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<p>A cure for sickle cell anemia and other life-threatening genetic disorders that arise in the blood is the goal of a new $6.7-million, five-year research project headed by UCSF scientist Y. W. Kan, a pioneer of modern genetics and the diagnosis of genetic diseases before birth.</p>
Stem cell transplantation may hold the promise to treating many diseases before birth such as sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy. But first, researchers need to overcome many barriers, including rejection of stem cell transplants by the fetus. MacKenzie’s lab recently discovered that mothers’ T cells are responsible for rejecting the grafts and that this rejection may be avoided by using stem cells from the mother.
<p>Scientists are making great strides in figuring out how the human brain develops, which are leading to novel ideas about the causes of a range of brain disorders, and are raising hopes for the regeneration of tissue that is lost in diseases such as Alzheimer’s. </p>
UCSF researchers have tackled a decade-long scientific conundrum, and their discovery is expected to lead to significant advances in using stem cells to treat genetic diseases before birth.
For patients with glioma, the most common primary brain tumor, new findings may explain why current therapies fail to eradicate the cancer. A UCSF-led team of scientists has identified for the first time that progenitor rather than neural stem cells underly a type of glioma called oligodendroglioma.
Ophir Klein wants to use stem cells to grow teeth. Because teeth are simple in comparison to large, vital organs, they may serve as a proving ground for regenerative medicine.
<p>Scientists this week are moving into the headquarters for the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF, where they will continue to advance a field transformed by the revolutionary achievement of Shinya Yamanaka.</p>
UCSF scientists have received two grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to refine their human embryonic stem cell-based strategies for treating neurological diseases and liver failure.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on September 30 announced 52 highly competitive awards for high-risk, high-payoff research for young biomedical scientists, and UCSF tops California institutions with four recipients.
The UCSF Diabetes Center symposium marks its 10th anniversary.
A UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia.
A UCSF-led team has discovered a direct link between an inherited genetic mutation, a set of developmental abnormalities and a rare form of childhood leukemia called juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, or JMML.
A new study by UCSF cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, improve the health of blood vessels and increase the number of circulating angiogenic cells in patients with heart disease. The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols – such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables – have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients.
UCSF scientists have discovered a new stem cell in the developing human brain. The cell produces nerve cells that help form the neocortex - the site of higher cognitive function -- and likely accounts for the dramatic expansion of the region in the lineages that lead to man, the researchers say.
UCSF scientists report that they were able to prompt a new period of “plasticity,” or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice.