Data Presented on Treating Brain Injury in Children with Their Own Cells

PublicAffairs — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:09:00 GMT

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.

Brain Injury and Potential of Newborn Stem Cell Therapy

PublicAffairs — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:37:00 GMT

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.

The Stem Cell Source : brain injury

Data Presented on Treating Brain Injury in Children with Their Own Cells

Brain Injury and Potential of Newborn Stem Cell Therapy