This new technique, using cord blood stem cells, is being performed in Colombia as part of reconstructive surgery when the child is a few months old. It’s already showing good results in growing new bone, potentially avoiding the need for later bone graft surgery.

A case report, written by  Dr Alejandro Garcia Botero, MD, of Hospital De San José, Bogota, Colombia outlined how cord blood stem cells were used as part of reconstructive surgery for an infant born with a cleft lip and palate.

A ultrasound before her birth showed she had alveolar cleft, involving an area of bone where teeth are located.

Right after her delivery, her cord blood stem cells were collected and stored for her future use. Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of various types of stem cells, which have the potential to develop into many different types of specialized cells, including bone and cartilage.

For the first few months, the infant underwent a nonsurgical “nasoalveolar shaping” procedure to align the soft tissues of the upper jaw.  Then at 5 months old, her cord blood stem cells were used in the “boneless bone grafting” surgery (gingivoperiostioplasty).

They were placed in a pocket of soft tissue bridging the gap in the upper jaw. A small piece of absorbable biomaterial was used a scaffold to guide growth of new bone across the cleft palate. This procedure was performed at the same time as surgery to correct the cleft lip (cheiloplasty).

Dr Botero reports that ongoing follow-up of the patient confirmed that new bone has been formed to close the cleft palate, providing good position and support for normal eruption of the teeth. Imaging scans taken when the little girl was five years old showed good thickness of the upper jaw bone in the area where the cleft had been.

The study is the first to use stem cells as part of primary surgery to repair cleft palate in an infant. Dr. Botero and colleagues note that their patient will need further monitoring to ensure adequate bone thickness in the upper jaw. The researchers emphasize the need for further studies evaluating their stem cell technique in a large number of patients – including steps to confirm that bone formation results from the stem cells, and not from the initial “boneless bone graft” surgery.

But a major potential advantage of the stem cell procedure is that it would avoid the  need for later bone grafting surgery – currently the standard technique for closing the cleft. This procedure uses bone taken from elsewhere in the child’s body, typically the hip. Bone grafting has potential complications and subjects the child to one or more additional surgeries.

Stem cell medicine will transform and save lives – said the Aussie Minister of Health – announcing a $150 million infusion into the sector last month.

That’s according to Australian Federal Minister of Health, Greg Hunt who recently announced a government infusion of $150 million into the sector.

Hunt believes stem cells medicine will  transform and save the lives of people with incurable diseases and reduce the burden of disease on patients and carers.

The money will be used to establish the Australian Stem Cell Therapies Mission – a first step in a coordinated effort to stimulate regenerative medicine research and industry in Australia.

“They will enhance equity in healthcare by addressing unmet clinical needs.’

The Australian Stem Cell Therapies Mission will be co-chaired by Stem Cells Australia program leader, Professor Melissa Little, and inventor of the Nanopatch, Professor Mark Kendall.

Professor Little told the Herald Sun there is a ‘real chance’ of developing new treatments for chronic disease within a few years.

As a toddler, Samantha was found face-down in a swimming pool, and she nearly died. Carrie and her husband, Steven, knew Samantha had brain damage, and that meant a lifetime of limitations. Now she’s 5 and is taking part in a study that could change her future. 

To find out more, watch the video: Cord blood transfusion at Duke could help girl after near-drowning

Everyone expects sleepless nights with the arrival of a new baby. Now new research says parental yawns might go on for 6 years.

Researchers tracking the sleep of thousands of men and women as their family size increased have found that shuteye hits a low about three months after birth – with the effect strongest in women.

However, while parents gradually saw an improvement in their sleep as their firstborn grew, it seems their night-time rest was never quite the same again.

“We didn’t expect to find that, but we believe that there are certainly many changes in the responsibilities you have,” said Dr Sakari Lemola, co-author of the research from the University of Warwick. He added that while children may stop crying during the night as they age, they may wake up, be sick or have nightmares, while the stress and worries that go with parenthood can also affect parents’ sleep.

Published in the journal Sleep, the study looked at data collected from adults in Germany who were surveyed in face-to-face interviews carried out once a year between 2008-15. Participants were asked to rate their sleep quality on a scale from 0 to 10, and were quizzed on how many hours of sleep they got on a normal weekday and on a normal weekend day.

The researchers focused on responses from more than 2,500 women and almost 2,200 men who reported the birth of their first, second or third child during the study, with participants followed for up to six years.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the team found women reported a decline in sleep satisfaction in the first year after the birth of a child, dropping 1.7 points on the scale on average for the first child, and just over one point for both the second and third child compared with before their first pregnancy.

The mothers also lost about 40 minutes of sleep a night in the year after a baby arrived compared with pre-pregnancy levels regardless of whether it was their first or a subsequent child.

Deeper analysis of data showed the first three months after the birth of a first child were particularly gruelling: women lost just over an hour of sleep compared with before they became pregnant.

While similar trends were seen for fathers, the effects were less pronounced. Even at three months after their first child’s birth, fathers only lost 13 minutes of sleep.

Strikingly, the team found the impact of the first child lingered for both parents. Even once the impact of subsequent children was taken into account, women were still relatively sleep deprived, both in terms of quality and quantity, four to six years after their first child’s birth. Overall sleep satisfaction was rated just over one point lower on average, while sleep duration was about 25 minutes less.

By contrast, after the birth of a second child mothers’ sleep recovered to levels of before that pregnancy, and almost bounced back for the third child – findings Lemola put down to sleep duration and quality being worse to start with due to the impact of the first child. “Your baseline is lower,” he said.

The study has some limitations – not least that it was based on data collected once per year, involved self-reporting and some participants had dropped out.

Cathy Finlay, an antenatal teacher with the National Childbirth Trust, said there were ways for parents to mitigate the impact of disturbed sleep.

“Sleep deprivation can be physically and emotionally draining. Try not to worry about non-essential jobs around the house and accept help from family and friends when it’s offered,” she said, adding that coordinating your own naps with those of the children could help, as could one parent doing evening caring while the other rested ahead of the “night shift”.

But, she added, parents should take heart. “The sleep disruption can be difficult and exhausting, but bear in mind it won’t last for ever.”