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Conclusions Role models have a profound effect on the attitudes and behaviors of medical students. It is important for clinical teachers to make an intentional effort to articulate what aspects they are modeling. This study can help faculty members be an effective role model. Also, finding of this review could form the foundation of a faculty development program in order to foster role modeling in clinical settings. Copyright © Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifocal inflammatory disease that involves the central nervous system and associated with limbs paralysis and serious problems in sensation, limbs, visual and sphincter. This disease is a result of autoimmune mechanism in which autoantibodies target the self-myelin antigens and cause demyelination. Because of the myelin dysfunction, MS is clinically identified with neurological disabilities. Furthermore, it can be entered into the progressive phase because of irreversible neurodegeneration and axons damage. Unfortunately, there is no effective therapeutic method for this disease and current medications have been focused on amelioration of symptoms and chronic inflammation. Although current immunotherapies ameliorate the reactivity of autoimmune anti-myelin and MS relapse rate, there is no approved method for improvement of the disease progression and repairing of the damaged myelin. Therefore, finding an appropriate clinical treatment for improvement of neurological damages in MS patients is essential. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with high proliferative and self-renewal capacities, as well as immunomodulatory and neuroregenerative effects. Bone marrow and adipose tissues derived MSCs have been considered for the treatment of different diseases because not only they can be easily isolated from these tissues, but also a patient can be served as a donor for himself without the risk of rejection. More importantly, autologous MSCs carry a safer pattern without the risk of malignant transformation. Here, we will discuss the effectiveness of MSCs therapy for MS patients by reviewing of clinical trials. 2019 Stem Cell Investigation. All rights reserved.Background Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains pro-angiogenic growth factors including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Angiogenesis is a necessary component of wound healing in instances of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). PRP composition varies depending on methods and donor health status. Our group has developed an improved PRP protocol for diabetes treatment. The aims of this study were to examine the levels of the pro-angiogenic factor VEGF in these patient populations with and without diabetes. Methods PRP was prepared using 24 mL of whole blood from 13 diabetic and 10 non-diabetic patients registered at Klinik Hayandra. Whole blood in sodium citrate tubes were centrifuged at 1,000 rpm for 5 minutes followed by plasma separation. Plasma samples were centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for 5 minutes. Upper platelet-poor plasma layers were discarded, leaving 5 mL of concentrated platelet containing plasma (PRP). Concentrated plasma samples were mixed, aliquoted, stored at -86 °C, and pooled for platelet count, VEGF, and total protein analyses. Selleck AG-14361 Platelet counting was also performed using fresh whole blood and PRP to measure changes following PRP preparation. Results Diabetic donors had higher whole blood platelet counts than non-diabetic donors, but this difference was not statistically significant. An average increase of more than 250% in platelet number after PRP preparation using our method was noted in both groups. Freezing-thawing samples at -86 °C lysed more than 90% of PRP platelets regardless of diabetes status. Diabetic PRP had lower mean total protein and higher VEGF concentrations. Lysed platelets from diabetic donors released more VEGF than those from non-diabetic donors. Conclusions PRP from diabetic donors had higher VEGF content making autologous PRP application a promising treatment for DFU. However, this should be investigated another appropriate clinical trial. 2019 Stem Cell Investigation. All rights reserved.Background Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been applied to treat the hematologic malignancies since the 1980s. However, allogenic transplantation has inherent complications such as graft-versus-host disease and graft failure. Autologous transplantation has become more and more popular because of its lower transplant-related mortality. This study was performed to analyze the possible prognostic factors for myeloma patients post stem cell transplantation. Methods Patients' information was collected by history review and follow-up through the phone call. Kaplan-Meier was used to exhibit overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards model. A P less then 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results Thirty patients with multiple myeloma were included in this study, 7 of them died because of myeloma relapse and myeloma-associated complications. The average survival time was 29.8 months and the median follow-up was 25.1 months. The 1-year OS and PFS were 93.3% and 90.0%, respectively. Both the 3-year OS and PFS were 76.7%. In a variety of factors, improved renal function showed a good effect on the outcome of transplantation. Conclusions To prevent cancer relapse after autologous transplantation, it is of great significance to achieve a complete remission prior to the transplantation. 2019 Stem Cell Investigation. All rights reserved.Background We report the results of 6 patients with Dominant Optic Atrophy (DOA) who met inclusion criteria and were treated in the Stem Cell Ophthalmology Treatment Study (SCOTS). SCOTS/SCOTS 2 is an Institutional Review Board approved and NIH registered (NCT03011541) clinical study that uses autologous bone marrow derived stem cells (BMSC) in the treatment of optic nerve and retinal disease. Methods This is an open label, non-randomized clinical study using natural history of the disease as the comparator. BMSC were separated from aspirated autologous bone marrow with minimal manipulation using an FDA cleared Class II medical device. Patients were treated with combinations of retrobulbar, subtenons, intravitreal or subretinal placement of BMSC followed by intravenous injection of BMSC depending on the arm of the study chosen. There were no surgical complications. Results Of the patients treated, 83.3% (5 of 6 patients) experienced visual improvements and in all of these cases both eyes improved. Ten eyes or 83.