via Kansas City Infozine
A study in the Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology shows that administration of adult bone marrow stem cells (BMC) and mesenchymal stems cells (MSC) can aid in the recovery of of myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as heart attacks- and increase survival rates.
The study, called the "Systemic Delivery of Adult Stem cells Improves Cardiac Function in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats", is designed to evaluate the impact of systemic delivery of BMC and MSC on spontaneously hypertensive rats induced with MI.
The treatment with stem cells resulted in statistically different mortality rates - 0% for rats treated with BSC, 17% for rats treated with MSC and 45% for non-treated rats. Rats that were treated also showed significant recovery of heart function and capacity.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Common Misconception No. 1: Odds that a family will ever need their banked cord blood stem cells are so low that people shouldn't bother doing it.
Considering that the cause of most cancers is unknown and that the science of stem cell therapy is expanding rapidly, it is difficult to accurately calculate the odds that a family will use the cord blood or benefit from new treatments. However, according to medical research, the odds that a child will someday need to use his or her own newborn stem cells for current treatments are estimated at 1 in 400*. Odds that the newborn or a family member may benefit from banked cord blood are estimated at 1 in 200*. These odds do not include the emerging and potential use of newborn stem cells to treat heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and spinal cord injury. The continued progress in medical treatments would greatly increase the likelihood of use by your baby throughout her life. Based on current data, there is no "expiration date" for newborn stem cells.
*Pasquini MC, Logan BR, Verter F, et al. The Likelihood of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HCT) in the United States: Implications for Umbilical Cord Blood Storage. Blood. 2005;106(11)
Courtesy: Cord Blood Registry
Thursday, January 24, 2008
New Stem Cell Therapies Could Change Organ Transplants
via The Washington Post
Three reports published in the January 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine highlight potential therapies that may one day allow organ transplant recipients to no longer need immunosuppressive drugs. Two of the researchers’ studies involved "tricking" the immune system into thinking the organ had come from the recipient by transplanting donor stem cells into the recipient. In one of the studies, four of five patients who had HLA-mismatched kidney transplants were able to stop taking immunosuppressive drugs nine to 14 months after the transplant. Kidney function has stayed stable for up to 5.3 years since the transplantation. The researchers indicate extensive research still must be done to ensure these procedures are safe and effective for larger populations.
Three reports published in the January 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine highlight potential therapies that may one day allow organ transplant recipients to no longer need immunosuppressive drugs. Two of the researchers’ studies involved "tricking" the immune system into thinking the organ had come from the recipient by transplanting donor stem cells into the recipient. In one of the studies, four of five patients who had HLA-mismatched kidney transplants were able to stop taking immunosuppressive drugs nine to 14 months after the transplant. Kidney function has stayed stable for up to 5.3 years since the transplantation. The researchers indicate extensive research still must be done to ensure these procedures are safe and effective for larger populations.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Stem Cell Injections Used to Repair Damaged Hearts
British scientists at Bristol University and the Bristol Royal Infirmary have been given the go-ahead to begin potentially ground-breaking experiments using injections of stem cells to repair patients' damaged hearts. The team hopes to repair the organs of people who have suffered the most severe heart attacks.
The researchers will treat 60 patients who have been referred for coronary bypass operations. Heart disease is the UK's largest killer. Around a third of the 230,000 people who suffer a heart attack each year die, and around a third who survive long enough to receive a bypass operation die within two or three years.
Heart attacks occur when the heart muscle is starved of oxygen, usually because the arteries that supply it with blood become blocked with fatty deposits. A bypass operation restores this blood supply, but the lack of oxygen leads to permanent scarring of the heart muscle.
Even after the operation the heart's activity does not return to normal. "If you have a large heart attack like this and you are lucky and are referred for a bypass operation, your quality of life will be permanently affected because the pumping function of your heart is reduced," said Raimondo Ascione, the surgeon who is leading the research. "Your tolerance to exercise is reduced so you can't really enjoy your life."
The trial will involve patients with the worst prognosis, those who have scarring on at least half of the left ventricular wall. "It's the worst heart attack you can have. Most patients just die," said Ascione.
The team will extract bone marrow from all 60 patients and separate out a class of stem cells that makes up 1% of the tissue. Previous studies have suggested that this cell type is able to regenerate heart muscle cells and blood vessels. By using the patient's own cells there will be no problems with tissue rejection.
