Scientists identify 2 genes as potential therapeutic targets for multiple sclerosis

Septsmber 11 2009 - A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients' outcomes. This study will be presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2009.

New clue into how brain stem cells develop into cells which repair damaged tissue

The joint research, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Society as well as the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Cambridge and was published today in the journal Genes and Development.

Combined stem cell-gene therapy approach cures human genetic disease in vitro

A study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has catapulted the field of regenerative medicine significantly forward, proving in principle that a human genetic disease can be cured using a combination of gene therapy and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. The study, published in the May 31, 2009 early online edition of Nature, is a major milestone on the path from the laboratory to the clinic.

Reprogramming offers hope of safer stem cells

For the first time, specialised cells have been reprogrammed into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells without using genes that might trigger cancer. The new method, which places the proteins encoded by the reprogramming genes directly into the target cells, should be safer

Stem cells from fat tissue offer hope for MS treatment

A preliminary study on the use of stem cells obtained from A patient's own adipose tissue in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has shown promising results. The three case studies, described in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine support further clinical evaluation of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells in MS and other autoimmune conditions.