Helping Out highlights some of the many charitable events and activities going on in the Charleston area. Submissions should be sent to dailyjournal@scbiznews.com.

Trident Literacy Association will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at 11:30 a.m. Thursday for the re-opening of its Summerville location. Trident Literacy, an adult education program that serves the tri-county area, closed two locations in Summerville two years ago because of the difficult economy and its effect on the organizations finances. The Summerville location is at 907-2 Miles Jamison Road.

Tony the Peanut Man, the moniker for Joseph P. Riley Jr. Parks long-time peanut vendor Anthony Wright, got some help from the RiverDogs. After a fire at his home, Wright reportedly suffered about $10,000 in damages to his peanut-boiling equipment that included steel pots and other gear located in the backyard of his West Ashley home. During its games last weekend, the RiverDogs donated a portion of the clubs peanut sales to Wright and set up donation stations at guest services areas.

The Charleston Concert Association is hosting a Moulin Rouge themed auction Thursday with food, drinks and live entertainment by Chamber Music Charleston and Theatre Marvelosa. The event is at 6:30 p.m. at the Mills House Hotel, 115 Meeting St. in Charleston. Silent and live auction items include Bernie Horton paintings, a cooking class with Nathalie Dupree, a week stay at Cabo San Lucas, chefs table at McCradys and fine jewelry from Croghans Jewel Box and Nice Ice. For more information, call 843-727-1216.

In 2007, the Charleston Crab Shacks established The Purple Crab Foundation as a way to support the Hollings Cancer Center. Founders Ryan Condon and Dan Doyle decided to donate all of the profits from their she-crab soup to the foundation. At the same time, they coordinated with South Carolinas Smart State Program to use funds available through the Education Lottery to match these donations dollar for dollar. Since 2007, The Crab Shacks have contributed $17,500 and with the matching program have been able to donate $35,000 to the Hollings Cancer Center. The donations help tobacco-related malignancy research and cancer stem cell biology and therapy.

The Push-Up & Up Challenge Charleston is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in Marion Square. The first push-ups are set to begin at 9:20 a.m. Push-Up & Up is a nonprofit organization that raises money to support proven programs in dropout prevention. In its fifth year with a push-up competition, Push-Up & Up is partnering with Communities In Schools of the Charleston Area, a nonprofit whose mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Each teams goal is to raise at least $1,000 for CIS dropout prevention programs. Teams of six from the Tri-county community will compete to complete as many push-ups as possible in 30 minutes. Team registration is $150.

On April 18, Eurasia Cafe & Wine Bar prepared the midday meal for East Cooper Meals on Wheels recipients as part of Charleston Chefs Feed the Need. Recipients enjoyed marinated and grilled pork loin, local red potatoes, steamed sugar snap peas and an artisan baguette, all prepared by executive chef Meredith Adams.

Hidden Ponds Nursery & Garden Center in Awendaw is hosting the seventh annual benefit weekend for East Cooper Meals on Wheels. Ten percent of all sales Friday through Sunday will be donated to East Cooper Meals on Wheels. Lunch will be available on Saturday and the grounds will be open all weekend. Hidden Ponds is located at 4863 Highway 17 North.

The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation presented a check for $84,700 to The Dorchester Children's Center to honor the group's commitment to protecting and supporting children in crisis in Dorchester County. Dorchester Children's Center will use the grant for the Direct Clinical Services Program, which provides a coordinated, evidence-based response to child abuse that reduces the effects of trauma and administers treatment to victims and their families.

Homeowners falling behind on their mortgage or worried about foreclosure can get help at a program from 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the Otranto Road Regional Library. An approved housing counselor from the S.C. Homeownership and Employment Lending Program will guide residents through the process of saving their home. The program is part of Money Smart Week at your library, a national initiative conducted in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Celebrating its 11th year, Money Smart Weeks mission is to promote personal financial literacy.

