Newborn cord blood banking can help in curing debilitating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Multiple sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease, which means the condition of the patient gets worse with time.

In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks the central nervous system and damages the nerve fibres. Due to the damaged nerve fibres, the brain becomes incapable of communicating with the rest of the body. As a result, the patients start experiencing symptoms such as pain, fatigue, tingling or numbness in the limbs, troubled or slurred speech, blurred vision, drop foot, muscle weakness, muscle spasms, trouble walking, and depression.

Usually, a combination of strong medicines is used to treat MS, which, over a while stop working. However, treatment involving umbilical cord blood stem cells has been found effective in treating MS without any major side effects. Stem cells can convert themselves into different kinds of cells and help in repairing and regenerating the damaged tissues that disrupt the connection between the brain and the body. Umbilical cord blood stem cells can also help in controlling inflammation experienced by MS patients.

Umbilical cord blood extracted during the baby stem cell collection procedure can provide a huge number of mesenchymal cells that can regulate and control the immune system and stop them from attacking the nerve fibres in MS patients. Stem cell therapy is proving to be the most effective treatment against MS, and newborn stem cell banking is the best way to get stem cells without a donor.

How Stem Cell Therapy Can Help Patients Suffering from Multiple Sclerosis

• Umbilical cord blood stem cells have strong anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties.
• The intravenous injection of stem cells can heal MS or provide a long period of remission.
• Stem cell therapy prevents relapses.
• The non-invasive nature of stem cell therapy makes it easier for patients to repeat the treatment without painful side effects.
• Stem cell therapy promotes natural healing by seeking the inflammation in the body and repairing the damaged cells.
• Umbilical cord blood stem cells are not rejected by the body, making it a more effective treatment.
• As no blood products are needed, therefore, there is no need for a donor match.

Stem cell preservation benefits go beyond meeting the needs of the child for life and extend to all immediate family members. Baby stem cell collection is a simple procedure and now umbilical cord blood banking is found to be useful in treating diseases such as MS that was believed to be incurable until some years ago. The benefits of stem cell banking are far-reaching. Newborn stem cell storage is a good investment that can save spending on expensive treatment for MS in the future. If your family has a history of MS, then do not hesitate and go for newborn stem cell banking.

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Cord blood banking can be a life-saving decision for your child and the family. When making this decision you need to be sure about all the pros and cons. Unfortunately, there are lots of misconceptions surrounding stem cell banking. Some of them are:

Misconception: Stem Cell Therapy is Still in the Experimental Phase

Fact: Stem cell therapy is no longer in the experimental phase. More than 30,000 umbilical cord blood stem cells transplants have been done worldwide. Umbilical cord blood is an accepted source of stem cells for a blood transplant patient. Umbilical cord blood is frequently being used to treat blood-related cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell diseases. It is also being used to treat inherited genetic disorders, bone marrow disorders and other immune-related diseases.

Misconception: Cord blood Is Not a Preferred Source of Stem Cells For Transplants

Fact: Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells. Newborn stem cell banking can help the family of the baby access cord blood more easily than extracting it from the bone marrow of a donor. The process to get stem cells from a donor is a lengthy process that involves consent, compatibility testing and harvesting. Valuable time gets lost in this. Cord blood can be availed of easily from newborn cord blood banking than looking out for a donor for bone marrow with compatibility.

Misconception: Cord Blood Donors Are Easily Available and There Is No Need for Cord Blood Banking

Fact: In India, it is difficult to find donors easily. There is a long queue of patients seeking donors. Finding a donor can also be an expensive affair. The cost of one unit of stem cell can be anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh. Therefore, even if a match is found, many patients are not able to afford the treatment. Therefore, investing in newborn cord blood banking will help you access the stem cells whenever needed at a cheaper cost.

Misconception: Collecting Cord Blood Can Intervene During the Process of Delivery of a Baby

Fact: Cord blood collection does not intervene during the process of delivery of a baby. The umbilical cord blood is collected after the baby is born by clamping and cutting the umbilical cord. The process is safe for both normal and C-section delivery. Usually, the umbilical cord is discarded after the birth of the child but in newborn cord blood banking, the same is collected and preserved.

Misconceptions: All Cord Blood Banks Are the Same

Fact: All cord blood banks are not the same. There are two types of cord blood banks—public banks and private banks. Public banks allow parents to donate the umbilical cord blood of their baby, which is then mainly used for research purposes. At private banks, you have the option to save the umbilical cord blood of your newborn at a cost and access it whenever needed if at all. While choosing a private bank for baby stem cell storage, check the certification, technological expertise and safety standards followed by the bank.

Remember, a small investment in newborn cord blood banking today can save your child’s life tomorrow. Therefore, bust all myths and make an informed decision.

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Popularly known for causing mental decline, dementia affects people over the age of 60, with the risk of incidence increasing as one grows older. Starting at 5% risk at the age of 65, the risk of dementia rises every 5 years, going up to 40-50% by the time one turns 85. It starts manifesting itself as the forgetfulness that’s the most common problem in old age. How else can it be identified? Let’s find out!

Symptoms of Dementia

Other than memory loss, other symptoms include:

• Inability to do routine tasks
• Difficulty finding the right words and names for everyday objects
• Abrupt mood swings
• Confusion and difficulty remembering people’s names and faces
• Inability to fully comprehend stories
• Loss of direction resulting in getting lost frequently
• Frequent repetition of stories or questions
• Regression of mental ability
• Difficulty with numbers and simple calculations

Since the first and foremost symptom of dementia involves forgetfulness, many dementia patients and their families attribute that to old age and neglect digging deeper. It needs to be said that some people may experience forgetfulness but not have dementia. Hence, it’s important to undergo neurological exams, lab tests and neuropsychological tests to check for dementia.

Treatment of Dementia

Any complaint of frequent forgetfulness needs to be immediately addressed. The treatment and the success of these depend on the source and severity of the disease. In some cases, the doctor may prescribe drugs that reduce the symptoms and slow down the progression of the condition. In vascular dementia, which causes blood clots in the brain, treatment will stop new blood clots from forming.

How Do Stem Cells Help Treat Dementia?

Stem cells are those from which all the cells in our body are generated. They can become new stem cells or even specialised cells with a specific function, like blood cells, bone cells, heart muscle cells, and in the case of dementia, brain cells.

Due to the small size of the cells, they can get into brain tissue, thereby increasing the recovery rate. The age and weight of the patient will determine how many cells are needed. The frequency of the treatment will be dependent on the extent of the condition. However, current stem cell treatments use baby stem cells or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are harvested from the umbilical cord or cord blood or Wharton’s jelly. These remain in the body and are found in adult stem cells niches including bone marrow or adipose tissue. Since many factors determine the treatment specifics, different patients will receive different treatment intensities. It has been reported that the most lasting promising effects are seen when the condition is in its infancy. However, patients with organic brain lesions also saw positive results. If you’re caring for a dementia patient, and if you’re a family member, you need to know that genetics does play a role in dementia. In fact, about 30% of patients have a family history of dementia. Can it be avoided? There are certain precautions you can take – 1) regular physical exercise can reduce the risk of dementia by 70%, 2) add vitamins B12 and D to your diet; 3) keep your brain active with brain exercises; 4) reduce your intake of alcohol, and 4) avoid nicotine at all costs.

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Unlike other organs in the body, the skin is the most visible part. As we grow older, blemishes, white lines, wrinkles, etc., become more common and prominent due to the wear and tear of the body. Let’s face it, we all have tried to cover up these marks with make-up or tried home remedies like sandalwood paste, rose water and whatnot to get rid of them. Other than these skin problems, stretch marks are also a common complaint, especially amongst pregnant women. Most new moms seek the help of topical ointments and creams to reduce the marks. However, they seldom go away completely. 

Why Do These Spots, Marks, and Lines Appear on the Skin?

Well, it is the role of adult stem cells to maintain healthy skin by self-regenerating regularly. However, as we age, the number of stem cells in our body reduces, and so does their effectiveness. Add to that external factors like UV damage, environmental toxins, pollution, etc., that speed up the skin’s natural ageing process. Skin loses elastin, collagen, and keratin, which is necessary to maintain its youthfulness. The stem cells are unable to repair these damages as rapidly as they occur. Hence, the signs of ageing start appearing on our faces sooner rather than later.

What Treatment is Most Effective?

Several treatments promise to restore your skin’s youth magically. These range from non-invasive to invasive procedures. Here are a few that experts widely speak about:

Skin Creams

There is a range of beauty products, especially skin creams, that promise to repair skin damage caused by environmental factors.

Botulinum Toxin Therapy

You might have heard of Botox treatment. In this treatment, the muscles near your eyebrows, crow’s feet, etc., are tightened using an injection.

Chemical Peels

In this treatment, the dermatologist peels away the topmost layer of your skin using an acid. It removes the wrinkles and fine lines but, the new skin may appear red and inflamed for a week or two. 

Dermal Fillers

This is a popular treatment where the doctor injects collagen into your face to fill out the wrinkles and lines. Although they don’t last for very long, they are quite popular among the rich and famous. 

Stem Cell Treatment

Still being reviewed in several countries, stem cell treatment for skin rejuvenation holds a lot of promise. In this treatment, the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used in combination with blood platelets and amino acids to repair and regenerate the skin. Since the stem cells used in this treatment are unspecialized, they can morph into the type of cell needed to repair the damaged skin tissue. The newly formed cells restart collagen production in the skin and increase the elasticity and hydration of the skin. They also assist in inhibiting melanin production, which helps in lightening an existing scar on the face or other parts of the skin.

The chances of yielding a greater number of MSCs is more with cord blood or Wharton’s jelly – contributing to one of the many umbilical cord preservation benefits. Stem cell therapy is believed to aid younger appearance, supple and fuller skin, reduced spots and blemishes, and fewer lines and wrinkles. Not only is it being studied for its anti-ageing properties, but also for the treatment of burn marks, trauma scars, etc.

These things considered, it is sensible to bank your baby’s stem cells so that they can naturally treat their skin-related issues in the future. If these treatments are not for you, worry not. Wear your wrinkles and scars with pride, and it only makes you that much more beautiful.

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Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is a genetic condition that causes the muscles in your body to weaken and degenerate over time. There are several types of Muscular Dystrophies that can occur, like Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, etc. Of these, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is known to be the most fatal one. However, researchers are exploring novel techniques like stem cell treatment to alter the genetic mutations causing the illness and improve the patient’s quality of life.

What Happens in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)?

This condition occurs when there are mutations in the dystrophin gene that code specific muscle proteins. Dystrophin is responsible for the proper functioning of the muscles, and the lack of it can cause the muscle fibres to be in disarray and degenerate. As a result of improper functioning of the muscles, there is progressive and rapid muscle weakness and loss.

The Dystrophin gene found in the X-chromosome affects men, while most women only remain dormant carriers of the gene. Hence, the condition is typically passed on from either parent to the child. However, in some cases, this is due to a new, spontaneous genetic mutation that occurs during pregnancy.

What Are The Signs of DMD?

The muscle weakness caused by this condition starts manifesting during early childhood days. Delay in achieving developmental milestones like sitting, walking, and even talking are signs that the child could be suffering from DMD. The condition usually starts with a loss of strength and function in the pelvis and thigh region, followed by the arms. The child has trouble standing up as a toddler and loses mobility by the time they are teenagers. Increased convex curvature of the spine and change in gait are also noticeable signs of DMD. Even the heart and lung functions are affected due to the weakening of the muscles in the region, causing breathing and other issues for the child as they grow older. This leads to a respiratory or cardiac failure by the time the patient reaches their twenties.

Future of DMD Treatment With Stem Cells

Although there is no cure for DMD at present, the advancement in medicines, gene therapy, stem cell treatments, etc., are providing greater hope for patients to live longer and feel better.

Ongoing research indicates that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can help relieve the DMD symptoms by aiding muscle cell regeneration and repairing damaged muscle cells. Since umbilical cord stem cells are at an early development stage, they can take the form of any cell. Therefore, using Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells (UCMSCs) increases the muscle cells’ functionality and replenishes the stem pool.

In a study conducted on mice by a team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers, the outcome looks promising. The researchers transplanted healthy stem cells into the muscles of mice with muscular dystrophy and observed that these new cells improved the damaged muscles’ functions and made them contract. They also noticed that the healthy stem cells replenished the diseased stem cell pool, which could repair any damage to the muscles during future injuries.

This study further demonstrates the potential of stem cell therapy in treating patients with muscular degeneration caused by DMD or other types of muscular dystrophy. The banking of stem cells can prove to be a blessing for your family as well as the field of medical science.

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Over the years, stem cell transplantation has been considered a promising approach towards treating problems with regard to malignant and non-malignant disorders of the blood and bone marrow. These stem cells, which are used for transplant, mostly comes from the bone marrow, the peripheral blood (bloodstream), or a newborn baby’s umbilical cord blood.

Bone marrow transplant has been considered as a preferential treatment option for a long time. However, because of the primitiveness and relative agelessness of cord blood stem cells, such therapy has emerged as a strong contender of bone marrow in treating lethal diseases. Such unique properties of stem cell have poised them as potential therapeutic options for disorders like cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Parkinson’s and others, through extensive research.

Why Are Researchers Thinking in This Line of Stem Cell Therapy?

In order to treat a condition, at the outset, mention must be made of both bone marrow and cord blood stem cell transplants. Essentially, both the transplantations are carried out to replace the unhealthy cells with the healthy ones. But, while making a decision to choose the better one, different criteria are made for evaluation:

Painless Collection

The bone marrow is the gelatinous tissue inside the bones. In preparation of a bone marrow transplant, the marrow (with stem cells) is extracted either from the donor or from the patient’s own bones (hips and leg bones), under general anaesthesia, through a series of needle insertions. This is an extremely painful invasive procedure. The extracted bone marrow is then filtered, processed and used.

On the other hand – After the baby’s delivery, a sterile needle is inserted into the cord vein and the blood left behind in the cord and placenta is collected in a bag. Without causing any pain or risk to the mother or the baby, (non-invasive procedure), the unit is collected and transported to the lab for processing, quality testing, cryogenic-preservation and dispensation when needed.

Going by the basics, earlier, when babies were delivered, it was prevalent to treat the umbilical cord (with the blood) as medical waste. However, with the advent of cord blood stem cell therapy, the scenario has changed.

Low Graft Versus Host Disease

Graft versus Host Disease is a serious complication during a transplant, where the donated stem cells view the recipient’s body as foreign body and hence attack the recipient.  It has been estimated to be fatal in up to 40% patients, especially in cases of bone marrow transplant, where an immune system response is triggered against the tissues and other organs resulting in complications, even death. However, since cord blood stem cells are more primitive than bone marrow, acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is not observed after an umbilical cord blood transplantation.

Easier Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Matching

A marker, the immune system uses to recognise foreign cells. A close match between a donor’s and a patient’s own HLA markers is of utmost importance for a successful transplant. This match promotes the growth of healthy blood cells and reduces the chances of GVHD. In case of bone marrow transplant research has shown that, 7 out of 10 patients, may not have a fully matched donor in their family. Whereas, since the cord blood stem cells are considered to be purer, more adaptable and active expression of fewer HLA Loci, the possibility of finding a suitable match within the family and siblings is much higher. ^[3]

Availability

Since the umbilical cord blood is nascent, a question that often comes up about the storage of cord blood is – How long can the stem cells be maintained in frozen form and still be viable for transplant? In a corresponding response to this question, scientists say that, with proper freezing and storage methods (in liquid nitrogen), the cord blood stem cells can be preserved for decades or, maybe for an indefinite period of time. The current data shows that cord blood stem cells stored for 21-23.5 years have shown to retain biological properties similar to that when they were cryopreserved. This means that, if the need arises, the individual or his/her family can use these stem cells for treatment even after two decades of these cells being stored.

These and other advancements in research where there are so many diseases and disorders, whose treatment is in the advanced stages of clinical trials, makes stem cell therapy through cord blood banking, one of the most responsible decisions that you can take as would-be parents.  Read on to find out why Cordlife, a brand known for its premium-ness should be your 1st choice.

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The human body starts degenerating as the age increases. Degeneration of functions of cells, tissues and organs occurs as we age. There are several conditions in our body that are undergoing unnoticed changes even for years such as gradual loss of bone tissue and decreased resilience of blood vessels as well as more obvious physical changes including gray hair, wrinkles and other physiological changes such as social inactivity and decreased sexual functions just to name a few. These factors have the tendency to slow down your body functions.

Loss of hair is something that every day affects thousands of men and women. We often feel helpless because we feel that nothing can be done. However, understanding that this is simply not true is important. There are many things that can either be done to prevent or treat hair loss once it starts. Below are just a few things you can do to combat hair loss.

Diet is important at all times. A nutritional deficiency often causes hair loss. Therefore, eating a well-balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables is important. Vitamin supplements are another option for humans as well. But getting your vitamins from a food source is always better. You can also get shampoos or conditions that are supposed to prevent hair loss with special nutrients. They are designed to return the vitamins to the hair and scalp directly.

Stem cells have been used in many treatments since the 1990s. Hair loss stem cell therapy is now a good technique for hair regeneration. Stem cells are used as a substitute for damaged or dead cells in the body in stem cell therapy. Dead cells on the scalp do not grow hair and the area becomes bare. Now if by stem cell therapy we replace the dead cells on the scalp with new ones, then the bald spot can be transformed into a hair-filled area.

This is the basic premise for the treatment of baldness by stem cell therapy. Some have had good results and some have not had good results after using this therapy to treat baldness, especially male pattern baldness. The research is still on and hopefully in the coming years the success rate will improve.

Stem cells are produced in the scientific laboratory and then these cells are injected into the scalp’s bald areas. If the first attempt to generate hair does not work, the doctors will try again, to restore the hair that has reduced due to hair loss. For this purpose, you can contact a dermatologist if you want to try stem cell therapy for hair loss.

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Most of the cells present in the body have some specific purpose, but stem cells are the basic and undifferentiated cell that can be transformed into any type of specific cells which is required. Stem cells are found in the umbilical cord blood of a newborn baby during birth.

The umbilical cord blood mainly contains hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to generate red blood cells and immune system cells. Cord blood stem cells are now-a-days used to treat a variety of blood disorders and conditions of the immune system such as leukaemia, anaemia, and autoimmune diseases. These stem cells are largely used in children’s treatment but have also begun to be used in adults after doing the conditioning process of chemotherapy.

Some scientists of Tufts University School of Medicine had found a method of growing and maintaining the olfactory stem cells that can be used for the restoration of the tissues found in the nose. This latest discovery has raised a hope that it can restore the sense of smell those who have lost it due to any kind of injury or degeneration.

After the transplantation of horizontal basal stem cells in the injured tissue, it helps in the development of olfactory epithelium cells. This development will help in paving the pathway for doing researches in stem cell therapies in the future. Some corneal limbal cells are believed to have stem cell-like properties and are capable of corneal epithelium regeneration. By their ability to differentiate into multiple lineage cells, stem cells are currently found to potentiate regenerative medicine. Among these, embryonic, adult and induced stem cells are the most common cell sources for clinical use.

The corneal endothelial cells can enlarge and relocate to fulfill a decrease in cell density rather than regenerate when damage occurs. So, severe corneal endothelial diseases tend to cause corneal oedema, decompensation, and transparency loss. Corneal endothelial keratoplasty is a therapy used in the development of corneal endothelial diseases that do not respond to medical treatment. However, its availability is also limited by a lack of donor tissue and high-tech dependence.

Apart from surface diseases of the eye, corneal endothelial cell culture and transplantation is also a major problem for corneal decompensation and lies ahead of further research to find extensive methods to the non-regenerative corneal endothelium. Some of the clinical trials have been completed and the extraordinary recovery of vision has been achieved. Lastly, over the past two decades, nanotechnology has shown great improvement in eye drug delivery systems. Reconstruction strategies for the eye surface could be combined with nanoparticles to promote healing of the wound, drug delivery, and even inhibition of neovascularization.

Improving the expansion of in vitro cells with the help of biocompatible scaffolds/nanoparticles can effectively overcome the corneal donor shortage problem. In the near future, new ocular drug delivery systems will be able to improve the effects of stem cell therapy in corneal regenerative medicine by combining stem cell applications.

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Stem cells are present in nearly every body tissue. However, it is not possible to access cells from many tissues. Bone marrow, umbilical cord and umbilical cord blood are the main sources of easily accessible stem cells. Umbilical cord blood is the easiest source of these sources. It is only available at the time of birth, however. Cells must be saved using a special cryopreservation process. It’s just about saving in cold. Cells must be saved below-196 degrees at temperatures.

The Indian Medical Research Council recently updated its guidelines for regulating the Indian stem cell therapy industry. The council, which is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is concerned that some clinics may offer stem therapy for medical conditions that cannot be treated in fact.

Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells on which all tissues and organs are founded. A stem cell has the ability to grow into a specialized cell, such as a neuron or blood cell type. For the treatment of serious medical conditions, stem cells extracted from human bone marrow, circulating blood or umbilical cord blood are used. For example, chemotherapy that targets cancer cells also destroys healthy blood cells in patients with cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Such patients may have bone marrow stem cell transplants from healthy donors, allowing their bodies to recreate healthy blood cells.

The umbilical cord is a biological marker of bond with the mother of a newborn. The umbilical cord inside the womb serves as a food passage for the foetus and is also an emotional connecting medium between the mother and the child. The usual practice after birth is to cut it off and dispose of it. But the importance of preserving the umbilical cord has been underlined by recent developments in science. Scientists have found that the cord blood is the source of highly efficient stem cells that can be used in the future to treat children with major ailments.

The ICMR was also concerned about banking and the use of umbilical cord blood. Many maternity hospitals are now promoting the saving of cord blood containing stem cells after birth, which could be used in case the child develops a serious medical condition requiring stem cell therapy. There are both public and private stem cells banking companies in India.

There are some publicly funded umbilical cord blood banks, but there is no guarantee that he will receive the stem cells harvested from the cord blood during his birth when the child is grown up. Because of this, several private banks have emerged, engaging in promotional advertising offering cord blood storage with the promise of future therapeutic use. However before saving your baby’s cord blood just verify all of the companies and choose the best company for you.

