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Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®), the world’s largest and most experienced cord blood stem cell bank, today announced that it has released a total of five stem cell samples in the first quarter of the year for transplant or infusion. Three of the cases are individuals who will require their own cord blood stem cells for autologous infusions for cerebral palsy, type I diabetes, and a rare autoimmune disorder related to autism. The additional two samples were released for use by a sibling in each family: one to treat acute myeloid leukemia and the other to treat a serious blood disease,...

Oxford scientists have revealed a link between a gene and the activity of human blood stem cells, giving hope that stem cell transplant success for blood cancer patients may be significantly improved. Dr Rajeev Gupta, a Leukaemia Research-funded consultant haematologist, has uncovered that the gene Nephroblastoma Overexpressed ( Nov ) plays a key role in regulating the production of blood from stem cells. The work, which was carried out in the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, is published in the journal Science. Stem cells are vital for normal blood production and are used in transplants in patients with leukaemia and other...

A Livingston hospital has launched what is believed to be the country's first formal program devoted to encouraging expectant families to bank both placental and umbilical cord stem cells. Officials at St. Barnabas Medical Center, where the most New Jersey babies are born each year, said yesterday they have established the program with LifebankUSA of Cedar Knolls, a division of Celgene, a Summit biotechnology company. "We felt the research of the Celgene scientists held such promise that it would be worth it for our patients to know about it," said Richard Miller, who chairs the department of obstetrics and gynecology...

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...

Close window Published online: 1 February 2007; | doi:10.1038/news070129-11 Virgin invests in stem cellsMultifaceted company gets into healthcare for the future.Matt Brown Virgin births: Richard Branson launches the first dual - public and private - umbilical cord stem cell bank.Clara Molden/PA/EMPICS Richard Branson, more famous for investing in planes, trains and music through Virgin Group, today announced his first foray into healthcare. Virgin Health Bank, a collaboration with London-based investment company Merlin Biosciences, will store blood stem cells from umbilical cord tissue for the treatment of blood diseases. In a departure from existing commercial cord stem-cell banks, the sample...

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. "There's a good chance the procedure saved her life. She is in remission and has an...

Written by Administrator Friday, 10 November 2006 Democrats for Life of America Protecting Life. Strengthening. Re-Building. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Kristen Day November 8, 2006 202-220-3066 Pro-Life Democrats Critical in Retaking the House Pro-life Democrats to move to leadership positions WASHINGTON, DC – Democrats For Life of America applauded the Democratic leadership today for recruiting pro-life Democrats to run for key Congressional races in this week’s history making elections. “Right after John Kerry’s loss in 2004, the Democratic Party finally started talking about including pro-life Democrats in the big tent of the Democratic Party. They put their money where...

Discovery step toward developing treatment for various lung diseasesResearchers at the University of Minnesota have, for the first time, coaxed umbilical cord blood stem cells to differentiate into a type of lung cell.  The cord blood cells differentiated into a type of lung cell called type II alveolar cells. These cells are responsible for secreting surfactant, a substance which allows the air sacs in the lungs to remain open, allowing air to move in and out of the sacs. The cells are also responsible for helping to repair the airway after injury.  "In the future, we may be able to...

Growth of new blood vessels was seen 3-6 months after stem cells were injected into the heart. HE IS the only person so far to get the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval to undertake clinical trials for treating heart patients by directly injecting adult stem cells into the heart. The stem cells are derived from the bone marrow. And the person who enjoys this distinction is Dr. Amit N. Patel, Director of the Center for Cardiac Cell Therapy, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Others who have got an FDA approval to treat heart patients using adult stem cells...

AN ARTIFICIAL liver has been grown for the first time from stem cells, it emerged last night.The breakthrough by British scientists is considered the vital first step towards creating a fully artificial liver that could be used to tackle ever-growing waiting lists for transplants within as little as ten years.

Miracle cells SCIENCE: Cutting-edge researchers are making unheralded breakthroughs with stem cells from umbilical cords—but have a hard time breaking through the NIH funding wall. "I think people who want embryonic stem cells just don't want [alternatives] to work" | by Lynde Langdon LAWRENCE, Kan. — At the University of Kansas, Dr. Kathy Mitchell has two small labs that resemble high-school biology classrooms, just with more expensive equipment. In the smallest one, the size of a large supply closet, she pulls up a computer screen showing fluorescent dots in a sea of translucent green. She clicks her mouse, and the...

It’s an old trick: encourage your opponents to fight each other so they never suspect the actual threat. In the case of stem cells, conflicting worldviews are being skillfully exploited to incite mankind to “hang separately” precisely when it needs to “hang together.”  Stem cell advocates claim that millions might suffer if crucial biomedical research is delayed or blocked. This prediction is correct, but wrong in its tense. Millions have already suffered, but not because of a President’s veto, or over religion, morals, or ethics. Proven research with immediate potentials for improving the lives of millions is being ignored, maligned,...

Professor Harvey Lodish and his post-doc Chengcheng Zhang from Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge have found a combination of growth factors which enriches and increases the number of stem cells in the laboratory before it could be injected into the recipient. Stem cell therapy as shown that the quantity of stem cells required for a therapy is very high and it requires isolating large number of stem cells. Stem cells for therapeutic treatment are isolated from various sources like bone marrow, cord blood and peripheral blood but the quantity of isolated stem cells are very less. Hematopoietic stem...

A major breakthrough in cancer research may save a Fort Campbell soldier's life.  An anonymous person had donated stem cells from umbilical cord blood. That donation led to only the second adult stem cell transplant in the state. For Army Cpl. Charles Dougherty, however, it was a chance to reclaim the life he lost due to leukemia. “I'm a combat engineer for the U.S. Army. We do demolitions and mine clearance,” Dougherty said.  Dougherty had to leave the job he loves. “For him not to be able to do his job. I know it's hard on him,” his wife, Crystal...

Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced the successful treatment of two similar spinal cord injury patients using two different procedures that involved umbilical cord stem cells. One method involved surgical transplantation of stem cells directly into the spinal cord, while the other patient received the stem cells without surgery. The announcement was made following a two month rehabilitation and evaluation period by physicians in the patients' native countries of the U.S.A. and Romania. Details can be found on the news website, http://www.stemcellschina.com. Treatments with umbilical cord blood stem cells have been performed for years for patients with leukemia and other...

Stem cells have gone mainstream. Companies are marketing their stem cell storage facilities as a prudent private investment.   A local tooth stem cell bank is open for business, offering to extract and store stem cells from children's lost baby teeth. Umbilical cord banking is also marketed directly to consumers. Cord blood is a rich source of stem cells, possibly rivaling that found in bone marrow. Expectant parents can arrange to store the blood from their newborn's umbilical cord in case the child ever requires stem cell treatment.   In contrast to private banks, parents can donate cord blood to public banks...

In health, a growing number of families are investing in a potential lifeline that comes with a new born baby and Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl has the details. When a baby is born, families can save blood from the umbilical cord that can be a treatment for a variety of diseases and it's been a life saver for some.  Twelve-year-old Brandyn Orr is healthy today, but as a toddler he had leukemia.  "He fought tooth and nail in the beginning," said Brandyn's mother, Susan Jarvis-Orr.  Years of chemotherapy led to remission but, "Brandyn relapsed," said Susan. He needed a stem...

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...

Adult stem cells multiply reliably, Children's study finds Hospital's research indicates post-natal cells may work as well as embryonic Thursday, June 23, 2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Scientists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh announced today that they have discovered that adult, or post-natal, stem cells have the same ability as embryonic stem cells to multiply. Calling it a previously unknown characteristic, they said it indicates that post-natal stem cells may play an important therapeutic role. In a news release, the hospital said "adult and post-natal stem cells are often overlooked in favor of embryonic stem cells in the national debate over the...

Paraplegic breakthrough using adult stem cells Apparent major breakthrough with patient paralyzed 19 years Posted: September 28, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient. The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cythotherapy, centered on a woman who had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident. After an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells, stunning results were recorded: "The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after...