October 28, 2009
ABCtech and BioAlberta
Alberta Patient-Focused Stem Cell Forums Set Tone
EDMONTON and CALGARY – Two public forums, hosted by the
Alberta Council of Technologies (ABCtech) and BioAlberta, will be held in
Edmonton and Calgary next month to demystify stem cell therapies and the role
Alberta and its biotech sector will play in their development.
“Labs around the world,” Perry Kinkaide, president of ABCtech,
said, “are making discoveries and breakthroughs daily, and increasing the
knowledge and understanding of human biology. Nowhere is this clearer than in
the study of stem cells.” Stem-cell research, he added, is the focus of
worldwide scientific interest because of the medical promise they hold to cure
and treat degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, diabetes,
arthritis and blindness, among others.
Dr. Robert Burrell, Founder of the province-wide Biomedical
Engineering Research and Results Initiative (BERRI) and Manning Award Winner,
will give the keynote presentation discussing innovations in stem cell research
and describing the technology development process.
A panel discussion between patient representatives and research
and development experts will be held on issues surrounding stem cell therapies
after the presentation. The audience will then be asked for their questions.
The Edmonton event, which will be held on Nov. 26 at the ,
Central Lions Facility (11113 – 113 St), will be streamed live onto the internet
for those unable to attend in person.
The Calgary event will be held on Nov 25 at the Kerby Center
(1133 – 7th Ave SW).
Both events are free and run from 7 PM to 9:30 PM and offer free
parking.
For more information and to register for the events or to watch
the video broadcast, please visit www.abctech.ca.
Contact:
Perry Kinkaide
780-990-5874
Stem-cell research
In 2006 a Japanese researcher’s discovery that skin could be
“reprogrammed” to create stem cells and turn them into different tissues
redefined the discussion surrounding the development of stem cell technologies.
Up until that point, controversy surrounding the ethical use of stem cells of
embryonic origin but, with his discovery, the ability to create stem cells which
rivalled the power of embryonic stem cells from a patient’s own body became
possible.
Since then, the field has seen refinements to the process of
reprogramming, making it safer, easier, and more efficient.
At the same time, a new understanding of regeneration has
revealed the potential for harnessing the power of the body’s natural healing
process to regenerate tissues and missing body parts. For example, at the
McGowan Center for Regenerative Medicine in Pittsburgh in 2006, the amputated
fingertip of an elderly man was induced to grow back entirely in six weeks after
a simple treatment
But while the potential benefits are clear, the public at large,
as well as patients and caregivers, lack the information they need to give their
full support. Both ABCtech and BioAlberta hope that the forums will be the
beginning of the education process.