Neurological Disorders: A Focus On Cord Blood Stem Cells As A Potential Treatmen

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Neurological Disorders: A Focus On Cord Blood Stem Cells As A

Potential Treatment Option

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112363.php

Today there are more than 600 known disorders and conditions that

affect the nervous system and for many of them treatment options are

extremely limited. In addition to the physical and mental toll these

conditions take on patients, their families and caregivers, they also

have an enormous economic impact, resulting in hundreds of billions

of dollars annually in medical expenses and lost productivity.(1)

Scientists are pursuing research to gain a better understanding of

the human nervous system in order to find new breakthroughs. Stem

cell therapy is one therapeutic option that is showing great promise.

Due to the complexities involved in harvesting human neural cells,

easily-accessible, alternative stem cells - like those found in

umbilical cord blood - are being researched as potential sources for

cellular therapies to treat neurological diseases.

A Closer Look at Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a broad term that refers to a group of neurological

disorders caused by an injury to the brain that affect body movement

and muscle coordination.(2) An estimated two million children and

adults have cerebral palsy in the United States, and an additional

10,000 babies and infants are diagnosed with the condition annually.

(3)

There is currently no cure for cerebral palsy and no standard therapy

that works for all patients. Since many of the brain damage-related

incidents that cause cerebral palsy occur during pregnancy,

prevention is often difficult - leading many researchers to believe

regenerative stem cell therapies may offer a treatment option to

regenerate nerve tissue and repair damage to the brain.

Moving into the Clinic: Cord Blood as Experimental Treatment

In vitro studies have shown cord blood stem cells are able to

differentiate into neural cell types.(4,5,6) In animal models,

research has demonstrated convincing evidence that cord blood stem

cells injected intravenously migrate to the brain (passing the blood-

brain barrier) and improve neurological function and promote healing.

(7,8,9) The results from such studies lead many researchers to

suggest that infusion of cord blood stem cells could alleviate damage

to the brain tissue, reduce muscle tightness, and improve gait and

mobility-related symptoms in humans.(7,8,9)

This research also lends support for the pioneering clinical work at

Duke University, focused on evaluating the impact of autologous cord

blood infusions in children diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Dr. Joanne

Kurtzberg, a professor of pediatrics and pathology and director of

Duke's Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, is infusing the

child's cord blood stem cells back into the body in an effort to

facilitate repair of brain tissue damaged by perinatal hypoxic

(oxygen-deprived) events. To date, more than 20 children have

participated in the experimental treatment.

Beyond Cerebral Palsy: Cord Blood and Other Neurological Disorders

The promising advances being made in cerebral palsy may soon benefit

patients with other neurological diseases as well. In animal models

of spinal cord injury, cord blood stem cells have been shown to

reduce the size of injury, promote neural tissue growth and improve

motor function, leading researchers to believe that cord blood stem

cells may prove to be a useful therapeutic strategy to repair injured

spinal cords.(10,11,12,13) In fact, a case study published in 2005

showed that a 37-year-old spinal cord injury patient who received a

transplant of cord blood stem cells directly into the injured site

showed improved sensory perception and movement in the hips and

thighs within 41 days of treatment. CT and MRI results also showed

regeneration of the spinal cord at the injured site.(14)

Regenerative Medicine: A New Frontier

Regenerative medicine, using stem cells to repair or replace damaged

tissue, is an area of study in which cord blood stem cells hold great

promise. Current estimates indicate that approximately 1 in 3

Americans could benefit from regenerative medicine.(15) Other

recently published data indicate that as many as 1 in 217 people will

undergo a traditional stem cell transplant in their lifetime. When

accounting for future stem cell applications, like emerging

regenerative medicine therapies, the researchers estimated the odds

of needing a stem cell transplant will be 1 in 102 persons.(16)

For use in regenerative therapies, current scientific use suggests

that access to autologous (one's own) stem cells offers better

treatment options for patients. Because younger patient populations

are more likely to have access to their own cord blood, this

therapeutic advancement may hold the greatest hope among children.

