http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress) -- Tissue-specific adult stem cells are responsible for the ability of mammals to re-grow the tips of fingers or toes lost to trauma or surgery, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding discredits a popular theory that holds that previously specialized cells regress, or dedifferentiate, in response to injury to form a pluripotent repair structure called a blastema. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-stem-cell-role-regenerating-fingers.html Medical research Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:00:29 EST news233485215 New research may help to explain why the location of postnatal neural stem cells in the brain determines the type of new neurons that are generated. The research, published by Cell Press in the July 28 issue of the journal Neuron, demonstrates that a signaling pathway which plays a key role in development also actively regulates the fate of neural stem cells in the adult brain. Manipulation of this signaling pathway redirected the fate of adult stem cells, a finding that may impact the design of future strategies for creating stem cell therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-site-affects-fate-postnatal-neural.html Medical research Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:24:34 EST news230991784 Scientists at the Universities of Glasgow and Southampton have uncovered a new method for culturing adult stem cells which could lead to the creation of revolutionary stem cell therapies for conditions such as arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-stem-cell-breakthrough-heralds-era.html Medical research Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:39:47 EST news230200611 Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have shown in an animal study that transplantation of adult stem cells enriched with a bone-regenerating hormone can help mend bone fractures that are not healing properly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-stem-cell-treatment-option-broken.html Medical research Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:58:24 EST news226501077 Scientists from Schepens Eye Research Institute are the first to regenerate large areas of damaged retinas and improve visual function using IPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) derived from skin. The results of their study, which is published in PLoS ONE this month, hold great promise for future treatments and cures for diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases that affect millions worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-sections-retinas-regenerated-visual-function.html Medical research Mon, 16 May 2011 12:32:15 EST news224767914 A new study from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) offers an explanation for why our brains produce fewer and fewer neurons with age, a phenomenon thought to underlie age-related cognitive decline. The study, published as the cover story in the May 6 issue of Cell Stem Cell, suggests that this drop in production is due to the shrinking cache of adult stem cells in our brains. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-stem-cell-related-contribute-age-related-cognitive.html Medical research Thu, 05 May 2011 12:56:52 EST news223818954