In a recent blog post, we discussed mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a particular type of stem cell with several unique characteristics that make them of particular interest to researchers who are exploring their potential in a wide variety of therapeutic applications – including preclinical research on a chronic lung disease that impacts newborns.

According to study results published in Cell Transplantation, MSCs derived from human umbilical cord blood reduced injury and inflammation in animal models of neonatal lung damage caused by bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

BPD affects babies born prematurely or those who experience respiratory problems shortly after birth who require high levels of oxygen from a ventilator for long periods of time.  Although mechanical ventilation is critical to survival, the pressure from the ventilation and excess oxygen can injure a newborn's delicate lungs over time. The lung damage of BPD can lead to long-term respiratory health problems and has few effective treatments today.

The researchers found that newborn MSCs from the umbilical cord significantly reduced structural growth impairments, cell death and signs of inflammation associated with BPD. The protective effects of MSC therapy against lung injury appeared to be a result of the anti-inflammatory activity of the stem cells.  The researchers also noted that a small number of the newborn MSCs may have developed into lung epithelial cells as well.

The study gives strong preclinical evidence to support further research for using newborn mesenchymal stem cells to treat BPD – an important step forward for some of the world’s tiniest and most vulnerable patients.

Along with asthma and cystic fibrosis, BPD is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), between 5,000 and 10,000 cases of BPD occur every year in the United States.

Click here to view the study.

On the path from birth to maturity, reaching one’s 18th birthday is a very significant milestone. It’s an important achievement that validates, among many things, the training, development and experience necessary to take on life’s challenges. 

This year, CBR officially marks our 18th anniversary.  Not only were we the first family bank to store newborn stem cells for future use, but we continue to be the global leader and innovator in cord blood banking.

Our success is driven by a philosophy of continuous improvement built on a foundation of unparalleled industry experience.  And experience matters, especially in an industry like ours that represents a rapidly evolving area of science and technology. 

Today, the operations in CBR’s state-of-the-art, 80,000 square foot laboratory facility – the largest in the world – are governed by hundreds of written standard operating procedures (SOPs).  As the industry pioneer, we didn’t have a roadmap or a manual we could copy.  We wrote the book – literally.

Over time, other banks have followed us.  Some are still in business, but others are not.  Some are just beginning to learn the complexity of running their own laboratory.  The process of preserving newborn stem cells from cord blood is delicate and complex.  It takes experience to do it well, and at CBR we do it very well.  In fact, CBR’s proprietary collection and processing technologies enable us to have the highest cell recovery rate in the industry, so we are able to preserve more stem cells for medical use than any other family bank.  And, after 18 years, we’ve successfully processed the cord blood of more than 300,000 newborns. 

In this blog, we talk a lot about why newborn stem cells from the umbilical cord are unique.  It’s also important to understand what makes CBR unique.  Experience matters.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have made a significant scientific breakthrough by expanding the number of newborn stem cells from a unit of cord blood in the laboratory and then successfully using them to treat patients with leukemia.  The study, which appeared in the Jan.17th issue of Nature Medicine, is the first published report showing success using expanded cord blood stem cells in patients.

The researchers were able to achieve an average 164-fold increase of stem cells and concluded that treating patients with the expanded stem cells restored the blood and immune system more quickly that than those who received only the non-expanded stem cells.

In a Science Daily article, study author Colleen Delaney explains, "The real ground-breaking aspect of this research is that we have shown that you can manipulate stem/progenitor cells in the lab with the goal of increasing their numbers. When given to a person, these cells can rapidly give rise to white blood cells and other components of the blood system."

According to a BBC News report, scientists have been looking for ways to expand the number of cord blood stem cells in the laboratory so that there are enough cells from a single cord to meet the needs of an adult patient.
 
Click here to read the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center press release

Imagine if stem cell therapy could be widely used not only to manage the insult caused by a heart attack, but to reverse the damage and repair the heart.  That day might not be too far off in the future according to a recent human clinical study of 53 heart attack patients published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
 
In the study, researchers used mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), a particular type of stem cell with several unique characteristics which make them of particular interest to investigators.  In a CNN story about the study Jeffrey Karp, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and head of a stem cell lab at Harvard University, explains that MSCs have a “natural homing ability,” and the site of injury acts as a “homing beacon” for them.  Not all stem cells have the same characteristics or capabilities. MSCs have an excellent ability to proliferate, or increase rapidly, and give rise to many types of specialized cells that are the building blocks of connective tissue, bone, cartilage, and the circulatory and lymphatic systems. 