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It interesting to know, human embryonic stem cells are able to differentiate into a very wide variety of other types of cells. This is a great source that will help in the future to overcome many different human diseases. To identify this and the possible use of it, a lot of studies have already been done.

Apparently, by adding different factors, this differentiating capacity of human embryonic stem cells can be reproduced in vitro. Good quality stem cells can be found at birth in the umbilical cord blood. Cord blood collection and storage can be done for future use on the newborn baby by a stem cell bank or an umbilical cord blood bank if it ever gets a disease such as leukaemia or anything else.

While collecting bone marrow is a long procedure requiring anesthesia, collecting cord blood is an easy process for the mother and the newly born baby to be pain-free. Human umbilical cord blood cells are very rich in stem cells and progenitor cells, making them the perfect place to remove cells and then store them in a bank of cord blood or stem cells.

Studies have shown that stem cells are capable of treating certain diseases that are not treated with medicine.

New research shows that stem cell therapy may be used in the future to alleviate Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms.

The most common treatment for Parkinson’s disease is based on enhancing dopamine – modulating therapies in the brain’s nigro – striatal pathway. The treatment, however, has considerable long – term limitations and side effects.

Some of the researchers said that a better way to help people with PD is desperately needed. It’s growing worldwide. There is still no cure, and in coordination and movement problems medicines are only part of the way to be fully treated. They also added that the use of stem cells as a source of transplantable dopamine-producing nerve cells could revolutionize the care of the PD patient in the future if stem cell therapy becomes successful. A single operation could potentially provide a transplant that would last throughout the lifespan of a patient, reducing or avoiding the need for dopamine-based medication altogether.

Researchers also said that by stem cell therapy, we are moving into a very exciting era. The cells of the first generation are now being tested and new developments in stem cell biology and genetic engineering promise even better cells and therapies in the future. There’s a long way to go in showing how well stem cell-based reparative therapies will work, and a lot to understand about what, where, and how to deliver the cells, and to whom. But the massive technological advances over the past few years make it tempting to speculate that cell replacement may play an increasing role in at least alleviating motor symptoms, if not others, over the coming decades.

Researchers have also identified that some of the substantial biological, practical, and commercial barriers still need to be addressed before routine therapy could be developed.

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Stem cells can help us in treating various types of diseases as well as various other kinds of health disorders. They are proved to be used as the blood stem cells for treating blood-related diseases such as leukaemia. Clinical trials are helping the researchers to find that the stem cells are under the process which will help to explore new treatments by using stem cells. There are a lot of things about the stem cells which are yet to be known. However, the current applications of stem cell therapy are overstated by the media those who do not have the proper knowledge about the stem cells and its limitations. So here are a few things which are to be known about the stem cells.

There are recently very few treatments done by the stem cells which are effective. The list of diseases that have been shown to be beneficial for stem cell treatments is still very short. Hematopoietic (or blood) stem cell transplantation, for example, bone marrow transplantation, treatment of certain blood and immune system disorders or reconstruction of the blood system after treatment for certain types of cancer, is the best-defined and most widely used stem cell treatment.

Different types of stem cells have different functions and come from different places in your body. Scientists are discovering the various roles that tissue-specific stem cells may play to heal or to understand that they have specific capabilities. As for example, tissue-specific stem cells can only generate the other types of cells found in the tissues where they live without manipulation in the laboratory. The blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells found in the bone marrow can regenerate the cells in the blood, while the neural stem cells in the brain can only form brain cells.

Through multi-step processes using pluripotent stem cells, which are embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells(iPS), scientists have learned to make certain specialized cell types. These cells have the potential to form all the different types of cells in the body and provide an exciting opportunity to develop new strategies for treatment.

In theory, during transplantation, your immune system would not attack your own cells. An autologous transplant is called the use of a patient’s own cells. However, the processes that acquired, grown, and then reintroduced the cells into the body would carry risks. The fact that an experimental procedure does not automatically mean it is part of a clinical trial or research study.

Scientists carefully review their work and replicate it, inviting their peers to do the same. This process by which science becomes medicine is often long but aimed at minimizing harm of patients and maximizing the likelihood of efficacy. These are some things that are to be known about stem cell therapy. The long and multi-step process involves translating science responsibly into safe and effective medical treatments. They may discover during this process that a treatment effectively addresses the symptoms of a human disease or injury, but it carries unacceptable risks.

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Stem cells are a cell type that can develop into many other cell types. Even after they have been inactive for a long time, stem cells can also renew themselves through division. The human body requires many different cell types to function, but it does not fully form and ready to use each cell type. Rather, it produces stem cells with a wide range of potential functions. However, in order to be useful, stem cells must become a specific type of cell.

The new cells can either become another stem cell or a specific cell, such as a blood cell, a brain cell, or a muscle cell, when a stem cell divides. Scientists call an undifferentiated cell a stem cell because it can turn into any cell. On the other hand, for example, a blood cell is a’ differentiated’ cell, as it is already a specific type of cell.

Stem cells are precursors of different cells in the body that are non-specialized, undifferentiated cells that can multiply on their own. An immature stem cell can transform itself into any possible mature cell, which is also its simplest form. Stem cells can be categorized into three different categories, depending on their source embryonic stem cells, stem cells of the cord blood and stem cells of adults. Emerging science is the use of stem cells in animals and humans in clinical research. The use of ex-vivo expanded stem cells has been identified as the new drug use pursuant to the U.S. FDA, i.e. research into new drugs.

Through its various science agencies, the Government of India has begun to promote stem cell research in the country. Discussions on basic and applied research for various diseases have now identified the key areas for research. There have also been various programs to support embryonic and adult stem cells. Some of the major programs include establishing hESC lines, using limbal stem cells to repair corneal surface disorder caused by limbal stem cell deficiency; isolating, purifying and characterizing haematopoetic, hepatic, and mesenchymal stem cells; differentiating stem cells into neural, cardiac, and cell lines, etc. Some of the technologies in stem cell research are used such as culture of stem cells, separation as well as the techniques of identification.

Some researchers introduced the concept of molecular imaging at Harvard University in 1999 to further stem cell research. Since then, this technology has been widely applied through 10 years of development to various aspects of life sciences. The goal of molecular imaging is to research sensitively and specifically non-invasively, in vivo cellular and molecular processes. It would be non-invasive to monitor multiple events, cell trafficking, and targeting. It can, therefore, be concluded that in order to explore the possibilities of clinical applications using stem cells, a thorough basic research on all types of stem cells, i.e. embryonic, adult and tissue, is essential. This area is proactively supported and promoted by national and private agencies.

Reference: https://www.biospectrumindia.com/views/81/12378/latest-developments-in-stem-cell-technology.html

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Detection of leukemia in a person makes that person and their family worried about the patient’s life; but most of the people are now-a-days treated and they are getting cured by different types of treatment. Blood cancer is one of the life-threatening diseases throughout the world. Although medical science had delivered us with different treatment so that we can fight with this disease. With the progressions in medical science, there is a persistent development which has provided a simple and successful treatment of malignant growth. Umbilical cord blood is used for stem cell therapy is the best treatment for blood cancer.

Leukaemia is caused by a series of rare mutations (changes) in certain genes. Whenever a mutated form of one of these genes may be inherited the individual is highly predisposed to develop leukaemia. Acute leukaemias are characterized by the production of abnormally elevated numbers of blood cells that do not function properly and often suppress the production of normal blood cells. Acute leukaemias usually require immediate and intensive treatment that is mainly dependent upon the type of leukaemia and various other things about a patient. The options of treatment mainly include steroids, chemotherapy or a rigorous process that includes high dose of chemotherapy that is followed by transplantation of healthy haematopoietic or blood stem cells.

High-dose of chemotherapy is used to kill the leukaemic cells and this process reduces the blood forming cells present in the bone marrow. These cells are then replaced by patients are transplanted with the haematopoietic stem cells. The cells which are being transplanted are taken from the umbilical cord blood. Scientists in Singapore found out a solution to this issue; they developed a chemical substance known as C7 in the laboratory which can help in the regeneration of stem cells in the cord blood. Some scientists did a research on this substance and found that this will act as a boon for cancer patients. They are also investigating various treatments that can reduce the time of recovery a patient is needed during transplantation.

In addition to this, another new technology is developing such as the production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as well as producing HSCs by the direct conversion of different types of haematopoietic stem cells are being developed in laboratory. This is done to study the production and maintenance of the stem cells. These studies are done for gathering any kind of new information about the stem cells so that it can help in doing easy design, discover new tests and establishing therapies those are less toxic.

Hence from the above discussion it can be said that the researches those are currently going on might help in revolutionizing the shortcomings of the current treatment related to the stem cell transplantation and lack of proper or matched donors.

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A stem cell transplant is an infusion of healthy blood-forming cells or stem cells to replace the cells that are destroyed by various reasons. The reasons can involve stems destroyed by disease, by radiation or consuming high doses of anticancer drugs that are given to a patient as part of any procedure. These healthy stem cells may come be retrieved from the blood or bone marrow of the patient, from a donor, or from the umbilical cord blood of a new born baby.

There are three types of stem cell transplant:

1. Autologous – This is done by using a patient’s own stem cells that were collected and saved before the treatment.
2. Allogenic – This is done by the donated stem cells of someone who is not related or an identical twin.
3. Syngeneic – This type of transplant is done by using stem cells that are donated by an identical twin.

Stem cells are described as the foundation cells of a human body by the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Stem cells function towards helping you in every single day to repair the damaged tissues and cells. Cells are important as they rush to heal you when you meet with any kind of injury. Stem cells can be found in the body of every person and are in abundance at the time of birth. Stem cells can be assumed as neutral cells in the body, they can mould themselves into any other type of cell needed by the body. Until the body receive signals, stem cells lie latent and rush to the person’s injury to aid in repairing.

About Cord Blood Stem Cells

Cord blood is found in the umbilical cord and placenta of a new born child. Cord blood contains blood (haematopoietic) stem cells that help in producing all the other cells found in blood, including cells of the immune system. Umbilical cord was early considered as waste and discarded but can now be easily collected and frozen for later use.

There are several different blood diseases such as leukaemia, that can be treated with the help of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from cord blood.

According to Researchers

There have been studies that have found out the limitation of cord blood. Cord blood stem cells is said to contain a smaller number of HSCs than a bone marrow donation. In such case, adult patients may need double the volume of cord blood for their treatments.

Researchers are finding out ways to expand the number of HSCs from cord blood in labs. It would help in patients receiving enough cells for one or more HSC transplant through single cord blood donation. Some studies suggest that cord blood can also treat diseases other than blood diseases. However, the results cannot be reproduced. There has been active investigation to find out cord blood role in treating various other diseases.

