Miami, FL (PRWEB) October 15, 2012

Leveraging more than a decade of experience in the biotech industry and a founding member ofGeneCell International, Jose Cirino, Director of Operations, is an industry expert for expanding awareness in the field of adult stem cells worldwide. Cirino plays a pivotal role in GeneCell International’s success, managing all operational aspects of a company that’s at the forefront of the biotech industry. While providing leadership and direction for the company, he is responsible for all strategic planning to help advance GeneCell’s mission and objectives, as well as the expansion of product, service and development at the national and international levels. Currently, Cirino is not only working on the expansion and awareness of cord blood services, but on the implementation of other adult stem cells sources, such as umbilical cord tissue, dental pulp, and adipose (fat) tissue into other countries. He has presentation talks in the advantage of adult cord blood banking to health and biotech industry organizations, conferences and small group meetings (both English and Spanish). Cirino was a key player in the expansion of GeneCell International into Miami, Florida, as the first and only stem cell laboratory of its kind in the South Floridian market and the gateway to international countries.

Through his field of work, Cirino’s aspiration and passion is being able to assist individuals in potentially saving their life when a debilitating immune deficiency or disorder arises. Though, Cirino continuously asks himself, “Why isn’t everyone banking these cells?”

His best assumption is that people are not informed about stem cell banking and what is most disheartening, some have never even heard of it. Most people are not aware they have stem cells in their body. Others believe that stem cells only come from only human embryos since this is what’s mainly discussed in politics and the news today. May this be the reason they are choosing to have no part in it and ignore it? “If so, this is not the case, these cells are found in adults and there are not controversial, moral, ethical or have any political issues surrounding them. The amazing thing about these cells, aside from their potential to treat a variety of different diseases, is that for the most part they can be harvested from the individual through relatively minimally invasive procedures and can be cryogenically frozen (at a temperature of -321 F (-196 C)) and stored for decades until a disease manifests itself or the needed for cell-based therapies arises,” said Cirino.

“Due to this lack of awareness, there is a massive shortage of stem cell units stored for future treatments. This shortage, or lack of availability, is mostly affecting patients of African, Asian, Hispanic and Native American Indian descent. I, being a minority member of this group, am very concerned by this shortage.” Since patients who need a transplant are more likely to find a match within their own genetic background, Cirino adds it is important that the pool of donors reflects the overall community.

“A person’s blood stem cell type is inherited, which means a patient is more likely to find a matched donor from within their own ethnic group, more than half of cord blood donations and privately banked cord blood in the United States are from Caucasians while minorities remain underrepresented, significantly. By increasing awareness of the advantages of cord blood among minorities, there is a potential for increased access to therapies for more people.”

Umbilical cord blood preservation is a process by which blood is collected from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby and is stored cryogenically in a specially-designated bank. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, cord blood contains cells that can be transfused to a patient to treat various diseases, including lymphoma and leukemia. Currently, there are approximately 80 treatable diseases and the list of illnesses continues to grow. Cord blood is rich in stem cells and because certain immune cells found in the cord blood are not mature, there is less risk for the recipient’s immune system to reject these cells. Cord blood can be used to treat the child from whom the blood was collected as well as some first-degree relatives who are a close genetic match, such as immediate family members. Additionally, patients can get the treatment in about three weeks – as opposed to six to eight for bone marrow from an adult donor.

Prior to founding GeneCell, Cirino served as the President of the International Division to a cord blood laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was responsible for identifying, evaluating and selecting international representatives for affiliate programs to expand the services internationally. In doing so, he coordinated laboratory development protocol license agreements and implemented these programs throughout various international countries. After the expansion into other countries, Cirino would manage the company owned offices as well as provide support to the affiliate offices, from Mexico and South America, to the UK and the Middle East. He also represented the company at international health and biotech industry conferences, implemented new sales tools and processes for all international divisions of the company, and oversaw all accounting tasks as a method of monitoring its sales projections. Cirino joined the company as the Accounting Manager, where he was responsible for all aspects of U.S. and international accounting functions. He is a seasoned accounting professional, holding various accounting positions within large companies such as Sir Speedy Printing Centers of Boston and Harvard Institute for International Development. He has served as a member within various industry organizations including the International Cord Blood Society, and New England Fertility Society, as well as participated in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), The Mexican Federation of Ultrasounds, The World Cord Blood Congress, and Stem Cells USA-Regenerative Medicine conferences.

