose of ranibizumab often costs more than $2,000, compared to less than $150 per dose for bevacizumab. “It does matter how much it costs,” Stone said – particularly for patients with an age-related disease such as macular degeneration, who often have fixed incomes and limited health insurance.

“Ranibizumab is an absolutely spectacular drug compared to treatments we had in the past,” Stone said. “But what if it turns out that the $150 stuff is just as good?”

###

Contact: Jennifer Michalowski

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

View drug information on Avastin; Lucentis; Photodynamic Therapy.

A drug derived from an ancient Chinese herb has been shown to reduce the risk of death from severe malaria by a third, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of lives in nations on our doorstep.

A trial in malaria patients from four countries has shown a clear benefit over standard treatment with quinine, says Professor Nicholas Anstey of the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, Australia, which participated in the trial in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Health.

The regional collaboration between the Indonesian Ministry of Health and Darwin’s Menzies School of Health Research has a joint research facility in Timika in Papua province, eastern Indonesia. Hospitals in Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), and India also participated in the study, which was coordinated by the Wellcome Trust Unit in Bangkok, Thailand.

The results of the trial are reported in the latest edition of the international medical journal, Lancet, which is published today.

Quinine has been the standard drug for the treatment of severe malaria in most countries, Professor Anstey said. This new trial clearly shows that artesunate, derived from sweet wormwood, or Artemisia annua, has fewer side effects and is more effective than quinine in preventing death in adults with severe malaria.

In total, 1461 patients with severe malaria were treated with either quinine or artesunate. Of these, 20% were enrolled at the Indonesian Ministry of Health/Menzies field site in Papua province.

There were a third fewer deaths among those receiving artesunate: 15% of seriously ill patients died compared to 22% of those treated with quinine.

“Falciparum malaria, the most severe form of the infection, is a major cause of death in our region. At least 120 million cases of falciparum malaria occur in South East Asia each year,” Professor Anstey said.

“The reduction in mortality from severe malaria associated with artesunate therapy is excellent news for the poorest communities of the region,” he said. “This is the first time that any drug has been demonstrated to be better than quinine at saving lives since the latter was first introduced into Europe nearly 400 years ago.”

As a result of this study the Indonesian Ministry of Health has already decided to change national drug policy for treatment of severe malaria from quinine to artesunate.

“The major aim of our collaborative studies in Papua with the Indonesian Ministry of Health is to improve the treatment of malaria and to provide information to policy makers,” Professor Anstey said. “We were pleased that the participation of the Indonesian Ministry of Health/Menzies field site in this multi-centre study has contributed to national policy change.”

Professor Anstey said a key feature of the trial was the collaboration of dozens of investigators in the four Asian countries, coordinated by Dr Arjen Dondorp and Professor Nick White at the Wellcome Trust Unit at Mahidol University in Bangkok.

The Principal investigator from the Indonesian Ministry of Health was Dr Emiliana Tjitra. The Indonesian Ministry of Health and Menzies School of Health Research contributed a joint team of 13 staff at their research site in Papua Province.

The trials, conducted between June 2003 and May 2005, were funded by a grant from the Wellcome Trust and coordinated as part of the Wellcome Trust-Mahidol University-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Programme funded by the Wellcome Trust of Great Britain.

Background on malaria

Malaria is a leading cause of death and disease worldwide characterised by recurrent bouts of fever. It is caused by a blood parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, with 95% of the world’s malaria occurring in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Once in the blood, red cells rupture, releasing toxins which cause fever, chills and flu-like malaria symptoms. Sometimes it can result in severe malaria in which multiple organs are affected like the brain, kidneys and lungs. It was in these patients that the artesunate treatment was compared with standard quinine treatment.

Malaria affects over 550 million people each year, 120 million in South and South East Asia, with over two million deaths worldwide.

There are four kinds of malaria: Plasmodium falciparum (known as P. falciparum), P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. Almost all of the world’s 2 million deaths are from P. falciparum.

Background on Menzies School of Health Research

The Menzies School of Health Research is a national leader in Indigenous, tropical and remote health and an innovative centre for public health and research education. It recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The Malaria and International Health Program at Menzies School of Health Research has been conducting malaria and TB research in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Health’s National Institute of Health Research and Development for the past nine years.

The program involves a wide range of projects aimed at improving diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malaria and TB, with a focus on evaluating new and affordable treatments for malaria, combination therapies for malaria, and improving understanding and treatment of severe malaria.

A significant component of Menzies’ research is in Timika, Papua province, Indonesia, where drug-resistant malaria is a major problem. A joint National Institute of Health Research and Deveopment/Menzies School of Health Research team of over 20 research staff is based in Timika.

