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.

Premera, Cord Blood America partner to offer discount on stem cell collection services

Cord Blood America, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Premera Blue Cross, a leading health plan provider with operations in Mountlake Terrace, Seattle and Spokane, Washington, and Anchorage, Alaska, and more than 1.4 million members, to store umbilical cord blood at a discounted rate consistent with other Blue Cross licensee contracts.

18 Aug 2011

Stellacure to open umbilical cord blood stem cell company in Jordan

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, today announced that Stellacure, GmbH, its stem cell company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has entered into an agreement with a licensee in Jordan to open an umbilical cord blood stem cell company in that Middle East nation.

16 Aug 2011

Transplants with half-matched bone marrow or cord blood are comparable to fully matched tissue

Identifying a suitable donor for leukemia and lymphoma patients who need bone marrow transplants may be far easier now that results of two clinical trials show transplant results with half-matched bone marrow or umbilical cord blood are comparable to fully matched tissue, thanks in large part to the availability of effective antirejection drugs and special post-transplant chemotherapy.

8 Jul 2011

Mesenchymal stem cells protect and heal

A stem cell that can morph into a number of different tissues is proving a natural protector, healer and antibiotic maker, researchers at Case Western Reserve University and their peers have found.

8 Jul 2011

Half-matched transplants widen donor pool for leukemia and lymphoma

7 Jul 2011

Induced pluripotent cells may make embryonic stem cells unnecessary

For nearly two decades, the medical world and the American public have grappled with the lightning-rod topic of stem cells, in particular the controversy surrounding cells from human embryos. But when researchers four years ago successfully "reprogrammed" adult body cells to become stem cells, some thought the ethical debate was nearly over. Those redirected cells, known as induced pluripotent cells, or iPS cells, show potential as therapy.

6 Jul 2011

MGH researchers discover new plant compounds that block blood vessel growth

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have discovered the first of an entirely new class of antiangiogenesis drugs - agents that interfere with the development of blood vessels.

2 Jul 2011

Roundup: Mass. doctors eye care management funds; Fla. groups fear Scott will block federal grants

It's clear from the data that hospitals and doctors can do a lot better at coordinating care for their patients. On the final day of hearings on controlling health care costs today, state officials estimated that at least $2 billion was spent in Massachusetts in 2009 on potentially avoidable emergency room visits, hospitalizations and readmissions.

2 Jul 2011

Mary Ann Liebert peer-reviewed journal highlights advances in gene therapy for neurological diseases

Novel tools and methods for delivering therapeutic genes to cells in the central nervous system hold great promise for the development of new treatments to combat incurable neurologic diseases.

30 Jun 2011

FamilyCord launches advanced cord tissue stem cell processing and storage

FamilyCord, one of the nation's leading cord blood banks, today announced their latest contribution to the advancement of the umbilical cord blood and tissue storage industry: CordTissuePlus.

29 Jun 2011

Genetic tools that enable cell type-specific delivery hold promise for combating incurable neurologic diseases

Novel tools and methods for delivering therapeutic genes to cells in the central nervous system hold great promise for the development of new treatments to combat incurable neurologic diseases. Five of the most exciting developments in this rapidly advancing field are presented in a series of articles in the June issue of Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

29 Jun 2011

BioLife becomes the leading supplier of pre-formulated cord blood stem cell freeze media products

BioLife Solutions, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of clinical grade biopreservation media products for cells and tissues, today announced that it has become the leading supplier of pre-formulated GMP cryopreservation media for umbilical cord blood stem cells, a key segment of the Company's strategic biobanking market.

21 Jun 2011

New clinical trial to evaluate safety of tenofovir gel in breastfeeding, pregnant women

Determining whether a promising HIV prevention gel is safe for women to use while they are pregnant or breastfeeding is the aim of a new clinical trial being conducted by the National Institutes of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network.

21 Jun 2011

CBAI acquires assets of NeoCells for $320,000

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the assets of NeoCells, a subsidiary of ViviCells International, Inc., Evanston, Illinois, through a foreclosure procedure at a purchase price of $320,000.

17 Jun 2011

Exposure to common fire retardant may cause developmental malformations, behavioral changes and death

A new study by Baylor University environmental health researchers found that zebra fish exposed to several different technical mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - a common fire retardant - during early development can cause developmental malformations, changes in behavior and death.

25 May 2011

Queen's University scientists partner to treat premature baby blindness with stem cells

Scientists from the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast are teaming up to develop a cure to an illness that can lead to blindness in premature babies, thanks to funding from children's charity Action Medical Research.

18 May 2011

Babies born to obese mothers may face risk of iron deficiency

Babies born to obese mothers are at risk for iron deficiency, which could affect infant brain development, according to a study to be presented Saturday, April 30, at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.

30 Apr 2011

Tarix begins patient enrollment for TXA127 Phase 1 study in DCBT

Tarix Pharmaceuticals today announced enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical study of TXA127, a pharmaceutical grade formulation of a naturally occurring peptide known to stimulate early hematopoietic precursor cells in the bone marrow.

27 Apr 2011

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides linked to lower IQ in children

In a new study suggesting pesticides may be associated with the health and development of children, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health have found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides - widely used on food crops - is related to lower intelligence scores at age 7.

21 Apr 2011

Cord blood units treated with signaling molecule show favorable safety profile in long-term animal studies

An innovative experimental treatment for boosting the effectiveness of stem-cell transplants with umbilical cord blood has a favorable safety profile in long-term animal studies, report scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Children's Hospital Boston.

20 Apr 2011