Umbilical Cord Stem Cells May Repair Brain Injury, University of South
Florida Researchers Find
TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Stem cells derived from human
umbilical cord blood may help restore brain function after disease or injury,
according to new studies from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa
and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Research was conducted by Paul R.
Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc., Director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair.
Results of several studies were presented Feb. 18 in San Francisco at a
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
For the first time, the researchers have shown that human umbilical cord
stem cells, obtained after birth, can be reprogrammed to act as brain cells
(neurons and glia). Until now, umbilical cord stem cells have been used to
fight blood diseases, such as leukemia, in children.
"What we know from this is that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells
able to differentiate into neural cells," Dr. Sanberg said. Stem cells are
multipotent cells -- able to grow into other kinds of cells.
"This finding suggests that umbilical cord blood is a noncontroversial,
readily available source of stem cells for brain repair and could provide an
alternative to using embryonic cells.
"We already know that stem cells derived from embryonic tissue may be
effective in rebuilding the damaged brain in diseases like Parkinson's and
stroke," Dr. Sanberg said.
In a related study, the team went on to inject human umbilical cord cells
in rats with stroke and had surprising results that suggest that these stem
cells can restore function after stroke.
"In the rats, the effects were fairly rapid, and new cord-derived cells
could be seen clearly on the stroke side of the brain," Dr. Sanberg said.
The studies are funded through Florida's I-4 Corridor initiative. The
state awarded its grant based on the USF group's collaboration and funding
from CCEL Bio-Therapies, Inc., a subsidiary of CRYO-CELL International, Inc.,
of Clearwater, Fla., which provided the cord blood to the research team.
USF researchers are involved in several clinical trials using cell
implants into the brain to treat Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease,
and the damage caused by stroke.
SOURCE Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc.
