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.