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Medical Conference Focuses on Use of Stem Cells for Tissue Transplant
Tuesday March 20, 4:28 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Medical Conference Focuses on Use of Stem Cells for Tissue Transplant
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Tulane Center for Gene Therapy and
The International Society for Hematotherapy and Graft Engineering (ISHAGE)
Co-Host
MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The first medical conference to
focus on the emerging field of stem cells for tissue transplant will be held
in New Orleans March 22 - 24. The conference, entitled ``Mesenchymal and
Nonhematopoitic Stem Cells: Recent Progress and Current Controversies,''
will be co-hosted by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Tulane Center
for Gene Therapy and the International Society for Hematotherapy and Graft
Engineering (ISHAGE).
Scientists have known about stem cells that make blood for many years and
physicians have transplanted bone marrow to transplant the blood making stem
cells.
Recently researchers have recognized that stem cells exist for tissues other
than blood. This suggests that stem cell transplantation and replacement of
diseased tissue may someday treat diseases of many tissues, such as muscle,
bone or possibly the brain, with healthy cells newly developed from the
transplanted stem cells.
``The therapeutic potential of stem cells derived from healthy volunteers is
just beginning to be realized,'' said St. Jude researcher Edwin Horwitz,
M.D., Ph.D., one of the conference organizers. ``This meeting will bring
together the leading investigators to discuss where we are and where we're
going.''
The conference's keynote speaker will be John Gearhart, M.D., of the Johns
Hopkins University Medical Center. Presenters include Darwin Prockop, M.D.,
PhD., director of the Tulane Center for Gene Therapy; Evan Snyder, M.D., of
Children's Hospital of Boston; David Panchision, Ph.D., of The National
Institutes of Health; and Malcolm Brenner, M.D., Ph.D., of Baylor College of
Medicine.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee, was founded by
the late entertainer Danny Thomas. The hospital is an internationally
recognized biomedical research center dedicated to finding cures for
catastrophic diseases of childhood. The hospital's work is supported by the
American Lebanese Syrian Associated CharitiesŪ (ALSACŪ). All St. Jude
patients are treated regardless of their families' ability to pay. ALSAC
covers all costs of treatment beyond those covered by third party insurers
and total costs for families who have no insurance.
The Tulane Center for Gene Therapy, part of Tulane University Health
Sciences Center, held its grand opening and ribbon cutting on March 7, 2001.
The center occupies 14,000 square feet of renovated laboratories in the J.
Bennett Johnston Health and Environmental Research Building in downtown New
Orleans. To take a virtual tour of the center visit:
http://www.som.tulane.edu/pr/releases/0307genetherapy.htm.
The International Society for Hematotherapy and Graft Engineering (ISHAGE)
serves as a global forum and voice for clinicians, scientists and laboratory
personnel engaged in basic research and development, translational studies
and the clinical application of all cellular based therapies. Represented in
over 40 countries worldwide, ISHAGE provides communication, education and
training regarding recent developments in both the basic science and
laboratory practices in cytotherapy.
................................................................
Ray Strand
Prairie Sky Design
-----------------( on the Edge of the Prairie Abyss )---------------
when the sky is clear
the ground is visible
49/dx PD 2 yrs/40? onset/retired
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