One of my favorite stem cell scientists is Jeanne Loring of Scripps. She does great science and when you ask her questions, she frankly states her opinions and is clearly a gifted educator at heart too. Below is a Q&A interview I did with Jeanne on key issues of clinical translation of iPS cells. You […]
Jeanne Loring interview: optimism on clinical translation of IPS cells Read More »
By Jeanne Loring There has been news over the last few days about stem cell researchers pulling out from a documentary called “The Healthcare Revolution”. First to report on June 15 was Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle, followed by David Jensen’s California Stem Cell Report blog, Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times, and
Loring on how documentary tied to stem cell clinics began to unravel Read More »
An open letter to CIRM. By Jeanne Loring As the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) celebrates its successes on its 10th anniversary, there is coincidentally a less happy CIRM-related event. One of CIRM’s first investments in stem cell research was a network of dedicated stem cell laboratories throughout California. This program, called “shared labs”
Loring, et al. Open Letter to CIRM: Continue Shared Labs Read More »
What are the most significant stem cell and regenerative medicine good news stories of 2024? Since it has been an eventful year, there are many possibilities. Please see our poll at the bottom of this post and weigh in on what you think is the most important encouraging news. If you don’t see your choice
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People often ask me what is the most promising new cell therapy and while it is difficult to choose just one, I often highlight the promise of stem cells for diabetes. Here in the U.S., early data from diabetes clinical trials by Vertex look encouraging. Other teams worldwide are also working in this space and
Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells or MSCs are widely used by unproven clinics, but MSC research also suggests real promise in specific areas. Clinics mainly use adipose MSCs (often called SVF) or bone marrow MSCs. However, umbilical cord MSC preparations are getting more popular too. Many questions swirl around the use of MSCs including what exactly are
People often ask me about stem cells for autism or even their hope of an autism cure. I’ve explained that there is no new treatment for autism based on stem cells. There aren’t even mildly encouraging data. Note that it can be hurtful to the community to talk about an autism cure and disregarding neurodiversity.
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 »
Early during my postdoc I was primarily interested in the role of Myc genes both in cancer and in stem cells, work that later included embryonic stem cells. These cells are often called ES cells. At first I first started studying N-Myc in neural stem cells using a conditional knockout approach. However, soon after I was
Weekly reads: embryonic stem cells, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Read More »
When I first started The Niche more than a dozen years ago, I hoped we’d see a Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy by now. A proven one. I was a little too optimistic back then. Now in 2022, I know much better how hard translation to the bedside can be in general. Still, I’m hopeful.
Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy research update Read More »