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.

Maternal smoking influences epigenetic programming of unborn child's genetic make-up

If mothers smoke during pregnancy, they influence the epigenetic programming of their unborn child's genetic make-up in the long term. This may give rise to an increased risk of the development of disease risks later in the child's life.

5 Apr 2016

Researchers explore prenatal marijuana use in legalized environment

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are studying the detection of prenatal marijuana use in a legalized environment. The study of marijuana use in pregnancy is only possible in a few states.

9 Mar 2016

Zika virus can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, study finds

New research presents strong evidence that the Zika virus can indeed cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus -- with the effects manifesting any time during pregnancy. Some of the abnormalities noted have not been reported in connection with the virus.

7 Mar 2016

New study shows beneficial effects of fish consumption during pregnancy

A new study supports the theory that the detrimental effects of low-level exposure to mercury may be outweighed by the beneficial effects of fish consumption.

24 Feb 2016

New study to evaluate use of whole umbilical cord blood to accelerate stroke recovery

A new study will evaluate the use of whole umbilical cord blood to help the brain heal quicker after an ischemic stroke.

16 Feb 2016

UTHealth researchers demonstrate new way to reduce preterm birth

Using nanoparticles to engineer a special drug, a team of researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has demonstrated in pre-clinical trials a new way to both reduce preterm birth and avoid the risks of medication in pregnancy to unborn babies.

5 Feb 2016

Prenatal stress affects babies' health in war-torn areas

Children from war-torn areas of the globe are affected by trauma even before they are born, according to a new University of Florida study.

3 Feb 2016

Research points to potential use of radiotherapy in treating systemic cancer

An international team of researchers lead by the University of Granada has proven that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) may be used as enhancer agents of local and systemic effects of radiotherapy, that is to say, those which affect the irradiated tumour and tumour cells located at a certain distance of the irradiated ones.

30 Jan 2016

Quad partners with University of Massachusetts to evaluate performance of novel cell separation solution

The rapid growth of cell-based immunotherapy research has led to an increase in demand for methods to isolate specific immune cell populations from heterogeneous samples with high viability, purity and recovery efficiency. Quad Technologies ("Quad"), is meeting this need with its MagCloudz™ Streptavidin Cell Separation Kits and has partnered with The University of Massachusetts Medical School to evaluate the performance of its novel cell separation solution for the enrichment and purification of CD3+ T-cells from human umbilical cord blood.

18 Jan 2016

Study shows promise for cord blood-derived natural killer cells in multiple myeloma patients

A first-in-human Phase I study of multiple myeloma patients combined expanded cord blood-derived natural killer cells with transplantation of a patient's own stem cells and high-dose chemotherapy with little or none of the side effects seen with current treatments.

8 Dec 2015

MD Anderson Cancer Center, CytomX to study probody-enabled CAR-NK cell therapies

CytomX Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing investigational Probody™ therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today entered into a collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to research Probody-enabled chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cell therapies, to be known as ProCAR-NK cell therapies.

6 Nov 2015

Rice scientists solve long-standing mystery about hemophilia protein

Rice University scientists have solved a long-standing mystery about where the body stores and deploys blood-clotting factor VIII, a protein that about 80 percent of hemophiliacs cannot produce due to genetic defects.

3 Nov 2015

CPFN, Cure CP raise funds to extend research on cerebral palsy

Will it one day be possible to cure cerebral palsy? Scientists working in a new field of study known as "regenerative medicine" think so. But support is needed to further the research, according to two non-profit organizations founded by parents of children with CP.

2 Nov 2015

Stem cell transplantation may offer viable treatment for Alzheimer's disease patients

Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting millions worldwide, is the leading cause of dementia. The prevalence of AD is rapidly increasing, and will possibly affect over 100 million people by 2050, yet there are no effective therapies for the disease.

31 Oct 2015

NYSCF, CBR collaborate to customize creation of high-quality stem cell lines

The New York Stem Cell Foundation and Cbr Systems, Inc. DBA Cord Blood Registry today announced a collaboration to customize the creation of high-quality stem cell lines. NYSCF will create induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from umbilical cord tissue collected after birth from healthy newborns provided by CBR.

19 Oct 2015

3D printed model of fetus face helps determine life-threatening airway mass in unborn child

Megan Thompson was about 30 weeks pregnant when an ultrasound showed a walnut-sized lump on her tiny, unborn child's face that could prevent him from breathing after birth.

13 Oct 2015

Delayed umbilical cord clamping may benefit extremely preterm infants

Clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord happens within 10 seconds after birth in most cases, in part so members of a medical team can more quickly begin caring for a newborn. But research from Nationwide Children's Hospital shows that waiting 30 to 45 seconds to clamp could have advantages for extremely preterm infants.

25 Sep 2015

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves outcomes of umbilical cord blood transplant patients

For the past 27 years, cord blood transplants have been a life-saving treatment option for thousands of people with leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Hodgkins disease and myelodysplastic disorders. Cord blood helps replace cancerous blood cells and replenish a patient's own bone marrow and immune system. Even with its success, researchers are continually looking for ways to improve the transplant process and increase cure rates.

24 Sep 2015

HUCBC-derived monocytes diminishes Aβ pathology, improves cognition in AD modeled mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD), which affects an estimated 26 million people worldwide, is the fourth leading cause of death among the elderly and the leading cause of dementia. Predictions are that the number of AD cases will quadruple by 2050.

9 Sep 2015

Individually tailored treatment may help reduce mortality risk in patients undergoing routine surgeries

Cholecystectomy and treatment for inguinal, femoral, umbilical, or abdominal hernia are common surgeries and are considered routine in Germany. In an original article in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 112: 535-43), Ulrike Nimptsch and Thomas Mansky show that fewer than 0.5% of patients die as a result of such surgeries.

28 Aug 2015