University of South Florida researchers: Stem Cells Help Repair Traumatic Brain Injury

University of South Florida researchers have suggested a new view of how stem cells may help repair the brain following trauma. In a series of preclinical experiments, they report that transplanted cells appear to build a "biobridge" that links an uninjured brain site where new neural stem cells are born with the damaged region of the brain.

Their findings were recently reported online in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE. Principal investigator Cesar Borlongan, PhD, professor and director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair said, "The transplanted stem cells serve as migratory cues for the brain’s own neurogenic cells, guiding the exodus of these newly formed host cells from their neurogenic niche towards the injured brain tissue."

Based in part on the data reported by the USF researchers in this preclinical study, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a limited clinical trial to transplant SanBio Inc’s SB632 cells (an adult stem cell therapy) in patients with traumatic brain injury.

Stem cells are undifferentiated, or blank, cells with the potential to give rise to many different cell types that carry out different functions. While the stem cells in adult bone marrow or umbilical cord blood tend to develop into the cells that make up the organ system from which they originated, these multipotent stem cells can be manipulated to take on the characteristics of neural cells.

To date, there have been two widely-held views on how stem cells may work to provide potential treatments for brain damage caused by injury or neurodegenerative disorders. One school of thought is that stem cells implanted into the brain directly replace dead or dying cells. The other, more recent view is that transplanted stem cells secrete growth factors that indirectly rescue the injured tissue.

The USF study presents evidence for a third concept of stem-cell mediated brain repair.

The researchers randomly assigned rats with traumatic brain injury and confirmed neurological impairment to one of two groups. One group received transplants of bone marrow-derived stem cells (SB632 cells) into the region of the brain affected by traumatic injury. The other (control group) received a sham procedure in which solution alone was infused into the brain with no implantation of stem cells.

At one and three months post-TBI, the rats receiving stem cell transplants showed significantly better motor and neurological function and reduced brain tissue damage compared to rats receiving no stem cells. These robust improvements were observed even though survival of the transplanted cells was modest and diminished over time.

The researchers then conducted a series of experiments to examine the host brain tissue.

At three months post-traumatic brain injury, the brains of transplanted rats showed massive cell proliferation and differentiation of stem cells into neuron-like cells in the area of injury, the researchers found. This was accompanied by a solid stream of stem cells migrating from the brain’s uninjured subventricular zone — a region where many new stem cells are formed – to the brain’s site of injury.

In contrast, the rats receiving solution alone showed limited proliferation and neural-commitment of stem cells, with only scattered migration to the site of brain injury and virtually no expression of newly formed cells in the subventricular zone. Without the addition of transplanted stem cells, the brain’s self-repair process appeared insufficient to mount a defense against the cascade of traumatic brain injury-induced cell death.

The researchers conclude that the transplanted stem cells create a neurovascular matrix that bridges the long-distance gap between the region in the brain where host neural stem cells arise and the site of injury. This pathway, or “biobridge,” ferries the newly emerging host cells to the specific place in the brain in need of repair, helping promote functional recovery from traumatic brain injury.

Source: www.sciencedaily.com

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Canada's public umbilical cord blood bank launches in Ottawa

Canada’s first national public blood bank for umbilical cord blood is set to begin taking donations.

On Monday, an Ottawa hospital became the first in Canada to accept umbilical cord blood donations for the National Public Cord Blood Bank.

Once the bank is fully up and running healthy pregnant women 18 years or older will be able to donate at collection hospitals in Ottawa, Brampton, Ont., Edmonton and Vancouver.

Dr. Clifford Librach says the launch of the public bank taking donations for use in non-family patients will spread the word about umbilical cord donations. The National Public Cord Blood Bank will let the public donate instead of discard umbilical cords, which are a rich source of desperately needed stem cells.

Canadian Blood Services said, approximately 1,000 Canadians are waiting for life-saving stem cell transplants to treat diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma or aplastic anemia.

While only mothers in Ottawa can donate to the blood bank, by mid-2014, people in Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver will be able to donate.

Although it will be the first time mothers in Edmonton can donate to a public cord blood bank, it won’t be the first time donations would be open – John Akabutu created the Alberta Cord Blood Bank, and has been collecting donations of cord blood from across Canada since 1996, mostly funded through private donations.

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New Mississippi Law: To reduce teen pregnancy with cord-blood law

The law took effect July 1 but hasn't been used yet. Cord blood samples would have to be taken immediately after birth, and the state medical examiner is setting administrative rules for how the blood will be collected and stored.