In addition to cord blood, Cirino’s implementation projects of other adult stem cells sources, in the U.S. and other countries, include Cord Tissue Segment, Dental Pulp and Adipose Tissue:

About Cord Tissue Segment – A gelatinous substance, which functions as the primary connective tissue of the umbilical cord and is referred to as Wharton’s Jelly. This segment contains an important amount of Mesenchymal stem cells. These cells are an excellent candidate for “regenerative medicine” and tissue engineering applications. Mesenchymal stem cells have shown great promise in the potential treatment of diseases such as heart attack, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, type I diabetes, assist in bone and dental regeneration and expedite wound healing. In the past, the umbilical cord has been viewed as medical waste and discarded, resulting in the loss of this potential life-saving resource. By storing the stem cells extracted from your umbilical cord tissue segment along with your baby’s cord blood, you’ll have access to a wider variety of stem cells as new scientific discoveries are made.

About Dental Pulp – One of the major advantages one gets from harvesting stem cells from his own body is that there will be no rejection of these cells when they are harvested and subsequently re-implanted. In the future, medical researchers anticipate being able to use technologies derived from stem cell research to treat a wider variety of diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, heart diseases, liver disease, multiple sclerosis, muscle damage and many other diseases. The discovery that human dental pulp tissue contains a population of multi-potent mesenchymal dental pulp stem cells with the ability to reproduce quickly for self-renewal and the ability to differentiate into functional odontoblast has revolutionized dental research and opened new avenues in particular for reparative and reconstructive dentistry and tissue engineering in general.

About Adipose Tissue – Adipose (fat) tissue is a dynamic multi-functional tissue that is found throughout the human body. The stem cells originated from adipose tissue are mesenchymal stem cells which have the ability to differentiate into bone, muscle, fat, nerve, and cartilage. Preliminary research performed at GeneCell International has shown the presence of early stem cells markers as well. Adipose-derived stem cells are easy to obtain through a simple and localized liposuction process using local anesthesia and with minimal patient discomfort. These autologous adult stem cells show the same morphology, immune phenotype and differentiation capacity as stem cells obtained from bone marrow and umbilical cord blood. They are free of ethical debate and use tissue which is abundant and easy to access. A single sample of adipose tissue can yield more than 200 million stem cells of which 95% are mesenchymal stem cells. These cells appear to be one of the body’s tools for self-repair. They are capable of performing three important functions with unique abilities such as plasticity (their potential to transform into other cell types), honing (they can travel to the damaged tissue), engraftment: their capability to attach themselves to the damaged tissue, Adipose-derived stem cells have the potential to treat a variety of different diseases and conditions that range from breast soft tissue reconstruction after tumor surgery to treatment of brain injuries, stroke, heart failure and more.

GeneCell International specializes in the collection, transport, processing and cryogenic storage of adult stem cells from various sources including; umbilical cord blood, cord tissue, dental pulp and adipose tissue (fat) that can later be used to treat a variety of diseases. The laboratory is also involved in scientific research and development with a range of stem cells from various adult tissues. The facility is governed and inspected by the FDA as well several other regulating bodies to ensure the safety of these cellular therapies. Headquartered in Miami, Florida and with local offices in Central Florida, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, India, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, GeneCell operates state of the art laboratories and storage facilities for the cord blood, cord tissue, dental pulp and adipose tissue of thousands of clients. For more information and to learn more about GeneCell, its services and the stem cell sources, please visit GeneCell’s website at http://www.genecell.com, their Facebook page, Twitter Page, Pinterest Page, or YouTube Video Page.

Feeling Fit Correspondent

A company in Miami is doing its best to put the tooth fairy out of business.

GeneCell International has been in the business of preservation of umbilical cord blood, one of the first stem cell sources to be privately banked, for the past three years. Now GeneCell has taken the next step, adding dental pulp storage to its repertoire.

Dental pulp is new to the stem cell scene. Having the uncanny ability to regenerate other cells within the body, dental pulp stem cells can replicate bone, muscle, nerve, cartilage and fat cells. It is living tissue, found deep inside the center of the tooth, and everyone has it.

The pulp can be harvested from children’s “baby” teeth, adolescent molars that have been removed, or teeth that have been extracted to make way for braces. Pulp can also be taken from adult teeth during a pulpotomy procedure in a dentist’s office.

