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.

Education campaign on umbilical cord and placental blood donation

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D. has launched an educational campaign to inform expectant mothers of the life-saving value of newborn umbilical cord and placental blood.

23 Jan 2006

How is HIV transmitted from mother to child?

Without intervention, between 25% and 35% of the children born to HIV-positive mothers will themselves be infected.

28 Nov 2005

Human umbilical cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke

An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims.

13 Nov 2005

Discovery increases the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood

A team of bioengineers led by the University of Toronto has discovered a way to increase the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, to an extent which could broaden therapeutic use of these cells.

18 Oct 2005

New public survey on stem cells

Stem cells are unique among human cells in that they possess the uncanny ability to develop into virtually any other cell of the body, offering a hypothetical tool kit for repairing diseased hearts, mending broken spinal cords, or correcting genetic diseases, among other hoped-for benefits.

13 Oct 2005

Innovative therapy lowering body temperature slows down the injury process caused by birth asphyxia

Infants born with oxygen loss who are given an innovative therapy that lowers their entire body temperature by four degrees within the first six hours of life, have a better chance of survival and lower incidence of brain injury

12 Oct 2005

Lowering infant's body temperature within the first six hours of life reduces the chances for disability

Lowering an infant's body temperature to about 92 degrees Fahrenheit within the first six hours of life reduces the chances for disability and death among infants who failed to receive enough oxygen or blood to the brain during birth. The research study findings appear in tomorrow's 2005 New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Oct 2005

Scientists convert human embryonic stem cells into lung cells

According to research to be published in the journal Tissue Engineering, the team from Imperial College London, took human embryonic stem cells and 'directed' them to convert into the type of cells needed for gas exchange in the lung, known as mature small airway epithelium.

24 Aug 2005

Breakthrough in human stem cell research

A breakthrough in human stem cell research, producing embryonic-like cells from umbilical cord blood may substantially speed up the development of treatments for life-threatening illnesses, injuries and disabilities.

16 Aug 2005

Pre-mRNA that codes for inflammatory protein identified

In a discovery that upends a longstanding tenet of human biology, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that a key process in gene regulation can occur in human platelets, unique cells that are unusual because they don't have a nucleus (anucleate).

11 Aug 2005

Placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases as embryonic stem cells

Routinely discarded as medical waste, placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases and regenerate tissues as their more controversial counterparts, embryonic stem cells, suggests a University of Pittsburgh study to be published in the journal Stem Cells and available now as an early online publication in Stem Cells Express.

10 Aug 2005

Outer lining of the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells

CellResearch Corporation in Singapore and its team of scientists, headed by Chief Scientist, Dr Phan Toan Thang, have recently made a revolutionary discovery: that the outer lining of the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells.

12 Jul 2005

Discovery of genes that impact the development and function of blood stem cells

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified for the first time a group of genes that impact the development and function of blood stem cells, a discovery that brings researchers a step closer to harnessing the power of stem cells for disease treatments.

6 Jul 2005

Functional analysis of human hematopoietic stem cell gene expression using zebrafish

What do you get when you mix RNA chips and zebrafish? A new two-stage method for studying human gene expression differs in human stem cells and progenitor cells, according to a new article in the open access journal PLoS Biology.

6 Jul 2005

Scientists successfully isolate stem cells from human skin

Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have successfully isolated stem cells from human skin, expanded them in the laboratory and coaxed them into becoming fat, muscle and bone cells.

27 Jun 2005

Columbia University launches multi-year campaign to support stem cell researc

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has announced that it is halfway toward realizing the first phase of a multi-year campaign to build upon the university’s groundbreaking stem cell research and lead the effort to fully realize the therapeutic potential of stem cells.

16 Jun 2005

U.S. House of Representatives approve two bills on stem-cell research

Two new bills related to stem-cell research have been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives one promoting non-destructive methods and the other supporting research resulting in the death of unborn children.

26 May 2005

Infants with Krabbe disease saved by cord blood stem cells

Children with a fatal genetic disorder called Krabbe Disease can be saved and their brain development preserved if they receive stem cells from umbilical cord blood before symptoms of the disease develop, according to a study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

20 May 2005

Deadly baby disease can be arrested with early treatment

U.S. scientists have found that transplanting umbilical cord blood to seemingly healthy infants before they develop signs of Krabbe's disease can dramatically prolong the lives of children with the deadly genetic condition.

19 May 2005

New treatment for retained placenta

An important new study has been launched by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Women’s Hospital (LWH), to test a new treatment for ‘retained placenta’- a condition where the placenta does not come out naturally after childbirth.

12 May 2005