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If I were having a child today, I’d store the umbilical cord….. and yes, I’m an investor in CCEL. Mainly motivated by distributing this info……. Heck, I’ll be working until I’m 70, I hope! Glassblowing after 55! Only staying active at something I love with the folks around me that I feel the same way about!
cells derived from human umbilical cord blood may help restore brain function after disease or injury, according to new studies from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Research was conducted by Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc., Director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair.
Results of several studies were presented Feb. 18, 2001 in San Francisco at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
For the first time, the researchers have shown that human umbilical cord stem cells, obtained after birth, can be reprogrammed to act as brain cells (neurons and glia). Until now, umbilical cord stem cells have been used to fight blood diseases, such as leukemia, in children.
"What we know from this is that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells able to differentiate into neural cells," Dr. Sanberg said. Stem cells are multipotent cells -- able to grow into other kinds of cells.
"This finding suggests that umbilical cord blood is a noncontroversial, readily available source of stem cells for brain repair and could provide an alternative to using embryonic cells.
"We already know that stem cells derived from embryonic tissue may be effective in rebuilding the damaged brain in diseases like Parkinson's and stroke," Dr. Sanberg said.
In a related study, the team went on to inject human umbilical cord cells in rats with stroke and had surprising results that suggest that these stem cells can restore function after stroke.
"In the rats, the effects were fairly rapid, and new cord-derived cells could be seen clearly on the stroke side of the brain," Dr. Sanberg said.
USF researchers are involved in several clinical trials using cell implants into the brain to treat Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and the damage caused by stroke. |
