For Immediate Release
Advances in Stem Cell Therapy to Treat Neurogenetic Diseases
Contact: Jennifer Gatti
914-740-2149
jgatti@liebertpub.com
New Rochelle, NY, September 21, 2016—Transplantation of therapeutic stem cells directly into the central nervous system (CNS) is a promising new approach to treating the neurological effects of lysosomal storage diseases (LSD), a group of at least 50 different monogenic inherited diseases. Translating the stem cell therapies developed in animal models of LSD to effective human therapies still faces significant challenges, which are described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website until October 31, 2016.
The article entitled "Stem Cell Therapy for the Central Nervous System in Lysosomal Storage Diseases)" is part of a special joint issue on stem cell gene therapy in Human Gene Therapy and Stem Cells & Development guest edited by Luigi Naldini, MD, Scientific Director, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Milan, Italy. A special "upside-down" print issue will be distributed at ESGCT/ISSCR Florence 2016 in October.
Coauthors Faez Siddiqi and John Wolfe, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Perelman School of Medicine and School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), discuss the different types of stem cells that can be used to treat neurological diseases. They review the latest research and describe the efforts underway to engineer neural stem cells and deliver them to the CNS to optimize their therapeutic capacity in the brains of patients with LSD.
“Stem cell therapy for previously incurable lysosomal storage disorders affecting the brain continues to progress, offering new hope to patients and families,” says Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA. “Many rodents studies have demonstrated the concept that direct injection of stem cells can reverse aspects of these diseases that are not treatable with enzyme replacement therapy. This review by Drs. Siddiqi and Wolfe provides a realistic and comprehensive assessment of the prospect for and limitations of this approach,”
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number NS088667 and Training Grant NS007413.
About the Journal
Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its companion journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of contents for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.
Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its companion journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of contents for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.