If a girl younger than 16 gives birth and won't name the father, a new Mississippi law says authorities must collect umbilical cord blood and run DNA tests to prove paternity as a step toward prosecuting statutory rape cases.

The new law says it's reasonable to think a sex crime has been committed against a minor if the baby's mother won't identify the father or lists him as unknown, or if the identified father disputes paternity, is 21 or older, or is deceased. The law says health care workers and facilities cannot face civil or criminal penalties for collecting cord blood, and failure to collect is a misdemeanor offense. The law doesn't address whether the mother can refuse blood collection or what would happen to her if she does.

The DNA tests could lead to prosecution of grown men who have sex with underage girls, said Republican Gov. Phil Bryant.

Bryant's staff says the idea for the law came from public meetings conducted by the governor's teen pregnancy prevention task force — a group that focuses mostly on promoting abstinence.

Megan Comlossy, health policy associate for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said she thinks Mississippi is the first state to enact a law authorizing the collection of blood from the umbilical cord — a painless procedure — to determine paternity.

Supporters say the law is intended to chip away at Mississippi's teen pregnancy rate, which has long been one of the highest in the nation. But critics say that though the procedure is painless, it invades the medical privacy of the mother, father and baby. And questions abound: At roughly $1,000 a pop, who will pay for the DNA tests in the country's poorest state? Even after test results arrive, can prosecutors compel a potential father to submit his own DNA and possibly implicate himself in a crime? How long will the state keep the DNA on file?

But Bear Atwood, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, said it's an invasion of privacy to collect cord blood without consent of the mother, father and baby. She also said that an underage girl who doesn't want to reveal the identity of her baby's father might skip prenatal care: "Will she decide not to have the baby in a hospital where she can have a safe, happy, healthy delivery?"

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/

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The Regeneration of The Spinal Cord Claimed

The Japan Times report that A leading researcher into severe spinal cord injuries says trials for stem cell therapy have shown groundbreaking results in giving immobile patients the ability to walk again. The treatment involves injecting umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells into patients’ damaged spines to help regenerate nerves, while lithium is used to promote the growth of the nerve fibers.

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Wise Young, the chief executive officer of China Spinal Cord Injury Network said that on average, 15 out of 20 patients in the Chinese city of Kunming who received umbilical cord blood cell transplants and intensive walking therapy were able to walk with minimal assistance seven years after complete spinal cord injury.

Each component of the combination therapy will be tested in the third phase, which Young said would involve 120 patients in China and another 120 across India, Norway and the United States.

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Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

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Toxins found in umbilical cord blood of newborns

Credit: http://environmentaldefence.ca

According to a report, Detectable levels of a large number of environmental chemicals have been found in the cord blood of some newborns, raising concerns that Canadian children already carry toxins in their bodies at birth. The report was released on Wednesday by Environmental Defense.

Some of the chemicals tested for are linked to serious health conditions such as cancer, and developmental and reproductive problems.

Environmental Defence tested the umbilical cord blood of three anonymous newborns in Toronto and Hamilton, finding a total of 137 chemicals overall. The number of toxins in each baby's cord blood ranged from 55 to 121.

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Many of the chemicals are linked to serious health conditions: 132 are reported to cause cancer in humans or animals; 110 are considered toxic to the brain and nervous system; and 133 cause developmental and reproductive problems in mammals.

Toxins that were found in the babies’ umbilical cords study were flame retardants, lead, organochlorine pesticides and perfluorochemical (PFCs), a chemical found in non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, coatings on some food packaging such as microwave popcorn bags, and fast food wrappers.

In addition, some banned chemicals were also detected in the study’s findings, suggesting that toxic chemical can persist in our bodies and in the environment for years.

The group expressed concern that their findings indicated that infants are exposed to chemicals in the womb because of the widespread pervasiveness of these pollutants in the environment and in consumer goods.

Environmental groups have been asking the federal government to take actions to ensure that toxic chemicals are not used in industry or products.

In response to the study, Douglas Haines, director of Health Canada’s Chemicals Surveillance Bureau, said it was too early to conclude how bad the exposure is on the human body.
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The report, Pre-Polluted: A Report on Toxic Substances in the Umbilical Cord Blood of Canadian Newborns, can be downloaded at www.environmentaldefence.ca

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