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.

Overcoming challenges in developing cell therapies for heart disease

Pathways to new treatments for heart failure take time - as long as four decades for two now accepted therapies. So, new attempts to repair scar tissue in infarcted hearts using cells or cell products need more time to develop clinical therapies that can reduce risk of death from heart failure after a heart attack.

3 Dec 2024

Maternal RSV vaccination timing optimizes newborn immunity through improved antibody transfer

Maternal RSV vaccination enhances antibody transfer to newborns, with optimal transfer efficiency observed when given at least five weeks before delivery.

14 Nov 2024

Early RSV vaccination in pregnancy provides best protection for newborns

Current guidelines recommend that pregnant people receive a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - which typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms in most adults but can be deadly for infants - during weeks 32–36 of pregnancy.

11 Nov 2024

Study aims to reduce C-section rates in pregnant women with obesity

Pregnant women with obesity face an increased risk of complications, including the need for a cesarean section, which carries its own set of risks.

6 Nov 2024

Babies born to mothers with PCOS and obesity are smaller in size

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity are at a higher risk of giving birth to smaller babies in terms of birth weight, length, and head circumference, according to a recent study conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

5 Nov 2024

A deeper look at COVID-19 transmission and fetal health

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study published in The EMBO Journal shows that mild and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections can trigger immune responses in a pregnant individual that may cause serious inflammatory responses in the developing fetus.

17 Oct 2024

How does a vegan diet in pregnancy affect mother and baby?

A systematic review explores the impact of a vegan diet on maternal and fetal outcomes, revealing mixed results on birth weight and nutrient intake, calling for further research.

2 Oct 2024

Umbilical cord blood transplants improve cancer survival rates across all races

Patients who receive umbilical cord blood transplants for blood cancers now live equally long regardless of their race, new research from UVA Cancer Center shows.

1 Oct 2024

Insufficient sleep during pregnancy associated with neurodevelopmental risks in offspring

Pregnant women who do not get enough sleep may be at higher risk of having children with neurodevelopmental delays, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

26 Sep 2024

Study reveals key bacteria for developing personalized probiotics for newborns

Newborn babies have one of three pioneer bacteria in their gut shortly after birth, one of which could be used to develop new personalized infant therapeutic probiotics, researchers show.

6 Sep 2024

Breakthrough in blood stem cell development offers hope for leukemia and bone marrow failure

Melbourne researchers have made a world first breakthrough into creating blood stem cells that closely resemble those in the human body. And the discovery could soon lead to personalized treatments for children with leukemia and bone marrow failure disorders.

2 Sep 2024

Study finds minimal impact of cesarean antibiotics on infant gut microbiome

Cesarean section recipients are usually given prophylactic antibiotics just before the procedure to prevent later infections at the surgical site.

14 Aug 2024

Study suggests maternal adverse childhood experiences may become biologically embedded

Researchers investigated the transfer of biological embedding of life experience across generations by evaluating traumatic childhood experiences of mothers and epigenetic clocks in pregnant mothers and their newborn offspring.

13 Aug 2024

New stem cell therapy for heart failure undergoing U.S. clinical trials

A new stem cell therapy for heart failure is being tested in patients at the University of Louisville and UofL Health.

7 Aug 2024

PUFA metabolites in umbilical cord blood may predict autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects learning capability and social behavior of people.

29 Jul 2024

Cord blood banking industry faces scrutiny over unproven claims and high costs

Some private UK biobanks may be misleading expectant parents about the value of storing umbilical cord blood to treat life-threatening diseases that may arise in their child in the future, reveals an investigation by The BMJ, published today.

25 Jul 2024

Breakthrough humanized mouse model offers new insights for immunotherapy development

A breakthrough for biomedical research promises new insight into immunotherapy development and disease modeling.

5 Jul 2024

Study reveals potential chemical risks in healthy diets for pregnant women

A study in Nature Food reveals that adherence to healthy dietary patterns during pregnancy may increase exposure to harmful environmental contaminants, affecting fetal health. The research highlights the need to balance dietary guidelines with potential chemical exposure risks.

3 Jul 2024

Study reveals the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to ethylene oxide on fetal development

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, provides new evidence on the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to ethylene oxide (EO) on foetal development.

27 Jun 2024

Genomic evidence of prenatal origins in childhood acute myeloid leukemia

A team of researchers from the Institute of Oncology of the University of Oviedo (IUOPA), the Josep Carreras leukemia Research Institute, the University of Barcelona and the Centre for Biomedical Research in Cancer Network (CIBERONC) have demonstrated that some childhood leukemia originate during embryonic development, although they do not manifest after a few months after birth.

30 May 2024