RJA #6c Field Research Options

Interviews

For my primary research in stem cell therapy, I think interviewing will be my main focus. I plan to interview Dr. Stephen Grover, head of the OBGYN Center at Sky Ridge Medical Center. He is an expert in cord blood stem cell storage and cord blood replacement therapy. I also plan to interview a potential recipient of stem cell therapy, Drew Covington, who is 10, and suffers from Cerebral Palsy. Drew is under going tests for stem cell therapy procedure that will be done in Germany. His tests are being done at Children’s Hospital here in Denver. I would also like to interview his doctor at Children’s, if possible, to get his imput on this procedure.

Forum Discussions

There are several good forum discussions that I have found on TEDMED I would like to become more acquainted with concerning the study of stem cell therapy. These discussions can be found at the following link:

http://www.ted.com/search?q=stem+cell+research&x=0&y=0.

There are also other forum discussions that are listed on the Geron site, these forums are dealing specifically with spinal cord injury and stem cell replacement therapy. There are two that I am most interested in, they are CareCure Community at http://sci.rutgers.edu/ and National Spinal Cord Injury Association at http://www.spinalcord.org/.

Observations

As much as I would love to be an observer at any stem cell therapy clinic and or hospital, I don’t think that would be possible at this time. One thing I would like to check up on is perhaps a clinic doing physical therapy on stem cell patients. That type of observation may be available in Denver and if so would be very interesting to me.

RJA #6b Social Media and Multimedia

Addictomatic – Social Media Search Tool

Key words: Stem Cell Regeneration

Search Strategies: (stem cell therapy) + regeneration

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 20

Relevance: 5

BlogScope – Social Media Search Tool

Key Words: Stem Cell Treatment

Search Strategies – (regeneration) + (stem cell treatment)

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 1,462

Relevance: 5

Socialmention – Social Media Search Tool

Key words: Stem Cell Research

Search Strategies – “research” AND “stem cell therapy”

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 130

Relevance: 4

Videosurf – Multimedia Search Tool

Key Words: Stem Cell Therapy

Search Strategies – (therapy) AND (stem cells)

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 1,076

Relevance: 5

iResearch Reporter – Other Search Tools

Key Words – Stem Cell Therapy

Search Strategies – “umbilical cord blood” + “stem cell therapy”

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 53

Relevance: 5

RJA #6a Websites

Meta and Multi Search Engines – AcademicIndex.net

Key Words: Stem Cell Therapy

Search Strategies: “stem cell therapy”

Date Searched: February 23, 2010

Hits: 7

Relevance: 4

Search Engine – AltaVista

Key Words: International Stem Cell Therapy

Search Strategies: “International Embryonic Stem Cell” + Therapy

Date Searched: February 23, 2010

Hits: 38

Relevance: 5

Directories – Best of the Web

Key Words: Stem Cell Therapy

Search Strategies: (illness) + (disease) + “stem cell therapy”

Date Searched: February 23, 2010

Hits: 8

Relevance: 5

99 Resources to Research & Mine the Invisible Web

SCIRUS for scientific information only

Key Words: Stem Cell and Spinal Cord Research

Search Strategies: (Stem Cell Therapy) AND (Spinal Cord Injury)

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 138,975

Relevance: 5

99 Resources to Research & Mine the Invisible Web

SCIRUS for scientific information only

Key Words: Stem Cell and Cerebral Palsy Research

Search Strategies: (Stem Cell Therapy) AND (Cerebral Palsy)

Date Searched: February 24, 2010

Hits: 93,213

Relevance: 5

RJA #5c Reference Articles

Reference Articles

Encyclopedia (infoplease.com)

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia

Stem Cells

www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0907292.html

Bernard Haisch

Stem Cells Overview

Digital Universe

August 2008

www.digitaluniverse.net/stemcell/articles/view/132838

Searches

Encyclopedia (infoplease.com)

Stem cell treatments

February 17, 2010

4 hits

Relevance - 3

Digital Universe

Stem Cell Treatments

Trunity Your World Your Site

February 17, 2010

7 hits

Relevance - 4

RJA #5b Periodical Articles

Periodicals and Journals

Ferdinando Rossi & Elena Cattaneo

Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Neural Stem Cell Therapy for Neurological Diseases: Dreams and Reality

http://0-www.nature.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/nrn/journal/v3/n5/full/nrn809.html

Volume 3

May 2002

Pages 401-409

David T Harris

Stem Cell Review and Reports

Cord Blood Stem Cells: A Review of Potential Neurological Applications

http://www.springerlink.com/content/ll0q41551n285310/

Volume 4, Number 4

December 2008

Pages 269-274

S. Pauley, B. Kopecky, K. Beisel, G. Soukup, B. Fritzsch

Panminerva Med.