More than 70 clinical trials are already underway using MSCs, and doctors are enthusiastic about the results reported for therapies addressing several conditions, including stroke, heart attack, bone injuries and autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. In addition, because MSCs serve as the foundation of connective tissue, applications in treating common joint and sports injuries may be another potential application with widespread use. MSCs are found in bone marrow, fat tissue, and the umbilical cord.

According to Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine and lead author of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology study, the future looks bright for cardiac patients:

“Mesenchymal stem cells are poised to really be the next major success in cell therapy…” he said.

Click here to read about another study recently reported in the Stem Cell Source showing the reparative ability of stem cells in cardiac disorders.

The newly released book, YOU: Having a Baby, is the latest of the popular “YOU” series of books which focus on the science of the body in a clear, compelling, and easy-to-understand manner (YOU: On a Diet, YOU: Staying Young, etc.).  Here’s what Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen have to say about cord blood: 

Save the Blood

Well before delivery, you’ll be asked whether you would like to bank some of your baby’s cord blood for stem cells. If you are not asked, ask your doc yourself. We recommend that you save the blood. That’s because cord blood can be used to help treat nearly fifty different conditions. In fact, there’s a 1-in-2,700 chance that your child will need that blood by age twenty-one and an even greater chance that somebody in the family will be able to use it. You’ll need to prepare ahead of time if this is something you want done during the delivery. Private cord blood banking costs up to $2,000 to process the specimen, then about $100 a year for maintenance. The public option is free, but as with a regular blood bank, your specimen can be used to help someone else; if your child needs the specimen, you cannot get your sample back.

To learn more about the new pregnancy book, please visit Dr. Oz’s website

Based on data recently published in Cell Transplantation, researchers demonstrated that in a study with sheep, self-donated – also called autologous – cord blood stem cells played an important role in heart repair following surgery.

Human patients undergoing surgical repair for a common congenital heart disease called tetrology of fallot (TOF) often experience blood leakage into the right ventricle of the heart.  This leakage can cause the ventricle to malfunction, resulting in complications that could potentially lead to death.  In this controlled study, 20 sheep underwent heart surgery to simulate the post-surgical condition following repair of TOF.  The researchers of the study wanted to determine if injecting a sheep’s own stem cells from umbilical cord blood was safe and could help protect the right ventricle of the heart from this common side effect of congenital heart surgery. 

Three months following the surgery, ten of the sheep received an injection of their own umbilical cord blood into the right ventricle of the heart, and ten received a placebo injection.  Ninety days following treatment, when physical exertion was simulated in a stress test the speed of contraction and relaxation of the right ventricle was significantly higher (an indication of improved function) in those that received the stem cells compared to those that received the placebo.  In addition, the treated animals showed substantially higher capillary density than the untreated group, leading the researchers to conclude that the cord blood stem cell treatment is safe and may positively influence the function of the heart.

These study results contribute to the growing body of research suggesting that using a child’s own cord blood stem cells may play a therapeutic role in cardiovascular repair, particularly in congenital heart defects.

Click here to view the study

Brandyn Orr was only two years old when he was first diagnosed with leukemia. Determined to do whatever it took to save his life, Brandyn’s family embarked on what would turn out to be an agonizing, three-year course of chemotherapy. Brandyn’s leukemia eventually went into remission, but just six months after completing chemotherapy, he relapsed. At age 6, Brandyn needed a cord blood stem cell transplant as soon as possible in order to survive.  

Fast forward 10 years, and today Brandyn is a healthy 16-year-old, thanks in large part to a transplant of his younger brother Devyn’s cord blood stem cells.  While doctors are exploring new uses of a child’s own stem cells to treat conditions such as traumatic brain injury, cord blood stem cells have already been used for more than 20 years to treat a number of conditions, including leukemia. In fact, one of the first uses of stem cells in medicine was to regenerate healthy blood and immune cells in cancer patients after they received chemotherapy. To date, several medical therapies using cord blood stem cells within the family have benefited nearly all biological siblings of the newborn, like Brandyn and Devyn.

