Stem cells have been the reason for so many successful clinical trials for decades. It has not only been proven effective for more than 80 diseases and disorders, but it has also been responsible for various miraculous stories. Lucy Hinchion has such an inspiring story. She is the youngest child in medical history, who has received her own umbilical cord blood to stop or delay the occurrence of Type 1 diabetes. And she was just 20 months old, when the procedure was conducted on her.

How Does Type 1 Diabetes Occur in Children?

The occurrence of Type 1 diabetes begins with autoantibodies. These are proteins that are made by the immune system of our body. If the protein is present in anyone blood, it suggests that the beta cells in the pancreas that help produce insulin, are affected. The entire process might lead to an autoimmune attack. Some of these autoantibodies can be traced during the blood months while some are found years before the diabetes occurs.

Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells but at the same time it’s the most difficult to collect. It can only be collected after child birth from the umbilical cord of the new born. For this reason, parents need to contact a private cord blood bank to store the umbilical cord blood immediately after birth. Even a one day’s delay cannot be considered.

The procedure is entire safe both for the mother and the child. Once the cord blood is collected, it needs to go through a clinical process to isolate the stem cells from the immune cells. These stem cells are unique in nature. They have the potential to repair and replace damaged tissues and organs. And once stored, these stem cells can be utilized in any transplant of any family member.

Lucy’s mother, Sonya Hinchion also hoped that once they store Lucy’s umbilical cord blood, they would be able to safe Lucy’s elder sister, Ava’s life, who was suffering from Type 1 diabetes since four years of age. However, little did she know that Lucy would require those stem cells more than anyone else. After testing, Sonya found out that Lucy was positive for two antibodies and that posed her at high risk of developing the condition more than anyone. Sonya recalled, “After testing positive for two antibodies herself, Lucy became at high risk of developing the condition.”

Regarding the transplant, Sonya confirmed that it was a pretty simple and straightforward procedure. She said, “You’re putting all your eggs in one basket but without doing this trial and without putting yourself out there, we’re never going to learn. The other risk is, she develops diabetes and you’ll kick yourself for not trying.” Professor Maria Craig, the head of the CORD study, follows Lucy every 3 to 6 months and would keep up the follow up session for the next 3 years.

Over 100 Australian children, who have a history of Type 1 diabetes in their family, are being screened by the Cord Reinfusion in Diabetes (CORD) study currently. According to a report, “More than 100 Australian children with a family history of Type 1 diabetes are currently being screened in the Cord Reinfusion in Diabetes (CORD) study, conducted through the hospital’s Kids Research Institute and funded by cord blood bank Cell Care Australia.”

The post Stories of Hope: Toddler Reinfused With Own Umbilical Cord Blood in Attempt to Halt Type 1 Diabetes appeared first on Stem Cell Banking Guide and Pregnancy Tips For New Parents.

I have grown up hearing that infants learn multiple things in their growing years towards toddlerhood. When I had my first baby, I already knew this but I have got a different experience from what I have heard over the years. Although it is true that kids learn many things, the reality can be completely different to what I have heard in the past. Right from childbirth, you happen to witness many things they learn on a “daily basis”. You heard it right!! You will see them learning new things every day and it is a sheer joy to watch them picking up brand new things one after the other.

Identifying the bottle or the breast, fixing vision, turning aside, turning upside down, moving on the belly, responsive sounds, crawling, sitting, teething, standing, walking a few steps holding, walking without support, initial conversations through signs, developing speech, learning to hold a pencil, alphabets and so on….inherently, the child develops cognitive and motor skills in the course of crossing all these milestones. Developing speech involves a long period of time with variable steps comprised in it. They start communicating with the caregivers or parents when they are few months old.

They make responsive sounds at the sight of a milk bottle which may be the initial sign of communicating. The parents can make out the way their infants communicate when they are sleepy, irritated, hungry or when they need attention with the help of their facial gestures. Slowly signs develop into conversations and these progresses with the amount of conversations the child is able to have. The more the child hears, the more the communication is. It does not mean that kids do not learn conversing if we do not make much effort. They still learn it at their own pace. Then why is it important to start conversing with them to teach them our language.

• Teaching language increases the communication between the child and the caregivers or parents in order to understand the child better in emotional, psychological and physical aspects.
• Caregivers can understand the necessities of a child although the child is not well versed with the language.
• It becomes easier for the child to explore the world in a better manner with partially learnt language.
• It helps in safeguarding the child to a greater extent.
• It helps the child in learning proper etiquette during early childhood.
• It is possible to develop a loving bond with the child due to the understanding levels.
• Cognitive skills and motor skills develop in their early childhood.
• Responsive caregiving is possible with better conversing abilities.
• Language increases the socialization abilities of a child.

We can take it for granted that children learn conversing at their own speed even though sign language is not taught. However, to increase the overall ability of understanding a child, language and communication skills help parents a lot. The day to day usages such as foods, greeting gestures, activities like eating, drinking, walking, running, sleeping, sitting etc. body parts, friends’ and relatives, fruits and veggies can all be included in the sign language. We can in fact develop our own language at home making easy gestures creatively for the baby to understand. If it is a tedious job for you, there are experts who run tutorials to teach sign language for babies. Also, it would help channelizing the babies’ energy by engaging them in an interesting activity. The same language learnt can be used for the second and third child as well. Making this little effort towards conversing with your children in their early childhood will help them to explore the surroundings better and in a channelized way.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_sign_language
http://www.parents.com/baby/development/sign-language/baby-sign-language-first-foods/

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