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.

Imperial scientists develop new test that uses human stem cells to predict side effects of drugs

Scientists at Imperial College London have developed a test that uses combinations of cells from a single donor's blood to predict whether a new drug will cause a severe immune reaction in humans.

10 Mar 2015

Low-cost antiseptic could help reduce deaths in newborn babies

A low-cost antiseptic used to cleanse the cord after birth could help reduce infant death rates in developing countries by 12%, a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library suggests. Authors of the review found that when chlorhexidine was used on babies born outside of a hospital, it reduces the number of newborn babies who died or suffer from infections.

5 Mar 2015

Predicting the development of type 1 diabetes is possible, shows TEDDY study

New research shows that it is possible to predict the development of type 1 diabetes. By measuring the presence of autoantibodies in the blood, it is possible to detect whether the immune system has begun to break down the body's own insulin cells.

26 Feb 2015

New research provides hope for treating stroke using HUCBCs

Researchers have known that transplanted human umbilical cord cells (HUCBCs) can have a restorative effect on the brain and brain function following a stroke. However, just how the cells exert their therapeutic effects has not been clear. Now, a research team from the University of South Florida using animal models of stroke has found that the HUCBCs are most beneficial in preventing neuron loss when the Akt signaling pathway is activated by secretions from the HUCBCs and that Akt activation subsequently impacts a specific gene involved in reducing inflammation.

10 Feb 2015

Maternal exposure to flame-retardants may contribute to preterm births

Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch have determined that maternal exposure to high levels of flame-retardants may be a contributing factor in preterm births.

28 Jan 2015

Umbilical cord-derived stem cells from women with gestational diabetes show premature aging

Multipotent cells isolated from the human umbilical cord, called mesenchymal stromal cells (hUC-MSCs) have shown promise for use in cell therapy to treat a variety of human diseases. However, intriguing new evidence shows that hUC-MSCs isolated from women with gestational diabetes demonstrate premature aging, poorer cell growth, and altered metabolic function, as reported in an article in Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

22 Jan 2015

Umbilical cord clamping influences resistance to oxidative stress in newborns

A study conducted by University of Granada scientists (from the Physiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Departments) and from the San Cecilio Clinical Hospital (Granada) has demonstrated that delaying the cutting of the umbilical cord in newborns by two minutes leads to a better development of the baby during the first days of life.

15 Dec 2014

Canadian Blood Services urges Canadians to support fundraising campaign

On "Giving Tuesday," Dec. 2, Canadian Blood Services is encouraging Canadians to help build a national public cord blood bank by making a financial donation to the $12.5 million For All Canadians fundraising campaign.

29 Nov 2014

New standard of care for pediatric AML patients who receive umbilical cord transplants

A new standard of care for children facing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may be clear, following a multi-year study published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Oct 2014

SynGen announces relocation of corporate headquarters

SynGen, Inc., a company focused on the development and commercialization of instrument systems that harvest stem and progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, peripheral blood, and cell culture, announced today that it has moved its corporate headquarters to a new location in Sacramento, California. The headquarter’s new address is 100 Howe Avenue, Suite 185N, Sacramento, CA 95825-8219. All other contact information, including phone numbers, remains the same.

17 Oct 2014

Research opens door to potential new treatments for peripheral artery disease

Researchers have developed a technique to jump-start the body's systems for creating blood vessels, opening the door for potential new treatments for diseases whose impacts include amputation and blindness.

14 Oct 2014

Higher doses of neuroleptics needed for pregnant women with psychiatric conditions

The new generation of neuroleptics for psychiatric conditions has the advantage over older medications of fewer adverse side effects. An investigation into their effectiveness in pregnant women has now discovered that higher doses are needed during pregnancy to maintain the desired effect.

9 Oct 2014

Swedish woman gives birth to world's first womb-transplant baby

In a ground-breaking research project at the University of Gothenburg, seven Swedish women have had embryos reintroduced after receiving wombs from living donors. Now the first transplanted woman has delivered a baby – a healthy and normally developed boy. The world-unique birth was acknowledged in The Lancet on 5 October.

8 Oct 2014

SynGen announces securement of additional financing from San Francisco-based life sciences venture capital firm

SynGen, Inc., a company that focuses on the development and commercialization of instrument systems that harvest stem and progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, peripheral blood, and cell culture, announced today that it has secured additional financing from Bay City Capital, LLC, a San Francisco-based life sciences venture capital firm.

6 Oct 2014

Researchers discover new molecule that allows for multiplication of stem cells in cord blood

Investigators from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the Université de Montréal have just published, in the prestigious magazine Science, the announcement of the discovery of a new molecule, the first of its kind, which allows for the multiplication of stem cells in a unit of cord blood.

22 Sep 2014

New BioInformant report finds 21-fold increase in companies involved in cord blood banking industry

As a leading provider of market research, MarketResearch.com is pleased to announce the distribution of a new BioInformant Worldwide, L.L.C. report that found a 21-fold increase (2,100%) in the companies involved in the cord blood banking industry in the past 10 years.

21 Aug 2014

Children and adults face increased risk from umbilical hernias

Though common wisdom will tell you that hernias only occur in men, usually adult men, this is far from the truth. While the majority of hernias do occur in males – with inguinal hernia symptoms in men particularly common – some types of hernia are not at all rare in women and children of all genders.

19 Aug 2014

Experts to debate healthy labor and delivery practices at Cedars-Sinai Birth Community Day

Doctors, nurses, midwives and doulas will debate healthy labor and delivery practices - including the use of the synthetic hormone Pitocin to hasten childbirth and vitamin K to speed blood clotting in newborns -- at the third annual Cedars-Sinai Birth Community Day, Aug. 14.

13 Aug 2014

Exposure of pregnant women and fetuses to antibacterial compounds leads to health risk

As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mulls over whether to rein in the use of common antibacterial compounds that are causing growing concern among environmental health experts, scientists are reporting today that many pregnant women and their fetuses are being exposed to these substances.

11 Aug 2014

Longer looks: Caregivers effort to stay well; patients who turn to religion for cures; new views on postpartum depression

More than 65 million people, or 29 percent of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family members or friends during any given year, and spend an average of 20 hours per week providing that care.

20 Jun 2014