What is artesunate?

Artesunate is derived from a Chinese herb, Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood), which has been used for centuries as a treatment for malaria. Artesunate and artemethere are derived from artemisinin, which has been used as an oral antimalarial in China and Vietnam for the past 30 years. Artesunate was rediscovered in China in 1972 and, although it has been used widely, this is the first definitive trial comparing its use with quinine in seriously ill patients. It is the largest comparative drug trial ever performed in severe malaria.

Artesunate has proved ideal for the treatment of severe malaria and is active against multi-drug resistant strains of P. falciparum.

Quinine

Quinine has been used to treat malaria for nearly 400 years. It was originally derived from the bark of the Cinchona tree and was introduced to European medicine in the 1630s.

Media inquiries to Professor Nicholas Anstey 61-889-228-932 or Alison Ellis on 61-889-228-989 or mobile 61-422-585-917

Alison Ellis
Alison.Ellismenzies.edu.au
61-889-228-989
Research Australia
researchaustralia.au

Global suicide rates may be reduced if the management of organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (OPP) were improved, according to a Review in an online edition of The Lancet.

Dr Michael Eddleston, Scottish Poisons Information Bureau, New Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, Scotland, and team examined published articles on OPP during the period 1960-2006. They explained “Organophosphorous pesticide self-poisoning is a major clinical health problem across much of rural Asia. Of the estimated 500 000 deaths from self-harm in the region each year, about 60% are due to pesticide poisoning.”

Furthermore, they say that about 200,000 deaths, 60% of the total, are specifically due to OPP. Deaths as a result of accidental OPP are much less common, and seem to take place only in regions where the most toxic organophosphate pesticides are accessible.

Symptoms of OPP, caused by the over-stimulation of numerous receptors in the body, are:

– vomiting
– diarrhea
– sweating
– confusion
– agitation
– coma
– respiratory failure
– paralysis

There is still a great deal of uncertainty about the best use of common treatments for OPP, even though these treatments have been around for over 50 years. Commonly used treatments, such as atropine, oximes and diazepam have different levels of effectiveness, depending on which specific poison is affecting the patient. “However, consensus exists that early resuscitation with atropine, oxygen, respiratory support, and fluids are needed to improve oxygen delivery to tissues,” the authors say.

The authors believe larger trials are needed to see how effective magnesium sulphate might be – they suggest patients may benefit greatly from it. Gastric lavage (stomach pumping), a commonly used procedure for OPP, is only effective right at the beginning of the onset of symptoms. As the onset of symptoms is rapid the authors wonder how effective gastric lavage might be.

“Medical management of OPP is difficult, especially in resource poor locations where most of these patients present…We expect that in the next decade evidence from continuing research from Asia will finally provide clear guidance on how to treat OPP. Hopefully, this new guidance will include the use of novel antidotes that will reduce the case fatality from pesticide poisoning. However, some organophosphorus pesticides might prove very difficult to treat with current therapies, such that bans on particular pesticides could be the only method to substantially reduce the case fatality after poisoning,” the writers conclude.

lancet

A world-renowned team of experts in biomechanics and physiology from six universities, led by Professor Hugh Herr of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, refute scientific claims that the prostheses worn by Oscar Pistorius, a 21-year-old South African bilateral amputee track athlete, provide him with an unfair advantage in the 400-meter race. Their conclusions were based on data collected at the Rice University Locomotion Laboratory, under the direction of Professor Peter Weyand. Pistorius hopes to run in the 400-meter race at the Beijing Olympics this summer.

Based on the team’s findings, the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, has ruled that Pistorius is eligible to participate in International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) sanctioned competitions. If he qualifies for the 2008 Beijing games, Pistorius would be the first disabled athlete ever to run against able-bodied athletes in an Olympic event.

The team’s findings were presented to the CAS April 29-30 by Herr and Professor Rodger Kram of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and provided the foundation for Pistorius’ appeal to overturn the IAAF decision that previously banned him from running against able-bodied athletes in races that are governed by IAAF rules. The team’s findings were presented at the CAS, where Pistorius was represented by the international law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf on a pro-bono basis.

In addition to Herr, Weyand and Kram, the panel of experts included Professor Matthew Bundle from the University of Wyoming, an expert in the energetics and mechanics of sprinting performance; Craig McGowan, from the University of Texas at Austin, a leading authority on muscle, tendon and joint mechanics; Alena Grabowski, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an expert in human locomotor energetics and biomechanics; and Jean-BenoГ®t Morin from the University of Saint-Etienne, an expert in the mechanics of human running performance.