The technology was only developed about 12 years ago, said Jose Cirino, GeneCell’s director of operations. Its use is currently in clinical trials and Cirino is hoping for FDA approval within the next five to seven years. “There have been successful applications of dental pulp stem cell treatment outside of the United States,” he said.

GeneCell is one of three companies in the United States that offer the storage service, Cirino said.

The process of harvesting and storing is easy. When a child has a loose tooth, it needs to be extracted by dentist so the live nerves are left intact. Then it is placed in a special collection bottle provided by GeneCell.

Once it is sent to the lab, technicians will crack the tooth open, extract the pulp, and process it for storage. A cryoprotectant is added and it is stored in vial placed in liquid nitrogen. Cooling is a gradual process to zero degrees Fahrenheit then minus 20, minus 80 — all the way down to minus 321 degrees.

Cirino said educating the public about the use of cord blood and dental pulp stem cells is a major goal. He is concerned about the confusion of the general public with regard to stem cell research and applications.

“People usually think of embryonic stem cells.” he said. “What we do is noncontroversial, noninvasive and could save the life and the future of a loved one.” The stored stem cells can help not only the donor, but in many cases other family members as well.

“Imagine, research shows that this technology has the potential of slowing down the progression of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and treat other diseases like type I diabetes, heart attack, stroke, multiple sclerosis, ALS (and) spinal injury,” Cirino said.

Dr. Michael Chez, director of pediatric neurology at Sutter Neuroscience Institute in Sacramento, Calif., said he and his colleagues have been processing the trial for more than a year now, and they have high hopes it will succeed.

“What we are looking at, is cases that don’t have an obvious genetic link,” Chez told FoxNews.com. “Patients that we presume something went wrong with their brains, which caused a change to autistic features.”

In other words, the trial’s patients will essentially have no reason to have autism – or at least no genetic markers for the disease. This means they must have presumably developed it through another factor, such as the environment or exposure to an infection.

Chez got the idea to ‘treat’ autism with cord blood stem cells when he observed the cells make a big difference for a little boy who had cerebral palsy.

Elisa Rudgers of Sacramento, Calif., had a normal pregnancy – but a difficult delivery. Her son, Rydr, was stuck for seven hours in the birthing canal, so doctors used a vacuum to remove him. At birth, he was not moving or breathing, and he had no lower brain function. Rydr spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 11 months old..

Rydr’s parents chose to bank his cord blood at birth with CBR – a cord blood storage company based in Arizona that will provide Chez with participants for his trial.

Rydr received his first infusion at 15 months old. This was a child who couldn’t walk, talk or eat on his own – but he began crawling three months later.

After the second infusion, he began walking and talking, and after the third infusion, Rydr was also able to chew and swallow soft foods.

“I can verify he definitely got better,” Chez said.
Now, Chez wants to put Rydr’s experience to work for children with autism.

Related: Cord blood reverses cerebral palsy in Colorado girl 

Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in a child’s first three years of life, according to the National Institutes of Health.  One in 88 U.S. children have it, and it affects one in 54 boys. The condition impacts the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills – sometimes mildly, sometimes extremely.
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined, according to AutismSpeaks.org

“We want to see if there is any benefit to giving them an infusion to redirect the nervous system cells, which may have programmed themselves due to a secondary factor,” Chez said.

“This may work on autism on different mechanisms in theory by modifying either the immune system or modifying the nervous system by indirect or direct methods.”

Putting the cord blood to work
Chez will give 30 kids infusions of their own cord blood cells.  Most of the children for the trial have already been lined up, and they have been screened to make sure they don’t have any other issues that may have caused their autism (for example, Fragile X syndrome, stroke, head injury or prematurity).

Using the child’s own cord blood will make the study safe and ethical – plus, the cells are younger and have not been exposed to environmental factors, like viruses or chemicals, which can alter the cell’s function and structure. By using the children’s own stem cells, their bodies cannot reject them.

However, in the future, a sibling’s cord blood could theoretically work – as long as the siblings shared the same blood type.

Researchers can develop further goals when and if they see results.

“The next level of research will be to determine how that works,” Chez said.

Everyone in the pilot study will get a dose of cord blood, however; the children will be divided into two groups. Group 1 will receive an initial infusion of cord blood, while Group 2 will receive a placebo saline infusion. The groups will be observed over the course of six months, and then the groups will reverse: Group 1 will receive a dose of saline and Group 2 will receive the cord blood cells.

