University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFA UCSF stem cell study conducted in mice suggests a novel strategy for treating damaged cardiac tissue in patients following a heart attack, which an estimated 785,000 Americans will experience this year.
<p>Medical geneticist Ophir Klein's studies of stem cells in tooth development and of stem cell changes in the gut may lead to new strategies for regenerating teeth and for treating craniofacial abnormalities.</p>
<p>From improved heart failure and HIV treatment, to gene therapy and stem cell discoveries, here is just a sampling from 2011 of research advances at UCSF that are keeping the research pipeline flowing toward better healthcare -- including greater patient safety, more efficient healthcare delivery, and improved outcomes for patients.</p>
<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>
UCSF and the Cell Technologies business of GE Healthcare Life Sciences have begun a unique collaboration aimed at overcoming the lack of blood-forming stem cells available to patients suffering from life-threatening diseases such as lymphoma, myeloma, leukemia or sickle cell anemia.
<p>UCSF's pioneering program in Development and Stem Cell Biology attracts the nation's best faculty and students who are interested in understanding how embryos develop and how cells make tissues and organs – information needed to design novel therapies to cure diseases and treat injuries.</p>
<p>UCSF scientists are hailing a federal court ruling on Wednesday that dismissed a lawsuit that sought to ban the use of federal funds to study any lines of human embryonic stem cells.</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>Neural stem cell scientist Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, had a very early start to his day on Wednesday, receiving word in the wee hours that he was one of three scientists named to receive the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.</p>
Three UCSF scientists have received grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance their investigations of treatment strategies for degenerative muscle diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, and heart disease, and to determine why human embryonic stem cells are susceptible to forming tumors.
<p>His Highness the Aga Khan recently visited UCSF to gain insight into the driving forces behind UCSF’s excellence in research and education, and receive the University’s highest honor, the UCSF Medal.</p>
<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>