Half of the patients will receive 15 injections of these selected cells - eight around the edge of the scar and seven in the middle - while the other half will receive dummy injections. Ascione believes his approach using a concentrated extract of stem cells will be more successful than previous studies. In his patients the team will examine the size of the scarred tissue in the heart six months after the operation using an imaging technique called heart MRI. That will give an accurate measure of improvement.
Ascione estimates that it will take around two years to carry out the operations and complete follow up observations of the patients.
Stem Cells May Prevent Amputations
Northwestern University researchers have launched the first U.S. trial in which stem cells are used to grow new blood vessels to prevent leg amputations.
Scientists are transplanting a purified form of subjects' own adult stem cells into their legs that have severely blocked arteries. The goal is to grow new small blood vessels and restore circulation.
The first two subjects in the 20-site national trial recently underwent the stem cell transplant process at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Scientists at the university's Feinberg School of Medicine who are leading the study said severely blocked arteries in the leg and sharply diminished blood flow can result in wounds that don't heal, tissue breakdown and gangrene. That condition, called critical limb ischemia, results in the amputation of more than 100,000 limbs annually in the United States.
The research targets patients who have exhausted all other medical options including angioplasty, stents and bypass surgery to repair blocked circulation in their legs.
"They're at the end of the therapeutic road and they're ultimately facing potential amputation," said Dr. Douglas Losordo, the study's principal national investigator. "This is hopefully a way to help them avoid that."
Scientists are transplanting a purified form of subjects' own adult stem cells into their legs that have severely blocked arteries. The goal is to grow new small blood vessels and restore circulation.
The first two subjects in the 20-site national trial recently underwent the stem cell transplant process at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Scientists at the university's Feinberg School of Medicine who are leading the study said severely blocked arteries in the leg and sharply diminished blood flow can result in wounds that don't heal, tissue breakdown and gangrene. That condition, called critical limb ischemia, results in the amputation of more than 100,000 limbs annually in the United States.
The research targets patients who have exhausted all other medical options including angioplasty, stents and bypass surgery to repair blocked circulation in their legs.
"They're at the end of the therapeutic road and they're ultimately facing potential amputation," said Dr. Douglas Losordo, the study's principal national investigator. "This is hopefully a way to help them avoid that."
Friday, January 18, 2008
Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplant Helps Child Recover From Rare Illness
Jan. 13--ASHLAND -- Three years ago, Patti Cuddihee-Barner signed a form allowing doctors to perform a risky procedure that would take her 1-year-old daughter to the brink of death.
"They told us, I'm so sorry, but we have to have you sign this piece of paper that says you realize this treatment could kill her,' " Cuddihee-Barner said. "It was like the worst nightmare I could imagine."
Alana Barner, now 4, suffers from a rare and often fatal disease called Hurler's syndrome. The inherited condition occurs when children lack a key enzyme in every cell of the body. Life expectancy for children with the disease is less than 10 years.
For Cuddihee-Barner, an Ashland veterinarian, and husband Bart Barner, who works for the Boone County Public Works Department, the choice was a simple one. They agreed to a procedure using a trial drug and transplanted stem cells from a donor umbilical cord, believing it was their daughter's only chance.
"We had two choices," Cuddihee-Barner said. "Either we do nothing and watch her die slowly, become mentally retarded, slip into a coma and basically choke to death. Or we try this, and it could kill her. But if it doesn't, she has a chance to live a somewhat normal life."
It all started three days before Alana's first birthday in November 2004 when a pediatrician detected a heart murmur during a "well baby checkup." The murmur was faint, however, and Alana's parents were told not to worry.
But Cuddihee-Barner was troubled by other signs. Her infant couldn't swallow food. The child's head was a bit larger than normal. The bridge of her nose was a little too flat, and her forehead protruded a bit. The anxious mother used her own stethoscope to listen to Alana's heart and heard the organ struggling. "I about flipped," she said.
The Barners took Alana to University Hospital cardiologist Guy Carter, who instantly recognized in the baby's face the tell-tale features of Hurler's syndrome. Her symptoms also fit.
Hurler's children lack an enzyme that breaks down sulphates in the body. The sulphates build up, swelling their cells. Doctors told the family that the tips of Alana's heart valves were thick and swollen, causing blood to flow backward and cause a heart murmur. Alana couldn't swallow because her lymph glands were swollen, another sign of Hurler's.
The diagnosis devastated the family.
"They told us, I'm so sorry, but we have to have you sign this piece of paper that says you realize this treatment could kill her,' " Cuddihee-Barner said. "It was like the worst nightmare I could imagine."
