In a move providing hope for treatment of spinal cord injuries, researchers have succeeded in restoring the mobility of mice with damaged spinal cords using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

Experiments using the cells were successfully performed by a team of Japanese researchers including Keio University professor Hideyuki Okano and Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka.

Allogeneic (donor-derived) stem cell transplant (alloSCT) may be a promising option for patients with treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), regardless of the patient's underlying genetic abnormalities, according to the results of a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. About 15,000 new CLL cases were diagnosed in the United States in 2009 and about 4,000 deaths were documented (according to the American Cancer Society). While survival rates for leukemia have generally improved in the last decade, patients with rare, more aggressive forms of CLL do not respond well to standard chemotherapy-based and targeted treatments and often die within a few years of diagnosis.

Cell reprogramming calls The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to mind.

It's a new technology that uses molecular therapy to coax adult cells to revert to an embryonic stem cell-like state, allowing scientists to later [IN1] re-differentiate these cells into specific types with the potential to treat heart attacks or diseases such as Parkinson's. But at this point in the technology's development, only one percent of cells are successfully being reprogrammed.

Now, for the first time, scientists at Tel Aviv University in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University have succeeded in tracking the progression of these cells through live imaging to learn more about how they are reprogrammed, and how the new cells evolve over time.

Mont‐Saint‐Guibert, Belgium, June 29, 2010 ... Cardio3 BioSciences, a leading Belgian biotechnology company specialising in regenerative therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announces positive safety data and preliminary efficacy results from its clinical trial of C‐Cure®, a breakthrough stem cell therapy for heart failure.

Pluristem Therapeuitcs Inc. (NasdaqCM: PSTI; DAX: PJT) today announced that following its meeting with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), the German regulatory authority for advanced therapy products (ATP), the company is advancing toward designing two Phase IIb clinical trials for its placenta-derived cell therapy product, PLX-PAD, for the treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) and Moderate-severe Claudication.