The Weston Brain Institute has allocated more than $30 million in funding for Canadian research projects onneurodegenerative diseases of aging.

The lack of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases of aging, including Alzheimers and Parkinsons, has been called the biggest unmet need in modern medicine, saysAlexandra Stewart, executive director at the Weston Brain Institute, in a release. The funding weve committed to these incredible Canadian scientists focuses on projects with the potential to make the greatest impact in this field.

The funding is a part of the larger $100 million announced in 2016 by the Weston Brain Institute for high-risk, high-reward translational research projects with the potential to help speed up the development of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases of aging.

The institute grants through a number of programs, enabling researchers to receive funding and support based on the stage of the project and funding needed. This announcement highlights the more than $30 million directly granted since 2012 toward its Early Phase Clinical Trials, Rapid Response, Transformational Research, and targeted programs. This brings the total funds allocated to date for Canadian researchers to more than $45 million.

The Institutes Scientific Advisory Committee provides guidance to the Institute regarding overall strategy, program development, and program design. Grantees are selected by committees composed of these advisors plus additional experts selected based on the applications under discussion. Both these groups are comprised of world-class international researchers.

The Early Phase Clinical Trials Program (up to $1.7 million) supports Phase I and IIa clinical trials. This is an innovative funding opportunity whereby applicants have optional access to clinical trials design experts to help improve their study designs. Grantees include:

The Rapid Response Program (up to $200,000) provides seed funding for novel projects. This program runs with the quickest granting process to enable researchers to promptly explore high-risk, high-reward ideas and catalyze future projects. Grantees include:

The Transformational Research Program (up to $1.5 million) supports high-potential, larger, longer projects with excellent preliminary data. Grantees include:

Targeted programs provide support for outstanding translational research in ALS, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Given these diseases share related pathologies, work here is likely to advance research in other neurodegenerative diseases of aging. Grantees include:

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Weston Brain Institute Awards $30 Million+ in Grants to Fight Diseases of Aging - Sleep Review

Science Daily

Fish study shows important genome interactions in animal cells Science Daily In a new study, researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science examined how the interaction of two genomes in animal cells -- the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes -- interact to affect adaptation of the ...

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Fish study shows important genome interactions in animal cells - Science Daily

Science Daily

How cells react to injury from open-heart surgery: Research ... Science Daily Investigators have learned how cardiac muscle cells react to a certain type of injury that can be caused by open-heart surgery. The findings point to a new ... and more »

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How cells react to injury from open-heart surgery: Research ... - Science Daily

Science Daily

Pets May Cut Human Allergies and Obesity Science Daily A new University of Alberta study showed that babies from families with pets -- 70 per cent of which were dogs -- showed higher levels of two types of microbes associated with lower risks of allergic disease and obesity. But don't rush out to adopt a ... and more »

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Pets May Cut Human Allergies and Obesity - Science Daily

No one wants surgery. Dr. Jeffrey Christianson is participating in a study that may provide relief for injured or immune-disordered pets without incisions.

Stem cells can morph into any type of cell needed. The cells are harvested from the animals fat, processed, and reinjected into the pet. These one-size-fits-all cells can be used to replace joint tissue, bone, or other tissues that have worn away or become injured.

Stem cell therapy is a branch of Restorative Medicine helping sick animals restore and improve function. Veterinary medicine has been utilizing Autologous (stem cells from the pet) therapy for well over a decade. It helps animals with arthritis, injuries, inflammatory bowel disease, and other immune-mediated disorders rehabilitate or regain some function.

Dr. Christiansons newest project is a research study to analyze the use of Allogeneic cells (cells from donor pets) in therapy. The clinic is taking part in a double-blinded placebo controlled research study. Half of the patients just get a saline control solution injected into the joint as opposed to a stem cell therapy. He will monitor the results over a six-month period. He wont know until the end of the study who got the control. Some of the pets get a stem cell treatment for free. We do blood work and x-rays, and its all covered by the study.

Its unknown if Allogeneic stem cell therapy is as safe and effective as Autologous therapy. Dr. Christianson noted, The goal of the study is that sick pets could receive stem cell therapy without the pain and discomfort of surgery.

Sick and injured animals recuperating at the Island Animal Clinic have a goodwill ambassador to their lift their spirits. Dr. Ballards dog, Jiminy Cricket (Jim) is a daily visitor. Jim was an injured client. Practice Manager Holly Davis explains, He came in with two broken legs, and it was too much for his owner to handle. Jim was in two casts for months and needed round-the-clock care. Jim now goes to work daily with Dr. Ballard. He runs around the hallways when Dr. Ballard is on break, providing comic relief for recuperating pet patients.

Veterinary medical discoveries are providing a better quality of life and extending the lives of our furry friends. Its exciting that a local animal hospital is at the forefront of these emerging trends. Its also comforting to know recovering pets have Jim for inspiration.

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Island Animal Hospital Offers Stem Cell Therapy - Beachside Resident

Vice President Mike Pence spoke Saturday in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

A NEBRASKA SENATOR once said of a Supreme Court nominee, So what if hes mediocre? [The mediocre] are entitled to a little representation. But in Mike Pence mediocrity is overrepresented. Not even Donald Trump commends this intellectually blinkered, right-wing provincial as Americas Savior.

He began as a talk show host in 1994 in small-town Indiana, fulminating about the global warming myth, the perfidy of Washington, and the verities of an evangelical Christianity menaced by cosmopolites. Piety swiftly merged with pragmatism: ambitious for office, Pence learned what worked an antichoice, antigay agenda served up with reckless rhetoric couched in a pose of rectitude. He informed his audience that Clarence Thomas was being lynched, and that despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesnt kill. A quarter-century later, Pence remains as small as his beginnings.

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The flexibility of his conscience surfaced in his first race for Congress. He used campaign funds to pay for his mortgage, car, credit card, golf, and groceries. To smear his opponent, he sent a mailer depicting lines of cocaine; ran an ad portraying an Arab sheik; and spread a story that the Democrat was selling his farm to a nuclear waste facility. Only after losing, did Pence deploy an ostentatious show of guilt.

Once in Congress, he joined the Tea Party and displayed a rigid intolerance for anything outside the crabbed confines of evangelical conservatism. He attacked sex education and reproductive choice with the zeal of Savonarola, decrying stem cell research, the use of condoms to prevent STDs, and organizations whose services included abortion. To further this agenda, he proposed changing the definition of rape to forcible rape and shutting down the government as a tactic to defund Planned Parenthood.

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His apotheosis came as Indianas governor: a statute barring women from aborting fetuses with grave chromosomal damage; exposing doctors who assisted them to prosecution for wrongful death; and requiring that aborted fetuses be buried. A federal court swiftly struck it down.

Turns out Mike Pence also used private e-mail for state business.

His war against LGBT rights is unyielding. He called banning gay marriage Gods idea. He advocated diverting money for AIDS research to ex- gay therapy programs. He fought legislation to protect gays from job discrimination and hate crimes, and opposed gays serving in the military.

As governor, Pence spearheaded a religious freedom law allowing business owners to deny service to LGBT citizens. Struggling to defend this, he gave an incoherent interview to George Stephanopoulos which exposed his excruciating inability to transcend robotic talking points. More than narrow, he looked dense.

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Equally mindless was his opposition to a needle-exchange program, provoking an outbreak of HIV-AIDS in an Indiana county. But then Pence exudes myopia. His fealty to the NRA is craven and comprehensive. He questions climate change and the theory of evolution. He tried to bar Syrian refugees from entering Indiana. In the cul-de-sac of his mind, he plays to the only audience he knows people who think like him.

Increasingly, Indianans did not. By 2016, his reelection campaign was flagging, his normally polite constituents booing him in public. Locals were stunned when, bereft of attractive options, Donald Trump reluctantly offered him a shot at ultimate power. For Pence, this was a gift from God; for others, a revelation of character.

Shamelessly, he combined obsequious testimonials to Trump as leader, family man, and Christian with transparent calculation. Particularly revealing was Pences oscillation between toady and schemer in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape.

At first, he crowed that Trump was still standing stronger than ever. But as revulsion for Trumps serial groping mushroomed, Pence rediscovered his moral compass, intoning prior to one of the presidential debates, We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunities he has to show what is in his heart [in tomorrow nights debate]. Whereupon he vanished.

His calculus was transparent: Pence would await Trumps performance before defending him, poised to resign from the ticket or replace Trump at its head. But Trump survived. Proud to stand with you, Pence tweeted, then attacked Bill Clinton for moral turpitude.

Thats Pence. His public persona reeks of smarmy sanctimony every untruth, evasion, and vacuous bromide delivered in a portentous pipe organ voice accompanied by squints, nods, and shakes of the head which, Pence clearly imagines, convey a pious gravity. The effect is that of an unctuous church elder selling pyramid schemes to credulous parishioners, never doubting he is doing Gods work. Every self-serving self-deception reveals the depths of his shallowness, the breadth of his hypocrisy.

His salvation is not ours.

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Mike Pence and the rise of mediocrity - The Boston Globe

March 26, 2017 10:00 ET | Source: Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa, March 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediVet stem cell therapy, offered at Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic, provides pets and owners with a way to address health concerns in cats and dogs. Pet owners can address conditions such as arthritis, fracture, soft tissue damage and more with advanced stem cell therapy. The procedure and processing are done on-site and pets can return home the same day. Pet owners can improve the quality of life for aging or injured cats and dogs. Enjoy the companionship of beloved pets for years to come with stem cell therapy at Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic.

MediVet offers an advanced stem cell therapy that uses a pets own stem cells for a session. This allows pet owners the ability to tap into a beloved pets own inherent ability to heal without ethical concerns. Dormant stem cells are separated from fat cells and once stimulated, can be reintroduced into damaged areas to facilitate the healing process. Stem cell therapy can benefit pets with arthritis, soft tissue damage, fractures, degenerative myelopathy, liver and kidney failure, auto-immune conditions and more.

There have not been any significant negative side-effects observed from thousands of animals that have been treated with MediVets stem cell therapy. This low-risk treatment has helped over 95 percent of animals show improvement. Aging pets can experience discomfort, arthritis, and degenerative joint disease. Stem cells taken from a pet and reintroduced do not result in a risk of rejection and activated stem cells can become any cell needed. Stem cell therapy can significantly improve the ability of a pet to move and reduce pain.

A vet places a pet under general anesthesia before collecting 2-4 tablespoons of fat. A highly trained vet tech processes the sample taken. It only takes approximately 20 minutes to collect the fat required. Stem cells are re-administered on site and the pet can go home the day of the procedure.

We are pleased to offer pets and owners this advanced treatment that can facilitate the healing process for a range of health conditions, said Dr. Melissa Harrer. Stem cell therapy helps with arthritic symptoms and more and often improves mobility. Learn whether or not your pet is a candidate for this revolutionary procedure today.

Dr. Melissa Harrer of Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic serves pets and residents in and around their two locations. Patients receive the highest level of veterinary care at these full-service small animal clinics. Services include comprehensive wellness exams, heartworm and intestinal parasite testing, oral health care, appropriate pharmaceuticals, preventative immunizations, and behavior counseling.

Call (712) 323-0598 to learn about stem cell therapy treatments for pets or visit http://animalclinicofcb.com/ for more information.

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Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic Offer Stem Cell Therapy for Pets - GlobeNewswire (press release)

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS)

A Henderson County family's back home after a long fight with cancer that's forced a little girl to spend much of the past year in hospitals all over the Southeast.

Rug & Home is holding a rug raffle to raise $20,000 for 6-year-old Selah Grace Henderson. Her Selah Grace's Facebook page includes other ways to donate cash to help cover her mounting medical and travel expenses.

RELATED | 5-year-old WNC girl battling cancer, sings 'Fight Song' for crowd

The saga began on Christmas Day, 2015. Selah Grace received the best present ever.

"I believe I remember Santa dropping off a little puppy," mother Michelle Henderson recalled.

Holiday photos tell the story of a banner day Selah Grace Henderson found Nemo under the tree.

"She was like, 'I knew it, I knew it, I knew I was getting a puppy for Christmas!'" Michelle told News 13. "So, we turned on the coffee pot and Christmas Day began."

"I felt really happy!" Selah Grace said recently, with tears in her eyes.

Perhaps she cries because it's complicated. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship and the start of the family's frightening journey.

Dad Brandon said the dog's been a Godsend. Nemo therapy's been vital.

"Nemo's been very important, he's been able to come see her in the hospital," Brandon explained. "Some of the times when she was down the most, Nemo would come and boost her spirit up."

Selah Grace woke up that December 25 with a cough, so it's unthinkable what they found out a week later.

"Stage four neuroblastoma cancer," Brandon said, still finding it hard to utter the words. "So, from that point, we've been battling ever since."

Since then, most of the Henderson's photos are from hospitals. In January of 2016 she had emergency surgery when a tumor collapsed in her lung.

"It was literally the size of my fist," Brandon said, holding up his hand.

Selah Grace has had five rounds of chemo. She had another tumor removed from her adrenal gland, and stem cell transplants add to the long list.

The Henderson's showed News 13 a dozen photos of Nemo in bed with Selah Grace, sometimes nuzzled next to her in a hospital bed.

Selah Grace experienced a scary setback a few months ago when a seizure left her unable to sit up or talk.

"Not hearing that giggle," Michelle remembered. "That was the first time reality really hit us hard."

"What I learned about her is..." Brandon said, tearing up as he tried to finish the sentence.

Words unsaid say so much. In this case, they speak to a father's endless anguish.

"Excuse me a minute," he told us, asking for a moment of pause. "What I learned about Selah is she is the strongest and the bravest and most courageous and beautiful little girl that I've ever seen."

As Brandon said that, Selah teared up.

"I think it saddens her to see her daddy get upset," Brandon said.

Hospitals in Greenville, Jacksonville and Charleston have become their home away from home, but they're glad to finally be back in Henderson County.

"Her energy's coming back. Her strength's coming back," Michelle said. "And it's just nothing short of a miracle."

Selah Grace is cancer free, but she will need more treatment soon in New York.

"Everything we're doing now is to prevent a relapse," Michelle explained.

That's why the Rug & Home raffle is so vital. The winner gets a $4,000 sari silk rug, and everyone's rooting for the biggest win of all.

"I have 500 to sell," she said, holding a stack of tickets. "We intend that one day she's gonna graduate high school and get married and live a productive, full life."

After 14 months, Selah's appetite is a sign of how far she's come.

"I like hot dogs," said the little girl with a healthy appetite. "Macaroni, cornbread."

The list gives new meaning to the term comfort food.

The Henderson's are hungry for moments that help put the past behind them, moving ahead with the help of Nemo. Through it all, he's been the Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

"Shake!" Selah Grace said to Nemo, holding the paw of the pup that's been there through thick and thin.

Link:
Henderson Co. girl endures year-long battle with cancer with Christmas puppy by her side - WLOS

Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic Offer Stem Cell Therapy for Pets

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa, March 26, 2017 -- MediVet stem cell therapy, offered at Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic, provides pets and owners with a way to address health concerns in cats and dogs. Pet owners can address conditions such as arthritis, fracture, soft tissue damage and more with advanced stem cell therapy. The procedure and processing are done on-site and pets can return home the same day. Pet owners can improve the quality of life for aging or injured cats and dogs. Enjoy the companionship of beloved pets for years to come with stem cell therapy at Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic.

MediVet offers an advanced stem cell therapy that uses a pets own stem cells for a session. This allows pet owners the ability to tap into a beloved pets own inherent ability to heal without ethical concerns. Dormant stem cells are separated from fat cells and once stimulated, can be reintroduced into damaged areas to facilitate the healing process. Stem cell therapy can benefit pets with arthritis, soft tissue damage, fractures, degenerative myelopathy, liver and kidney failure, auto-immune conditions and more.

There have not been any significant negative side-effects observed from thousands of animals that have been treated with MediVets stem cell therapy. This low-risk treatment has helped over 95 percent of animals show improvement. Aging pets can experience discomfort, arthritis, and degenerative joint disease. Stem cells taken from a pet and reintroduced do not result in a risk of rejection and activated stem cells can become any cell needed. Stem cell therapy can significantly improve the ability of a pet to move and reduce pain.

A vet places a pet under general anesthesia before collecting 2-4 tablespoons of fat. A highly trained vet tech processes the sample taken. It only takes approximately 20 minutes to collect the fat required. Stem cells are re-administered on site and the pet can go home the day of the procedure.

We are pleased to offer pets and owners this advanced treatment that can facilitate the healing process for a range of health conditions, said Dr. Melissa Harrer. Stem cell therapy helps with arthritic symptoms and more and often improves mobility. Learn whether or not your pet is a candidate for this revolutionary procedure today.

