Links

Stem cell and related links.

Patient organizations & information

General information for patients, their families and caregivers

A closer look at stem cell treatments - ISSCR website designed to equip patients, their families and doctors with tools and information to help make decisions about stem cell treatments.
ISSCR Patient Handbook on Stem Cell Therapies (PDF file)

Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Society (UK)
Alzheimer Europe
Alzheimer's Research Forum - This research-oriented website reports on the latest scientific findings, from basic research to clinical trials; creates and maintains public databases of research data and reagents, and hosts discussion forums to promote debate, speed the dissemination of new ideas, and break down barriers across the numerous disciplines that can contribute to the global effort to cure Alzheimer's disease.

Motor Neuron Disease

(also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease)
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis information page
Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Association
MND Scotland

Multiple Sclerosis

The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform
The Multiple Sclerosis Society
Multiple Sclerosis Trust
The National Insitute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Multiple Sclerosis information page

Muscular Dystrophies

Action Duchenne - aims to offer a unique forum for sharing information and ideas in the search for a cure and better medical care for Duchenne and Becker. This link takes you directly to a blog post by Professor Terry Partridge about stem cells and muscular dystrophy.
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (UK)
Association Français contre les Myopathies

Parkinson's Disease

European Parkinson’s Disease Association
Parkinson’s Disease Society (UK)
The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Parkinson's disease information page
PDTrials - a collaborative initiative of Parkinson’s organizations dedicated to increasing education and awareness about clinical research.  Trials listed are in North America, but lots of useful information for anyone with Parkinson's.  In English and Spanish.

Spinal Cord Injuries

European Spinal Cord Injury Federation - pan-European federation of organisations representing people with spinal cord injuries
ICCP - International Campaign for Cures of Spinal Cord Injury Paralysis

Stroke

Stroke Alliance for Europe - listing of European patient organizations
The Stroke Association
The Stroke Trials Directory of the Internet Stroke Center
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - stroke information page

Type 1 Diabetes

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International

Other information for patients

http://www.progress.org.uk - infertility and genetic disease

Stem cell organizations, networks and consortia

Links to stem cell organizations, networks and consortia around the globe.

International stem cell organizations

ISSCR - International Society for Stem Celli Research
ICSCN - International Consortium of Stem Cell Networks

SSSCR - Student Society for Stem Cell Research
Genetics Policy Institute - nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a positive legal framework to advance stem cell research.

North American stem cell networks

Stem Cell Network Canada

Asia Pacific stem cell organizations, networks and consortia

SNAP - Stem Cell Network Asia Pacific
Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR)
Australian Stem Cell Centre
Singapore Stem Cell Consortium
Stem Cell Society Singapore

Stem cell resources - reference & public opinion

Online reference resources for teachers, students and others interested in finding out more about stem cells. For more detailed resource listings, check out our searchable catalogue of stem cell resources.

Public opinion on stem cell research and regenerative medicine

The Public, Political Parties, and Stem-Cell Research
Article in the New England Journal of Medicine analysing public attitudes to embryonic stem cell research in the US and in Europe.
N Engl J Med 2011; 365:1853-1856

US attitudes towards human embryonic stem cell research
Article in Nature Biotechnology based on 2009 survey data (subscription required).
Nature Biotechnology 29 484–488 (2011) doi:10.1038/nbt.1891

Europeans and Biotechnology in 2010 - Winds of change?
Includes a section on regenerative medicine. The seventh in a series of surveys of public perceptions of the Life Sciences and Biotechnology. Conducted in February 2010, published October 2010.

Download full report (PDF file, 1478KB)

 

 

Stem cell dialogue
The largest ever public and stakeholder dialogue on stem cell research in the UK, commissioned by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC).  Dialogue activities took place in summer 2008 and over 200 members of the public took part in workshops which ran simultaneously in London, Cardiff, Bristol Newcastle and Edinburgh. In addition, nearly fifty stakeholders were interviewed from fields such as science, medicine, industry, ethics and religion.  The report was released in December 2008, and findings are summarised on the MRC website.

 

 

Eurobarometer - Europeans and Biotechnology in 2005: Patterns and Trends
This report, the sixth in a series on attitudes to biotechnology, is based on a representative sample of 25,000 respondents - approximately 1,000 in each EU Member State.  It covers a variety of biotechnology issues, including stem cell research.
Download executive summary (5 pages, PDF file, 33KB)
Download full report (PDF file, 610KB)

Reference materials

EuroStemCell site glossary
Online glossary of words and phrases commonly used in stem cell research.

All Things Stem Cell visual glossary
Online glossary of terms used in stem cell research, with accompanying images and diagrams to help explain the concepts. Produced by Teisha Rowland, a PhD Graduate Student in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

 

Understanding Stem Cells
An educational primer by the US National Academies "designed to provide basic knowledge to facilitate thinking about and understanding the scientific and ethical issues surrounding stem cells."

 

 

 

Poster on pluripotent cell isolation for regenerative medicine
This poster, available as a PDF download from Nature Reviews Molecular Biology, compares and contrasts the properties of pluripotent embryonic stem cells with those of laboratory-generated pluripotent cells. See also the accompanying glossary.

 

Stem cell blogs and news sites

Bionews
News and discussion on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas, provided by the Progress Educational Trust

Ben's Stem Cell News
Created by Ben Kaplan, who has a public relations background and has cerebral palsy, this blog aims to be "a single site that chronicles and compiles news and information from many different sources about this promising area of scientific research".

Canadian Stem Cell Network Blog
Blog of the Canadian Stem Cell Network, written by stem cell researchers, ethicists, clinicians and industry experts.

Cancer stem cell news
A blog of news items related to cancer stem cells, with an emphasis on recent research and articles that are openly accessible.  Edited by Jim Till, member of the Board of Directors of the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC), based in Ottawa, Canada.

CIRM Research Results
Research-oriented blog from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine

Knoepfler lab stem cell blog
Regularly updated blog by stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler, Associate Professor in Cell Biology and Human Anatomy at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

The Niche
A blog hosted by Nature Reports Stem Cells to provide an informal forum for debate and commentary on stem cell research and its wider implications for ethics, policy, business, and medicine.  Discontinued in October 2009.

The Pluripotent
A student stem cell blog, divided into categories like "Science", "Health", "Politics & Policy" and "Religion & Ethics".