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The Recent Successes In Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplant
By Alvin Toh

Cord blood stem cells can treat over 75 diseases, immune deficiencies and
other conditions. More parents are banking their newborn's cord blood as a
medical insurance for the family. Cord blood can either be stored at a
private or public cord blood bank.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells and Parkinson's disease
Umbilical cord blood stem cells have been successfully used to treat
Parkinson's disease. Although stem cells have been used to treat Parkinson's
disease abroad for some time, it is still considered experimental and
controversial in America. The first American to undergo cord blood stem cell
treatment was Penny Thomas. She was in the advanced stages of Parkinson and
was looking for treatment options. After attempting to contact many
treatment centers, she emailed one in China. She underwent a surgery where 3
million cord blood stem cells were injected into the putamen part of her
brain. After the surgery, her symptoms reduced significantly and doctors are
now weaning her off of her medication.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells and leukemia
Cord blood stem cells are commonly used to treat childhood leukemia. In
recent years, adults with leukemia have been successfully treated with
transplantation of cord blood stem cells from unrelated donors. One case is
that of Stephen Sprague who was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
(CML) in 1995. Although a normally slow moving cancer in his case,
chemotherapy only kept it in check for 17 months. The only hope was a stem
cell transplant. A matching bone marrow donor could not be found so he
turned to a new clinical trial being conducted on final stage adult leukemia
patients, using umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat cancer. Mr. Sprague
underwent the treatment in November 1997, and has now been cancer free for
over nine years.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells and multiple sclerosis (MS)
Cord blood stem cell transplantation has given hope to multiple sclerosis
sufferers like Patricia Frost. Mrs. Frost has suffered from MS for 14 years
and has been confined to a wheelchair for the last 10 years. She also lost
the use of her arms. Stem cell treatment was her only hope but is not
licensed in the UK and only a few private clinics offer the treatment
anywhere in the world. She sought umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy
from the private Preventative Medicine Clinic in the Netherlands. Within an
hour of receiving the stem cell treatment, she was able to turn her head and
partially lift her arms. These are functions that she said were previously
lost. Clinical trials are being conducted and the UK is planning to invest
100 million pounds into this research.
In recent years, cord blood has emerged as a source for stem cell
transplantation as it contains hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that can
develop into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The ongoing
stem cell research for treatment of diseases is promising. Patients who
suffer from previously fatal diseases and debilitating conditions have found
hope in cord blood stem cell therapy.
Cord blood transplant is becoming increasingly important for treatment of
life-threatening blood diseases. It is an alternative option to marrow
transplant. If you are an expecting parent, find out why you should bank
your baby's cord blood at http://www.storingcordblood.com/home
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alvin_Toh

Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
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