Dr. Melissa Harrer of Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic serves pets and residents in and around their two locations. Patients receive the highest level of veterinary care at these full-service small animal clinics. Services include comprehensive wellness exams, heartworm and intestinal parasite testing, oral health care, appropriate pharmaceuticals, preventative immunizations, and behavior counseling.

Call (712) 323-0598 to learn about stem cell therapy treatments for pets or visit http://animalclinicofcb.com/ for more information.

Human Life Could Be Extended Indefinitely, Study Suggests

Goosebumps, tears and tenderness: what it means to be moved

Are over-the-counter painkillers a waste of money?

Does an anomaly in the Earth's magnetic field portend a coming pole reversal?

Immunotherapy: Training the body to fight cancer

Do vegetarians live longer? Probably, but not because they're vegetarian

Could a contraceptive app be as good as the pill?

Some scientific explanations for alien abduction that aren't so out of this world

Society actually does want policies that benefit future generations

Six cosmic catastrophes that could wipe out life on Earth

Big Pharma Starts Using Cannabis For Making Drugs In Earnest

Do you need to worry if your baby has a flat head?

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Animal Clinic of Council Bluffs and Glenwood Veterinary Clinic Offer Stem Cell Therapy for Pets - EconoTimes

A new therapy claims to help older women have better and more frequent orgasms and its success could well shed more light on a little known subject.

According to a newspaper report, there exists a therapy that helps older women have better and more frequent orgasms. Im not so sure about the way it is achieved, but, from what I could understand, it involves the patients own blood, from which high quality platelet rich plasma is derived. Such platelet rich plasma is used to treat many conditions such as vascular collapse, sepsis, and chronic liver disease. It has also been used to treat orthopedic conditions such as arthritis and plantar fasciitis, and various tendon affections. It has been dubbed the O shot. The Harley Street physician, who is selling it at 1,000 (Rs 90,000) a shot, claims to have treated over 2,000 females and claims he has achieved good results. He believes that as women age, they need help with their orgasms a lot like how we all need glasses as we grow older, apparently. Several women have taken this treatment to have better climaxes. Others use it for a sexual arousal disorder. The doctor claims that half the women experience immediate effects.

Strangely, in a world bombarded by medical research from innovations in stem cell therapy and cloning, we still know little about the female orgasm. The female orgasm is a sudden discharge of accumulated tension during sexual response, resulting in rhythmic muscular contraction in the pelvic region, and characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure. The orgasm is followed by a release of endorphins (joy hormones), oxytocin and prolactin, and the period after orgasm is known as the refractory period, after which the woman is capable of being stimulated again. Some studies suggest that climaxing during sex increases the chances of pregnancy.

No study on the orgasm is complete without referring to Masters and Johnsons pioneering work on the human orgasm. Female orgasms last about 20 seconds or so. The contractions may be different in different women, with a series of regular contractions at regular intervals. In some, regular contraction is followed by irregular contractions, and in a few, orgasms occur without contraction at all. The orgasms are often proceeded by clitoral errection and moistening of the vagina. At the onset of an orgasm, the outer part of the vagina tightens and narrows, and the overall vagina lengthens and dilates. Several studies of the brain have been done using a PET scanner during states of rest, sexual stimulation, faked orgasms and actual orgasm. It has been observed that parts of the brain that control fear and anxiety shut down with sexual stimulation. Stimulation of the clitoris also shows similar results on the brain. From the above, it may be reasonable to assume that sexual activity is an inherent part of health, and a study in the British Medical Journal on men between 45 to 59, with a 10-year follow up, tells us that men who have fewer orgasms are twice as likely to die of any cause. A study in 2001, which addressed the sexual aspects of cardiovascular health, also tells us those men having sex three or more times a week have a 50% reduction in the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Ten percent of women have never had an orgasm and 40-50% have complained about sexual dysfunction, according to Rod Plotnik in the Introduction to Psychology. Strangely, according to the Kinsey Institute, women are more likely to be orgasmic when alone than with a partner.

No discussion on female orgasm is complete without alluding to the legendary G spot. The G spot, also called the Grafenberg spot, is reported to be located 2 to 3 inches up the anterior wall of the vagina. Though many studies state that the existence of this has never been proven, some studies using ultrasound have seemingly found physiological evidence of this spot. So, claims about the O shot experience are good at present, and is said to improve the blood supply to the vagina. Time alone will tell us how successful this is.

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Making sex better with age - Mumbai Mirror