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Helping Out for April 25, 2012

Novelos ( NVLT ): Initiating with an Outperform

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By Grant Zeng, CFA

We are initiating coverage of Novelos ( NVLT ) with an Outperform rating. Our 12-month price target is $2.50.

Novelos is a development stage pharmaceutical company. The Company's unique technology specifically targets cancer and cancer stem cells through interaction with lipid rafts which are enriched in cancer and cancer stem cells.

The advantages the Company's technology lie in its selectivity of cancer-targeting as well as broad spectrum of anticancer activity. Since the lipid rafts are enriched in cancer and cancer stem cells, the Company's three candidates all selectively target these cancer and cancer stem cells. Because lipid rafts are overexpressed in most of cancer and cancer stem cells, this makes the Company's candidates target many types of cancers.

LIGHT has the potential to become the new standard of care for cancer PET imaging due to its selectivity for cancer/cancer stem cells over FDG, current standard of care for cancer PET imaging. LIGHT also has the advantage of delivery range due to its four-day half-life versus F-18 labeled FDG's 110 minutes half-life.

The specific targeting of both cancer and cancer stem cells makes NVLT's HOT/COLD with the efficacy potential to target all three major drivers of mortality in cancer - primary tumors, metastases and stem cell-based relapse , which distinguishes HOT/COLD from all other cancer therapy modalities.

As a new systemic radiotherapy, HOT has the advantage over existing systemic radiotherapeutic Zevalin and Bexxar. The selective interaction with lipid rafts makes HOT a broad spectrum cancer targeting agent since lipid rafts are overexpressed in most of cancer and cancer stem cells. Selective uptake and retention of HOT in cancer stem cells compared with normal cells also offer the prospect of longer lasting cancer remission.

We believe development risk is relatively less for HOT than other early stage cancer therapeutics. HOT exploits a new cancer-selective delivery and retention mechanism, but is paired with a proven and effective radioisotope (I-131) for therapy. Because the therapeutic properties of the iodine-131 are well known, the risk of non-efficacy in human clinical trials is less than that of other cancer therapies at this stage of development. Furthermore, LIGHT PET imaging data is expected to predict efficacy and enable calculation of efficacious doses of HOT for Phase II trials (i.e. LIGHT serves as an ideal and personalized biomarker for HOT).

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Novelos (NVLT): Initiating with an Outperform - Analyst Blog

These days, cancer has a harder time hiding out. With modern imaging tools, inquiring researchers can ogle its every move, from a tumors growth to its inner workings to its effects on surrounding tissues.

Imaging, I think, is made for cancer, says Zaver Bhujwalla, director of the In Vivo Cellular Molecular Imaging Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. You can study so many different aspects of cancer.

For example, scientists can observe metastatic cells changing location in real time or watch for days and weeks as a tumor attracts new vasculature. Utilizing an abundance of tracers and reporter genes, researchers can visualize a cancers biochemistry, including its off-kilter metabolism. They can also monitor where a potential new cancer drug goes and what it does.

With techniques based on radioactivity, light, and sound, an important task for cancer researchers is to make sure we have the correct instrument, says Samuel Achilefu, director of the optical radiology laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. Lately, one instrument is often not enough, and researchers are combining two or more kinds of images to acquire a picture that includes both anatomical and functional information.

Here, The Scientist takes a look at five imaging options for the cancer researcher, ranging from old standbys to up-and-coming technologies.

REAL-TIME TRACKING OF TUMOR GROWTH: Justin Lathia of the Cleveland Clinic uses intravital microscopy to observe labeled tumor stem cells (green fluorescence) as they induce new vascular growth (yellow fluorescence). The tool allows him to study tissue of a living animal over weeks. Jim Lang

User Justin Lathia, assistant professor of cell biology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio

Project In collaboration with Jeremy Rich at the Clinic and Alex Huang at Case Western Reserve University, Lathia studies how cancer stem cells drive tumor growth. Using intravital microscopy to view human brain tumors implanted into mice, the team was able to observe what scientists had previously only inferred: that stem cells indeed build the tumor mass (PLoS ONE, 6:e24807, 2011).

