What a way to ring in the New Year! 2011 kicks off with some exciting news for cord blood stem cell research -   The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has officially launched an FDA-regulated trial looking at cord blood stem cells in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study is being performed in partnership with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, UTHealth’s major children’s teaching hospital.

Led by Dr. Charles Cox, professor and chief of Pediatric Trauma at the UTHealth Medical School, the study will enroll 10 children ages 18 months to 17 years who have suffered a TBI within 6-18 months of their injury and who also have access to their own cord blood stem cells at Cord Blood Registry.  Read more about the trial here.

 “This is the first trial authorized by the FDA to evaluate the use of autologous cord blood stem cells as a medical intervention to potentially treat TBI,” says Dr. Cox, who also directs the Pediatric Trauma Program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Until recently, medical experts believed the brain had limited capacity to recover from severe trauma or injury.  As a result, treatment protocols focus on stabilizing patients to minimize damage and manage symptoms of the injury.  This Phase I trial will evaluate the safety of the use of cord blood stem cells to help recover and repair damage in the brain. 

Cord Blood Registry (CBR) is partnering with a growing number of clinical researchers focusing on the use of a child’s own cord blood stem cells to help treat pediatric brain injury.  To ensure consistency in cord blood stem cell processing, storage and release for infusion, both UTHealth, together with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the Georgia Health Sciences University, home of the Medical College of Georgia, have named CBR as their cord blood bank partner in their FDA-authorized protocols.  This makes CBR the only family cord blood bank able to link its clients as potential clinical trial participants with researchers conducting these studies.

Visit the CBR Center for Regenerative Medicine to learn more about these partnerships.