Stem cell treatment banishes disease for MS patient
April 2, 2023 - John Chafe had a job in a bank with the goal of running it one day. But his plans were sidetracked by an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS). In 2001, he became the second person in a world-first clinical trial of its kind that virtually ... |
After 18 years with MS—“I really feel like I’m cured.”
April 2, 2023 - “It’s now 12 years since my stem cell transplant. I really feel like I’m cured,” said Heather Harris, who has no symptoms of the disease. She works full-time as a school principal, and is back to camping, skiing, running and driving a manual ... |
Made-in-Canada approach enhancing access to groundbreaking CAR-T cancer therapy
January 19, 2023 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are partnering with colleagues across the country to expand access to new technology that turns patients’ immune cells into super-charged cancer-killers. |
A conversation with stem cell pioneer Dr. Harold Atkins
October 4, 2022 - When Dr. Harry Atkins was young, he wanted to be an architect. Everything changed with one high school biology project, and now Dr. Atkins is pioneering the use of stem cells to reprogram people’s immune systems. |
MS stem cell transplant gives priceless second chance
September 1, 2022 - Thanks to a life-changing stem cell transplant at The Ottawa Hospital, Geneviève Bétournay has a whole new perspective on the possibilities that lie ahead for her. |
First made-in-Canada CAR-T cell therapy for cancer shows promise in clinical trial
June 17, 2022 - More than a dozen people with cancer who had exhausted all treatment options are alive and cancer-free today thanks to a pioneering Canadian clinical trial of a highly personalized kind of immunotherapy. |
One small step for blood cancer patients, one giant step for Canadian cancer patients of all stripes
February 25, 2021 - The Canadian-Led Immunotherapies in Cancer (CLIC) research program is building Canada’s capacity for innovation in CAR-T therapy, with support from BioCanRx, The Ottawa Hospital, BC Cancer and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research |
The Ottawa Hospital and uOttawa launch new cancer immunotherapy research projects with funding from BioCanRx
September 22, 2020 - BioCanRx, Canada’s Immunotherapy Network, today announced funding of $10M for 14 cancer immunotherapy research projects and eight core and biomanufacturing facilities across the country. Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) and the University ... |
The promise of CAR-T therapy for cancer: meta-analysis shows the big picture
August 14, 2019 - CAR-T therapy, which uses a patient’s own genetically modified immune cells, is one of the most exciting advances in cancer treatment. To get a big picture view of the field, Drs. Manoj Lalu and Dean Fergusson led a team that analyzed data from ... |
$950,000 to help develop stem cell treatments for septic shock, lung injury and muscle degeneration
May 17, 2019 - Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO and the University of Ottawa are bringing discoveries made in the lab closer to human trials and therapies, thanks to four new peer-reviewed research grants from the Ontario Institute for Regenerative ... |
Clinical trials offer strong foundation for better patient care
May 16, 2019 - Clinical trials are an important step toward developing new treatments and learning more about diseases and conditions. In honour of International Clinical Trials Day, read how some of the researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are making huge ... |
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recommended as a standard of care for certain kinds of MS in the U.S.
March 13, 2019 - The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation has recommended that stem cell transplantation for MS, which has been pioneered at The Ottawa Hospital, be considered a “standard of care, clinical evidence available” for people with ... |
Patients and clinical trial experts key to upcoming made-in-Canada CAR-T clinical trial
March 1, 2019 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa are known around the world for their expertise in designing and leading clinical trials, and they're now applying this knowledge to create a made-in-Canada approach for CAR-T ... |
Cancer-fighting viruses: Canadian team to accelerate research with $7.4 million from Terry Fox Research Institute
September 27, 2017 - Imagine a tiny army of viruses entering a tumour, making thousands of copies of themselves and busting up cancer cells as they spread. Now imagine the body’s immune system coming in to fight off the virus and eliminate the remaining cancer cells at |
Ottawa scientist wins Canada's top stem cell prize for multiple sclerosis trial
September 6, 2017 - Dr. Harold Atkins, stem cell transplant physician and scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, will receive the prestigious Till & McCulloch Award for “exceptional contributions to global stem cell research.” The award will |
The Ottawa Hospital welcomes new stem cell research report and alliance
March 9, 2017 - A new workshop report, Building on Canada’s Strengths in Regenerative Medicine, released today by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), confirms that Canadian researchers continue to be recognized as scientific leaders in the field of ... |
Ottawa researchers to play lead role in new cancer immunotherapy studies
February 15, 2017 - BioCanRx funds research into CAR-T and virus-infected cell therapy
Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa will play a lead role in cutting-edge research on cancer immunotherapy, thanks to five new peer-reviewed researc |
Information for patients: Chemo and blood stem cell transplantation for rare autoimmune diseases
January 4, 2017 - A number of media stories have recently highlighted The Ottawa Hospital’s use of chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplantation to treat rare autoimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, stiff person syndrome and scleroderma. These stories have |
Transplant frees scleroderma patient from excruciating pain and gives him back his hope for the future
November 30, 2016 - In the summer of 2014, Dan Muscat’s fingertips started to tingle. It felt like tiny shards of glass were piercing under his fingernails. Over the next weeks and months the pain crept into his hands.
His family doctor thought it might be arthritis |
Three Ottawa-led stem cell trials get $2.2 million boost
November 23, 2016 - Ottawa researchers bring in half of clinical trial awards from Stem Cell Network
Could stem cells help the body recover from septic shock, heart attack and liver transplantation? Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa |
Stem cell procedure sends patients with severe myasthenia gravis into remission
November 17, 2016 - A stem cell procedure that reboots the immune system sent seven patients with a severe form of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis into long-term remission, according to a retrospective study published in JAMA Neurology.
In this disease th |
When the body attacks itself, this researcher finds new solutions
November 16, 2016 - Dr. Harold Atkins found that reprogramming the immune system could send patients with some auto-immune disorders into long-term remission. He was named The Ottawa Hospital’s top researcher of the year for this work.
A child’s painting of stem |
The Ottawa Hospital is leading the way in regenerative medicine
August 30, 2016 - Ten years after the opening of the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research, The Ottawa Hospital is playing a lead role in harnessing the power of stem cells to develop new treatments for devastating diseases.
Dr. Duncan Stewart explains in this resea |
Experimental treatment gave new life to P.E.I. mother
June 15, 2016 - Cathy Nabuurs (far right) took part in an experimental treatment at The Ottawa Hospital for her early, aggressive multiple sclerosis. She and her family – husband, Mike, and their children, Ethan and Megan – saw a major change in her disease. |
MS breakthrough: Replacing diseased immune system halts progression and allows repair
June 9, 2016 - Clinical trial suggests chemo and blood stem cell combination therapy should be considered for people with early, aggressive MS
A clinical trial published in The Lancet, a top medical journal, shows that an intensive procedure that completely wipe |
Researchers in Ottawa achieve breakthrough with rare disease: Stem cells used to send “stiff person syndrome” into long-term remission
August 25, 2014 - Ottawa—Scientists at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute have made a breakthrough in the successful treatment of a rare and debilitating neurological disease known as stiff person syndrome that leaves people who are afflicted with the disorder sta |