Knowing that cord blood may be able to help Brandyn, his mother Susan had banked Devyn’s cord blood when he was born. Brandyn received his cord blood transplant 10 years ago this month and has been cancer-free ever since.

Susan and Brandyn recently told their story on Phoenix, Arizona’s Channel 3 News.  “I highly recommend saving cord blood,” Brandyn says. “Just like it saved my life, it could save your child’s life.”

CBR recently processed and stored the newborn stem cells from the cord blood of its 300,000th client.  This is a milestone that’s important not just because of its sheer size, but, more importantly, because of what it means for CBR’s leadership role in advancing regenerative medicine.

A population of 300,000 people is equivalent to a mid-sized U.S. city like New Orleans, Pittsburgh or Tampa.   What happens to the children in cities of this size can also happen to the children whose parents made the decision to entrust the preservation of their child’s newborn stem cells with CBR.

Based on U.S. government data on the incidence of disease, this means that of the children who have newborn stem cells safely stored at CBR, by the age of six:

• 1,832 may suffer a traumatic brain injury;
• 925 may suffer from cerebral palsy;
• 718 may have suffered acquired hearing loss; and
• 189 may suffer a stroke – either before birth or after.

These are all neurological conditions that have no cure today.  However, a growing body of research suggests that the newborn stem cells from a child’s own cord blood may play a role in changing the course of these conditions by helping the body to regenerate damaged tissue and restore lost function.

To help advance this research, CBR’s Center for Regenerative Medicine is playing the critical role of matching the researchers who are focused on evaluating the use of cord blood in the treatment of these conditions . . . with the children who have these conditions . . . AND who have access to their own newborn stem cells.

As CBR assists more researchers in initiating human clinical trials, individuals who have access to their own newborn stem cells may be among the first to benefit from these emerging new therapies. 

However, in order for researchers to be able to know what’s possible with newborn stem cells, they must be saved.  We salute the parents and families of the 300,000+ children whose cells are stored with us for their foresight and confidence in the potential of regenerative medicine.  We, too, look to the future with great optimism and are committed to leading the advancement of regenerative stem cell medicine.

Some of the most enthusiastic proponents of cord blood banking are families who have firsthand knowledge of its benefits, and the Levine family is no exception. In a one-year follow up story, Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News follows the progress of Chloe Levine, a girl with cerebral palsy who was treated with her own newborn stem cells.

When Chloe was one year old, her parents, Jenny and Ryan, received news that she had suffered from an in-utero stroke before birth, resulting in a diagnosis of right-sided Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. Fortunately the Levines had banked Chloe’s cord blood with CBR, which allowed her to undergo an infusion of her own stem cells as part of a study at Duke University. 

Prior to her treatment, Chloe held her hand in a tight fist, was not holding a bottle, couldn’t push herself up, and was not able to crawl like other babies her age, instead shuffling across the room.  Within four days of Chloe’s infusion, the Levines began to see dramatic changes in their little girl. Chloe, who was nearly paralyzed on her right side, began to lose the rigidity and stiffness in her body, could lift both arms over her head, and began running and jumping.  Today, Fox News reports that Chloe’s progress is still evident: "Her life is completely normal, she doesn’t drag her right foot, she can use her right hand," Jenny Levine said. "She rides a bike, a scooter…we’re taking her skiing this year. She’s fabulous."

Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, professor of pediatrics and pathology at Duke University who is conducting the cerebral palsy study, said she “does not know how long the effects of cord blood will last on kids like Chloe, but if there is a good chance it will be ‘durable and last indefinitely’."

Chloe’s stem cell treatment represents a growing area of interest where researchers today are investigating the use of one’s own cord blood to treat ailments such as brain injury, neurological disorders, and type I diabetes.  Considering the emerging research in the field, the value of cord blood stem cells is not always realized.  Dr. Charles Cox, an expert in pediatric brain injury at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston points out that if parents choose not to save their child’s cord blood, it is discarded as medical waste. 