Method The researchers cut a window into the skulls of living mice and mounted a glass coverslip in the opening. They took multiple images of the brain over time, using blood vessels as a guide so they could line up their fluorescence microscope over the same spot for every picture.

Applications Intravital microscopy offers a window into many types of cellular activities, such as different cell populations moving around in a tumor, cancer cells interactions with endothelial tissue, and their migration in and out of the bloodstream, in addition to cell division and growth. Intravital microscopy is best suited for observing a small area.

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Eyes on Cancer

BYRAM, MS (WLBT) -

9 year old Pretty Girl, a Rottweiler- Lab mix, has been the center of the world for Eugene and Theresa Marble. Eugene in fact, credits her with adding ten years to his life."She's a big part of it. She really is. She actually runs the house."

Theresa also adores Pretty Girl. "She's Saints fan. She has a microchip in case she gets lost."

The much loved pet has brought a lot of joy to the Marbles. And now, as Pretty Girl struggles with osteoarthritis, the couple wants to do something veryspecial for her. "Watching her struggle to walk has been heart wrenching," Theresa said.

Pretty Girl is one of the first two dogs in Mississippi to undergo a stem cell transplant. Dr. Mike Randall performed both procedures at Randall Veterinary Hospital in Byram.

Pretty Girl gets an I-V, anesthesia, and a close shave to the fatty part of her shoulder. Dr. Randall is removing a portion of fat, which is rich in stem cells. "We take the fat, process the fat. We get the stem cells out. We also get blood from the dog. We pull platelet rich plasma which is growth factors for these stem cells. That will cause the stem cells to adhere to those and have them proliferate and become the tissue they need to be," Dr. Randall said.

The debilitating effects of osteoarthritis in Pretty Girl's hind legs are obvious. In the weeks ahead, the stem cells taken from the fat in her shoulder will give her remarkable improvement."Most of your pain is due to inflamed areas of the joint. So these stem cells can go ahead and adhere to the inflamed areas of the joint and begin to repair those," Dr. Randall explained.

Pet owners who opt for stem cell therapyare also encouraged to bank the unused stem cells for later use. That eliminates the need for another fat extraction from the canine patient if the injections need to be repeated.

The success rate of stem celltherapy in dogs for osteoarthritis is about 97 percent. The cost is roughly $1,800.00 andbanking stem cells for later use costs about $150.00 a year.

Copyright 2011 WLBT. All rights reserved.

Originally posted here:
Dog receives first stem cell transplant in Mississippi

Columbia, SC (WLTX) --What if your pet couldn't walk anymore? One Midlands vet is using stem cell therapy to help.

For Beth Phibbs it's almost like a turning back of the hands of time.

"I call her my little miracle dog, because she's doing things she used to do," said Phibbs. "Now she's not on any medication, and she can go up and down the steps and she runs and jumps and things that she used to do when she was five."

Phibbs has spent the last 13 years loving and looking after her pet dog Maggie, and when she pet began to develop arthritis and a limp she had to take action. But when the first treatments stopped working, Phibbs and Maggie had to look to another options, dog stem cell therapy.

"I had no idea that animals were able to have they type of procedures," she said.

Dr. Kenneth Banks a veterinarian with the Bank Animal Hospital, performed the surgery for Maggie using her own stem cells in the one day procedure.

Banks said the stem cell therapy not only cost less than some other options, but was less invasive and had a quicker recovery time as well.

Still with about three similar procedures under his belt, even he didn't expect to see a such change in maggie just 40 days after the surgery.

"I wasn't sure we were gonna get the results this fast, we were expecting results, maybe not a good as she's done. We're real happy with her results," said Banks.