Chez is hoping to see results of the study within six weeks. Rydr is now an average 4-year-old boy with some limitations and a cognitive ability at grade level.

Autism studies involving stem cells are nothing new – several have already occurred overseas.  However, they weren’t necessarily controlled studies, or the stem cells may have come from an open pool of donors.

“The data is scattered with glimmers of potential benefit,” Chez said. “There are also patients who have gone to other countries and gotten so-called cord blood on their own; and we’re getting anecdotal Internet studies that we don’t want to be misinterpreted. We want to do this in a scientific way and make sure it’s not just these parents are so hopeful, they are seeing a placebo effect.”

If the results are that dramatic and turn the children’s symptoms around rapidly, then Chez feels the stem cells will be ‘talking’ to other cells within the body, causing those cells to become more functional than dysfunctional.

“In theory, it would take more than that time for the nervous system cells to grow,” he said. “It might be more than growing tissue. It may be a simple infusion, (and) it doesn’t have to travel to your brain.”

Heather Brown, vice-president of scientific and medical affairs at CBR, said it is exciting to partner with researchers and clinicians like Chez, “who are pursuing a scientifically-sound approach in evaluating new therapeutic uses for cord blood stem cells for conditions that currently have no cures.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/21/doctors-announce-fda-approved-trial-to-cure-autism-with-cord-blood/#ixzz277BjyNB3

MIAMI – September 14, 2012 – GeneCell International, a cutting-edge South Florida provider in the processing and cryogenic preservation of umbilical cord blood stem cells, announced today it would commence monthly cord blood workshops to advance the education in the community.

 GeneCell International specializes in the collection, transport, processing and cryogenic storage of adult stem cells from various sources including; umbilical cord blood, dental pulp and adipose tissue (fat) that can later be used to treat a variety of diseases. The laboratory is also involved in scientific research and development with a range of stem cells from various adult tissues.

Umbilical cord blood preservation is a process by which blood is collected from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby and is stored cryogenically in a specially-designated bank. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, cord blood contains cells that can be transfused to a patient to treat various diseases, including lymphoma and leukemia. The list of illnesses that can be treated with cord blood continues to grow.

In addition, the cord blood can be used to treat the child from whom the blood was collected as well as some first-degree relatives who are a close genetic match, such as family members. Cord blood banking is regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and each year more and more parents choose to save their children’s cord blood should the medical need arise. “I think, to have the ability to inform our community on the differentiation from hematopoietic stem cells to mesenchymal stem cells, and potentials of these noncontroversial stem cells is outstanding”, said GeneCell’s Marketing Manager, Aixa G. Cortez.

During the workshops, GeneCell’s Director of Research and Laboratory Operations, Dr. Todd R. Flower, and our Laboratory Bio-tech Professionals will address significant new research and the compelling benefits of the collection, processing, cryogenic storage and science behind cord blood Stem Cells.  Expecting parents in Miami are invited and encourage attend this workshop to learning more about this medical advancement.  “What is most rewarding is to be able to update these expecting parents and their families on the current and future treatments of these stem cells as well as explain the controversial dereferences about them, added Physicians’ Relations Manager, Lisa L. Reyes.

Alongside its commitment to educating the public on the benefits of cord blood preservation, GeneCell is committed to being on the forefront of stem cell research. GeneCell International is the only Cord Blood and Dental Pulp Processing and Cryogenic Storage Laboratory to offer this cutting-edge, “regenerative medicine” technology in Miami, Florida.

 About Umbilical Cord Blood Preservation:

Umbilical cord blood preservation is a process by which blood is collected from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby and is stored cryogenically in a specially-designated bank. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, cord blood contains cells that can be transfused to a patient to treat various diseases, including lymphoma and leukemia. The list of illnesses that can be treated with cord blood continues to grow. In addition, the cord blood can be used to treat the child from whom the blood was collected as well as some first-degree relatives who are a close genetic match, such as immediate family members. Cord blood banking is regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and each year more and more parents choose to save their children’s cord blood should the medical need arise.

 About GeneCell International:

GeneCell International, LLC is a trusted provider in the collection, processing and storage of adult stem cells from various sources which have the potential to treat a variety of diseases and disorders. Headquartered in Miami, Florida and with local offices in Central Florida, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, GeneCell operates state of the art laboratories and storage facilities for the cord blood and dental pulp of thousands of clients.  For more information and to learn more about cord blood banking, dental pulp or other GeneCell services, please visit our website at www.fbmliframe.com/demo.

