Search Results for: clinicaltrials.gov

Regenerative reads: brain organoids, Clinicaltrials.gov change

brain organoids sm

Sometimes change takes a very long time, but with brain organoids or advocating for better information for patients at Clinicaltrials.gov, after waiting you can see some interesting developments.  These are two of the regenerative medicine stories of the week, along with some striking research papers. Clinicaltrials.gov Some of us have been advocating for improvements at …

Regenerative reads: brain organoids, Clinicaltrials.gov change Read More »

FDA outlines potential crackdown on Clinicaltrials.gov offenders

Anderson-et-al-Clinicaltrials.gov_

Clinicaltrials.gov is a wonderful resource for its many users, whether a patient searching for a clinical trial to actually participate in or someone doing research as I have done, but it’s not perfect and some sponsors have been breaking the rules regarding its use. It’s a major problem in fact. Based on new draft guidance …

FDA outlines potential crackdown on Clinicaltrials.gov offenders Read More »

Clinicaltrials.gov Mission At Risk From Proliferating For-Profit Trials

slickstem

It’s hard to even imagine the world of investigative medicine without the wonderful resource of Clinicaltrials.gov, the global hub for clinical trial listings. I recently interviewed the Director of Clinicaltrials.gov, Dr. Deborah Zarin here, which is a fascinating read. As great as Clinicaltrials.gov is as a resource, unfortunately it faces a new, rapidly growing problem that is a serious …

Clinicaltrials.gov Mission At Risk From Proliferating For-Profit Trials Read More »

Interview with Clinicaltrials.gov Director Deborah Zarin

clinicaltrials.gov_

This post is the first in a series about the Clinicaltrials.gov website. This piece is an interview the Director, Dr. Deborah Zarin. I want to thank her for taking the time to answer my questions. Later, I will post Part 2 in which I discuss my concerns about the trend of for-profit stem cell clinic trials …

Interview with Clinicaltrials.gov Director Deborah Zarin Read More »

US clinics widely selling unproven RNA therapy, supportive oligonucleotide therapy or SOT, from Greek firm RGCC

SOT, supportive oligonucleotide therapy

A few dozen clinics in the US sell an unproven RNA therapy called supportive oligonucleotide therapy or SOT. The product comes from a Greek firm RGCC or Research Genetic Cancer Center, which also pre-tests patients’ gene expression to design the RNA product. Clinics marketing SOT in the US say it is intended to act by …

US clinics widely selling unproven RNA therapy, supportive oligonucleotide therapy or SOT, from Greek firm RGCC Read More »

Weekly reads: cool olfactory tuft cells, T-cell therapy, NK cells

Olfactory epithelium, Olfactory histology

There’s a fascinating type of olfactory cell. These so-called tuft cells have unusual characteristics, especially for nose cells. I had never heard of them before until reading a new article. The inside of the nose may not seem like a very attractive place but there are cool “nose stem cells” in there.  More broadly, there …

Weekly reads: cool olfactory tuft cells, T-cell therapy, NK cells Read More »

Long-term hope on stem cells for deafness

stem cells for deafness

A reader of The Niche recently asked me, “What about stem cells for deafness?” It’s a great question and, as they pointed out, stem cells for vision loss gets much more attention. I’ve covered the translational progress of stem cells to treat many diseases but there has been less progress for deafness in the regenerative …

Long-term hope on stem cells for deafness Read More »

Put on a happy face? Perspectives on Mayo Clinic stem cells for heart disease Ph3 pub

stem cells for heart disease

One of the first regenerative medicine talks I ever saw was on stem cells for heart disease. I was still a trainee at the time. The professor, whom I won’t name, presented data from an early phase trial reporting that direct injections of some kind of cells right into the heart improved outcomes. Stem cells …

Put on a happy face? Perspectives on Mayo Clinic stem cells for heart disease Ph3 pub Read More »

Holiday reads: woolly dog vs. mammoth, man eggs, designer B-cells, bluebird bio blues

woolly dog

What is a woolly dog? Is it somehow related to the Woolly Mammoth? Before we get into that and the rest of my recommended reads, note that I’m finalizing my list of contenders for this year’s The Screamers Science Hype Awards. Last year The BBC won The Screamers for an article “Baby’s life ‘probably saved’ …

Holiday reads: woolly dog vs. mammoth, man eggs, designer B-cells, bluebird bio blues Read More »

Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, good news x2, extending dog years, Neuralink updates

stem cells for MS

For about as long as I’ve been writing The Niche, people have been asking about stem cells for MS. There’s a huge need for new therapies. While a chemo-based approach with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) looks to work for certain cases of multiple sclerosis (although not yet approved in the US), other cell …

Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, good news x2, extending dog years, Neuralink updates Read More »