Alana Barner, now 4, suffers from a rare and often fatal disease called Hurler's syndrome. The inherited condition occurs when children lack a key enzyme in every cell of the body. Life expectancy for children with the disease is less than 10 years.
For Cuddihee-Barner, an Ashland veterinarian, and husband Bart Barner, who works for the Boone County Public Works Department, the choice was a simple one. They agreed to a procedure using a trial drug and transplanted stem cells from a donor umbilical cord, believing it was their daughter's only chance.
"We had two choices," Cuddihee-Barner said. "Either we do nothing and watch her die slowly, become mentally retarded, slip into a coma and basically choke to death. Or we try this, and it could kill her. But if it doesn't, she has a chance to live a somewhat normal life."
It all started three days before Alana's first birthday in November 2004 when a pediatrician detected a heart murmur during a "well baby checkup." The murmur was faint, however, and Alana's parents were told not to worry.
But Cuddihee-Barner was troubled by other signs. Her infant couldn't swallow food. The child's head was a bit larger than normal. The bridge of her nose was a little too flat, and her forehead protruded a bit. The anxious mother used her own stethoscope to listen to Alana's heart and heard the organ struggling. "I about flipped," she said.
The Barners took Alana to University Hospital cardiologist Guy Carter, who instantly recognized in the baby's face the tell-tale features of Hurler's syndrome. Her symptoms also fit.
Hurler's children lack an enzyme that breaks down sulphates in the body. The sulphates build up, swelling their cells. Doctors told the family that the tips of Alana's heart valves were thick and swollen, causing blood to flow backward and cause a heart murmur. Alana couldn't swallow because her lymph glands were swollen, another sign of Hurler's.
The diagnosis devastated the family.
Delaware Judge Rules that Judge: Cryo-Cell Should Hold Special Meeting & New Election
A judge in the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled the results of a shareholders vote at Cryo-Cell International Inc. in July were tainted by inequitable behavior by Mercedes Walton, the company's chairman and chief executive, and should be set aside.
Vice Chancellor Leo Strine Jr. also said in his Tuesday ruling that the best remedy would be to order a prompt special meeting at which a new election would be held and presided over by a special master. Strine said the cost of the special meeting should not be borne by the company and its stockholders, but by the management slate that was elected at the July meeting.
A call to Walton for comment was pending return.
The judge rejected a call by David Portnoy, the dissident Cryo-Cell investor who filed the lawsuit, to immediately seat a competing slate of nominees that was defeated at the July shareholders meeting. The judge also said Walton and other Cryo-Cell directors did not have to pay Portnoy's litigation and proxy solicitation costs.
Portnoy said in an e-mailed statement that he was "extremely pleased" with the ruling. In addition to an immediate revote, Portnoy said he "planned to hold each and every board member accountable."
Portnoy has contended that Cryo-Cell (OTCBB: CCEL), an Oldsmar-based company that cryopreserves umbilical cord stem cells for family use, has underperformed and that Walton is responsible for that.
Vice Chancellor Leo Strine Jr. also said in his Tuesday ruling that the best remedy would be to order a prompt special meeting at which a new election would be held and presided over by a special master. Strine said the cost of the special meeting should not be borne by the company and its stockholders, but by the management slate that was elected at the July meeting.
A call to Walton for comment was pending return.
The judge rejected a call by David Portnoy, the dissident Cryo-Cell investor who filed the lawsuit, to immediately seat a competing slate of nominees that was defeated at the July shareholders meeting. The judge also said Walton and other Cryo-Cell directors did not have to pay Portnoy's litigation and proxy solicitation costs.
Portnoy said in an e-mailed statement that he was "extremely pleased" with the ruling. In addition to an immediate revote, Portnoy said he "planned to hold each and every board member accountable."
Portnoy has contended that Cryo-Cell (OTCBB: CCEL), an Oldsmar-based company that cryopreserves umbilical cord stem cells for family use, has underperformed and that Walton is responsible for that.
Cord Blood Banking Worthwhile - Says Oklahoma State Sen. Jay Paul Gumm
As 2008 begins, most of us in the Legislature are putting the final touches on bills and resolutions we intend to introduce this year. Every year, thousands of bills are introduced and hundreds of bills will die when they are denied even a hearing by committee leaders.
It is an indiscriminate process, with dozens of good bills killed alongside some really bad ones. One of the bills I will introduce for 2008 is another try on one of those good bills caught up in last year's frenzy to kill bills.
I introduced a measure that would have created Oklahoma's first public umbilical cord blood bank. The bill would have allowed Oklahoma parents to collect and bank blood found in the umbilical cord following the birth of a baby. That blood, usually discarded, is rich in stem cells with the potential to cure many life-threatening illnesses.
