Bone-marrow Cell Transplantation Could Save Limbs (p 427)August 07, 2002Injecting a patient’s bone-marrow cells into their legs could help repair damaged circulatory systems in those with limb ischaemia, suggest authors of a trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET. Lower limb ischaemia is due to narrowing of the arteries and is a common condition, which if left untreated can lead to gangrene, amputation, and sometimes death. The disorder is usually associated with chronic peripheral arterial disease and can result in severe leg pain at rest and walking, as well as non-healing ulcers on the leg and foot. Certain cells from bone marrow (bone marrow-mononuclear cells), when injected into a patient’s leg, can start the growth of new blood vessels in the area, in a process called angiogenesis. These new vessels restore blood and oxygen supply to the damaged limb, which could reduce pain and help ulcers to heal. Eriko Tateishi-Yuyama from the Department of Medicine and cardiovascular centre in Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan, and colleagues tested their treatment for the constriction of blood vessels by injecting bone-marrow cells into one leg, and cells from peripheral blood or saline into the other. Four weeks after the procedure, 37 of 45 patients had their pain reduced or relieved completely, 15 of 20 were able to avoid scheduled amputation of a toe, and leg ulcers improved in six of ten patients. Positive benefits of the bone- marrow cell transplantation were still evident 6 months after the procedure. The authors comment: “Implantation of bone marrow-mononuclear cells could be a safe and effective strategy for achievement of therapeutic angiogenesis, because of the natural ability of marrow cells to supply endothelial progenitor cells and to secrete various angiogenic factors”. Lancet |
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| Related Bone Marrow Current Events and Bone Marrow News Articles Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics. New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells. Bone Implant Offers Hope for Skull Deformities A synthetic bone matrix offers hope for babies born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes the plates in the skull to fuse too soon. U of M researchers find 2 units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease returning. Scientists successfully reprogram blood cells Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome. Immune therapy can protect against or treat later lymphoma Specially developed immune system cells that target the common Epstein-Barr virus can protect immune-suppressed bone marrow transplant recipients against lymph system disease and cancers that arise from the viral infection. Stem cell therapy may offer hope for acute lung injury Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease. New insight in the fight against the Leishmania parasite Professor Albert Descoteaux's team at Centre INRS - Institut Armand-Frappier has gained a better understanding of how the Leishmania donovani parasite manages to outsmart the human immune system and proliferate with impunity, causing visceral leishmaniasis, a chronic infection that is potentially fatal if left untreated. 2-million-year-old evidence shows tool-making hominins inhabited grassland environments In an article published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE on October 21, 2009, Dr Thomas Plummer of Queens College at the City University of New York, Dr Richard Potts of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History and colleagues report the oldest archeological evidence of early human activities in a grassland environment, dating to 2 million years ago. Mice regain ability to extend telomeres suggesting potential for dyskeratosis congenita therapy The human genetic disease dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) is an autosomal dominant disease that leads to abnormalities in tissues with a rapid cell turnover - the skin, nails, bone marrow, lungs and gut. More Bone Marrow Current Events and Bone Marrow News Articles |
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