Recent Breakthroughs with Stem Cell Treatment

There is continuous evolvement in stem cell treatments and research. There is a global, collaborative and scientific effort going on to bring advancements of disease treatment. There has been recent progress related to cord blood stem cell therapy. This is a win for the medical industry since it means there can be cure for many diseases and chronic illnesses through natural methods. Here is some recent news regarding the same:

1. There have been efforts by the British Heart Foundation to find out cure for heart failure by using stem cells.
2. Beta cells are being artificially produced by researchers to transplant them into a diabetic patient to regulate blood sugar. If it results in success, then we’re close to eliminating diabetes.
3. Stem Cell Reports, a scientific journal was published by The University of Copenhagen and Novo Nordisk. It states “detailed research into the better understanding of how to improve the production of beta cells from human embryonic stem cells”.
4. Researchers at Karolinska Institute are creating cells models of the human brain by reprogramming skin cells into nerve cells.
5. Researchers describe how cells from patients with the severe developmental disease lissencephaly differ from healthy cells. The study was published in Molecular Psychiatry and can be considered as a method that can provide enough knowledge on congenital diseases and their treatment.
6. The effects of adult stem cells have been studied by the Scientist at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). They found a new approach that can reprogram ordinary adult cells into stem cells. Their study was published in an Advance Online paper in Nature Biotechnology. The TSRI scientist conducted a test on 100 million antibodies. They found out that, several of them can help in reprogram mature skin-like cells into stem cells known as “induced pluripotent stem cells” (IPSCs).
7. There has been a long struggle to find out the cure for macular generation. It has been the main cause behind vision loss in older adults. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a study done by the researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center. It is a kind of study, that demonstrates hallmarks of macular degeneration in a new human stem cell model.

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Medical science in the recent past has made incredible progress with cutting edge technology, breath taking discoveries and innovations making patient treatment safe and increasing our longevity. One such explored research was and still is the therapeutic effects of stem cells in cancer. Can stem cells form new cells to replace the cancerous cells? Can stem cell therapy halt or at least delay the progress or spread of cancer? Is it really possible to cure cancer with stem cells? With the collaborative research and studies conducted by scientists and researchers from all around the world, treatment is being devised to eliminate this deadly disease. Doctors have now started to get a clear idea that regenerative medicine can be a possible cure to cancer and other deadly diseases. One of the rich sources of stem cells is cord blood.

Cancer Treatment Using the Stem Cell Transplant

Stem cell transplants are commonly used to treat around 80+ disorders which include blood disorders like leukemia, metabolic and immunological disorders. Stem cells can be isolated from various sources like the peripheral blood, bone marrow, cord blood and even the adipose tissue. In addition to cancers, cord blood stem cells have shown positive results in treating disorders like cerebral palsy and autism which affect the motor functions and brain development often seen in small children.

Stem cells found in the cord blood are young and naïve. They can differentiate into any type of blood cell to replace the diseased cells. The hematopoietic stem cells isolated from the cord blood mainly make three different types of blood cells these are: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. All three types of blood cells are necessary for us to stay alive, to fight with diseases and to keep our immunity system intact and strong.

Red Blood Cells (RBCs)

The main feature of RBCs is to carry oxygen and distribute it among all cells in the body. This transportation of oxygen is carried out from lungs to cells. After this RBCs bring carbon dioxide from the cells back to the lungs to be exhaled out.

White Blood Cells (WBCs)

The main purpose of white blood cell is to help fight infections caused by bacteria, fungi and Viruses.

Platelets

Platelets are that help to seal damaged blood vessels and help to form blood to clot, which is of utmost importance in stopping bleeding. In healthy person normal platelet count is usually referred as in between 150,000/cubic mm and 450,000/cubic mm.

Understanding the latest breakthroughs in the world of medical science and stem cell is extremely important for us for saving our lives. Stem cell are very effective in treating cancer cells as we have already stated above. Keeping your own stem cell preserved is very important for fighting against deadly diseases.

Understand your test result and blood count, for more information on stem cells and treatment using stem cell do visit us at www.cordlifeindia.com.

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Spina bifida is a debilitating condition that affects around 1,500 to 2,000 babies in the U.S. annually. There are about 90% of children who lose their life due to Spina bifida. It leads to lower-limb paralysis in the baby born and is considered a congenital birth defect. However, an experimental stem cell therapy with surgery carried out by a research team from UC Davis Health System has given hope to patients around the world.

What is Spina Bifida?

Spina bifida is a condition wherein the spinal cord of the fetus does not close properly. It occurs even before the mother is aware is she is pregnant. Normally, the neural tube in an embryo unfurls and closes by the 28^th day of gestation. This leads to the formation of a complete brain and spinal column. However, in some the neural tube fails to close and causes a small hole in the spinal column of the fetus, that is, back. Spina bifida means cleft spine. As the fetus continues to grow, the spinal cord and nerves grow out of the baby’s back. As it is exposed to the amniotic fluid, it can lead to nerve damage and some levels of paralysis from the area downward. It can also lead to many other associated conditions such as kidney dysfunction, bladder dysfunction, brain stem malformation, and even hydrocephalus.

Most children with spina bifida die after birth due to an infection to the open spinal cord, renal failure or hydrocephalus-related seizures.

Combining Fetal Surgery with Stem Cell Treatment

The fetal surgery for spina bifida helps in improving brain development. However, it did not do much for motor function. The Management of Myelomeningocele Study has shown the effectiveness of a fetal surgery for brain development, but many children could not walk independently even after 30 months of age.

A study was conducted in an animal model by fetal surgeon Diana Farmer who was the senior author of the above landmark study. She is considered to be a pioneer in utero treatment for spina bifida. Her chief collaborator in this study was Aijun Wang, the co-director of the UC Davis Surgical Bioengineering Laboratory.

They are the first to combine fetal surgery with a placental stem cell treatment. This combination can help in reducing the effects of spina bifida. One of the most common and disabling forms of spina bifida is myelomeningocele. It leads to the emergence of the spinal cord through the back and often pulls the brain tissue into the spinal column leading to draining of the cerebrospinal fluid into the interior of the brain. The condition requires permanent shunts to drain the extra fluid.

How Does This Unique Surgery Help?

For this study, lambs with myelomeningocele were given fetal surgery to help return the exposed spinal tissue into the spinal canal. They applied the human placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSCs) on the site of the lesion. The PMSCs are well-known for their neuroprotective qualities. The scaffold was placed on the top to keep the hydrogel in position and the repair was surgically was closed.

There 6 lambs were given the stem cell treatment. They were able to walk with a noticeable disability within a few hours after birth. The other 6 control animals given only the hydrogel and scaffold could not even stand.

This study has given big hope in expanding the treatment in children with spinal bifida. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine continues to fund Farmer and Wang for their study. They hope to receive further evaluation and FDA approval to begin trials in human to see if this process can help children with spina bifida live out of their wheelchairs.

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Stanford University School of Medicine researchers invented a new algorithm, Baxter Algorithm, to track adult stem cell development more accurately. The main idea was to overcome the difficulties in treating muscle related problems that eventually lead to aging.

According to the research, growing stem cells in the muscle, especially on the developed synthetic matrix, try to copy the elasticity of real muscle, thereby allowing them to retain their auto-renewing agents. Adult stem cells are already present in our body. They play a significant role in forming body tissues in muscles, blood and neurons. So far scientists struggled to create the stem cells in adequate quantity, needed for cell differentiation. Moreover, the stem cells lose some of their qualities immediately after they are kept in a culture dish. One of the qualities is self-renewal. It’s the ability to turn into another stem cell and at the same time the differentiating daughter cell.

This new technique would not only overcome the issue, but it would also help in revolutionizing the application of stem cells in different procedures.  Helen Blau, a researcher at the Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine explained, “Cells don’t normally exist in contact with a rigid cell culture dish. They sit on soft tissue. By mimicking this environment we can really influence their function and allow them to self-renew in ways we’ve never been able to achieve before.”

The researchers have developed a new culture system in order to create a more comfortable and softer environment for the stem cells to grow. They used a material, called hydrogel, made of a platform of polyethylene glycol polymers with water. Once they decreased the quantity of polymer molecules, it was turned into a more flexible and more elastic surface.

The researchers let the stem cells grow in the hydrogel for a week. After a week, they found that the softer cells had more cells compared to the less-elastic gels. The scientists had then used the new algorithm to track the cell development automatically. They have found that the cells are not dividing faster. Rather more cells remain alive in the culture dish.

Blau said, “This in itself is a huge advance. Until now it’s been pretty impossible to do these studies without spending half a year or more manually scoring pictures or movies of cells in culture. Now we can figure out exactly how the cells divide and move, who begets who. As a result, we can begin to study all types of variables,” she added, “Clearly the cells grown on the more-elastic surfaces have better survival and self-renewing properties than those grown on standard tissue culture dishes. We conducted our experiments with muscle stem cells, but I expect this will be true for other types of adult stem cells as well.”

Apart from the new algorithm, the researchers continue their work to find out how this advancement would help in stem cells therapies to treat muscle-related problems like muscular dystrophy. Blau said, “Researchers really had no way to grow these cells in the laboratory before. These findings may allow us one day to replenish the muscles of patients with muscular dystrophy and other muscle-wasting diseases with healthy stem cells.”

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Do you know what the building blocks of our blood and immune system are? Stem cells. These stem cells have the potential to grow into different types of cells in order to repair cell damage in the associated tissues and organs. For this reason, stem cells are considered a major component in the modern regenerative medicine.

Stem cells are found in various parts of human body like bone marrow, blood, embryos, muscle, hair follicles, fetal tissue, baby teeth and fat. But not all stem cells can be used in clinical procedures. Umbilical cord blood is the richest source of stem cells that can be effectively used in therapeutic applications.

These stem cells are collected from the umbilical cord blood right after a baby is born. The cord blood is collected once the umbilical cord is clamped and cut. The blood is then processed to derive stem cells and preserved, so it remains intact for years. The process is completely safe and poses no harm to the mother and the new born.

After the cord blood stem cells are preserved successfully, the parents of the baby can use the stem cells, if the baby needs any transplant anytime in the future. Apart from that, if any of the family members needs a transplant, the family can easily claim the stored stem cell for the procedure.

Why Storing Cord Blood Should Be Considered?

Cord blood stem cells can treat more than 80 diseases and disorders. Once preserved, you can claim the stem cells for the treatment of any family members. Your elder child can also be treated with the stem cells of your younger child.

Moreover, stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood are immature. Like new born cells, they don’t know how to attack any foreign body. For this reason, using umbilical cord blood is always a safer option.

With umbilical cord blood, you don’t need to wait or look for a suitable matching donor. On the contrary, with bone marrow or peripheral blood, you need to wait for an unrelated matching donor. The reason being, cord blood stem cells are less likely to reject the transplant.

What Diseases and Disorders Can Be Treated With Umbilical Cord Blood?

Latest studies have shown that conditions like autism and cerebral palsy can be treated with cord blood stem cells. A 2017 study demonstrated that children with autism showed significant improvements in the first six months of the procedure. So, it’s proved that the symptoms of both these disorders can be treated with stem cells.

Studies showed that patients with cancer shows better results if they are treated with their own cord blood stem cells. Some study also show that umbilical cord blood stem cells work wonderfully on cancers that are not genetically derived.

Apart from cancer, there are other conditions like heart failure, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, stroke, diabetes that can be treated with umbilical cord blood. While the above-mentioned treatments are concerned, bone marrow is still the first choice for doctors and patients. The main reason is, in most of the cases umbilical cord blood is not preserved.

There have been hundreds of clinical trials and many have shown successful results. If you store your baby’s cord blood, you would be able to use them if situation demands.

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Meet Alysson Muotri, an autism researcher and a professor at UC San Diego. His research mostly revolves around autism and how stem cell therapy impacts the brain development. His study is based on pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), collected from people with autism. The researchers in his team are using the stem cells to model the condition in a lab dish. His team is trying to point out the affected cells and at the same time, invent a potential drug to cure the disorder.

