Lifeline Cord Blood

Intravenous infusion of UC-MSC was safe in this group of patients with stable HFrEF under optimal medical treatment. Improvements in left ventricular function, functional status and quality of life were observed in patients treated with UC-MSCs.

Stem cell therapies have been expected to bring substantial benefit to patients suffering a wide range of diseases and injuries. It was expected that the benefits of bone marrow transplants for patients needing reconstruction of their hematopoietic and immune systems would apply to stem cell transplants of other cell types, and optimism has been high for the utilization of pluripotent stem cell types (embryonic stem cells [ESCs] and induced pluripotent stem cells [iPSCs]) for a variety of applications.

Stem cell transplantation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has the potential to be “an important alternative strategy” in treating the disease, a new study suggests.

The MSC trial can complement the growing fields of personalized medicine and biologics (products isolated from natural sources such as humans or animals, produced with biotechnology, to become medicines). “This current trial is opening the door to precision medicine,” says Dr. Chahal. “It’s very exciting, and it allows us at UHN to create an infrastructure for world-class clinical trials related to stem cell therapy for arthritis. The next step is to become a world leader.”

For Barbara, the trial has improved her world, allowing her to occasionally don high heels and smile a lot more because she’s in less pain. “Sometimes I even forget about my knee.”

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Scientists have found that injecting a particular type of stem cells into infertile female rats can restore the function of their ovaries, and say their findings could pave the way for a similar treatment for humans.

Recent clinical trials of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation have demonstrated procedural safety and clinical proof of principle with a modest indication of benefit in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Cell-based therapy represents a promising strategy in the treatment of neurological disorders. Human umbilical cord tissue has recently been recognized as an ideal source of mesenchymal stromal cells due to accessibility, vast abundance and safety. Here, an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) rat model was established by injection of bacterial collagenase VII and CM-DiI labeled human umbilical cord tissue derived mesenchymal stromal cells (UC-MSC) were intracerebrally transplanted into rat brain 24h after ICH.

Umbilical cord stem cells may be useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Animal and in vitro experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy, have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) taken from umbilical cord blood can suppress inflammation and attenuate collagen-induced arthritis.

When injected into the bloodstream, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) — cells that can grow into different cell types and have potent regeneration properties — can temporarily reduce pain, skin itching and blistering, and improve the quality of life of children and adults with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB).

Despite those promising findings from a Phase 1/2a clinical trial, investigators in South Korea said that larger studies will be needed to define the optimal doses and frequency at which these cells should be given to patients, as well as to assess the long-term effects of this form of therapy.

"We are encouraged by our findings because they could pave the way to a non-invasive, promising new therapy for a group of patients who face grim odds," said study corresponding author Fernando Figueroa, M.D., professor of medicine at the Universidad de los Andes in Chile.
In this trial, 30 patients, ages 18 to 75, with stable heart failure receiving optimal drug therapy underwent intravenous infusions with either umbilical cord-derived stem cells or placebo. The umbilical cords were obtained from full-term human placentas from healthy donors by caesarean section after informed consent.

Below I will address 3 topics: 

1. What is the structure of the umbilical cord and what cells can be harvested?
2. What cells are being used in current cell therapies employing umbilical cord tissue?
3. What are the diseases treated with umbilical cord cells today?

We show that WJ has in vitro osteogenic differentiation capacity and in vivo, enhances bone growth in animal cleft palate models indicating its potential use as a natural tissue engineering construct for regenerative clinical applications. The success of this approach would represent a paradigm shift in the treatment of CLP patients by reducing or eliminating the need for subsequent bone grafting.

Abstract:

Wharton’s jelly (WJ) is a gelatinous tissue within the umbilical cord that contains myofibroblast-like stromal cells. A unique cell population of WJ that has been suggested as displaying the stemness phenotype is the mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs).