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EASTERN SHORE, Md. (WJZ) — The miracle of stem cells changes the life of a little boy from the Eastern Shore. Adam May has the amazing story of a mother and the choice she made moments after her son was born. Xander McKinley was a beautiful baby–but challenging. The newborn didn’t eat or sleep well, and by two-years-old, he couldn’t walk or even crawl. “Something just wasn’t right,” said Xander’s mother, Jennifer McKinley. Jennifer McKinley got the news every parent fears. Xander had cerebral palsy–a brain condition that slows motor functions. Adam: “Did you ever fear he would never have...

Japanese researcher plans cache of induced stem cells to supply clinical trials. Progress toward stem-cell therapies has been frustratingly slow, delayed by research challenges, ethical and legal barriers and corporate jitters. Now, stem-cell pioneer Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan plans to jump-start the field by building up a bank of stem cells for therapeutic use. The bank would store dozens of lines of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, putting Japan in an unfamiliar position: at the forefront of efforts to introduce a pioneering biomedical technology. A long-held dream of Yamanaka’s, the iPS Cell Stock project received a boost...

When you hear the term “stem cells”, what comes to mind? Religious controversy? Ethical debate? embryonic stem cell research? These associations are common, and unfortunately could be limiting how often stem cells are donated for use as a life-saving transplant. Many people equate stem cells with embryonic stem cell research but non-embryonic (or adult) stem cells are different and they’re used every day in modern medicine to save lives. Furthermore, to date, embryonic stem cells have not been used for many human therapeutic purposes.Nearly everyone knows someone that has had or needed a bone marrow transplant, but did you know...

For the first time ever, stem cells from umbilical cords have been converted into other types of cells, which may eventually lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, among other nervous system diseases.  “This is the first time this has been done with non-embryonic stem cells,” says James Hickman, a University of Central Florida bioengineer and leader of the research group, whose accomplishment is described in the Jan. 18 issue of the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.“We’re very excited about where this could lead because it overcomes many of the obstacles present with embryonic stem cells.” ...

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...

Stephen Sprague was supposed to die 11 years ago. Cynthia Dorsey playing with her son, Caleb, at a recent reunion of stem cell transplant recipients treated in Hackensack. The leukemia patient was preparing for the end when he signed up for a medical experiment. He became one of the first adults in the U.S. to receive a transplant of stem cells from a newborn’s umbilical cord. He was cured. Wendy Favorito received a second chance at life when she had a transplant of her sister’s stem cells. Cynthia Dorsey is alive — and has a baby boy — also thanks...

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. — When 9-year-old Kacie Sallee saw her father's face more clearly for the first time in her life, she had a question. "She said, 'Is that what he looks like?'" said her mother, Marinda Sallee. Kacie, who is blind, returned last week from China, where she received umbilical-cord stem cell treatment in hopes of improving her eyesight. The nearly four-week trip and medical treatment was paid through $60,000 in local donations. Kacie was born with septo-optic dysplasia, an underdevelopment of the optic nerve and pituitary gland. She could see bright colors out of her right eye but...

Dallas Hextell was already a miracle to parents Cynthia and Derak, after they spent three years trying to get pregnant. But now he is looking like a medical miracle to the rest of the world. The 2-year-old son of the Sacramento, Calif., couple was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but is now showing fewer signs of the disorder and marked improvement after an infusion of his own stem cells — made possible by the preservation of his own cord blood shortly before birth. Derak Hextell now believes his son will be cured of the incurable malady. “[Dallas’ doctors] said by the...

(BEIJING) — They're paralyzed from diving accidents and car crashes, disabled by Parkinson's, or blind. With few options available at home in America, they search the Internet for experimental treatments — and often land on Web sites promoting stem cell treatments in China. They mortgage their houses and their hometowns hold fundraisers as they scrape together the tens of thousands of dollars needed for travel and the hope for a miracle cure. A number of these medical tourists claim some success when they return home: Jim Savage, a Houston man with paralysis from a spinal cord injury, says he can...

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists are preparing for a large clinical trial in 2008 which aims to use stem cells to help 400 patients with spinal cord injuries in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan grow new cells and nerve fibers. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood will be injected into the spinal cords of the participants, who will also be given lithium to help stimulate cell regeneration, said Wise Young, a leading neuroscientist and spinal cord injury researcher. "What we'd like to do is study a broad range of patients, not just (those with) complete (spinal cord injuries)," said...

On August 9, 2001, President Bush announced a compromise decision on the contentious question of whether the federal government should provide financial support for research into the curative properties of human stem cells extracted from embryos. Bush’s compromise allowed funding for research into embryonic stem cells that had already been harvested. At the same time, he disallowed funding for procedures that would collect stem cells from frozen (but still living) embryos, since doing so would require their destruction. In the case of those already collected, he said, “The life-or-death decision has already been made.” But that life-or-death decision would not...

Stem cells have been isolated successfully from the equine umbilical cord. Once collected, these cells (referred to as umbilical cord matrix cells) can then be preserved frozen, cultured, and differentiated into a host of cell lines, including bone, cartilage, fat, and those of the nervous system. Currently, stem cells are obtained from either fat or bone marrow of adult horses and are employed in equine medicine to treat traumatic and degenerative diseases such as bowed tendons, ligament injuries, osteoarthritis, and osteochondral defects (such as osteochondrosis or bone cysts). "Studies demonstrate that stem cells help tissues regenerate, rather than repair by...

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...

Donate Cord Blood. Share Life. Before your baby is born, the umbilical cord is a lifeline. After birth, that lifeline can provide hope to patients with leukemia, lymphoma or other diseases.  After delivery, the umbilical cord and placenta are no longer needed and are often discarded. But the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta is rich with blood-forming cells. These healthy blood-forming cells can be collected and stored so they can be used by a patient who needs them. Donate cord blood and share life. Get information to help you make an informed decision Cord blood is...

AMERICAN FORK — Many travelers to foreign countries have goals to see new sights and try exotic foods. Travis Ashton Travis Ashton's goal was a bit loftier — to receive stem-cell treatments at a hospital in China to help recover from a brain injury he suffered in a car accident seven years ago. Travis, 18, and his parents traveled to Hangzhou, China, in June for a five-week stay at the Beike Biotechnology Clinic where Travis was to receive four stem-cell treatments. He received six. "We had planned on four, and he ended up having two more," said Missy Ashton, Travis'...

Nearly two months after undergoing a transplant designed to infuse her body with healthy blood and defeat leukemia, a 13-month-old Simi Valley girl remains in isolation in a Los Angeles hospital. Hailey Joy Kent, who received stem cells from a donor's umbilical cord on May 30, is still on a battery of medications as doctors monitor a blood count that fluctuates day to day. She's playing with her favorite rattles and seems mostly happy but faces a long list of challenges, like relearning how to eat. "Considering what she's been through so far, she's doing all right," said Maria Kent,...

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.

Ethical Stem Cell Research Gets New Blood with US House Funding Bill Funding must pass Senate first By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Ethical stem-cell research received a funding boost from the US House of Representatives on Thursday after it passed an appropriations bill allotting $15 million to the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) program. The House voted Thursday 276-140 to pass the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3043) for fiscal year 2008, which included the funding that will be put toward the NCBI to collect cord blood. Stem cells derived from...

HOMEARCHIVEBACKGROUNDERSQUICK PICKSABOUT USCONTACT US Comment (2) | Email | Michael Cook | Saturday, 16 June 2007 Is therapeutic cloning obsolete? After years of urging the public and governments to support the destruction of embryos, scientists may have led them up a blind alley. Next week the international grandees of therapeutic cloning gather in Cairns, Australia, the sun-soaked gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, for their annual conference. They have serious strategic issues to deal with along with their scientific papers and posters: persuading governments to open their wallets, ensuring that the Bush Administrations restrictions on their work are lifted,...