When asked about his research about autism, Dr. Muotri expressed his frustration about no available models to understand the disorder at the first place. His team is involved in making a mini brain, because he thinks less accessibility to the human brain is the main reason that there is no proper tool or model to treat autism.

He said, “As a neuroscientist studying autism, I was frustrated with the lack of a good experimental model to understand autism. All the previous models (animal, postmortem brain tissues, etc.) have serious experimental limitations. The inaccessibility of the human brain has blocked the progress of research on ASD for a long time. Cellular reprogramming allows us to transform easy-access cell types (such as skin, blood, dental pulp, etc.) into brain cells or even “mini-brains” in the lab.”

He also briefed about how this process works. As they will be able to capture the genome of the affected person, it will be easy for them to track early phases of his/her neurodevelopment. He elaborately explained the process, as he said, “This is crucial to study neurodevelopment disorders, such as ASD, because of the strong genetic factor underlying the pathology [the cause of a disease]. By comparing “mini-brains” between an ASD and neurotypical [non-ASD] groups, we can find anatomical and functional differences that might explain the clinical symptoms.”
While talking about his model, he mentioned that his team mainly uses genome editing techniques and reprogramming stem cells. The reprogramming stem cells are used to create organoids or mini brains. And the genome editing techniques help in generating 3D organoid models. These organoids grow into the mature brains in the lab. The process is quite similar to that of fetal brain, so the researchers can track the structure and development over time.

About this new model, he said, “This new model brings something novel to the table: the ability to experimentally test specific hypotheses in a human background. For example, we can ask if a specific genetic variant is causal for an autistic individual. Thus, we can edit the genome of that autistic individual, fixing target mutations in these mini-brains and check if now the fixed mini-brains will develop any abnormalities seen in ASD.”

He is, currently, running a clinical trial involving IGF-1, or insulin growth factor-1. He is very hopeful that a drug will soon be discovered to treat autism. He said, “I am a big enthusiastic fan of personalized treatments for ASD. While we continue to search for a treatment that could help a large fraction of ASD people, we also recognized that some cases might be easier than others depending on their genetic profile.”

With that, he assures that his team is also working on a tool to diagnosis autism. This would certainly help parents and doctors to initiate treatments and therapies at an early stage, even before the symptoms start to appear.

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We all know that autism cannot be cured. But Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development researchers have found a way to alleviate the symptoms of autism, thereby offering a better life for children with the condition. And the key to this therapy lies within their own umbilical cord blood stem cells.

The researchers at the Duke conducted a study to find out if the symptoms of autism can be lowered down in degree by infusing blood, derived from their own umbilical cord. They have published their findings in April 2017 and since then it has all the media attention.

The trial involved 25 children between 2 and 6. Geraldine Dawson, director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development confirmed that all the children have displayed improvement in terms of the autistic symptoms. Dawson mentioned, “We measured the children’s social and communication abilities using various tests and parent questionnaires. We found that the infusion was safe and many children showed improvements in their social and language skills.”¹

In this study, the children received stem cells from their own umbilical cord blood. After the infusion, their improvements were being monitored thoroughly. The doctors found that the infusion was completely safe for the children. After one year, these children were called for another round of tests in order to measure their further improvements.

Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, the professor in the department of pediatrics, said that the process is entirely new to them. Dawson said that the study is still at its nascent stage, as they don’t have any standard comparison factor to compare the effectiveness of the therapy for autism, as there was no control group of autistic children involved in the study to compare the results. Dawson added, “Because there was no comparison group in this study, we don’t yet know whether the improvements we observed were because of the cord blood. As much as we’re hopeful that this is helping, we don’t want to prematurely make claims that haven’t been confirmed.”²

After the successful Phase I, the team is ready to start with Phase II trial, which is expected to be completed in two years. Unlike the Phase I, the second Phase will include a blind control group, where children will get a placebo infusion. Moreover, the Phase II will involve 165 children with autism.

Dawson said that the children will be divided into two groups. One group will receive umbilical cord blood stem cells and another group will receive a placebo. The groups will be switched after six months and the children will receive the opposite therapy. This will enable to researchers to find out the effectiveness of stem cell therapy for autism. Kurtzberg added, “There is a remodeling of certain abnormal brain connections [by the microglia], which then results in decreasing symptoms of autism.”³

Though the first trial showed immense improvements in the children, the team is still hesitant to call it a full-proof therapy for treating autism symptoms.  They will be able to answer all the unanswered questions after the comparative Phase II. Kurtzberg added, “At the conclusion of [the Phase II] study, we’ll be able to answer the question about whether cells are effective.”⁴ 

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Do you know how many times our heart beats in an average lifetime? It beats over 2.5 billion times. Do you know which part of the organ is responsible for the heartbeats in unison? It’s the sinoatrial node or SAN, which acts like the captain of the ship and dictates other parts of the heart to follow the rhythm. SAN is the natural pacemaker of the heart, which is built of a set of specialized heart muscle cells. It sends signals to the other parts of the organ to beat in a certain rate through an electrical signal.

A number of factors such as aging or inherited mutations often lead to disturb the natural pacemaker function of the SAN, which results in slower heart rate and poor blood circulation. The optimum treatment to address these problems is installing an artificial electronic pacemaker into the heart. However, artificial pacemakers have a few disadvantages as well. They are mentioned below:

• They are unable to react to hormone signals in the heart.
• The implantation may also carry a risk of infection.
• There is no way to adjust the pacemaker in order to match a child’s natural growing heart.
• The artificial pacemaker’s battery life is 7 years. So after its due course, another surgery is needed to replace it with a new one.

Considering all the drawbacks of an artificial pacemaker, a Canadian research team at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Toronto is trying the build a stem cell-derived pacemaker that would be an ideal alternative to the natural system. They are aiming at transforming the embryonic stem cells into pacemaker cells so that they can naturally receive and give electrical heart signals.

There have been many researches and studies around artificial pacemaker with stem cells. But this research is special because it focuses on creating SAN pacemaker cells from the stem cells whereas other studies involve creating various types of cardiomyocytes.

Earlier in 2015, another team created SAN-like pacemaker cells from stem cells but they permanently inserted the gene into the DNA of the cells, which may lead to tumor and thus is not suitable for clinical procedures.  The McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine team has relied on a process that is gene insertion-free. Stephanie Protze, the first author in the report, said, “It’s tricky, you have to determine the right signaling molecules, at the right concentration, at the right time to stimulate the stem cells.”[1]

The research shows that 90% of the SAN cells that are derived from stem cells have the natural pacemaker functionality. That means that these cells can function as a natural pacemaker. This is an interesting step towards treating people with heartbeat problems.

The team had implemented the method on a rat module and now they are eager to implement the new technique to create pacemaker cells from human stem cells. This may be a time-consuming process and may take a longer time to come down to any conclusion, but the approach will enable the team to study heartbeat disorders and thereby to come up with drugs that can improve the condition.

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This is the story of Doug Oliver, who suffered from macular degeneration or progressive blindness for more than two years. His medical team conducted a stem cell treatment on him and now he has recovered his eyesight and is leading a healthy life.

Doug started losing his vision at the age of 32. When consulted with doctors, they told him that this was the result of macular degeneration and he would gradually lose his vision. Doctors did not give him any hope and said nothing could be done to regain his sight.

To make the situation worse for him, he met with an accident after the diagnosis, which made his stand in front of another devastating news. He might lose his vision completely. Some tests were done on him that revealed his vision was as 20/2000 in the left eye and 20/400 in the right eye.

However, having found out about his condition, Doug was not willing to give up. He was not ready to succumb to the prediction that his sight could not be cured. So, he started screening latest clinical studies, databases, and trials related to macular degeneration. This was the time when Doug discovered Dr. Jeffrey Weiss’s clinical trial with stem cells in order to treat macular degeneration.

Doug enrolled himself in the Florida-based trial in 2015. And only after two days of stem cell therapy, he started to feel a difference in his vision. The stem cell therapy involved extracting his own stem cells from his marrow of the hip bone. The stem cells then were injected directly into both of his retinas. Two days later, his vision showed an improvement to 20/40 in his left eye and 20/30 in the right eye.

The joy of seeing the world again in its full glory was evident in his confession that he made while he was going back home. He said, “I could see the boats and the little wake lines that you see from 30,000 feet. I acted like a 6-year-old and loved it.”[1]

Doug was an IT specialist and a social policy consultant. His job demanded a lot of traveling by car. During one of those drives, he realized that his vision was not as same as before. Moreover, the accident cost him his driving license as well, which eventually led him to lose his job. He was not only going through physical issues but also through a mental turmoil. An active person like him needed to rely on a monthly disability check. But stem cells helped him bounce back and how!

Doug has not only got his vision back, but he also gained his position back in the community. He said, “I went back to the DMV and got my license in Tennessee in December.”[2] He is currently in talks with Lamar Alexander, the Senate Health Committee Chairman, so his can share his experience and story with others. Doug’s story may also play a crucial role in passing the 21st Century Cures Act, which focuses on the advanced regenerative therapy and the required funding for clinical trials, similar to one he was a part of.

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CIRM’s Governing Board recently approved $15 million for four projects in translational awards program, which promises to offer support to invent novel stem cells transplants that can be applied to patients during clinical trials. Wondering what “translational” might mean in studies, involving stem cells?  “Translational” implies to researches that take the basic results of a clinical study and then advance them in a way that they become ready to be tested in patients in various clinical trials.

The fund for translating stem cell studies into effective therapies is divided into four researches. They are:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Sickle cell anemia
• Cartilage damage
• Osteonecrosis

Treating Alzheimer’s Disease

Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco received $5.9 million from the fund to find out a way to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease has no long-term treatment or no known cure and it affects five million Americans.

In the process, the researchers are looking at generating brain cells by applying pluripotent stem cells in an induced form. Pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs are the adult cells that can be reprogrammed to give them the ability to modify into any other cell type.

Treating Patients With Sickle Cell Anemia

The second project involves patients suffering from sickle cell anemia. A fund of $4.5 million is approved to the researchers at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) for the trial.

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic blood disorder. It involves severe pain and can even lead to organ damage and stroke. The disease has affected over 100,000 people in the US. Currently, the most effective and long-term treatment for this disease involves bone marrow transplant. However, the procedure requires a suitably matched donor, which may take months. Even though a donor is found, the surgery may still leave a life risk.

Researchers found out that the patient’s own blood stem cells can eliminate the complications and at the same time address the condition. To implement the technique, a new gene-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9 is used by the CHORI team. This technique helps to develop a way to edit the defective gene causing sickle cell and transform it into a healthy blood supply for the affected people.

Treating Medically Untreated Cartilage Damage

The third portion of the fund went to the University of Southern California (USC). The researchers of USC have been granted with $2.5 million, so that they can develop a full-proof technique to treat cartilage damage with stem cell transplant.

Cartilage damage might not be life-threatening, but it affects the lifestyle of millions of people to a great extent. And if remain untreated for a long time, it might result in severe conditions such as chronic pain, degeneration of joints and even arthritis.