"Really, the issue of cord blood banking today comes down to trying to understand what the future holds in terms of regenerative medicine as a field," Cox said. "So, the long-term look is, and even the intermediate-term look is that it’s not science-fiction. I see it expanding and accelerating over the next two to five years."

View the Fox News Health video story about Chloe’s post reinfusion here

Read about Chloe’s story online at FoxNews.com

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is damage to the brain caused by a blow to the head. The resulting injury may be minor and have no lasting effect, or major and result in significant disability or death.  The mortality rate for children following severe TBI ranges from 14-24 percent. While medical and surgical advances have improved the odds of surviving a TBI there is currently no therapy to reverse the injury.

New research presented earlier this week at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2009 Annual Meeting demonstrated improvements in children with TBI who received infusions of their bone marrow stem cells.  The study which is being led by Dr. Charles Cox of the University of Texas, Houston, is an early clinical trial to determine the safety of harvesting and transplanting children’s own bone marrow cells soon after they have suffered a TBI.  The study is also trying to determine if outcomes are improved following the cell transplant.

The interim results of the study presented by Dr. Cox concluded that no deaths or significant adverse events were associated with the harvest or transplant of bone marrow cells in study participants.  Neurological and functional improvements were also demonstrated over the course of the study.

This is exciting news for the field of regenerative medicine and has direct relevance for individuals with access to their own cord blood stem cells.  A growing body of evidence suggests that cord blood stem cells can potentially play a role in repairing central nervous system injuries. In comparison to bone marrow, cord blood stem cells are easier to collect and because they are young and undifferentiated cells, have a great ability to multiply.  Autologous stem cells have a long and established clinical record of safe and effective use in humans and researchers plan to conduct studies using cord blood for TBI and other nervous system regenerative applications. 
You can read more about the causes and prognosis associated with TBI in our October 21st post to The Stem Cell Source, or on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), sports-related concussions, which are a form of brain injury, are an epidemic in the U.S. with as many as three million of these injuries occurring annually.  A recent episode of 60-Minutes examined this issue and a study linking concussions to brain disease.  The study conducted by the University of North Carolina looked at retired NFL players and found a correlation between the number of concussions and the onset of dementia and depression.

And while concussion is often a more mild form of brain injury, it is estimated that nearly 1.4 million people in the U.S. sustain a more serious form of brain injury or traumatic brain injury (TBI) annually.  The leading causes of TBI are falls and traffic accidents and the two age groups at highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds.  While most cases of TBI are not severe, estimates are that more than 5.3 million Americans have life-long need for help to perform activities of daily living due to some form of brain injury.

With growing understanding of the risks and prevalence of brain injury, there is also more research into therapies to improve outcomes. Previously, there's been no therapy that can repair damage to brain tissue. But stem cells are one area of research that offers promise for healing nerve and brain cells.  Research in animal studies has demonstrated the ability of cord blood stem cells to migrate to injured areas of the brain after trauma.

That's why the CBR Center for Regenerative Medicine has made this area of medicine a priority focus and is helping to facilitate groundbreaking research at a growing number of U.S. medical centers evaluating the use of a child’s own cord blood to improve outcomes after a variety of brain injuries including anoxic brain injury at birth, cerebral palsy, and TBI.

CBR is committed to helping to advance the promise of regenerative medicine around brain injury.  Visit the CBR Web site to learn more about research on brain injury and stem cells. 

Researchers at the Salk Institute announced last week that they successfully reprogrammed cord blood cells to function like embryonic stem cells.  As reported by Science Daily, the institute’s study results are significant because they identify cord blood as a convenient source of versatile stem cells with theoretically limitless potential.

Embryonic stem cells have been the focus of scientific interest because they are considered “pluripotent,” which literally means “many potentials” (pluri + potent).  Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to generate all of the various cell types in the body.  However, the collection of embryonic stem cells raises ethical controversy because the embryo is destroyed in the process.

Induced pluipotent stem cells (iPS) are created by collecting tissue from child or adult tissue without harm to the individual and then genetically modifying the cells to behave like embryonic cells with pluripotent characteristics. 

