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SANTIAGO (AFP) – A middle-aged leukemia patient has became Chile's first patient to receive stem cells from an umbilical cord in a radical procedure that could cure the disease, health officials here said Thursday. The 48-year-old man received the transplanted cells on Monday from samples stored in the so-called "Bank of Life" institute, said doctors at Santiago's Catholic University Hospital, where the operation was performed...

After birth, the umbilical cord and placenta are usually discarded as waste. But, the umbilical cord holds something extremely precious—stem cells. These stem cells have become standard therapy for serious diseases such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and other immune system diseases (1). These stem cells are valuable because of their ability to develop into almost any type of cell in the body. Parents have two cord blood banking options. The first option is preserving your child’s stem cells in a private bank so the cells are available for the family’s personal use. The initial fees range between $1000-$3000. There are...

CHICAGO, June 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new US study offers insights into the way stem cells from umbilical cord blood can be used to successfully treat diabetes. Researchers at the University of Florida College of Medicine studied twenty children aged between two and seven with type 1 diabetes, seven of whom were injected with cord blood cells. The researchers concluded that the study suggests that the cells “jump-start” and correct the patient’s own immune system. "This is the first attempt at using cord blood as a potential therapy for type 1 diabetes. We hope these cells can either lessen...

PARK CITY - Belly down on her parents' living room floor, Dena Brehm Gennerman cries as she props herself up on her elbows. The 39-year-old, who suffered a traumatic brain injury two years ago, could be in pain, though it's hard for parents Bob and Eva Brehm to say. Except for a couple of simple hand signs - fist up or down for "yes" or "no" - what Dena thinks or feels is largely a mystery to her family. Pained by his daughter's sobs as she endures her morning physical therapy with certified nursing assistant Chris Mrdutt, Bob Brehm sometimes...

SEOUL (AFP) - A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an accident two decades ago. Last week her eyes glistened with tears as she walked again with the help of a walking frame at a press conference where South Korea (news - web sites) researchers went public for the first time with the results of their stem-cell therapy.

In a fundamental discovery that someday may help cure type 1 diabetes by allowing people to grow their own insulin-producing cells for a damaged or defective pancreas, medical researchers here have reported that they have engineered adult stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood to produce insulin. The researchers announced their laboratory finding, which caps nearly four years of research, in the June 2007 issue of the medical journal Cell Proliferation, posted online this week. Their paper calls it "the first demonstration that human umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells can be engineered" to synthesize insulin. "This discovery tells us...

In less than a week, a little girl from East Troy with a rare genetic condition will get on a plane with her mother, aunt and cousin and head to China to receive more than 60 million stem cells. Brooke Barels, 9, suffers from Glucose Transporter Deficiency, a condition caused by a genetic mutation of the gene that processes glucose from food into fuel for her body. As a result, Brooke suffers from cerebral palsy-like symptoms and cannot function like normal children.  She's the 83rd person in the world diagnosed with GLUT-1, as it's better known. She'll be the first...

Saudi Wealth Fuels Global Jihadism Posted Oct. 27, 2003 By Kenneth R. Timmerman Generations of Muslims in the Middle East have been raised on the anti-Western, anti-Semitic theologies of Ayatollah Khomeini and in the Saudi Wahhabi system of madrassas (religious schools). This foundation set the stage for the rise of Osama bin Laden. Doaa 'Amer is a professional TV anchor who hosts Muslim Woman Magazine on IQRAA TV, a satellite channel broadcasting throughout the Arab world. As she tells it, her job is to educate the next generation of children to be "true Muslims." Readers accustomed to hearing Islam described...

TORONTO, February 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Umbilical cords continue to surprise researchers as an abundant source of stem cells. Today’s Toronto Star reports that a group of scientists at the University of Toronto have discovered what they are calling the ‘jack-pot’ of stem cells in a mass of jelly found inside the umbilical cord. "We're very excited by this, that's for sure," said J.E. Davies, of the UofT's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering. The source, known as Wharton's Jelly, surrounds the three umbilical cord blood vessels connecting the fetus and mother. The Toronto researchers used umbilical cords donated from...

by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor July 12, 2004 Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Two new studies are providing further argument that embryonic stem cell research is unnecessary because adult stem cells are not only more ethical, but more effective as well. Researchers at the Tufts-New England Medical Center reported last week that that unborn children may be giving their mothers the gift of life. As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers have uncovered evidence that fetal stem cells may be migrating from the developing unborn child to diseased tissue and organs in the mother's body. Evidence...