Treating Osteonecrosis

The fourth part of the fund, $2.09 million, went to Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics for a project, involving osteonecrosis. Regenerative Therapeutics researchers hope to discover a solution to the painful disease, which is caused due to inadequate blood flow to the bones. And as the result, the bones begin to rot and then die.

We hope that translational awards programs with stem cell ideas result into effective therapies. Stay tuned for more updates!

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You might be thinking why Zika virus is a big deal for you, if you are an expectant mother?

Well, before that let’s just talk about what it is and how it spreads. Zika virus is mainly spread by mosquito bites and sexual transmission. The virus does not cause major harm to adults. But it greatly affects babies, if the mother contracts the virus during pregnancy.

So, coming back to the question, yes, Zika virus causes severe birth defects in newborn babies, born of Zika infected mothers. These babies develop microcephaly, a condition in which they are born with a significantly smaller brain, compared to other babies.

If all these have made you a bit worried and uncomfortable, here is some good news to make you feel a little safer. Cord blood banking! Yes, by securing a cord blood unit, you can be prepared for the future, no matter what.

However, here are some rules that pregnant parents should know about Zika infection and cord blood banking, if they are willing to donate their cord blood. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Cord Blood Association issued a guideline to protect cord blood units from potential Zika virus transmission on August 26, 2016. The guidelines are as mentioned below:

• The regulations are applicable to anyone who would collect and store blood components in private and public cord blood banks.
• All blood donations are recommended to be screened for the infection.
• If an expectant mother, willing to donate her baby’s cord blood unit, is found to be infected with Zika virus at any point of her pregnancy, her registration will be ineligible.
• She will be ineligible to donate her cord blood unit, if she stays in an active Zika cluster or travels to any such area during her pregnancy.
• If she had sex at any point of her pregnancy with a Zika infected male in the past six months, she will also be considered ineligible. The reason being, Zika virus can also be sexually transmitted.

Now you must be thinking, should you store your baby’s cord blood, if you are infected with Zika virus? The answer is yes. No matter if your baby is at risk of Zika virus or not, storing a cord blood unit will ensure a secure future. Moreover, all these guidelines and regulations stand for a fact that these stem cells are significantly rare. So, storing a cord blood unit and getting a bunch of life-saving stem cells is always a better option than having nothing in hand, when you need a transplant in the future. And just as mentioned earlier, Zika virus does not pose any major risk to male adults and non-pregnant women.

Cord blood banks take an extra screening process to check for Zika virus infection in order to eliminate any risk. After the screening process, if you are found to be at risk, your cord blood will still be collected and stored, so that any future illness of your family members can be treated. The processing and storing processes ensure that no cross contamination takes place.

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Stem cells have opened so many gateways to personalized medicine that no one could ever imagine a few years back. Not only the traditional transplants, with stem cells, medical practitioners are now able to treat many rare conditions. Thanks to the researchers and their novel techniques, involving stem cells.

This is a story of Javier Tan, a 9 year old boy, who was suffering from a rare genetic illness, Fanconi anaemia, which led his blood count drop to a significantly low levels. He required a stem-cell transplant; so that his body would be able create new blood cells

He received his first stem cell transplant when he was 7. The surgery was meant to save his life but call it irony of fate that it turned his life into a nightmare. Instead of healing, he contracted a bone infection. His condition was so severe that his doctors anticipated he would lose the limb.

In that scenario, the optimum option was to wait for another donor, which might have taken several months. Instead his doctors administrated another transplant and that too within weeks. When his doctors realized that they would require the donor to be only a 50% and not 100%, his father became the donor, who was earlier rejected.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching is important in both cord blood and bone marrow transplant. It’s a protein, which is found in cells, used to match a donor’s stem cells with that of the patient’s. However, this time Javier’s doctors went for a different method, called haploidentical transplant. In this process, the T-cells, the immune cells that are responsible for attacking foreign elements in the body were removed. So in Javier’s case, the T-cells could not attack the newly transplanted cells.

After seeing the immense improvement, Javier’s mother is very happy. Mrs Vivian Tan recalled the day when doctors told her that they might need to amputate his son’s leg. And now look at him. He is a healthy student of Primary 3, excelling in English and Chinese. His surgery was done in January and Javier was back in school in May. She said, “I am definitely relieved and thankful that he has his health back.”

Dr Rajat Bhattacharyya, the consultant at the department of paediatric sub-specialities at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) confirmed that the new transplant method is versatile enough to find anyone the suitable donor. However, the technique has been in existence since 2010. The National University Hospital (NUH) successfully conducted the procedure successfully on 38 children. The National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) has administrated 8 transplants on adults. KKH doctors have treated 4 kids with this technique since October 2014. 10 adult leukaemia patients have been treated with this method by Singapore General Hospital (SGH) since 2004.

The number of patients undergoing haploidentical transplant is gradually increasing. And why not! Without the procedure, the chances of finding the most suitable donor might take several months or year. The haploidentical transplant offers hope for patients, who suffer from rare conditions and are left with minimum hope to live a healthy life ahead.

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Jandy Nelson of ‘I’ll Give You the Sun’ said, “You have to see the miracles for there to be miracles.” And that is exactly what I witnessed.

My next door neighbor in Jowitt Road, Hartlepool (UK) Eric Thomson had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) almost four years ago. A father of five, his condition deteriorated extremely quickly to the stage where he lost the use of his right hand and leg. He feared that he would never ever walk or play with his children again. Confined to a wheelchair, he was unable to carry out even basic day to day tasks like washing himself, making a cup of tea and cutting up his own food.

NHS in the UK informed Eric and his family that there was no further treatment available that could help Eric get better. After tons of research online, they heard of the Riaz Clinic in Mexico where he could receive a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. The NHS in the UK does not offer HSCT as a therapeutic option for MS patients. However, it is currently under trials, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

At this point, all Eric hoped was to stop this rapid progression of the condition further and restore some form of mobility in the affected area of the body. He was even willing to try stem cell therapy to be able to do that.

Different from most cells in the body, stem cells are often claimed to be ‘building blocks in the body that carries with it the potential to develop and multiply into various cell types. The tissue additionally acts as an intramural reparation system that proliferates and replaces cells as they die out.

Eric’s family and friends raised GBP 40,000 which was the full cost of the operation. A very close family friend, Angela Crowe led this campaign and organized various events including a Calendar Girls style calendar, a Ben Nevis Trek and numerous fundraising nights.

Eric with his wife Joanna traveled to the clinic on June 19^th. Arriving at the clinic, he went through a series of fitness assessments and rounds of chemotherapy before progressing towards stem cell transplantation.

The transplant took place on July 3^rd. During the procedure, the medical team extracted the stem cells from the blood. Chemotherapy was then used to wipe out the diseased cells in the system. The stem cells were then injected into Eric’s body to restart the system.

Just days after the surgery, Eric felt a difference and was able to regain some mobility in his right hand.  He was so happy and this is what he said, “I am not joking when I say I have seen some superb improvements already. I am 6ft tall again and getting feeling in my right hand, so the guitar might be making a comeback. It’s amazing what 377 million stem cells do. I knew it could take up to two years before there may be any results, so to get that result so quickly has been amazing”.

Eric felt that the team at the Riaz clinic was fantastic, who motivated him towards a speedy recovery. “My treatment has finished and I am now just undergoing regular blood and neutropenia,” said Eric.

He landed in the UK on July 17^th, just a month after the surgery. Ever since the day Eric was diagnosed with MS four years ago, his family had been compelled to witness this devastating deterioration and how his entire life had undergone this change. This dramatic progress in his state not just uplifted his health and morale but was liberating for his family too.

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A life-changing human condition, ASD or more commonly known as Autism Spectrum Disorder leaves one with an incapacity that is devastating. Clinical studies on multiple family histories and twins have shown that some cases of ASD are genetic. However, the majority do not fall under this category and appears suddenly in young children intermittently or idiopathically.

At the Hussman Institute of Autism (HIA) in USA, a team has been studying upcoming methodologies that are related to using of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. A group of mature human stem cells from the skin or the blood on being experimentally induced, possess the potential to differentiate into most cell types in the body. Since 2006, the process of induction and differentiation has had period upgradations. “One of the exciting aspects of working with iPSCs is that we can study autism in human neurons that have the exact genetic background of a given individual with autism,” said John P. Hussman, executive director of HIA.

“Mini-brains” or organoids, a resultant from the iPS cells of ASD patients have been produced by another research group from Yale. It came to light that ASD mini-brains are comprised of inhibitory neuron which is a type of nerve cell that multiplies and blocks the production of a protein called FOXG1 and then returns these nerve cells back to their normal population count.

A CIRM funded study led by Rusty Gage on a secondary stem cell model for ASD proposing fresh evidences into the initial neurodevelopmental deficiencies seen in ASD patients were published in the Nature Journal Molecular Psychiatry by the Salk Institute (USA) in partnership with scientists at UC San Diego.

Under clinical conditions, Gage along with team of researchers attempted to create iPS cells particularly from those select ASD patients who had undergone a brain growth of up to 23% faster during their toddler stage. Under constant investigations, the researchers studied the ways by which iPS cells from these select ASD individuals developed into brain stem cells. The next stage of growth turned these brain stem cells into nerve cells. The entire growth progression was mapped and matched to that of healthy iPS cells from normal individuals.

Under close observation of the procedure, the team quickly found an issue with the multiplication of the brain stem cells in order to generate new nerve cells in the brain. The process has been termed as neurogenesis. A surplus amount of nerve cells were being produced as the brain stem cells extracted from ASD iPS cells exhibited additional neurogenesis compared to normal brain stem cells. The nerve cells were incapable of sending signals and establishing a working system of transmission. Due to a lack of the synaptic connections with each other by these additional nerve cells their performance remained anomalous, portraying an inability to be less effective compared to healthy neurons.

IGF-1, a drug that is currently undergoing clinical testing towards probable treatment for autism was used in this instance to treat the nerve cells. The team noticed partial correction in the abnormal activity observed in the ASD neurons. According to a Salk news release, “the group plans to use the patient cells to investigate the molecular mechanisms behind IGF-1’s effects, in particular probing for changes in gene expression with treatment.”

Gage’s opinion is that: “This technology allows us to generate views of neuron development that have historically been intractable. We’re excited by the possibility of using stem cell methods to unravel the biology of autism and to possibly screen for new drug treatments for this debilitating disorder.”

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Ageing is a part and parcel of life, but as our body ages, our brains age too. Just like an ageing body can be riddled with diseases and illnesses like arthritis, cataracts, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, an ageing brain too can be afflicted with sickness. The age-associated diseases that affect the brain are often clustered under the umbrella term of ‘neurodegeneration’. Diseases like Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are some of the better-known disorders that fall under this terminology.

Let us first understand what the term ‘neurodegeneration’ actually encompasses.  The Oxford Dictionary defines neurodegeneration as the “Degeneration of the nervous system, especially of neurones in the brain”. According to the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), the nervous system of the human body comprises of neurones. In case they suffer damage, they do not possess the ability to repair, replace or reproduce themselves. This inability results in neurodegenerative diseases.

Previously, neurodegenerative diseases were believed to be incurable. However, with the gigantic steps towards advancement that medical science has taken in the recent years, scientists have been able to devise procedures that help in assisting individuals suffering from neurodegenerative disease. Stem cell therapy is among these advanced procedures that have recently shown positive results.

Stem cells are mother or master cells that have the ability to differentiate into other types of specialized cells through the process of mitosis. They can repair internal tissue damage by developing into a cell with a specialized function like a blood cell or brain cell.  They also possess the ability to renew themselves.

Utilizing stem cells to treat medical disorders and diseases is known as stem cell therapy. Transplantation of stem cells is the most common procedure used in stem cell therapy. In cases of brain degeneration, stem cells are transplanted into the patient. These stem cells then become progenitor cells that work within the brain to maintain the neurone functions. Research has been conducted on animal models for diseases like Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis, which have provided optimistic outcomes.

In a symposium organized by EuroStemCell, Magdalena Götz, Ph.D., Helmholtz Zentrum München, spoke about the radial glial cells which are present in the neural stem cells and described them as “they look like glia, they smell like glia but they are actually the neural stem cells.” She further explained the development of brain cells and the possibility of guiding neural stem cells to locate and repair the injury site inside the brain, while also regenerating neurones.

Stem cell research is the future of neurology. With several clinical studies being conducted year after year, the use of stem cell therapy in treating neurological disorders is constantly expanding. In India, the guidelines established by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting clinical studies have been revolutionized leading to extensive research being done in the field of stem cell therapy.

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In order to understand how stem cells are useful to us, we first need to understand what stem cells are. Stem Cells start in the embryo as immature biological cells, then become specialized to create bone, muscle, skin, the heart, the brain, and over 250 other types of specialized cells. This is why they are of such value to scientists doing both basic types of research in the lab and medical research in the clinic. They have the potential to regenerate tissue and cells that have been lost because of disease or injury.

Stem cell therapy has been used to cure a number of health conditions such as heart diseases, neurodegenerative ailments, and diabetes, with bone-marrow transplant being the most commonly used for stem cell therapy. There are many ways in which stem cell therapy can be conducted, however, stem cells derived from the umbilical cord blood are the safest to use for treatment. Moreover, stem cells from young individuals possess superior naivety and plasticity than stem cells from adults.

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most commonly found abnormality at birth, where the structure and function of the heart are not normal. In 2014, this congenital anomaly affected more than 1% of live born infants and accounted for more than 2.5 million affected children per year worldwide. CHD now occurs in approximately 7–8 out of 1000 live births, a slight improvement. Recent estimations reveal that up to 80% of newborns and infants with CHD are likely to reach adulthood, which can result in a high likelihood of complications later in life.

The cause of congenital heart disease is usually a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While some congenital heart diseases can be treated with medicine alone, others need to be treated with one or more heart surgeries.

In 2006, research at the Boston Children’s Hospital revealed that the heart has its own source of stem cells. These heart stem cells can form two major types of heart cells: myocardial cells (the muscles that, together, contract to make the heart beat) and smooth muscle cells (the lining of the heart’s blood vessels). This finding by Stuart Orkin, MD, and Sean Wu, MD, PhD, gave researchers a better insight into how the heart forms, and also gave a fillip to the concept of treating diseased or defective heart tissue with heart stem cells.

In January 2013, a study led by Bernhard Kuhn at the Boston Children’s Hospital found for the first time that young humans (infants, children and adolescents) are capable of generating new heart muscle cells. These findings gave rise to the possibility that scientists could stimulate the production of new cells to repair injured hearts.

A team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital reported in PNAS Early Edition (July 2013 issue) that they were able to create blood vessels in laboratory mice using human stem cells. The authors explained that using stem cells to repair or regenerate blood vessels could eventually help treat human patients with cardiovascular and vascular diseases.

Stem cell-based strategies to cure heart failure in adults has been investigated with promising results; however, stem cell therapy strategies for the paediatric population with heart failure are in its infancy. Further clinical trial studies will be needed to understand the cell biology in order to optimise their regenerative potential.

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This is the story of a 16 year old girl from Kozhikode, Kerala, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). She was being treated at an advanced stage of the disease at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi. Leukaemia is a type of cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow, which produces our blood cells.

What is Acute Myeloid Leukaemia?

According to The Leukaemia Foundation of Australia[1], AML is a type of leukemia that results in the bone marrow producing abnormal white blood cells, red blood cells or platelets. White blood cells are what help our body fight disease and infection. However, in the case of AML, these cells crowd the marrow in such a way as to obstruct the production of normal red blood cells and platelet.

The 16 year old teenager suffering from AML had a relapse and the probability of her survival was very small. Dr. Neeraj Sidharthan, Head of the Stem Cells Transplant Unit at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, told The Times of India[2], as published in a May 2015 article, how they had desperately searched both the National Registry of Stem Cell samples, DATRI and the international Germany-based registry, DKMS, for a potential matching donor. There are over 70,000 stem cell samples in DATRI and none of them matched the patient.

The Treatment

The doctors had then suggested allogenic Stem Cells transplant, or the transfer of Stem Cells from a healthy person to save the girl. Usually, the donor cells come from either of the parents or a sibling, but in the present case, this could not happen. “This is perhaps one of the rarest transnational stem cell donation cases in the country,” remarked Dr. Sidharthan. Finally, the right sample was found from a 59 year old man from Germany, who consented to the donation.

The patient was promptly admitted to the Bone Marrow Transplant unit of the hospital for pre-procedure tests and other required treatments before the transfusion. As a precaution and because the donor was a person from a different continent and of the opposite gender, the girl was given chemotherapy drugs to prevent side effects.

The Stem Cells from the donor were airlifted from Dusseldorf and sent on to Cologne and then to Kochi via Abu Dhabi. The transfer of cells was professionally completed by a team of doctors under the charge of Dr. Sidharthan.

Following the successful Stem Cells transplant, there have been no reported side effects and the 16 year old visits the doctor regularly for checkups. Her platelet count is now normal.

This story of hope and survival is just one among many that Stem Cell Therapy has made possible.

[1] http://www.leukaemia.org.au/blood-cancers/leukaemias/acute-myeloid-leukaemia-aml

[2] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Germans-stem-cells-give-Kerala-girl-new-lease-of-life/articleshow/47488132.cms

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Is stem cell therapy likely to cure Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is one of the deadliest neurological disorders known to afflict mankind. It is caused after the neurons in the brain get damaged or impaired, thus affecting their production of the essential chemical dopamine. Dopamine is essential for the smooth functioning of the body’s muscles. When dopamine is not produced, the muscles begin to lose their coordination and can suffer from incessant tremors. In such conditions, considering adolescent mental health services may help people treat some mental issues at an early stage. Though it cannot treat Parkinson’s disease but there is a chance of understanding the mental health condition in advance.

The symptoms of PD are varied, though the common ones are shaking limbs and head, mild but visible tremors, rigidity in joints and movement, unmoving facial expressions and a change in walk or gait.

PD is on the rise in India – doctors believe that roughly one lakh people per year develop the disease, with most of them being over the age of 50 years.[2] A lack of awareness about the disease and what causes it, apart from its symptoms, makes the treatment of the disease more difficult, according to neurologists.

Neurologists all over the world are involved in research or studying the effects of dopamine loss from the brain and its effects on the human body. It now turns out that dopamine may be derived from stem cells. Thus, if dopamine is introduced into a person afflicted with PD, there may be a genuine chance at a cure from the disease.

The idea driving the potential cure rests on the premise that if around 1,00,000 dopamine cells are introduced into the brain’s nigral area (where the neurons producing dopamine are created), the PD patient might benefit from the infusion. However, trials in the US and UK have not been successful thus far. Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s is being tried on laboratory rats in the UK, but the results are inconclusive since the trial takes place only over a few months.

Stem cell therapy seems to be the dominant choice in finding a treatment for PD since they can change into other cells within the body. However, stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s is still in the experimental stages and is not being advocated anywhere in the world. In India, deep brain stimulation treatment for PD is approved by the FDA and is a widely used approach.

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For long now, doctors and scientists studying autism and autism spectrum disorders have debated the merits of using stem cells to cure the brain disorder. There have also been attempts in the West to study the effects of one’s own stem cells banked at birth in the generation of viable neurons in the brain.

For instance, an FDA-approved study was conducted in California, USA in 2012, where a group of autistic children (whose disorder was not hereditary or the result of blunt trauma) were infused with their own cord blood cells. The end goal was to map the specific development of these children in correcting deficits of speech, behaviour and language. According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 88 children in the US are autistic. However, the results of the study were said to be inconclusive.

Stem cell therapy for autism is, on paper, a feasible treatment approach for a disorder that has no cure till date. Doctors opine that stem cells may not just help fire neural activity in the brain – thus helping the child improve its condition – but also help generate working neural connection. Stem cells are also being used to help find the underlying causes of the disorder. Thus far, science has been able to conclude that genetics and immunological factors may play a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders in children. The rationale for using stem cell therapy for autism is that stem cells derived from cord blood may help in eliminating immune problems in autistic children.

An extremely promising development in understanding what causes certain autism spectrum disorders is the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from autistic persons. It transpires that iPSCs are capable of transforming from ordinary cells into neurons. The major breakthrough in this finding is that these iPSCs can be cultured in a laboratory. These iPSCs may hold the key to specific alterations that take place in the brain of a foetus, which later develop into autism spectrum disorders after age 2.

Researchers at University of California, San Diego are now examining a new frontier in stem cell therapy for autism: whether human neural connections can be built to mimic some of the interactions taking place in the human brain; the rationale driving this research stems from advances in human tissue engineering.

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Is diabetes treatable with stem cell therapy? New clinical trials and treatments seem to indicate so.

India is poised to become the diabetes capital of the world[1]. There are several researches and clinical trials being conducted around the world to find a cure for diabetes. New developments in diabetes treatment and research indicate that a drug currently awaiting US FDA approval may well replace the traditional treatments to increase the level of insulin in the body.

In this context, researchers are closely monitoring the application of stem cells in the treatment of diabetes. The focus of this research is on the viability of stem cells being a source of insulin producing cells in the body. Ongoing research at the University of North Carolina is aimed to identify stem cells to sense the excess of glucose in the blood and secrete insulin in response[2]. As per this research, stem cells could be developed to become sensor cells in the human pancreas – to further help in the generation of beta cells. However, this end result has largely been tested on mice thus far.

Stem cell therapy for diabetes is now being probed in a new research at University of British Columbia, Canada. The study aims to find how mice with Type 2 diabetes were successfully treated with stem cell transplantation and diabetes inhibiting medication[3]. The research was started to find an alternative to traditional methods used to control diabetes: medication in tablet form and/or insulin injections. These, however, can often be counterproductive, causing metabolism and digestive problems, and also compromising the health of the body’s major organs.

Researchers found that stem cell transplantation from human embryonic stem cells and diabetes inhibiting medication in mice suffering from Type 2 diabetes showed weight loss and high glucose-response metabolism. It is being hoped that the findings will pave the way for treatment of Type 2 diabetes in humans. Stem cell therapy for diabetes treatment would have implications for patients, who could experience a better quality of life while living with diabetes.

Though human clinical trials involving stem cell therapy for diabetes are not yet in the offing, it is hoped that the results of such researches will one day help find a solution to a long-standing global disease. It will not just ease the treatment of diabetes, but may bring down costs associated with medical care, too.

