Sunday 28 June 2015

Use of stem cells | Cord Blood VS. Bone marrow transplants

Cord blood transplants and bone marrow transplants is accustomed treat several of constant diseases. however what area unit the variations and is one better?

Although ,cord blood has some major benefits over bone marrow. For one, bone marrow transplants work best with a 6 out of 6 HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) match, however, cord blood works well with a 3-5 out of 6 HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) match.

Also, as a result of the cord blood cells are "immature" than adult bone marrow cells and are able to develop into any other kind of cell due to which, there's less probability that they're going to attack the host body. that is most likely why cord blood is used for transplants though it isn't an ideal match.

Another advantage is that when cord blood is given to a public bank anyone in United Nations agency is sick will use it right away! And it is frozen up to 10 years and still work.

With bone marrow transplants, doctors got to search through databases to seek out folks that have volunteered to give their marrow. Obtaining bone marrow from donors is terribly painful and leads to future health issues as bone marrow cells are extracted by drilling the bone marrow and must be used contemporary.



So what is the draw back of cord blood? Well, one drawback is that the quantity of blood from one cord and placenta is extremely little. that is not such an enormous drawback once victimization cord blood on youngsters , however, adults are larger and wish additional blood cells.

Scientists are figuring out alternative ways to urge around these issues. One is transplantation two batches of cord blood. Another is attempting to use special tricks to extend the amount of cells in one batch of cord blood.

It's been twenty years since the primary cord blood transplant. Over 6,000 are recorded and for several diseases it's even as sensible and typically even higher than bone marrow transplants. As scientists learn additional concerning cord blood stem cells we'll doubtless get even higher at set diseases.

Saturday 20 June 2015

Cord Blood stem cells | Current uses and future challenges

This is in continuation to list of treatable diseases using stem cells. Moving further, I want you to know what exactly the umbilical cord blood is and how it is being collected.Apart from this I am going to discuss in detail about the future aspects of cord blood stem cells.

Umbilical cord blood was once disposed of as waste material however is presently known for the immature stem cells. Further it has been utilized to treat people with certain blood disorders since 1989.

About Umbilical cord blood 

Once a child is conceived, it is attached to his mother with a cord which consequitively attached with placenta present inside mother's womb and on completion of gestation period cord blood is left in the umbilical cord and placenta. It is moderately simple to gather, with no danger to the mother or child. It contains Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC's) and Mesenchymal Stem Cells(MSC's) which are being used for the treatment of all the blood related and organ related disorders respectively.

Representation of how baby attached to the mother via Umbilical cord
Reference : http://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2013/05/22/delay-of-umbilical-cord-clamping-126098/


How cord blood is collected 
Reference : http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sampling

Cord blood medicines today 

Cord blood is utilized to treat individuals who are suffering from deadly blood related disorders,for example, leukemia, or hereditary blood infections like Fanconi paleness. The cord blood is transplanted into the patient, where the HSCs can make new cells, and help in the recovery of the patient post therapy.

Apart from the blood, cord can also be used for the extraction of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. These cells are helpful for the treatment of organ related disorders like arthritis,  blindness, Type-2 Diebities etc.

Momentum exploration: blood ailments 

A noteworthy confinement of Cord blood transplantation is that the blood acquired from umbilical cord contains lesser number of haematopoeitic stem cells as compared to bone marrow due to which at times treating grown up patients become a challenge for therapists with limited number of cells available. A transplant containing excessively few HSCs may fall flat or could prompt moderate development of fresh recruits in the body. This genuine muddling has been part of the way overcome by transplanting blood from two umbilical lines into grown-ups.  

Much research is centered around attempting to build the quantity of HSCs that can be acquired from one cord blood test by developing and duplicating the cells in the lab. This is known as "ex vivo extension". A few preparatory clinical trials utilizing this method are in progress. The outcomes so far are blended: a few outcomes propose that ex vivo development diminishes the time taken for fresh recruits cells to show up in the body after transplantation; notwithstanding, grown-up patients still seem to need blood from two different umbilical lines . More research is expected to comprehend whether there is a genuine advantage for patients, and this methodology has yet to be affirmed for routine clinical utilization. 

What's to come in future ?

Specialists accept that umbilical cord blood is an imperative wellspring though maximum capacity for treatment of blood issue is yet to be uncovered. Different types of immature cells, for example, affected pluripotent cells may turn out to be more qualified for treating non-blood-related sicknesses, however this inquiry must be replied by further research.

Tuesday 9 June 2015

List of Treatable Diseases using Stem Cells

This post is in continuation with using stem cells to treat diseases.Here in this article we are providing you the list of various kinds of diseases which can be treated using stem cells or on which clinical trials are going on .The success in these trials will prove as a gift for the group of people who are suffering from various deadly diseases.

Cord blood stem cell transplants have already changed and saved thousands of lives around the world.They have already been used to treat more than 75 diseases, including numerous maligencies, anemia's, inherited metabolic disorders and deficiencies of the immune system.

Below is the table of diseases for the treatment of which stem cells has been used:
Fig : Blood Related disorders for the treatment of which Cord blood cells has been used.
Apart from the above, there are many other disorders and syndromes which are being treated using stem cells, the list is as follows :

  • Myelodysplastic Syndromes (Eg. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Thrombocythemia etc.)
  • Inherited Metabolic Disorders (Eg. Mucopolysaccharidoses, Gaucher's Disease etc.)
  • Histiocytic Disorders (Eg. Histiocytosis-X, Hemophagocytosis etc.)
  • Inherited Immune System Disorders (Eg. Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency, Kostmann Syndrome)
  • Inherited Platelet Abnormalities (Eg. Congenital Thrombocytopenia/Amegakaryocytosis)
  • Plasma cells disorders (Eg. Multiple Myeloma, Plasma cell leukemia etc)
  • Other Maligencies (Eg. Breast Cancer, Wing Sarcoma, Neuroblastoma, Renal Cell Carcinoma)

So far I have discussed about the treatable disease, apart from which there are many other diseases on which clinical trial is going on, using umbilical cord blood.
Reference: http://www.nature.com/pr/journal/v71/n4-2/fig_tab/pr201153t1.html
If the trials will be successful than cord blood banking will rise extensively and proves to be a boon in the field of medical science.