Joined by 31 cosponsors, a Republican state senator from Duluth introduced a bill Thursday designed to foster stem cell research in Georgia and to avoid the controversy such efforts arouse. The bill by Sen. David Shafer would encourage research with stem cells from postnatal tissue – umbilical cords, the placenta and amniotic fluid. "Stem cell research efforts have been hampered by the controversy over embryonic stem cells," Shafer said. "But stem cells are not found only in embryos. Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells which can be used for research without destroying any embryos." "Stem cell research using...

Cygenics (ASX: CYN) announce the first cystic fibrosis cord blood collection. Clinical history was made at The Mercy Hospital in Werribee on Easter Saturday, when baby Aiden Brundell donated his cord blood in the hope that his precious stem cells could one day rejuvenate sister Mikaela's lungs, which are failing from cystic fibrosis (CF), and save her life. This first collection of cord blood from the sibling of a child with CF is a major step towards treating the deadly effects of Australia's most common severe genetic condition among children, for which there is no cure. Aiden's cord blood collection...

A team of bioengineers led by the University of Toronto has discovered a way to increase the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, to an extent which could broaden therapeutic use of these cells. In a paper published in the October issue of Experimental Hematology, researchers working in the University of Toronto's Stem Cell Bioengineering Laboratory have identified an important component blocking the growth of stem cells. U of T scientists discovered stem cells in 1961, and for about two decades researchers around the world have been searching for a way to expand the number of stem cells...

Tampa, FL (Nov. 12, 2005) -- An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims. Researchers at the University of South Florida found that human umbilical cord blood cells administered to rats two days following a stroke greatly curbed the brain's inflammatory response, reducing the size of the stroke and resulting in greatly improved recovery. The rats' inflammatory response to injury from stroke peaked 48 hours after the brain attack, which was when intravenous delivery of the cells appeared...

Therapeutic use for umbilical cord blood may broaden A team of bioengineers led by the University of Toronto has discovered a way to increase the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, to an extent which could broaden therapeutic use of these cells. In a paper published in the October issue of Experimental Hematology, researchers working in the University of Toronto's Stem Cell Bioengineering Laboratory have identified an important component blocking the growth of stem cells. U of T scientists discovered stem cells in 1961, and for about two decades researchers around the world have been searching for a...

. . . about adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells? Probably not.WE HAVE HEARD IT STATED SO OFTEN it has become a media mantra: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) offer the greatest hope for cures; adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells have far less potential; the Bush administration's embryonic stem cell funding restrictions have caused America to fall behind in the great international race to develop effective ESC treatments. Baloney, baloney, and pure baloney: The problems with harnessing embryonic stem cells as treatments appear to be growing, not shrinking. For example, ESC boosters used to claim that these cells are "immortal,"...

Adult Stem Cell Research Treats Spinal Cord Injury Patient   LifeNews.com Note: Award winning author Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture. An attorney, Smith's new book Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World was published last year. I have known about this for some time, but because I didn't want to be guilty of the same hyping that is so often engaged in by some therapeutic cloning proponents, I waited until it was published in a peer reviewed journal.Now it has been and the...

When Dr. Christian Barnard performed the world's first successful heart transplant back in 1967, he reached a new peak of human scientific achievement. However, almost 40 years later, the criteria for receiving a new heart is quite stringent, and heart transplants are granted to those patients who have the highest chance for recovery. For thousands of elderly or gravely ill patients with damaged hearts, a transplant is not an option. Now Israeli researchers are at the forefront of research which could one day make heart transplants obsolete - using stem cell technology, they're developing a way to use the blood...

Saving umbilical blood saves lives, says panel Friday, April 15, 2005 By LAURAN NEERGAARD ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Blood saved from newborns' umbilical cords could help treat about 11,700 Americans a year with leukemia and other devastating diseases, yet most is routinely thrown away, a panel of influential scientists said Thursday in calling for a tripling of the nation's supply. Cord blood is rich in stem cells, the building blocks that produce blood - the same stem cells that make up the bone-marrow transplants that help many people survive certain cancers and other diseases. When frozen from cord blood shortly...

Cord blood yields 'ethical' embryonic stem cells 00:01 18 August 2005 Hopes for treating disease with stem cells from umbilical cord blood has received a major boost, following the discovery of primitive cells with clinical potential matching that of the far more controversial embryonic stem cells (ESCs). The latter are originally derived from human fetuses, which are then destroyed, and have become a major ethical issue, especially in the US. Furthermore, the same team is applying new microgravity technology - originally developed by NASA for the International Space Station - to make large enough quantities of the stem cells to...

Cord Blood Stems Heart Attack Damage THURSDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDayNews) -- Stem cells taken from human umbilical cord blood reduced heart attack damage in rats, says a University of South Florida study published online this week in Cell Transplantation.The stem cells were injected into the rats' hearts just after they suffered induced heart attacks. The stem cells greatly reduced the amount of heart damage and restored heart pumping function to near normal. Drugs were not needed to prevent the rats' immune systems from rejecting the human stem cells.If further animal and human research proves this method is safe and effective,...

MINNEAPOLIS - Dr. Mindy Rauch thought she was humoring her brother at a family gathering last Father's Day when she agreed to examine his 6-month-old daughter, Hannah. The baby's stomach worried him: it felt taut, and too big. Dr. Rauch, a pediatrician, thought her brother was just another nervous first-time father. "Oh, look at this belly," she said playfully, feeling the baby's middle. A moment later she turned to her husband, who is also a pediatrician, and said, "You have to feel this." Hannah's liver and spleen were enormously enlarged. It was a sign of serious illness: possibly a tumor,...

I would like to solicit opinions on whether I should save the umbilical cord blood of my baby-to-be, who will arrive a few months from now. I am debating between donating the blood to a public bank versus banking it for potential use for my child or another family member. I have come to the conclusion that there is such a small probability that my baby (or someone in our family) would ever be able to use the blood that it may make more sense to donate it. On the other hand, I could never forgive myself if my child...

"Umbilical cord blood, now used mostly to treat children with leukemia, could save thousands of adults with the disease each year who cannot find bone marrow donors, two large studies indicate."

For decades, leukemia patients have had to rely on finding a bone marrow donor to give them a new supply of blood cells. Now, two studies show that adult patients can safely use umbilical cord to help them rebuild their health. Elizabeth Rhodes is alive today because of umbilical cord. She was diagnosed with leukemia and was told she needed a bone marrow transplant to survive. Leukemia patients often undergo radiation or chemotherapy to kill their cancerous white blood cells. But the treatment also wipes out their immune systems. Bone marrow is rich in stem cells that are capable of...

A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. US researcher holds a box containing vials of human embryonic stem cell cultures. A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. [AFP/file] US researcher holds a box containing vials of human embryonic stem cell cultures. A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine...

Cord Blood Transplant OK for Adult LeukemiaStudies: Cord Blood Transplants Realistic Option for Adult Leukemia Treatment By Jennifer Warner WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD on Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Nov. 24, 2004 -- Umbilical cord blood transplants may be a viable treatment option for adults with leukemia when a matching bone marrow donor isn't available, according to two major new studies. Umbilical cord blood transplants are already successful in treating children with leukemia, but until now the safety and effectiveness of the treatment in adults with leukemia has not been examined. A common treatment for adult leukemia...

A most precious gift Donated cord blood saves lives. Just ask these grateful parents Everyone in the Heacock family was a potential donor. Anthony Dones, above, received his life-saving cord blood from an anonymous donor. Ramona Shih and Michael Blitstein, right, donated son Ty's blood to a public registry. Many expectant moms pore through pregnancy magazines with plenty of questions in mind: Should I quit my stressful job and launch a home-based business? Consume more folic acid? Breast-feed or go with the bottle? Just then a page-long ad throws another choice in their path: Do I bank my baby's...

Cord Blood Stem-Cell Research Workingby Keith Peters, Washington, D.C., correspondentScience involving stem cells doesn't have to take a life to be successful.A growing body of research is showing the value of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the treatment of disease—an alternative to destroying human embryos in the name of science.The face of that success was on Capitol Hill yesterday—in the form of 4-year-old Joseph Davis, Jr. He had sickle-cell anemia, and doctors did not hold out much hope for him. But his mother and father had been informed of the value of banking umbilical cord blood stem cells, and...

Groundbreaking procedure saves unborn boy's life This is the story of an unborn child who had little chance of making it into the world until a team of Oklahoma surgeons took on the case.     The boy's mom came to OU Medical Center several months ago. Specialists knew immediately there was a major problem with her unborn son.   Tina and Brian Green married knowing they wanted a houseful of kids. They have two beautiful daughters. Alex is seven and    Dharma is three. And, the Greens are coloring in all shades of blue these days -- their baby brother is...

Daily Reproductive Health Report National Politics & Policy | Senators Hear 'Alternatives' to Embryonic Stem Cell Research; Adult Stem Cells, Umbilical Cord Blood Touted [Jun 13, 2003]       The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space yesterday heard "alternatives" to research using embryonic stem cells, including research using adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood, which some say could be as effective as embryonic stem cells in treating degenerative diseases, the AP/Yahoo! News reports (Abrams, AP/Yahoo! News, 6/12).        Dr. Jean Peduzzi-Nelson of the University of Alabama-Birmingham testified that there is "abundant evidence" that adult stem cells can already...