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TEM CELL MANUFACTURING for drug screening and treatments for diseases such as Huntington's and Parkinson's could be boosted by a new method of generating stem cells, a study suggests.
Scientists have developed a family of
compounds that can support the growth of human embryonic stem cells on a large scale for use in drug testing or treatments. The new materials, which are water-based
gels, act as a tiny scaffold to which cells can cling as they grow. Normally, cells must be grown on expensive biological surfaces that can carry pathogens and contaminate cells. Once cells have multiplied sufficiently for
their intended purpose, the gels can be cooled, enabling the stem cells to drop off the scaffold without becoming damaged. The new approach surpasses existing
techniques of separating cells by mechanical or chemical means, which carry a greater risk of damage to cells. Scientists say the materials could offer a
means of enabling the stem cells to be produced in large numbers efficiently and without the risk of inadvertent contamination, facilitating research, drug screening programmes and clinical applications that call for large numbers of cells. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh
A special report published by the BMJ has found that thousands of melanoma patients around the world are undergoing an expensive and invasive procedure called sentinel node biopsy, despite a lack of clear evidence and concerns that it may do more harm than good. Although not recommended for
routine use in England, it has become the standard care for melanoma patients in a number of countries. Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, affecting one in 60 people. In the US it affects one in 50 people and, of the seven
A round-up of news stories in the aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine industry
MANUFACTURE OF STEM CELLS STUDIED Research into diseases could be boosted by new method of generating stem cells
developed the new materials by screening hundreds of potential compounds for their ability to support stem cell growth. From a shortlist of four, one has been found to be effective, and researchers say the remaining three show similar potential. Stem cells provide a powerful tool for
screening drugs as they can be used to show the effects of drugs on cells and systems within the body. The study, published in Nature
Communications, was supported by the European Union Framework 7 Grant Funding. The gels are being developed under licence by technology company Ilika. Dr Paul de Sousa, of the University of
Edinburgh's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said: 'This development could greatly enhance automated production of embryonic stem cells, which would improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of stem cell manufacturing. We are also looking into whether this work could help develop pluripotent stem cells induced from adult cells.'
CONCERNS OVER EFFECTIVENESS OF MELANOMA BIOPSY
most common cancers, is the only one that is increasing. Sentinel node biopsy was developed in the US in the early 1990s to detect the early spread of cancer cells in melanoma patients. It involves taking a small sample of the lymph node nearest to the melanoma for testing. If cancer cells are found, patients are advised to have surgery to remove some of the surrounding lymph nodes. In 2006, a trial (known as MSLT-I) published in NEJM found that sentinel node biopsy did not improve overall survival after 5 years, yet the researchers claimed that disease-free
survival was significantly higher in the biopsy group. The results proved controversial, but further analyses of the data that would have settled the question of effectiveness have not yet been published. Meanwhile, large numbers of
patients are being exposed to unnecessary and potentially harmful surgery. It is thought that as many as 96% of patients who have sentinel node biopsy will have unnecessary surgery, which carries a risk of complications such as lymphoedema, cellulitis (deep skin infection) and scarring.
In England, guidance states that sentinel node biopsy should be performed only in centres with expertise in the context of clinical trials. Yet data obtained by the BMJ show that at least 19 trusts across England carried out sentinel node biopsy procedures on melanoma patients between 2006 and 2011. Commenting on the report, BMJ
Editor Dr Fiona Godlee, says the evidence that research goes unreported is overwhelming, putting patients at risk and wasting resources. She calls on both industry and academia to clean up their act.
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