Cord blood will continue to be evaluated for cerebral palsy and other

neurological disorders in the future as more individuals have access

to their preserved, autologous cord blood.

1 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. NINDS

Overview page. Available at:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/about_ninds/ninds_overview.htm. Accessed

March 2008.

2 Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control

and Prevention. Cerebral Palsy Fact Sheet.

Available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/ActEarly/cerebral_palsy.html.

Accessed March 2008.

3 United Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy Fact Sheet.

http://www.ucp.org/uploads/cp_fact_sheet.pdf. Accessed April 2008.

4 Jang YK, Park JJ, Lee MC, Yoon BH, Yang YS, Kim SU. Retinoic acid-

mediated induction of neurons and glial cells from human umbilical

cord-derived hematopoietic stem cells. Journal of Neuroscience

Research. 2004; 75:573-584.

5 McGuckin C, Forraz N, Allouard Q, Pettengell R. Umbilical cord

blood stem cells can expand hematopoietic and neuroglial progenitors

in vitro. Experimental Cell Research. 2004;295(2):350-359.

6 Lee MW et al. Neural differentiation of novel multipotent

progenitor cells from cryopreserved human umbilical cord blood.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007;358(2):637-43.

7 Meier C, Middelanis J, Wasielewski B, Neuhoff S, Roth-Haerer A,

Gantert M, Dinse HR, Dermietzel R, Jensen A. Spastic paresis after

perinatal brain damage in rats is reduced by human cord blood

mononuclear cells. Pediatric Research.2006;59(2):244-249.

8 Lu D, Sanberg PR, Mahmood A, Li Y, Wang L, Ramos J, Chopp M.

Intravenous administration of human umbilical cord blood reduces

neurological deficit in the rat after traumatic brain injury. Cell

Transplant. 2002;11:275-281.

9 Chen J, Sanberg PR, Li Y, Wang J, et al. Intravenous administration

of human umbilical cord blood reduces behavioral deficits after

stroke in rats. Stroke. 2001;32(11):2682-2688.

10 Kuh SU, Cho YE, Yoon DH, Kim KN, Ha Y. Functional recovery after

human umbilical cord blood cells transplantation with brain-derived

neutrophic factor into the spinal cord injured rat. Acta Neurochir.

2005;9(147):985-92.

11 Dasari VR, Spomar DG, Gondi CS, Sloffer CA, Saving KL, Gujrati M,

Rao JS, Dinh DH. Umbilical cord blood stem cell mediated

downregulation of fas improves functional recovery of rats after

spinal cord injury. Neurochem Res. 2008;33(1):134-49.

12 Kao CH, Chen SH, Chio CC, Lin MT. Human umbilical cord blood-

derived CD34+ cells may attenuate spinal cord injury by stimulating

vascular endothelial and neurotrophic factors. Shock. 2008;29(1):49-

55.

13 Nishio Y, Koda M, Kamada T et al. The use of hemopoietic stem

cells derived from human umbilical cord blood to promote restoration

of spinal cord tissue and recovery of hindlimb function in adult

rats. J Neurosurg Spine. 2006;5(5):424-33.

14 Kang KS, Kim SW, Oh, YH, Yu, JW, Kim KY, Park HK, Song CH, Han H.

A 37-year-old spinal cord-injured female patient, transplanted of

multipotent stem cells from human UC blood, with improved sensory

perception and mobility, both functionally and morphologically: a

case study. Cytotherapy. 2005;7(4):368-373.

15 DT et al. The Potential of Cord Blood stem Cells for Use In

Regenerative Medicine. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2007;7(9):1311-1322.

16 Nietfeld JJ, Pasquini MC, Logan BR, Verter F, Horowitz MM.

Lifetime probabilities of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in

the U.S. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 2008;14:316-322.

www.cordblood.com