While the bill won bipartisan support in the evenly divided Senate, House leaders shelved it, most likely because of partisan politics. That bill is gone, but this is an issue that will not go away.
Right now, the only option for Oklahomans wanting to preserve cord blood is to use private cord blood banks. These private entities are so expensive their services are out of reach for all but the wealthiest of families. That means potentially life-saving procedures are denied to most of us.
My proposal would have created a cord blood bank in Oklahoma funded by public dollars and private contributions. This would allow every family to donate their infant's cord blood without regard to their personal wealth. Also, any Oklahoman needing compatible life-saving cord blood would have access to the bank.
Texas is already ahead of us in this effort. The Texas Legislature in 2005 approved a $3.5 million expenditure that began their cord blood bank. That public investment is being combined with private donations, and my bill is modeled after that.
We owe it to ourselves and our children to catch up. There are cases of children whose lives flickered before they received stem cell transplants made possible by cord blood donations. Many of those once-flickering souls now shine brightly in the form of healthy children. This idea should be a no-brainer for anyone who wears the label "pro-life."
We are not talking about a lot of money: $3.5 million, less than one dollar for every Oklahoma man, woman and child. It is a small price to pay, and we dare not let this chance to save and improve Oklahomans lives pass us by — especially because of petty politics.
It is an indiscriminate process, with dozens of good bills killed alongside some really bad ones. One of the bills I will introduce for 2008 is another try on one of those good bills caught up in last year's frenzy to kill bills.
I introduced a measure that would have created Oklahoma's first public umbilical cord blood bank. The bill would have allowed Oklahoma parents to collect and bank blood found in the umbilical cord following the birth of a baby. That blood, usually discarded, is rich in stem cells with the potential to cure many life-threatening illnesses.
While the bill won bipartisan support in the evenly divided Senate, House leaders shelved it, most likely because of partisan politics. That bill is gone, but this is an issue that will not go away.
Right now, the only option for Oklahomans wanting to preserve cord blood is to use private cord blood banks. These private entities are so expensive their services are out of reach for all but the wealthiest of families. That means potentially life-saving procedures are denied to most of us.
My proposal would have created a cord blood bank in Oklahoma funded by public dollars and private contributions. This would allow every family to donate their infant's cord blood without regard to their personal wealth. Also, any Oklahoman needing compatible life-saving cord blood would have access to the bank.
Texas is already ahead of us in this effort. The Texas Legislature in 2005 approved a $3.5 million expenditure that began their cord blood bank. That public investment is being combined with private donations, and my bill is modeled after that.
We owe it to ourselves and our children to catch up. There are cases of children whose lives flickered before they received stem cell transplants made possible by cord blood donations. Many of those once-flickering souls now shine brightly in the form of healthy children. This idea should be a no-brainer for anyone who wears the label "pro-life."
We are not talking about a lot of money: $3.5 million, less than one dollar for every Oklahoma man, woman and child. It is a small price to pay, and we dare not let this chance to save and improve Oklahomans lives pass us by — especially because of petty politics.
Nebraska Bill Focuses on Umbilical Cord Blood Donation
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - State lawmakers could consider a bill requiring hospitals and doctors to tell women they can donate umbilical cord blood.
Nebraska Senator Gail Kopplin introduced a bill requiring hospitals and doctors in the state to inform pregnant women about their cord blood preservation options.
The stem cells in cord blood have the potential to save lives. They're the same stem cells that make up the bone-marrow transplants that help many people survive certain cancers and other diseases.
But cord blood is more easily transplanted into unrelated people and can be thawed at a moment's notice, giving it advantages over bone marrow.
The cells are not embryonic stem cells.
Under the bill (LB951) introduced by Senator Gail Kopplin of Gretna, parents could decide whether to store the blood in a private bank for their child's own use or donate the blood to a public bank.
Nebraska Senator Gail Kopplin introduced a bill requiring hospitals and doctors in the state to inform pregnant women about their cord blood preservation options.
The stem cells in cord blood have the potential to save lives. They're the same stem cells that make up the bone-marrow transplants that help many people survive certain cancers and other diseases.
But cord blood is more easily transplanted into unrelated people and can be thawed at a moment's notice, giving it advantages over bone marrow.
The cells are not embryonic stem cells.
Under the bill (LB951) introduced by Senator Gail Kopplin of Gretna, parents could decide whether to store the blood in a private bank for their child's own use or donate the blood to a public bank.
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