R&D news Stem Cells: Making disease a thing of the past
Dr. Bernard Thébaud (Photo Credit: The Ottawa Hospital) Stem cells and regenerative medicine have become an exceedingly hot topic in recent years, pushing our knowledge and capabilities of medicine further and farther. It is an exciting area of medicine due to the cells’ ability to regenerate and repair tissue. They are truly quite remarkable, and the work that is being done with them at The Ottawa Hospital is a testament to that. Dr. Bernard Thébaud, a scientist and neonatologist from The Ottawa Hospital, is focused on understanding the mechanisms of lung development, injury and repair to design treatments for incurable lung diseases. His lab has an emphasis on the therapeutic potential of stem cells for treating lung diseases in babies. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a lung disease that typically happens to preterm babies that are born at least 12 weeks early. Their lungs have not fully developed so they are intubated and mechanically ventilated to stay alive, but these life-saving techniques also damage their lungs. These issues can extend far past childhood and have lifelong consequences. Therefore, it is an extremely critical issue to tackle. So far in Thébaud’s lab, these mesenchymal stromal cells appear to protect or prevent injury in mice and rat models and efforts to 6 BIOTECHNOLOGY FOCUS April/May 2018
translate this therapy into patients are underway. Around the age of 40, a person’s lung without disease begins to age, but a person with lung disease will experience an earlier onset of aging. Premature babies with interrupted lung growth may be more prone to an early onset of aging while already experiencing a higher risk of asthma. The researchers are attempting to fine tune the use of stem cells to help heal and prevent any lung injury in the short or long-term. The hope is that mainstay treatments will reach such a level that only the tiniest of babies will need to benefit from stem cell therapy. Hopefully, this research will continue to clinical trials, but Thébaud stresses the importance of designing these with care because this is all still experimental and no one would want to injure a small child. Stem cells are a fascinating field, and as modern medicine continues to expand at an exponential rate they have the potential to ascertain that various diseases become a thing of the past and allow society to live longer, more fruitful lives. To see this story online visit https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/stemcells-making-disease-a-thing-of-the-past/
Western University creates a therapy that “fits like a glove” Researchers at Western University have developed custom-fit gloves to help control tremors in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Not only does this glove help give them some sense of normality again, but it gives them their independence back as well. Parkinson’s disease is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that tends to affect the motor system the most. The disease progresses slowly over time, and is best exemplified through constant shaking and rigidity. Eventually leading to difficulty walking, swallowing problems and other health conditions. Symptoms may vary from patient to patient. “If you have seen anybody with Parkinson’s that has tremors, they have them in their entire body, but it’s the ones in their fingers that really prevent them from performing the activities of daily living,” says Ana Luisa Trejos, professor of electrical and computer engineering professor at Western University, and lead investigator of the Wearable Biomechatronics Laboratory Group. The problem with a lot of the devices that are currently on the market is that they restrict movement in general, which still makes the tasks at hand hard to do. In the worst-case scenario, it can even suppress movement at the level of the elbows or wrists that exacerbates the tremors in the fingers. The design model of the glove uses a system of sensors that track voluntary movements and separates them from involuntary tremors. The gloves will then suppress the tremor to allow fluid motion of movement. The current prototype glove was created for the left hand of student Yue Zhou, who used 3D printing to design a custom fit. The team is also working on improving the glove’s hardware to make it more practical to wear, including reducing the size of the glove’s controller and improving its battery system. Once these pieces are all in place, they hope to find commercial partners to bring the gloves to the market. If effective, this could dramatically change the lives of people living with Parkinson’s disease, allowing them to do daily tasks many people take for granted. To see this story online visit https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/westernuniversity-creates-a-therapy-that-fitslike-a-glove/
