Sometimes when I talk about possible placebo effects with fans of stem cell clinics I feel like placebo becomes akin to a bad word in the discussion. However, any kind of medical procedure can cause placebo effects in people. We’re all susceptible to it. I believe that many perceived positive outcomes at stem cell clinics …
Placebo effect & “the fade” after stem cell clinic shots Read More »
My lab is focused in part on chromatin states in stem cells and cancer including heterochromatin. In fact, my lab’s website is chromatin.com. Heterochromatin is dense, often inactive chromatin. By H&E staining and electron microscopy, heterochromatin looks dark compared to the rest of the nucleus, largely composed of euchromatin. Toward the end of my postdoc …
Weekly reads: heterochromatin, H3.3, Mesoblast bump Read More »
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 …
From the beginning of the pandemic, I have been mostly skeptical about the idea of cell therapy for COVID including stem cell therapies. However, at the same time, I’ve closely followed the data, especially up until 2022. Now having just had a nasty bout with COVID myself for the first time this summer, I recently …
Update on stem cells & cell therapy for COVID trials Read More »
I’m kind of in grant writing hell at the moment, as many of you may have been at various times, but I’m still finding time to read a little on cell therapy and stem cell research. Here are some things that caught my eye as I work on multiple grants with impending deadlines. Clinical trials …
Weekly reads: cell therapy trials, melanoma, β-thalassemia Read More »
I often get asked about where things stand with stem cell therapy for back pain, which is the focus of today’s post. Back pain is a complex condition with many potential causes. New treatments are needed as existing approaches often don’t work that well. What about stem cells? Stem cell therapy or other cell therapy …
Today’s post takes a close look at the exosome manufacturer Kimera Labs in the context of the main exosome companies. What are exosomes? Exosomes are microscopic bubbles or vesicles produced by cells. Exosomes contain many cellular substances that are biologically active. Some of these materials may be helpful clinically, while others could pose risks. Clinical outcomes …
Where Kimera Labs fits into sphere of exosome companies Read More »
What is the cell therapy for ALS called NurOwn? How strong is its potential as a treatment for ALS? I’ve been following the biotech BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics for many years. Patients keep asking me about NurOwn ALS prospects. They’re looking for hope. Today’s post is a close look at NurOwn and at BrainStorm as a …
Does NurOwn from BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics still provide hope for ALS? Read More »
One of the most interesting parts of running The Niche is that I get all these questions about stem cells and related matters from readers. I try to answer questions regularly by email, but sometimes the volume catches up with me. For that reason I periodically try to do posts answering such questions, which has …
Answering reader questions: snorting stem cells, Regenexx, exosomes Read More »
Stem cell clinic firms often come and go rather quickly, but a few like Regenexx have persisted. It’s even become a brand name. I’ve been writing here on The Niche for more than twelve years about stem cell clinics. Regenexx has been around that whole time. Along with its founder Dr. Chris Centeno. Patients have …