Researchers at Stanford University have made a discovery that could mean faster, more effective stem cell therapy in the future.


In a study[1] published in the journal Radiology last week, researchers explained how a common chemical compound could significantly reduce the time needed for a successful transplant.


One of the major challenges doctors face during stem cell therapy is tracking successful attachment of the new cells. Using current methods, doctors must wait months to see if the cells have even taken hold. But Stanford researchers found that by utilizing ferumoxytol -- a common, FDA-approved imaging agent that is already used to treat anemia -- they can cut that time from a number of months down to a number of hours.


"With our new approach, we look to label the cells with an iron supplement and we can see the transplanted cells directly," said Dr. Heike Daldrup-Link[2] , an author of the study, to the San Francisco Business Times. "It allows us to determine if the cells remain at the defect site or not."


Researchers explained the process in a release[3] about the breakthrough:


Stem cells have been used with some success in cartilage-repair procedures. "But things can go wrong," [said Daldrup-Link.] "The newly transferred cells might fail to engraft, or die. They might migrate away. They could develop into tissues other than cartilage, most commonly fibrous scar tissue."

Relatively few transplanted cells go the distance. […] With the new technique, magnetic resonance imaging can visualize stem cells for several weeks after they have been implanted, giving orthopaedic surgeons a better sense of whether the transplantation was successful.



Researchers successfully tested the procedure on rodents and hope to start clinical trials[4] soon. While the procedure was specifically targeted for knee injuries, Daldrup-Link told the Business Times that it could potentially work in other areas of the body[5] , as well.



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  • Double-Leg Transplant


    <strong>When and Where:</strong> July 2011, Spain

    A young man in his 20s underwent a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/double-leg-transplant-first_n_896442.html" target="_hplink">10-hour surgery in Valencia</a> just last Sunday to give him a new set of legs. Doctors hope that the patient will be able to walk with the help of crutches within about a year -- depending on how his nerves regenerate.

    A double-leg transplant had never been attempted before, in large part because in most cases of leg amputation, highly effective prosthetic legs can be used instead. The effectiveness of this surgery remains to be seen, but Dr. Pedro Cavadas, the doctor who performed the surgery, is hopeful. Dr. Cavadas <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/double-leg-transplant-first_n_896442.html" target="_hplink">also performed the first face and double-hand transplants</a> done in Spain.

    Photo Credit: Getty




  • Artificial Windpipe


    <strong>When and Where:</strong> July 2011, Sweden

    Not only did this surgery mark the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/artificial-windpipe-transplant_n_892350.html" target="_hplink">first time an artificial windpipe was transplanted</a>, but it also marked the first time any synthetic organ had been transplanted. The windpipe was created in a lab in England and then coated in the patient's stem cells before the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/artificial-windpipe-transplant_n_892350.html" target="_hplink">12-hour surgery began</a>. These cells mean that he does not have to fear organ rejection, as most transplant patients do and is not on any sort of immunosuppressive drugs.




  • Full-Face Transplant


    <strong>When and Where: </strong>March 2010, Spain

    Also performed in Spain, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/oscar-first-full-face-tra_n_659196.html" target="_hplink">world's first full-face transplant</a> occurred just last year (the first partial-face transplant happened in 2005). The patient was a 31-year-old farmer who had accidentally shot himself in the face a few years prior. He is still undergoing physical therapy, although much of the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/oscar-first-full-face-tra_n_659196.html" target="_hplink">sensation in his face has returned</a> and his muscles have developed. Only a week after the transplant, he began to grow a beard.

    The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/09/face-transplant-press-conference_n_859391.html?" target="_hplink">first full-face transplant in the United States</a> occurred this past May.




  • U.S. Double-Hand Transplant


    <strong>When and Where:</strong> May 2009, Pittsburgh

    Although it was the ninth double-hand transplant in the world, the nine-hour surgery marked the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/06/double-hand-transplant-ge_n_198538.html" target="_hplink">first time that this procedure had been done in the United States</a>. Georgia native Jeff Kepner, 58, had lost his hands 10 years earlier to a bacterial infection. Although the surgery was an initial success, Kepner is <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/26/double.hand.transplant/index.html" target="_hplink">still undergoing intensive physical therapy</a> and has not regained full control over his new apendages.

    Photo Credit: Getty




  • Technological Innovation


    More and more, technological innovation is the driving force behind saving lives through transplantation. At recent TED conferences, two lectures were given that clearly demonstrated the exciting progress that is on the horizon.

    At TEDMED 2010, thoracic surgeon, Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, M.D., <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/31/tedmed-2010-superorgans_n_811894.html" target="_hplink">showed the audience a machine that allows an organ to survive</a> for an extended period of time outside of the body at a normal temperature. This allows an organ to be examined and treated before it is put into the recipient's body. Keshavejee demonstrated the machine's efficacy by allowing audience members to come up at touch a live pig's lung that had been recovered earlier that day.

    At a TED conference this past March, <a href="http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-surgeon-kidney-ted-stage.html" target="_hplink">Dr. Anthony Atala used a bioprinting machine</a> to print out the mold of a human kidney. As this technology is developed further, scientists hope that it could eventually (most likely not for years) lead to the ability to print out fully-functional, artificial organs.




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