According to Juan-Carolos Izpisua Belmonte, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk Institute’s Gene Expression Laboratory who led the study, “Cord blood stem cells could serve as a safe, “ready-to-use” source for the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), since they are easily accessible, immunologically immature and quick to return to an embryonic stem cell-like state.” 

The cord blood stem cells used in this research passed all standard tests for pluripotency and were also more readily and quickly reprogrammed than other adult cells. According to Dr. Belmonte with cord blood stem cells “It’s almost like they are already half-way there.” 

Dr. Belmonte’s next goal is to reprogram cord blood stem cells using methods that are safe for clinical trials in humans. 

Individuals who have banked their baby’s cord blood stem cells for their own use could be among the first to have access to a wide range of potential new therapies as they become available.  According to another study author, Ulrich Martin from Hannover Medical School in Germany, privately banked cord blood might actually be the source of a sufficient amount of cells to treat adults who develop diseases later in life – for example, heart disease – with cells derived from their own cord blood.

Read more about this news from the Salk Institute researchers.

Expectant parents in Ohio could soon benefit from better information about their options to preserve the stem cells in their baby’s umbilical cord blood if the state Senate passes a well-supported, bi-partisan education bill that has already been passed by the House. 
  
House Bill 102 would require the Ohio Department of Health to provide cord blood banking information and encourage health care professionals to educate parents about the options to preserve the stem cells for family use or donate them for public use.
 
Similar legislation has already been enacted in 17 other states, yet despite recent legislative advances, published research shows that three out of every four pregnant women consider themselves only “minimally informed” about their cord blood banking options.    

Cord blood education is good health policy.  In 2004, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommended that all pregnant women be educated about cord blood stem cells early enough in pregnancy for them to make an informed decision about the options to preserve these valuable cells. 

If you live in Ohio, you can make a difference! Contact your state senator and ask them to support Ohio House Bill 102. You can find information about your state senator and other key senate leaders at www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/. With your help, we can help ensure that more pregnant women receive information about the value of their baby’s cord blood stem cells and their options for preserving them.

On September 23rd, organizations around the world dedicated to advancing stem cell science and regenerative therapies will come together
to mark Stem Cell Awareness Day. The Day is an opportunity to celebrate the progress we’ve made in regenerative medicine and to look ahead toward the advances still to come. With its rich supply of stem cells, umbilical cord blood plays a significant role in furthering stem cell research. 

If you’d like to get involved, there are several ways to mark the day and show your support of stem cell research:

• Have a way with words? Then consider entering a stem cell poetry contest sponsored by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in honor of Stem Cell Awareness Day. To participate, submit your poem to stemcellday@cirm.ca.gov before the September 14 deadline. 

• Get involved with events and activities held in your area. You can find a list of events by location at www.stemcellday.com.

• Tell a pregnant friend about the medial value of umbilical cord blood stem cells and how they’ve been saving lives for over 20 years and have been used in the treatment of nearly 80 serious diseases, including leukemia, other cancers, and blood disorders. By spreading the word, you can help advance stem cell science.

To learn more about Stem Cell Awareness Day, visit www.stemcellday.com.

Helping parents protect and celebrate the health of their children is CBR’s primary mission and a driving force behind everything we do. 

Years ago, we decided to start sending every child whose cord blood is banked with us a copy of Karen Katz’s classic children’s story, “Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?” on his or her first birthday.  It’s a tradition that serves as a reminder to us – and to our clients – about what makes CBR unique.

This year we decided to take this tradition one step further.  Since our inception, a driving force of our culture has been to “give back” to the communities we serve.  It is in this spirit that we are pleased to announce a new partnership we have formed with First Candle, a leading national nonprofit organization focused on promoting safe pregnancies and the survival of babies through the first years of life.

In recognition of our common goal – ensuring that more babies achieve a happy, healthy first birthday – CBR is making an annual donation to First Candle in celebration of our clients' first birthdays.  Our contribution is intended to highlight the great work that First Candle does as well as to recognize the work that is still left to do.

First Candle provides a wealth of resources for new and expectant parents during pregnancy and after delivery as well as a wide range of information for nurses and other healthcare providers.  For more information about First Candle, you can visit their Website at http://www.firstcandle.org/.