None received compensation for their research or participation in the hearing. The authors plan to submit the study to a peer-reviewed journal now that the legal case has been settled.

The scientific team was asked to evaluate the IAAF’s initial claim that the Cheetah Flex-Foot prostheses (J-shaped, high-performance prostheses used for running) worn by Pistorius give him an advantage over able-bodied runners. The team concluded that the scientific evidence put forth by the IAAF investigation to ban Pistorius was fundamentally flawed. “While an athlete’s performance in sprints of very short duration is determined almost entirely by mechanical factors, in races of longer duration, such as the 400m, performance depends on both mechanical and metabolic factors,” said Herr, a bilateral amputee who heads the MIT Media Lab’s Biomechatronics research group.

Based on this performance link, the scientists refuted the IAAF findings on two major points: the speed-duration relationship and rates of metabolic energy expenditure.

Specifically, the scientists concluded that:
Pistorius’ ability to maintain speed over the course of longer sprints–his speed-duration relationship–is essentially identical to that of able-bodied runners, indicating that he fatigues in the same manner as able-bodied sprinters.

Pistorius’ rates of metabolic energy expenditure do not differ from elite non-amputee runners. In particular, he has nearly the same running economy, or rate of oxygen consumption at submaximal speeds, and a similar maximal rate of oxygen consumption as elite non-amputee runners.

“Based on the data collected at Rice, the blades do not confer an enhanced ability to hold speed over a 400m race,” Weyand said. “Nor does our research support the IAAF’s claims of how the blades provide some sort of mechanical advantage for sprinting.”

“The study commissioned by the IAAF claimed that Pistorius has a 25 percent energetic advantage at 400m race speeds. That claim is specious because anaerobic energy supply cannot be quantified,” Kram said.

In summary, the team of experts unanimously concluded that the IAAF allegations were not scientifically valid.

###

Source: David Ruth

Rice University

UroToday – Nocturnal enuresis can be defined as nighttime incontinence in children at an age when bladder control is expected. Dysfunctional voiding and nocturnal polyuria are thought to play a role. Hypercalciuria might also be involved in the pathogenesis of enuresis associated with nocturnal polyuria. Raes et al investigated if modifications in renal function are involved in nocturnal enuresis. They assessed circadian variation in natriuresis and tubular sodium handling in polyuric hypercalciuric children.

They had a total of 10 children with proved hypercalciuria and nocturnal polyuria and 10 age matched controls. A 24-hour urine collection was performed in 8 sampling periods for measurement of urinary sodium excretion. Segmental tubular sodium transport was investigated during a daytime oral water load test and calculated according to standardized clearance methodology.

The children with enuresis showed a marked increase in the fractional excretion of sodium during the night (0.93% ± 0.36%), while daytime sodium excretion was decreased (0.84% ± 0.23%). Analysis of segmental tubular sodium transport revealed decreased delivery of sodium to distal tubule (CH2O + CNa = 10.7 ml/100 ml glomerular filtration rate). This indicated that not only was there increased proximal tubular sodium reabsorption but also stimulation of distal sodium reabsorption. It was shown by increased fractional distal sodium reabsorption (92.9% ± 2.2%, controls 90.5% ± 2.9%). Increased distal reabsorption was associated with increased fractional potassium excretion (17.5% ± 2.7%, controls 13.6% ± 6.4%), indicating increased distal tubular sodium/potassium exchange.

The group concluded that there was no intrinsic defect in renal tubular sodium transport, but during the day increased sodium reabsorption in proximal and distal tubules was observed. This suggested that extrarenal factors might be involved in altered circadian variation in solute and water excretion by the kidney.


Raes A, Dehoorne J, Hoebeke P, Van Laecke E, Donckerwolcke R, Vande Walle J
Journal of Urology 176(3): 1147-1151, September 2006.

Reviewed by UroToday Medical Editor Pasquale Casale, MD

UroToday – the only urology website with original content global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.

To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to:
www.urotoday

Copyright © 2006 – UroToday

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer (EAB) in Toronto, Ontario. Located in the vicinity of Sheppard Avenue East and Highway 404, the infested trees were first detected by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources staff. This is the first find of the pest in the Toronto area.

While EAB poses no risk to human health, this beetle is an invasive alien species and poses a significant threat to our forests and forest industries.

The CFIA is surveying to determine the extent of infestation in the area. The pest is currently in its dormant period and will not spread naturally during the winter months.

Tree removal is not considered an effective tool for the control of EAB. However, some trees may be removed in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service for research purposes. Affected property owners will be eligible for compensation under the Introduced Forest Pest Compensation Regulations.

