Dr. Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD is Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and Simon H. Stertzer Endowed Professor in Department of Medicine (Cardiology) and Department of Radiology at the Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Wu is a pioneer in using iPS cells in personalized medicine and we talk to him about his work and the state of the field in respect to novel stem cell therapies for cardiovascular disease.

First FDA Approved RNAi Therapy – The FDA has approved Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ Onpattro (patisiran) infusion, a first-of-its-kind RNA-based therapy for treating peripheral nerve disease (polyneuropathy) caused by hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adult patients.

Cancer Drug to Help Liver Overcome Painkiller Overdose – In mice given a toxic dose of acetaminophen, an anticancer medication kept liver cells alive.

Zika Virus Harms Nearly 1 in 7 Babies Exposed to The Virus in the Womb – A CDC study of births in U.S. territories tallies birth defects and later health problems.

Scientists Tracked the Speed of Cell Suicide – The study shows that the process of cells’ self-inflicted death, called apoptosis, functions in trigger waves that travel at speeds of 30 micrometers per minute.

Why Salamanders Regenerate and Lizards Do Not – By transplanting neural stem cells between species, researchers have discovered that the lizard’s native stem cells are the primary factor hampering tail regeneration.

Stem Cell Transplants to Treat Cystic Fibrosis – Researchers believe their breakthrough in stem cell transplantation therapy, developed in mice, could eventually provide a cure for cystic fibrosis.

iPS Cells for Platelet Transplant Therapy – A team at Japan’s Kyoto University hopes to conduct the first clinical study of an intractable blood disease using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

Stem Cells Restore Some Vision in Blind Mice – The procedure is the first of its kind and researchers hope that it will lead to treatments for incurable eye diseases.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Joseph Wu

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