Stem Cells and Molecular Strategies to Restore Hearing

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610336/?tool=pubmed

March 2008; 50 (1)

Pages 41-53

Robert Blellock

Nature International Weekly Journal of Science

Regenerative Medicine: Short Cuts to Cell Replacement

http://0-www.nature.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/nature/journal/v455/n7213/full/455604a.html

2 October 2008

Pages 604-605

Sudhanshu P. Raikwar, Nicholas Zavazava,

Journal of Cellular Physiology

Insulin Producing Cells Derived from Embryonic Stem Cells: Are We There Yet?

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121460828/HTMLSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Volume 218, Issue 2

October 2008

Pages 256-263

Searches

Auraria Articles Database

Biomedical Medline PubMed

“Pluripotent stem cell therapy” and people

February 16, 2010

10 hits

Relevance – 5

Auraria Articles Database

“Stem Cell Therapy”

February 17, 2010

68,000 hits

Relevance – 3

RJA #5a Books

BOOKS

Ann B. Parsons

The Proteus Effect

Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine

Joseph Henry Press * 500 Fifth Street, NW * Washington, DC 20001

Copyright 2004

Search - Douglas County Library Catalog

Stem Cell Therapy

February 17, 2010

10 hits

Relevance – 3

Michael Ruse and Christopher A. Pynes, editors

The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issue

Second Edition

Prometheus Books * 59 John Glenn Drive * Amherst, New York 14228

Published 2006

Search - Auraria Library

Skyline

Stem Cell Controversy

February 16, 2010

7 hits

Relevance – 5

Lars Ostnor, editor

Stem Cells, Human Embryos and Ethics - Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Springer Science and Business Media

Published 2008

Search - Auraria Library

Skyline

Stem Cells and Ethics

February 16, 2010

27 hits

Relevance – 3

Kristin Renwick Monroe, Ronald B. Miller, and Jerome S. Tobis, editors

Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate, The Scientific, Religious, Ethical and Political Issues

University of California Press

Copyright 2008

Search - Auraria Library

Skyline

Stem Cells and Ethics

February 16, 2010

27 hits

Relevance – 3

E BOOKS

Stewart Goldman and Christopher D. Turner, editors

Late Effects of Treatment for Brain Tumors Cancer Treatment and Research

Medicine & Public Health, Oncology and Pediatrics

2009

http://0-www.springerlink.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/content/qj7421/?sortorder=asc&v=expanded

Search – Auraria Library

Risks or stem cell therapy

Skyline

February 16, 2010

1,336 hits

Relevance – 4

Alexander Battler and Jonathan Leor

Stem Cell and Gene-Based Therapy

Frontiers in Regenerative Medicine

2006

http://0-www.springerlink.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/content/u18625/

Search – Auraria Library

Stem or cell or risks or women

Skyline

February 16, 2010

83 hits

Relevance – 4

RJA #4c Research Question Check

• http://playersyrita.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3c-research-question.html#comment-form
  

• http://melindaatmetro.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3c-research-questions.html#comment-form
  

• http://brittanymartin3.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3-eng-1020.html#comment-form
  

RJA #4b Search Strings

+ Symbol:  Search engine math

illness + disease + “stem cell therapy”

risk + “stem cell therapy”

“umbilical cord blood” + “stem cell therapy”

 

 

- Symbol:  Search engine math

“stem cell therapy” –ethical –controversy

“stem cell therapy” –debates

“stem cell applications” –embryonic

 

 

Phrases

“bone marrow transplant therapy”

“ethical issues in stem cell research” –United States + Europe

“stem cell risks” + women

 

Boolean Operators

(stem cell therapy) AND (childhood leukemia)

(pluripotent stem cell therapy) OR (adults)

(embryonic stem cell therapy) NOT (United States research)

(ethical stem cell issues) AND (international)

(new perspectives in human stem cell application) OR (children)

(stem cell diabetes) OR (adults)

(stem cell spinal cord injuries) NOT (children)

RJA #4a: Keywords

FOREST LOG

FO: Forms – Stem cell therapy, embryonic stem cell therapy, adult stem cell therapy, current stem cell therapy, stem cell therapy risks, risks of stem cell therapy, ethical issues in stem cell research, stem cell therapy critical issues, human stem cell therapeutic research, stem cell research, researching stem cells, new perspectives in human stem cell application, experimental stem cell therapy, injuries treated with stem cell therapy, stem cell treatments, world view on stem cell therapy, stem cell cures, opposition to stem cell therapy, future of stem cell research.