Miami, FL (PRWEB) September 17, 2012

GeneCell International, a trusted provider in the processing and preservation of umbilical cord blood, today announced it would present this new industry changing tissue engineering technology to a panel of more than 100 leading dentists. The technology will allow for the collection and storage of Dental Pulp Stem Cells, a type of multi-potent adult stem cell found in the pulp chamber of teeth, which show a strong potential to treat a variety of diseases. GeneCell’s Director of Research and Laboratory Operations, Dr. Todd R. Flower, is set to speak on Saturday, September 22, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Cherokee Ranch & Castle. GeneCell is the only Stem Cell Processing and Cryogenic Storage Laboratory to offer this cutting-edge, “regenerative medicine”, technology at its state-of-the-art facility headquartered in Miami, FL.

In addition to Dr. Flower’s talk, Charis Ober, founder of Save the Cord Foundation, with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, will be speaking about the benefits of cord blood banking. Umbilical cord blood, a clinically proven stem cell source that is currently used to treat approximately 80 different diseases was one of the first stem cells sources to be privately banked, demonstrating the need to bank stem cells. Cord blood banking serves as the model for dental pulp stem cell banking and with the recent advancements in stem cell technology, dental pulp stem cells will become the next great success story in the realm of adult stem cell therapy.

“Based on the same premise as cord blood, a child’s loose tooth, extracted wisdom and/or adult teeth and pulpectomy can provide first-rate stem cells that can potentially be used in cellular-therapy based applications down the road”, said GeneCell’s Director of Operations, Jose Cirino. “With more than a decade of experience in the stem cell industry, we are uniquely poised to assist dentists to further educate families in the U.S., make informed decisions regarding how they can preserve stem cells for their long-term health.”

Dental pulp stem cells hold the potential of possibly regenerating damaged tissues and organs in the body by stimulating organs to heal themselves. These cells may be one of the most promising cell-therapies in the future. In the past, extracted teeth and related tissue have been viewed as a medical waste and discarded, resulting in a loss of this potential life-saving resource. Now clients can save these cells so they are available to them in the future should they be necessary.

Dental pulp stem cells, found in the pulp chamber of teeth, are a relatively new discovery in the realm of adult stem cells, they have the ability to differentiate into numerous cell types including bone, muscle, nerve, cartilage and fat. “Since these cells have the capability to differentiate into a variety of tissue types, they open up the door to potentially treat a variety of different diseases including heart attack, bone repair, neurodegenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s disease and other regenerative medicine applications”, added GeneCell International’s Director of Research and Laboratory Operations, Dr. Todd R. Flower.

Learn More About This Cutting-edge, “Regenerative Medicine”

During the forum, Dr. Flower will address significant new research and compelling benefits of the collection, processing, cryogenic storage and science behind Dental Pulp Stem Cells. Event details are as follows:

Ladies in the Loupe

A Program of the Colorado Dental Association

CHEROKEE RANCH & CASTLE

6113 N. Daniels Park Road
Sedalia, CO 80135
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012

Time: 1:00p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

About Dental Pulp Stem Cells:

One of the major advantages one gets from harvesting stem cells from his own body is that there will be no refusal of these cells when they are harvested and subsequently re-implanted. In the future, medical researchers anticipate being able to use technologies derived from stem cell research to treat a wider variety of diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, heart diseases, liver disease, multiple sclerosis, muscle damage and many other diseases. The discovery that human dental pulp tissue contains a population of multi-potent mesenchymal dental pulp stem cells with the ability to reproduce quickly for self-renewal and the ability to differentiate into functional odontoblast has revolutionized dental research and opened new avenues in particular for reparative and reconstructive dentistry and tissue engineering in general.

About GeneCell International:

GeneCell International, LLC is a trusted provider in the collection, processing and storage of adultstem cells from various sources which have the potential to treat a variety of diseases and disorders. Headquartered in Miami, Florida and with local offices in Central Florida, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, India, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, GeneCell and its related companies operate state of the art laboratories and storage facilities for cord blood, cord tissue segment, dental pulp and adipose tissue stem cells of thousands of clients. For more information and to learn more about our stem cell banking services, please visit http://www.genecell.com.

Aixa Cortez, Marketing Manager
GeneCell International
305-385-6737 26
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