Umbilical Cord News and Research

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The umbilical cord is the structure that attaches the fetus to the placenta and acts as the medium through which nutrients, gases and waste products travel between the mother and the fetus.

Cryo-Save announces public storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells

Cryo-Save, the largest private stem cell bank in Europe, has announced today that on 30th January agreement was reached with Osidea, an Italian non-profit making organization promoting the public storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells.

5 Feb 2007

FDA issues guidance on license applications for placental/umbilical cord blood products

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft guidance recommending a streamlined path to licensure for establishments that manufacture cord blood for certain medical conditions.

16 Jan 2007

Stem cell research discovery could mean 'big things' for cancer

A new discovery in stem cell research may mean big things for cancer patients in the future. Gary Van Zant, Ph.D., and a research team at the University of Kentucky published their findings in Nature Genetics.

14 Jan 2007

Stem cells derived from human amniotic fluid appear to offer many of the benefits of embryonic stem cells

...including the ability to grow into brain, muscle, bone and other tissues -- according to a study published in the Jan. 7 online edition on the journal Nature Biotechnology, the Washington Post reports.

9 Jan 2007

Mini artificial liver grown from stem cells

Scientists in Britain have grown the first artificial liver from stem cells, which is the first step in a process which within 10 years could see livers being grown in a laboratory for human transplants.

1 Nov 2006

Conjoined Canadian twins doing well

Canadian conjoined twins born in a complicated c-section procedure are apparently doing well.

26 Oct 2006

Birth of conjoined twins a medical and practical challenge

Another set of conjoined twins are expected to be born this week in Canada.

25 Oct 2006

HRSA to allocate $14M to public umbilical cord blood banks

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration plans to allocate $14 million to public umbilical cord blood banks nationwide in an effort to increase the supply of cord blood from 50,000 to 150,000 units, the AP/Washington Post reports.

17 Oct 2006

New Yorkers lied to in aftermath of 9/11

A new study released this week says thousands of World Trade Center responders have developed chronic and disabling illnesses that are likely to be permanent.

12 Sep 2006

All pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta

Human beings are directly responsible for more than 110,000 chemical substances which have been generated since the Industrial Revolution.

1 Sep 2006

Wheezy kids more prone to asthma

Children who become sensitive to allergens, such as cat hair, and suffer from wheezing in their first three years of life are prone to developing asthma, according to an Article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

24 Aug 2006

In vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors in embryo

The conditions in which embryos are cultured in the laboratory during in vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors that are associated with certain developmental syndromes and other abnormalities in growth and development, such as low birth weight.

19 Jun 2006

Delayed umbilical cord clamping can prevent anemia

Just a two-minute delay in clamping a baby's umbilical cord can boost the child's iron reserves and prevent anemia for months, report nutritionists at the University of California, Davis.

18 Jun 2006

Comprehensive care for complex, high-risk pregnancies

As many as 3 percent of all pregnancies result in the birth of a baby with chromosomal anomalies like Down syndrome or structural anomalies such as congenital heart disease.

23 May 2006

Differential effects of HOXB4 on nonhuman primate short and long-term repopulating cells

Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs, the cells that can give rise to all blood and most immune cell types) can save patients whose own hematopoietic system is defective or has been destroyed (often through radiation or chemotherapy of cancer).

3 May 2006

First evidence that circulating endothelial microparticles lead to heart valve disease

Under normal physiological conditions, low levels of microparticles are continually being shed into the blood from the endothelium - the cells that line the inside of blood vessels and some organs -and appear to cause no problems.

13 Apr 2006

Link between bacteria found in the mouth and the amniotic fluid of a woman in preterm labor

A 37-year-old-mother, who gave birth to a low-weight preemie at 24 weeks, exhibited the first-found link in a human between bacteria found in the mouth and the amniotic fluid of a woman in preterm labor.

6 Apr 2006

Dry umbilical cord care in developing countries should be reconsidered

A topical antiseptic reduces umbilical cord infections and infant mortality risk, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

23 Mar 2006

Researchers find viable new sources for stem cell transplants to the heart

Stem cell transplantation is among one of the most exciting and hotly debated areas of medical research today. While the promise of personalized medicine and effective treatments for debilitating diseases drive progress in this area, moral and ethical dilemmas about embryonic cells continues to cloud the field.

14 Mar 2006