RE: Related Terms – Transplant cell therapy, bone marrow transplant therapy, regenerative cell therapy, mechanisms and experimental therapy, stem cell parkinson’s, spinal cord, muscular dystrophy, brain, diabetes, cardiac, liver, myocardial, stroke, cancer, alzheimer's, and neural therapy, stem cell therapy international.

ST: Synonymous Terms – Precursor cell therapy, pluripotent therapy, somatic cell, vegetative cell, transplant cell, cord blood therapy, hematopoietic stem therapy, mesenchymal stem therapy, cancer stem therapy, T cell therapy.

LOG: Ladder of Generalization – Stem cell research, application of stem cell research, cell replacement therapy, embryonic stem cell controversy, alternative stem cell applications, adult stem cell therapy, pluripotent stem cell therapy, current stem cell application, diseases and injury stem cell treatments.

RJA #3c: Research Question

What is stem cell research?
How many years has this research been going on?
Is the United States the world leader in this type of research?
Would cloning be a good thing for us or would that be going to far?
What diseases or injuries are being treated or hope to be treated with stem cell replacement therapy?

What stem cells are being used? 

What are the risks, the benefits, and controversies surrounding this therapy?

How far is too far when dealing with stem cell developement?

What are the controversies surrounding stem cell research?
Why is stem cell research thought of as a moral issue?

I would like to focus my research on the information I can gather surrounding the treatments for disease, and injuries. I want to know the risks, and the successes that have been experienced and the controversy that may keep us from ever being able to advance this form of therapy to its full potential. I would like to find out if doctors are using embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, or the new synthetic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS), and which stem cell treatment is being used for which illness or injury. I would like to know which treatments have been effective and also which treatments are the most controversial and why.

RJA #3b: Research Topic Focus

Probably the first thing that people would debate about stem cell research would be whether or not the use of stem cells is ethical. That is at the core of all the controversy surrounding stem cells. The other part of the debate would be with regards to cloning, which is also a moral issue with many people.

The more positive side of the debate would be surrounding the amazing opportunities stem cell research might offer people with debilitating illnesses or injuries. The fact that this research is not flawless, there are risks involved would also be of interest to discuss. Which therapies have been the most successful and why and the future potential of new and interesting discoveries in the science of stem cell research would also be of interest.

I also think there would be a debate on how old is too old. Do we want to live forever? Is that a possibility? If we allowed all types of stem research to go forward would be want to make clones of ourselves or our children?

I don’t plan to investigate all of these questions but I am excited to learn more about what diseases and injuries doctors are now treating with stem cells, what they are finding, what the risks are, their challenges and also the successes they have had.

RJA#3a: Research Topic Exploration

While first exploring my topic I wanted to choose a subject that I thought would have a good deal of research information to draw from. My initial exploration led to me read a few articles, one specifically from the July 2005 National Geographic entitled, “How Far Will We Go?” This article was very informative concerning the science of stem cell research as well as the treatments. I have attached the link for this and one other site that also had some very good basic information concerning stem cell research below.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/feature1/assignment2.html
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/health.asp

I have spent time browsing articles written in several medical journals, specifically The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA(The Journal of the American Medical Association) and the British Medical Journal and bookmarked these sites.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/
http://search.nejm.org/search?w=Stem+Cell+Treatments&search=SEARCH
http://group.bmj.com/group/media/press-release-archive-files/BMJ/bmj-2005/BMJ-20May-2005-3.pdf

I also felt like University Medical Centers would have information to offer as well, I have bookmarked several university sites especially those referred to in other articles that I read, I bookmarked UCI Medical Research Center, Wake Forest Regenerative Medical Institute and the University of Miami School of Medicine. I have listed some of these sites below:

www.med.miami.edu
www.stemcell.uci.edu
http://www.wfubmc.edu/Research/WFIRM/What-s-New-at-the-Institute.htm

I also found several recent video interviews of people who had had stem cell treatments done to themselves or to their children in medical facilities in China. I thought these were very interesting especially since they were so positive about the treatments they had received. I want to continue to do more exploring about what types of treatments are being done in Asia as these countries seem to be at the cutting edge of stem cell research and I have bookmarked several sites to search in my delicious account.

http://vimeo.com/8164620
http://vimeo.com/8118026
http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/pdf/10.2217/rme.09.78?cookieSet=1
http://www.stemcellspuhua.com/

Most of the information I did research through and bookmark regarding stem cell research was very good. I found many reputable sites and articles to direct to the areas I would like to focus on with my research.