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Joan, I'll give it a try. According to the following explanation from the NIH 's report "Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions" , umbilical cord blood stem cells are considered to be a type of hematopoietic (blood forming) stem cell. "A hematpoietic stem cell is a cell isolated from the blood or bone marrow that can renew itself, can differentiate to a variety of specialized cells, can mobilize out of the bone marrow into circulating blood, and can undergo programmmed cell death." The sources of these cells are: bone marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood. They are currently being used to treat certain types of diseases ( but not PD or other neurological diseases) see below: FROM: Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions , ch. 5 " With more than 50 years of experience studying blood-forming stem cells called hematopoietic stem cells, scientists have developed sufficient understanding to actually use them as a therapy. Currently, no other type of stem cell, adult, fetal or embryonic, has attained such status. Hematopoietic stem cell transplants are now routinely used to treat patients with cancers and other disorders of the blood and immune systems. Recently, researchers have observed in animal studies that hematopoietic stem cells appear to be able to form other kinds of cells, such as muscle, blood vessels, and bone. If this can be applied to human cells, it may eventually be possible to use hematopoietic stem cells to replace a wider array of cells and tissues than once thought. "Despite the vast experience with hematopoietic stem cells, scientists face major roadblocks in expanding their use beyond the replacement of blood and immune cells. First, hematopoietic stem cells are unable to proliferate (replicate themselves) and differentiate (become specialized to other cell types) in vitro (in the test tube or culture dish). Second, scientists do not yet have an accurate method to distinguish stem cells from other cells recovered from the blood or bone marrow. Until scientists overcome these technical barriers, they believe it is unlikely that hematopoietic stem cells will be applied as cell replacement therapy in diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, spinal cord injury, and many others...." Umbilical Cord Blood "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, physicians began to recognize that blood from the human umbilical cord and placenta was a rich source of HSCs. This tissue supports the developing fetus during pregnancy, is delivered along with the baby, and, is usually discarded. Since the first successful umbilical cord blood transplants in children with Fanconi anemia, the collection and therapeutic use of these cells has grown quickly. The New York Blood Center’s Placental Blood Program, supported by NIH, is the largest U.S. public umbilical cord blood bank and now has 13,000 donations available for transplantation into small patients who need HSCs. Since it began collecting umbilical cord blood in 1992, the center has provided thousands of cord blood units to patients. Umbilical cord blood recipients—typically children— have now lived in excess of eight years, relying on the HSCs from an umbilical cord blood transplant " Report home page: http://stemcells.nih.gov/stemcell/scireport.asp Chapter on hematopoietic stem cells http://stemcells.nih.gov/stemcell/pdfs/chapter5.pdf -------------------------------------- I think by trying to compare the research or possible therapeutic value of cord blood cells with embryonic stem cells, we get into similar problems as when people compare adult and embryonic stem cell research. I think too little is currently known about any type of stem cells to be able to claim that their possible future therapeutic benefits will be the same for all types of diseases, or that one type of stem cell could be substituted for another. I am not aware of any current Parkinson's research involving umbilical cord blood stem cells. Maybe others are. I have read about two rodent studies that have showed promise for actually treating PD symptoms with embryonic stem cells. Dr. Ron McKay of the NIH was able to convert human embryonic stem cells into doamine producing cells. When these cells were transplanted into mice , their Parkinson-like symptoms were alleviated. Additionally last Sept., researchers at Sloan Kettering reported successfully using therapeutic cloning techniques to cure symptoms of Parkinson's disease in mice. " The findings show therapeutic cloning "is not just a theoretical idea but that it can work in an animal model and cure symptoms of a disease," said Dr. Lorenz Studer, who led the new study and heads the Stem Cell and Tumor Biology Laboratory at Sloan Kettering.... The study appears in the October issue of Nature Biotechnology. " Someday, unbilical cord stem cells might be able to be used to form dopamine producing neural cells and be transplanted into the brain to treat PD. Or possibly adult stem cells will be found to offer the most promise. Or maybe embryonic stem cells might prove to be the key to the cure -- but we won't know unless research on all types of stem cells is allowed to continued. Linda On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 17:21:36 -0600 Joan E Snyder <[log in to unmask]> writes: > hello. i need help please. i am asking anyone and everyone on this > list, > not for their opinion (i'm sure that everyone has one--but i need > straight talk and medical research) to help me to understand the > differnece between embroyonic stem cells and cord blood stem cells. > is > one supurior to the other...is one completely without merit when it > comes to possibily curing neurological disorders and is one > completely > sure to hold the "cure?" i am asking because i need to know this > informationl. Dr. Barglow, Raj, Dr. Etzold or Dr. Fink: anyone care > to > take this on?? > > -- > > Joan E. Blessington Snyder 51/13 > http://www.pwnkle.com/jes/jes_web/index.htm > <[log in to unmask]> > "Hang tough...........no way through it but to do it." > Chris-in-the-Morning (Northern Exposure) > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn