Stem Cell News and Research

The Robertson Foundation has given $10.2 million to Duke University that will help facilitate studies evaluating cord blood stem cells infusions for newborns with various conditions including brain injuries suffered at birth, like cerebral palsy, as well as congenital heart disease and forms of cancer.

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Chloe Levine was born seemingly perfect — she was the happy and healthy baby her parents had dreamed of. But by the time she was 9 months old, Chloe was not reaching the milestones her older sister Shayla had met at that age.

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"No layoffs here, that's the headline," says Tom Moore, founder and CEO of Cord Blood Registry in San Bruno. While embryonic stem cells finally got to step out of the shadows on Monday, Moore's 300-person company has been a legal and thriving concern for years.

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Umbilical cord blood, rich in stem cells, may provide raw material to repair the hearts of thousands of babies born each year with defective heart valves, according to researchers.

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The research presented the possibility of a cell therapy aimed at rejuvenating the aged brain. When human umbilical cord blood cells (UCBC) were injected into aged laboratory animals, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) found improvements in the microenvironment of the hippocampus region of the animals’ brains and a subsequent rejuvenation of neural stem/progenitor cells.

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Personal Best, a magazine geared toward women in the Pittsburgh area, published a cover story about cord blood in its Winter 2008 issue. The article prominently features CBR and positively highlights the benefits of both family banking and public donation of cord blood stem cells. The article includes the story of a CBR client family who banked all three of their children's cord blood. The cord blood from their youngest children, twin boys, was stored through CBR's Designated Transplant Program after the father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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A diabetes health Web site posted an article about the ongoing trial at the University of Florida using children’s own stem cells to treat type 1 diabetes.

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Cerebral Palsy: Remarkable results after treatment with cord blood
CBS13 - Sacramento, CA
Just 5 days after undergoing a cord blood stem cell procedure, Dallas said his first word "momma," which was quickly followed by learning to wave and even laughing. "That's the best feeling in the world to hear your little kid laugh," said Dallas' dad Derek. "He had never laughed before." Three months after the treatment, the little boy who didn't have the muscle control to crawl is now scooting all over without using a walker. He is also looking at his parents when they talk to him.

It has the potential to change people's lives, but it is being thrown out every day...

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New York Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol announces the signing of the Umbilical Cord Blood Bill into law by Governor Eliot Spitzer, Chapter 427 of 2007.

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There's a new law that can help save lives. New York Governor Spitzer has signed a bill for public and private umbilical cord blood banking.

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Stem Cells contained in a newborn's umbilical cord blood are increasingly being used in regenerative and transplant medicine to improve and save lives. But the vast majority of expectant parents are not presented with fair and balanced information about cord blood preservation. We can either follow prescriptive guidance based on outdated science or we can be empowered with information to make our own health decisions. Ultimately the choice is yours.

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To see Ryan Schneider now, it's hard to believe the tough start he had in life. Early on, he barely ate and couldn't gain weight. He wasn't able to speak and his arms and hands were fisting in 'L' shapes. Schneider's cerebral palsy seemed incurable, but at birth, his mother saved the blood- rich in stem cells - from his umbilical cord.

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Today, President Bush Signed An Executive Order To Strengthen Our Nation's Commitment To Research On Pluripotent Stem Cells. Scientists have recently shown they have the ingenuity and skill to pursue the potential benefits of pluripotent stem cell research - research on cells that have the potential to develop into nearly all the cell types and tissues in the body - without endangering human life in the process. By expanding support for non-destructive research methods, this Executive Order will make it more likely that these exciting advances continue to unfold.

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Young Joseph Davis, Jr., age 7, testifies before the Florida Senate health policy committee on the importance of cord blood stem cell education. Joseph was cured of a life-threatening case of sickle cell anemia with the stem cells from the umbilical cord of his younger brother, Isaac. In the hearing, Joseph called Isaac, “my hero and best friend.” Joseph and his family benefited from the Designated Transplant Program, a free service offered by Cord Blood Registry that provides processing and storage of cord blood stem cells for use with a family member who has a condition that would benefit from treatment with genetically-related stem cells.

It sounds like a science-fiction fantasy come true. The idea that a few ounces of fluid leaking from an umbilical cord at birth could mean the difference between life and death seems unreal, yet the stem cells found in cord blood have shown the potential to regenerate damaged body tissue and treat dozens of diseases affecting millions of Americans, including diabetes and Alzheimer's.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) Ten years ago, cord blood stem cells were not a focus of conversation outside of the scientific community. But we've come a long way, cord blood stem cells are a hot topic today.

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A three-year-old leukemia victim was given a life-saving infusion of her own cord blood, marking the first time a child with this disease served as their own blood donor, American doctors said.

The little girl is now a thriving six-year-old six -- a tribute, say her doctors, to the pioneering transplant that helped her recover from radical chemotherapy.

They also commended the foresight of her parents who decided to save some of her umbilical cord on the off chance it might be needed later.

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Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Charles Sims, M.D., chairman of the Association of Family Cord Blood Banks (AFCBB), asserts that all expectant parents should make an informed choice about the storage or disposal of their newborn's cord blood stem cells and that physicians and other pre-natal care providers have a responsibility to provide fair and balanced education on all cord blood banking options. This perspective is consistent with recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and with legislation being passed in several states across the country.

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State legislation and more public awareness has increased interest by new parents in draining and storing stem-cell-rich blood from their newborn's umbilical cord and placenta. That has been a boon for the blood-storage industry and for private companies, such as Cord Blood Registry, which operates the nation's largest private cord-blood bank.

San Bruno, Calif.-based CBR launched operations more than a decade ago, when few knew of cord blood's potential health care uses. Today, the company has about 500,000 blood packets at its nondescript, 80,000-square-foot building near the Tucson airport.

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