Now, after three years on medication and walking with a limp, Maggie's getting used to a new way of life -- one with out pain in her golden years.

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Midlands Vet Uses Stem Cell Therapy for Pets in Pain

SUNRISE, Fla., March 22, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (OTCBB:BHRT.OB - News), a company focused on developing stem cell therapies for heart disease, previously announced that they entered into an agreement with Stemlogix, LLC, a veterinary regenerative medicine company, to provide additional cellular products and services to the veterinary market. Under this agreement, the companies are offering stem cell banking for veterinary patients (pets). WPLG, channel 10 featured this exciting technology in a news segment which aired in the South Florida area. A small sample of tissue can be obtained from the animals during a routine procedure such as a spay or neuter. The stem cells are isolated and cryopreserved for future use as needed.

"We are excited to bring our expertise in stem cell therapy to the veterinary community," said Mike Tomas, Bioheart's President and CEO. "Stem cell therapies represent new opportunities for various types of patients and the ability to bank a pet's cells when they are young and healthy could be very valuable for future use."

WPLG, Channel 10 in Miami/South Florida featured this new technology in a news segment which aired March 15, 2012. Please see the link below:

http://www.local10.com/thats-life/health/Pet-stem-cells-frozen-banked-for-future-use/-/1717022/9285894/-/apcx9rz/-/index.html

About Bioheart, Inc.

Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.

About Stemlogix, LLC

Stemlogix is an innovative veterinary regenerative medicine company committed to providing veterinarians with the ability to deliver the best possible stem cell therapy to dogs, cats and horses at the point-of-care. Stemlogix provides veterinarians with the ability to isolate regenerative stem cells from a patient's own adipose (fat) tissue directly on-site within their own clinic or where a patient is located. Regenerative stem cells isolated from adipose tissue have been shown in studies to be effective in treating animal's suffering from osteoarthritis, joint diseases, tendon injuries, heart disorders, among other conditions. Stemlogix has a highly experienced management team with experience in setting up full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facilities, stem cell product development & enhancement, developing point-of-care cell production systems, developing culture expanded stem cell production systems, FDA compliance, directing clinical & preclinical studies with multiple cell types for multiple indications, and more. For more information about veterinary regenerative medicine please visit http://www.stemlogix.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "to," "plan," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

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Bioheart Labs and Stemlogix Veterinary Products Featured in Media

FREEHOLD, NJ--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- United Health Products, Inc. (OTCQB: UEEC.PK - News) (Pinksheets: UEEC.PK - News), which develops and markets products and technologies in the healthcare sector, today announced that Epic Wound Care Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiary, has executed a Distribution Agreement with BioVentive Inc. for the exclusive rights to distribute its Hemostyp product line into the veterinarian market both domestically and internationally.

In the United States, the American Pet Products Association estimates that 62% of all households own a pet (i.e., dog, cat, horse, bird, fish or reptile) which equates to 72.9 million homes. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that the number of procedures performed on animals, whether due to injury or health related issues exceeds 10 million, annually. Hemostyp gauze technology is designed to absorb exudate/drainage from superficial wounds and assists the veterinarian in expediting the delivery of service.

Dr. Phillip Forman, United's CEO, said, "I am very excited about Epic entering into this agreement with BioVentive to promote our products in the veterinarian market. The absorption quality inherent in our Hemostyp products can now be implemented in numerous fashions in the treatment of pets including tooth extractions and superficial trauma."

"Hemostyp is the key product line that helps position our company to offer advanced life saving technology, at the right price, to achieve significant market share in the worldwide veterinarian market over the next 12 months," says Brett Nauta, President of BioVentive, Inc."

About United Health Products, Inc.United Health Products, Inc. (UEEC) develops, manufactures and markets products and technologies in the healthcare sector. UEEC's operating subsidiary Epic Wound Care, Inc. produces hemostatic gauze, derived from regenerated oxidized cellulose, which is all natural and designed to absorb exudate/drainage from superficial wounds. UEEC is focused on identifying emerging healthcare products and technologies for strategic partnership or acquisition.

About BioVentive, Inc.BioVentive is a private company based in California that sells and distributes products to the medical and veterinary markets. BioVentive markets products that consist of enhanced infection prevention solutions, stem cell therapies and collection, and specialized wound care products and solutions. Its over 100 member sales force includes specialists to service the genetic therapy and wound care management in the veterinarian market. The company works both as a direct re-seller and channel partner of major worldwide distributors.

Safe Harbor StatementSafe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Continued here:
United Health Products Announces Distributor to the Veterinarian Market

OCALA, FL--(Marketwire -03/18/12)- Town & Country Animal Hospital announced that the veterinary practice has launched a new website with veterinary care resources for pet owners. The website, http://www.bestocalavet.com/, is designed to make it easy for pet owners to find accurate, reliable answers to their animal care questions. The veterinary hospital provides comprehensive pet care services, including pet wellness, spay neuter operations, and advanced treatments including orthopedic surgery, veterinary dermatology and pet stem cell therapy. Pet owners can learn more about these procedures, as well as general pet care tips, by visiting the new website.

Ocala pet owners have a new, free veterinary resource for answering their pet care questions. Dr. Kelly Culbertson, a veterinarian with Town & Country Animal Hospital, stated, "The new website is packed with up-to-date information on the latest veterinary care procedures, and designed to answer all kinds of pet care questions. Additionally, pet owners can get to know our wonderful staff, visit pet portals for information on their pet's healthcare, and order from our online store."

Dr. Culbertson, along with Ocala veterinarians Dr. Pam Neiser, Dr. Leah Smith, Dr. Derek Parkin and Dr. Sarah Quigley, are part of the veterinary hospital care team that has been serving local pet owners for over 15 years.

"We're proud to be part of the community for over 15 years, and our new website is a natural extension of our commitment to serving pet owners," said Dr. Culbertson. "Features like the Vetopedia and Video Newsroom make basic pet care tips accessible to everyone, any time of the day or night."

The Veterinary Topics library also includes information targeted to new pet owners, including tips for how to introduce a new pet into a family. There is basic training information, along with tips for grooming, pet nutrition and a checklist for recognizing the signs of illness in pets.

The Video Newsroom includes a variety of how-to videos, including those for at-home dog dental cleaning and tips for seasonal pet care. The Vetopedia is designed to explain a variety of veterinary terminology and answer questions pet owners may have about different procedures.

Town & Country is one of the only animal hospitals to offer fat stem cell therapy, as well as advanced orthopedic surgeries. Dr. Culbertson is the only Ocala veterinarian to perform Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteostomy (TPLO) surgery. Pet owners can learn more about these treatments, as well as the veterinary hospital's vet dermatology practice, on the practice's new website.

"We are excited to offer these revolutionary treatments for canine arthritis and soft tissue injuries," said Dr. Culbertson. "Whenever possible, our minimally invasive procedures and laser treatments ensure less pain and swelling, as well as shorter recovery periods. The new website is a great resource for learning more about alternative treatments like stem cell therapy and TPLO surgery."

Pet owners who wish to learn more about these procedures and other veterinary care treatments may visit the website at http://www.BestOcalaVet.com.

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Ocala Veterinarian Announces Free Online Veterinary Resources

26-01-2012 02:37 Animacel ltd. is offering your animal stem cell treatment with newly developed stem cell therapy. At the moment, excellent results are with treatments of different joint problems (arthritis and injury/damage of cartilage, hip dysplasia), tendon problems and supporting/adjuvant stem cell therapy for faster healing of broken bones. We are also developing treatment for heart insufficiency, eye dissease, diabetes, etc. See our webpage http://www.animacel.com

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Stem cell treatment for animals - Video

18-06-2011 18:05

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Cat gets Help with Stem Cells In West Virginia - Video