[1] Diabetes statistics, India, WHO

[2]  ‘Turning Stem Cells into Insulin-Producing Cells’, http://www.diabetesresearch.org/stem-cells

[3] Whiteman, Honor, ‘Stem cell-based therapy for type 2 diabetes shows promise’, Medical News Today, March 21, 2015

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Alzheimers is an ailment that has particularly affected the lives of old people. It has been found worldwide that 10% of the 80 year olds and 25% of 90 year olds have Alzheimers at some stage. Forgetfulness is a common aging problem but when it is more severe and is accompanied with the person getting confused in well-known places, it could be Alzheimer’s, a progressive degenerative diseases where parts of the brain (nerve cells) die as the person ages.

World Alzheimer’s Day: Spreading Awareness

Age is the biggest risk factor of the disease. It is commonly found in people above the age of 65 years. This World Alzheimer’s Day, which falls on September 21, gain knowledge about the early signs and symptoms of the disease. Early diagnosis can help in proper care giving and paves the way for drug therapy which can slow the progression of the disease.

Memory Loss that Disrupts Daily Life

Forgetting recently learned information, losing track of which day it is, forgetting names and important dates or events and relying on close family members or electronic aides to remember things is one of the most early and common signs of the disease. What’s typical of Alzheimer’s is to forget certain information such as names, only to remember it later.

Trouble Planning and Problem Solving

People may face difficulty in following a plan of work especially the one that involves numbers. They may have problem in following instruction even though they might have followed the process or done it numerous times before.

Unable to Complete Daily Tasks

Daily task such as driving to work or remembering the rules of a game become difficult.

Time and Places are Confusing

Patients lose complete track of time, places and seasons. They may be unable to keep up with something that hasn’t happened recently.

Changes in Vision and Spatial Relationships

People with Alzheimer’s might have trouble reading, judging distance, and determining colour or contrast. They also might look in the mirror and not recognize their own reflection.

Other symptoms include difficulty in speaking, misplacing things, poor judgment, social withdrawal and mood swings. The World Alzheimer’s Day is a great opportunity to make yourself aware and also to spread awareness about the disease so that you can help your loved one as soon as possible. Although there is no existent cure for Alzheimer’s but stem cell therapy is being researched as a possible cure. Stem cell therapy uses stem cells to repair or regenerate cells in the body. It is known to treat more than 80 diseases.

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Worldwide, Alzheimer’s is found in at least one among 10 persons who are more than 80-years-old and one out of four persons who are above 90 years. In India, there are nearly 50 lakh dementia patients of which, roughly 70 to 80 percent have Alzheimer’s, says an article published in the The Hindu in November 2013. It is one of the many neurodegenerative diseases caused by death of nerve cells gradually over a period of time. Some of the others are Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis.

What is Alzheimer’s?

It is a neural disorder that affects the brain. Protein builds up in the brain to form “plaques” or “tangles” affecting the connection between nerve cells eventually resulting in death of these cells and loss of brain tissue. People with this disease have the shortage of neurotransmitters or chemicals that help to transmit signals across the brain. Shortage of neurotransmitters affects the proper functioning of the brain. It is one of the progressive neurodegenerative diseases. This implies that brain damage increases with passage of time and symptoms get worse. The primary risk factors are old age, family history and genetics.

Symptoms

The symptoms are generally mild to start with but gain prominence as the disease progresses. Although the symptoms are uniform across all patients, they may not be experienced the same way or in the same succession. Memory lapse is one the early signs of Alzheimer’s. Patients might have difficulty in recalling past memories as well learning new information.  Memory loss from Alzheimer starts to affect daily life as the condition worsens.  Memories from events that happened a long time ago remain unaffected in the early stage of the disease. Apart from memory lapse, patients might have or go on to develop problems with language, visuo-spatial skills i.e problems judging distance or seeing objects in three dimension, concentration, planning, organization, and orientation i.e being confused or losing track of day or date.

Treatment

Brain acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are given to patients in order to increase the levels of neurotransmitters. This treatment only delays or slows down the process of degeneration. There are no known cures to Alzheimer’s. Stem cells are increasingly being used to treat diseases such as cancer, diabetes and more.

Research is being extensively carried out for breakthrough in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases through stem cell therapy. As per an article published in The Telegraph in May 2015, neuroscientists in India have shown what they say is the first reversal of the behavioural symptoms associated with an Alzheimer’s disease-like illness in laboratory mice using cells extracted from human umbilical cord blood,. The promise of stem cell therapy which can help in the regeneration of neural cells shows potential for the future cure of the disease.

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Conservative estimates suggest that the incidence of spinal injuries in India would be around 20 per million with 2,500 fresh cases added every year, often as a result of road accidents, says an article published in The Hindu in August 2013[1]. Spinal cord injuries can cause incomplete or complete non-functioning of the spinal cord. Spinal cord acts as the mediator between the brain and body. The use of stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury may repair the damage.

What is Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column. When the vertebra is dislocated or injured, it may put pressure on the spine.  Physical trauma to the spine is considered to be the most common form of spinal cord injury. Injury to the spinal cord could be caused due to compression through a tumour, infection or inflammation.  Injuries can occur at any level of spinal cord. The segment of the cord injured and the severity of the injury will determine the body functions that are lost.

Symptoms

The symptoms depend on whether the spinal cord has been partially injured or completely injured.  In a partial injury, patients may have some functions below the level of injury while in complete injury, they have none. Injuries to the spine may result in loss of muscle function and sensation from below the point of injury, loss of control over bowels and bladder and loss of normal sexual function. Injuries near the cervix may cause difficulty in breathing.

Treatment

Injuries to the spine are not usually diagnosed immediately. Any injury like pelvic fractures, penetrating injuries in the area of spine should be considered an alert sign. A CT (Computerized Tomography) scan may be used to determine the depth of a spinal cord injury. Injuries where there is minimal or no damage to the nerve cell and is pressure induced may allow full recovery. A host of treatments are undertaken to control the body function anomalies resulting from a spine injury. There is no cure to injuries to the spine as of now. Research in the field of stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury brings new hope. Neural stem cells offer the potential to replace injured nerve tissues. There are many clinical trials for the same as well. A paralysed man was able to walk again after a stem cell therapy for spinal injury by a team of UK researchers, says an article published in BBC News in October 2014[2]. Another patient in San Diego, US was successfully treated through a neural stem cell transplant according to a Press Release by Neuiralstem Inc. in October 2014. Therefore, the benefits of cord blood banking are only growing as medical science progresses, making it a wise choice for parents to invest in it.

[1]http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/few-steps-forward/article4978239.ece

[2]http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29645760

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Multiplying Stem Cells

A molecule was developed by the team at the Universite de Montreal, which proved to be the key to multiplying the stems. This, coupled with a bio-reactor, has shown to successfully allow significant increase in the number of umbilical cord stem cells drawn from a single unit of cord blood. The molecule, dubbed UM171, is still under a line of testing to find out future effects.

Why the Need to Multiply?

A unit of blood from the cord is enough to treat a child; however, an adult requires more units. This is due to the significant size difference between adult and child. Umbilical cord stem cells have the ability to transform and give rise to different types of stems, including that of the blood and immune system that protect our body. While your child’s cord might be a match for a relative, other donor matches are difficult to come by. People diagnosed with myeloma, lymphoma or even leukemia need to go through stem cell therapy, often a last resort for saving life.

Most doctors are faced with the challenge of finding viable stem components that are a perfect match, with a relatively low risk percentage of rejection by the recipient. This poses a bigger problem nowadays due to the large mix of ethnic groups. And even if such a match is found; a single unit is not sufficient to regenerate and restore a large adult system, particularly the blood and immune systems.

The Scope of Such Transplants

To date, stem cell therapies have seen a positive success rate; coupled with the ease of collection and availability. They have been used to treat malignant diseases, such as acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, myeloma, neuroblastoma and myelodysplastic syndrome, to name a few. The treatment of non-malignant diseases include aplastic anemia, Gaucher disease, immunodeficiency disease and congenital cytopenia.

Thus, it is highly recommended that parents bank their child’s umbilical cord stem cells so that it can be used in future conditions contracted by the child or by a family member.

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Embryonic Stem Cells

These stem cells are drawn from embryos that are by-products of clinical fertilisation. Many scientific and religious bodies have voiced that an embryo has the potential for new live, and that this potential begins at the point of conception. So, rightly speaking, the foetus holds human rights throughout its multiple stages of development.

Researchers claim that the rights of the embryo are rightly balanced out in the greater good that it might do to others, in the form of stem cell therapy. Scientists reason that embryonic stem cells are an essential tool for understanding “biomedical mechanics” in humans. This research will ultimately show which stem cells are the best for different therapies.

In the recent times, scientists have come up with lab created human embryos, which have been specially designed for the purposes of research. Even in this case, many groups voiced the opinion that man is not the creator of life, and that human life created only as a means to an end is highly unethical. Their reasoning went on to proclaim that when other rich sources of stem cells are available, like adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells, why resort to a game with human life!

Cord Blood Stem Cells

Due to the various concerns voiced in the use of embryonic stem cells by ethical commissions and societies across the world, there was a need for a new source of potential stem cells, in order to advance in the implications on stem cell therapy. This drove the study of biomedicine to explore cord blood stem cells. It was seen that cord blood derived embryonic stem cells had the rare characteristic of versatility. Although they might not be as primitive as embryonic stem cells, they are definitely more immature that adult cells, like the ones found in the bone marrow.

These cord blood cells are drawn from the umbilical cord blood of an infant, immediately after birth and stored for life. They have the potential to combat a multitude of medical conditions. Research is still underway, but researchers are confident that this would be the future of bio-medicine, where all ailments will be linked to stem cell therapy from cord blood.

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The use of embryonic cells was looked down upon by various medical and religious societies, on the ethical ground that man does not have the authority to destroy human life and that embryos also have rights, since they are the beginnings of human life.

Volume of Storage Brings Hope

Today, the storage of umbilical cord stem cells is a huge industry. Just looking at the staggering numbers in the USA is enough to prove its humongous size. Almost 1.15 million cord blood units are being privately stored in American cord blood banks, and each unit contains approximately 60ml of cord blood.

However, to qualify for donation in a public bank, a single unit of cord blood should weigh 144gms or close to 89 ml. Today, there are nearly 200,000 units stored in public banks in the US. And because there is no dearth of cord blood for research, scientists have been able to discover some life changing uses for it.

Current Uses and Research

Today, cord blood has been used successfully used in treating conditions cancers of the blood and immune system, lymphomas, bone marrow cancers, leukemia, sickle cell disease, Fanconi anemia and inherited blood abnormalities.

Results have been more prominent in children than adults. This is mainly because adults require at least two units of cord blood, as opposed to one unit in children, who are much smaller.

So, apart from research on treating conditions like diabetes, cerebral palsy, autism, heart condition, AIDS and other such disease; research is also being focused on trying to draw more number of umbilical cord stem cells for a single cord. Multiplying them to give a larger unit base is a priority for researchers right now, so that there are sufficient stem cells for the treatment of an adult.

Whether you choose to donate or bank your baby’s umbilical cord stem cells privately, it is crucial to understand that it provides a base for numerous life-saving treatments, both now and in the future. The possibilities of this rich resource will continue to expand through the years.

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