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.

Neonate girls present greater antioxidant defense, less oxidative stress than boys

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada in collaboration with San Cecilio Clinic Hospital has scientifically proved that neonate girls present a greater antioxidant defense and less oxidative stress on their cell membranes than boys, in addition to higher antioxidant enzymatic activity.

27 Oct 2016

Children of mothers with high levels of vitamin D in umbilical blood have fewer symptoms of ADHD

Children of mothers who took vitamin D during pregnancy with resultant high levels of the vitamin in the umbilical blood have fewer symptoms of ADHD at the age of 2½ years.

7 Oct 2016

Antiseptic used for umbilical cord care ineffective in reducing newborn deaths in Africa

Despite significant reductions in neonatal mortality previously reported in south Asia, applying a chlorhexidine wash to newborns' umbilical cords in sub-Saharan Africa did not reduce deaths, a study led by researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health shows.

4 Oct 2016

Study finds cord blood transplant recipients appear to have better outcomes against leukemia

Umbilical cord blood transplants may have advantages beyond offering an alternative stem cell source for leukemia patients without a traditional donor match, according to a study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

8 Sep 2016

Researchers isolate cord blood factor that helps fight harmful inflammation

A factor found in umbilical cord blood could become the basis for developing a new therapy to fight harmful inflammation, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers report.

7 Sep 2016

Induced deliveries following rupture of amniotic sac pose no increased risk to health of mother and infants

A new Tel Aviv University study has determined that natural, spontaneous deliveries and induced deliveries following the rupture of the amniotic sac in the mother share similar neonatal outcomes, contradicting common wisdom.

1 Sep 2016

Umbilical cells from babies of obese mothers show impaired expression of vital genes regulating metabolism

Scientists have long known that infants born to women who are obese show higher risks of obesity, but they don't fully understand what boosts those risks.

23 Aug 2016

Cell therapy product can accelerate brain remyelination in mice

Demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and leukodystrophy, are characterized by damage to the protective myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of neurons.

18 Aug 2016

Clinics with comprehensive care for premature infants alleviate concerns for parents

On January 24, 2013, Iris Vega-Figueroa's life changed completely. That's the day she gave birth to her twin girls, Iris and Geraldine. The twins were monoamniotic-monochorionic, meaning they shared one amniotic sack and one placenta in the womb. These rare pregnancies are considered high risk because of the uneven blood flow that occurs between the infants through the placenta.

8 Aug 2016

Umbilical CBT more effective than MUD bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study compared outcomes of leukemia patients receiving bone marrow transplants from 2009-2014, finding that three years post transplant, the incidence of severe chronic graft-versus-host disease was 44 percent in patients who had received transplants from matched, unrelated donors (MUD) and 8 percent in patients who had received umbilical cord blood transplants (CBT).

27 Jul 2016

Clinical trial to assess safety of using umbilical cord cells to treat macular degeneration

UIC is part of a national phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability of using cells derived from multipotent umbilical cord cells to treat age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of vision loss in people over 55.

21 Jul 2016

Breakthrough research shows cellular stress could be key to variety of birth defects

For the first time, scientists believe they've discovered a cause of multiple types of birth defects triggered by environmental stresses.

20 Jul 2016

Cryopreserved human umbilical cord patch shows promise in treating fetal spina bifida

A patch made from cryopreserved human umbilical cord may be a novel method for treating spina bifida in utero, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

12 Jul 2016

New research holds potential to improve fetal surgery outcomes

University of California, Berkeley engineer Phillip Messersmith is happy to be learning lessons from a lowly mollusk, with the expectation that the knowledge gained will enable him and fellow physicians to prevent deaths among their youngest patients -- those who haven't been born yet.

4 Jul 2016

Subcutaneous treatment with cord blood stem cells improves eczema symptoms

A new study suggests that treatment with stem cells from umbilical cord blood might be an effective therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis.

7 Jun 2016

Multiple cell and gene therapies can enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with MI

Researchers at the University of Utah compared the therapeutic potential of umbilical cord-derived sub-epithelial cells (UC-SECs), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) -- all derived from human tissue -- along with genes (S100a1 and SDF-1a) and growth factor (VEGF165) to evaluate how injected biologics might enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with myocardial infarction (MI; commonly referred to as heart attack).

2 Jun 2016

Maternal stress, depression during pregnancy may activate protective mechanisms in infants

Maternal stress and depression during pregnancy may activate certain protective mechanisms in babies. Psychologists from the University of Basel together with international colleagues report that certain epigenetic adaptations in newborns suggest this conclusion.

13 May 2016

New study finds link between prenatal SSRI use and umbilical cord length

Umbilical cords of children whose mothers used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy may be longer than umbilical cords of other newborn children, shows a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs, are commonly prescribed antidepressants, and this is the first time their association with umbilical cord length was observed.

9 May 2016

Scientists reprogram mature blood cells from mice into blood-forming HSCs

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have reprogrammed mature blood cells from mice into blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), using a cocktail of eight genetic switches called transcription factors. The reprogrammed cells, which the researchers have dubbed induced HSCs (iHSCs), have the functional hallmarks of HSCs, are able to self-renew like HSCs, and can give rise to all of the cellular components of the blood like HSCs.

30 Apr 2016

Musashi-2 protein regulates function, development of blood stem cells

Researchers at McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute have made significant steps forward in understanding the stem cells of the human blood system after discovering how a key protein allows for better control and regeneration of these cells.

28 Apr 2016