Restrictions on the movement of all firewood and ash tree materials will be implemented on properties within a five-kilometre radius from where EAB was detected. This is necessary to stop the movement of potentially infested materials that may harbour the insect. EAB is generally spread through the movement of infested firewood, nursery stock and forest products. Affected property owners will be notified of these restrictions by the CFIA.

Trees, nursery stock, logs, lumber, wood packaging, wood or bark, wood chips or bark chips of ash trees (genus Fraxinus), as well as firewood of all species will be regulated for EAB.

EAB has previously been confirmed in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent as well as Essex, Elgin, Lambton, Middlesex and Norfolk counties. Regulated areas have been implemented in these areas to control the movement of potentially infested materials and slow the spread of the pest to new areas.

The CFIA will continue to work with its partners and stakeholders toward the goal of slowing the spread of this destructive pest.

Additional information on EAB and other invasive alien species is available on the CFIA web site at inspection.gc/ or by calling 1 866 463-6017.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

According to the january issue of the Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is increasingly becoming a problem for women. The most important risk factor for COPD is long term cigarette smoking.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a broad term that describes any of a group of illnesses that block airflow through the lungs. The most common are emphysema and chronic bronchitis with symptoms often develop gradually, and people don’t realise they have the disease until it’s advanced.

The COPD death rate for women in the United States has increased much faster between 1980 and 2000 than it did for men. In 2000, the number of women dying of COPD surpassed men for the first time. According to recent research, women with the disease experience more breathlessness, higher rates of depression and lower quality of life than men with the disease, even those women reported fewer years of smoking than men.

The increase in female rates of COPD likely reflects the increase in the number of female smokers since the 1940s, when advertisers began promoting smoking as a symbol of independence for women.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can be treated, but not cured. The most important treatment is to stop smoking. For smokers with COPD, quitting smoking reduces subsequent loss of lung function by half and cuts the death rate by nearly half.

ash

Investigators at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California found a way to obtain large numbers of hematopoietic stem cell from human term placenta. The results, which appear in the July 2009 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, describe detailed report on quantification, characterization, engraftment capacity, and most importantly, practical way to obtain hematopoietic stem cells from placenta in numbers that are several-fold higher than could be obtained from cord blood.

The research team, Dr. Vladimir Serikov, MD, PhD, D.Sci, Assistant Staff Scientist, Catherin Hounshell, a research associate, Sandra Larkin, a research associate, Mr. William Green, student, Dr. Hurokazy Ikeda, MD, Visiting Scientist, Dr. Mark Walters, Medical Director of Children’s Hospital Oakland Hematology and Oncology Programs, and Dr. Frans Kuypers, Senior Scientist, performed studies in human term placentas, human cord blood, and immunodeficient mice. Dr. Serikov said, that the fact the human term placenta is a hematopoietic organ was reported by our team for the first time more then a year ago, and this year this finding was confirmed by UCSF scientists headed by Dr. S. Fisher.

In this report, said Dr. Serikov, we demonstrate for the first time that human placentas could provide abundant amounts of CD34+ CD133+ colony-forming cells, as well as other primitive hematopoietic progenitors, suitable for transplantation in humans. The total amount of live hematopoitic stem cells, or colony-forming units in culture that could be obtained from placentas was an order of magnitude larger than the number of hematopoietic stem cells obtained from cord blood from the same source. Hematopoietic stem cells which maintain their differentiation capacity, as well as stromal stem cells that support long-term culture of hematopoietic cells, can be harvested from perfusate of placenta following CXCR4 receptor blockade, said Dr. F. Kuypers. Importantly, live HPCs can similarly be obtained from whole cryopreserved placentas. Cells derived from placental tissue differentiated into all blood lineages in vitro. Animal experiments further demonstrated successful engraftment of placenta-derived HSC, which reconstituted hematopoiesis in immunodeficient mice.

In summary, said Dr. F. Kuypers, our results indicate for the first time that human term placenta is a high capacity source of live and functional hematopoietic stem cells. By using placental circulation and stem cell receptor blockade an abundant amounts of hematopoietic stem cell could be easily obtained in sterile conditions by non-destructive methods.

Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said “the outstanding importance of these results for practical hematology is determined by the fact that total number of stem cells that can be harvested from cord blood limits the efficacy of this stem cell source for transplants only to small children. These novel findings demonstrate that placenta may provide a source of autologous stem cells sufficient for reconstitution of hematopoiesis in adult patients. Use of methods to obtain hematopoietic cells from placenta, developed by Dr. Serikov and Dr. Kuypers as augumentation of cord blood-based therapy or replacement of bone marrow for transplantation will dramatically change whole field of transplantology.”

Source:
Dr. Frans Kuypers
Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine