Scientists in Melbourne Australia are investigating an easy way to repair torn catilage.  Currently when the miniscus (knee cartilage) is torn, scientists must arthroscopically remove the torn part, leading to eventual arthritis and other complications.  Now, scientists are evaluating the use of adult stem cells to treat torn cartilage. 

Animal experiments discovered that human bone marrow stem cells injected into the animals’ knees protected damaged knee cartilage for up to nine months.  If this result carries over to humans, it will demonstrate techniques for repairing cartilage anywhere in the body. 

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories has posted the April issue of Waiting for Baby, the newsletter for expectant parents.  This issue offers unique suggestions for introducing your baby to friends and family and tips from television obstetricians, Drs. Alane Park, Yvonne Bohn, and Allison Hill.  If you want to subscribe to Waiting for Baby and have it delivered directly to your email box, click here.

The federal government plans to dedicate $85 million dollars to create the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) to fund the growth of new bone for veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The hope is that this procedure will heal soldiers who otherwise would not be able to return to work or even walking after an injury.

The surgery takes stem cells and combines them with protein.  This material is used to fill in gaps in damaged bone.  Once applied, this mixture will become new permanent bone.

This amazing development shows the breadth of potential treatment opportunities that are available from stem cells. 

One of the questions our cord blood coordinators get asked frequently is, “Why are your courier costs more/less expensive than the other cord blood bank (depending on how much the courier costs).  The answer to that question is two-fold.  First, every family cord blood bank probably uses a different courier service and has a different contract with their courier service.  We use a medical courier service that is experienced with transporting medical products and has the capabilites to take the best care of your baby’s cord blood.  Our contract charges the most for those parents that are difficult to reach.  The farther a hospital is from the airport, the more expenive the courier fee.  Second, most family cord blood banks have developed an average courier cost and charge all parents the same price.  We don’t like to charge parents for services that wont benefit them directly so instead we charge each family what the courier company charges us.  This way, parents who have an inexpensive courier charge will not be required to subsidize the courier charge of parents who have more expensive courier fees. 

Since we also dont have expensive advertising campaigns, M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories prices are less expensive, even for families that have an extremely high courier fee.

A recent article in the Miami Herald reports on the start of a new study evaluating stem cells as a potential treatment for heart failure.  Scientists at the University of Miami and Johns Hopkins University are removing bone marrow stem cells from patients (autologous stem cells) and injecting them directly into the hearts of patients suffering from congestive heart failure.  The autologous stem cells are used to prevent rejection.  These bone marrow stem cells are interchangeable with autologous cord blood stem cells.  Previous research has found that heart attack patients who had stem cells injected into their veins had a lower rate of cardiac arrhythmia and showed improvements in heart and lung function.

The stems cells in the most recent study were injected directly into the heart during open heart surgery.  Doctors are exploring ways to deliver the stem cells via catheter through a major vein, avoiding the open heart surgery.

Working in the cord blood industry, I hear about so many interesting medical treatments revolving around potential stem cell uses and sometimes, I imagine they are fascinating enough to share.  This is one of those research projects and it relates indirectly to cord blood.  As many people know, cord blood is often used in place of bone marrow stem cells for treatment.  It behaves very similarly without many of the issues that can be involved with bone marrow collection and transplant.  Thus, when you hear stories about bone marrow transplants used for treatment, these will usually be expanded to cord blood as well.  Anyway, on to the treatment…

A group of veterinarians in Canada have introduced a new treatment for race horses who are injured.  The vet takes bone marrow from the injured horse, removes the stem cells, and reinjects the stem cells into the damaged tendons and ligaments.  While the treatment is too new to judge long-term effectiveness, results have been promising.  If this treatment is found to be successful in horses, it may eventually be exandable to humans.  Imagine being able to fix a torn tendon as good as new with a simple injection rather than surgery.  That is just one of the many areas where cord blood stem cells may potentially change our lives.

While customer service does not reflect on the quality of cord blood storage, it can reflect the character of a company.  Ideally, your cord blood coordinator will bend over backwards to get you answers to your questions without badgering you to make a commitment.  It is better when the cord blood company doesn’t try to scare you with arbitrary deadlines or try to pressure you to make a decision.  You are not buying a used car, you are making an important medical decision for your child’s future.  Pressuring you to bank your infant’s cord blood or choose a specific company may be good for the company’s sales, but it isnt good for expectant parents.

I recently attended a symposium where some of the biggest names in cord blood research presented some of the latest research.  According to these experts, one of the greatest areas of interest is in the area of expansion for cord blood samples.  Currently, if a doctor needs more stem cells than are in a single sample, he will combine samples to access enough stem cells.  Scientists across the country are looking for ways to expand the number of stem cells so a single sample will be usable for a fully-grown adult.  There are a number of scientists who have been successful, growing billions of stem cells from hundreds of thousands of stem cells.  This will allow a single sample to be used for multiple transplants if necessary.  A single baby’s cord blood would be able to treat that child for its entire life, no matter what diseases the child develops.

A study published in the March 2008 issue of Stem Cells and Development found that treatment with human umbilical cord blood cells may help reduce the advancement of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). 

 Investigators administered infusions of umbilical cord blood cells into mice with abnormalities that are similar to AD.  As they observed the mice, they discovered that the levels of amyloid-beta proteins, key markers of AD’s progression in the brain, we reduced by 62% and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (another AD marker) was improved by 86%.  The cord blood suppressed the inflammatory activity, indicating that cord blood may have the potential to block the inflammatory response associated with AD and other disorders.

 The potential for cord blood is overwhelming.  While it is currently used to treat primarily blood-related diseases, the research being conducted treats anything from Alzheimer’s Disease to heart disease to diabetes.