A foundation established by Julian Robertson, New Zealand’s first honorary knight and prominent philanthropist, has given $10.2 million to Duke University in the USA to advance the use of cord blood as a therapy.
Robertson, who is renowned for his philanthropy and investment in New Zealand, has over the last 15 years developed two luxury golf courses at Kauri Cliffs in Northland and Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay, and invested in several wineries, including Dry River in Wairarapa and Te Awa in Hawke’s Bay.
Duke University has announced that the donation by The Robertson Foundation will go to support the work of Dr Joanna Kurtzberg who will use some of the funding to move forward with the first placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in children with (cerebral palsy) that has been specifically designed to answer key questions about the efficacy of cord blood treatments in children with this condition.
To date over 200 children have been reinfused with their own cord blood by Dr Kurtzberg, including New Zealander Maia Friedlander who was successfully treated with her own cord blood at Duke in August 2008. Maia, who suffered oxygen deprivation at birth, has made significant progress. Maia’s cord blood had been stored with CordBank in New Zealand.
Dr. Victor Dzau, Duke’s chancellor for health affairs and chief executive of the Duke University Health System, said the state-of-the-art Translational Cell Therapy Center would advance the university’s pioneering cell therapy research and treatment programs for children and adults with cancer, cerebral palsy, stroke and brain injuries suffered at birth. Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg and her research team have spent decades investigating the therapeutic use of umbilical cord blood stem cells, he said.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells, normally discarded after birth, have the ability to grow and develop into various types of cells throughout the body. They can be harvested after birth and stored for future transplant in patients with many types of blood disorders, and increasingly, other diseases as well.
“The emerging field of regenerative medicine has great promise, and this generous gift will accelerate the pace of Dr. Kurtzberg’s and other Duke scientists’ world-renowned, translational work in cell therapies,” Dzau said in a statement.
“The creation of the TCTC will support the work of many Duke researchers exploring various applications of cell-based therapies.”
“Dr. Kurtzberg’s research reflects the kind of transformational science that has the potential to change the lives of thousands of people throughout the country and around the world,” Julian Robertson, of the Robertson Foundation, said in a statement.
In an interview on CNBC last year, Julian Robertson shared his excitement about the potential of cord blood stem cells, having heard about Maia Friedlander’s treatment at Duke from her parents.
Major news outlets recently reported research demonstrating that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a specific type of stem cell with unique properties, restored transparency to the cloudy corneas of laboratory mice. The data, presented by researchers during the American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting in December 2009, suggests that transplantation of umbilical MSCs could be a potential treatment regimen for corneal disease – whether present at birth or acquired. This study provides further evidence supporting the potential of umbilical MSCs for a variety of diseases.
Based on a U.S. News and World Report article about the study, those with corneal diseases may stand to benefit most if/when such a therapy were to become clinically available. They wouldn’t need to wait for a donated cornea, which, as the article states, are in short supply, so the prospect of an alternative therapy would be helpful.
More than 80 clinical trials are already underway using MSCs, and doctors are enthusiastic about the results reported for therapies addressing several conditions, including stroke, heart attack, bone injuries and autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. In addition, because MSCs serve as the foundation of connective tissue, applications in treating common joint and sports injuries may be another potential application with widespread use. MSCs are found in bone marrow, fat tissue, and the umbilical cord.
Congratulations to our December promotion winners – Claire Boocock and Dougall Cameron – who are expecting their first baby next month. They entered the ‘register by 31 December’ draw and won a CordBank collection kit worth $750.
“We decided to register with CordBank due to Dougall’s history of Leukaemia. We wanted the security of knowing that should our baby experience any health issue in the future then we have provided the best option for cure with cord blood banking.
We have both known about banking cord blood for a few years now and after speaking with family and friends we know we’ve made the right decision for us and our baby.
The cost involved was no question when it comes to our baby’s health, but winning our $750 Collection Kit was a wonderful bonus. Now we’re just so excited to welcome our baby into our family!” commented Claire.
At Children’s Memorial Hermann, pediatric trauma expert Dr. Charles Cox is studying cord blood to see if it can regenerate damaged brain tissues.
“Cord blood is one piece of that puzzle,” Cox said. “There aren’t any good restorative therapies for brain injury, which is why we got into this years and years ago.”
So far, cord blood can treat 80 different diseases – a convincing statistic to the neo-natal staff.
Dr Cox directs the Pediatric Surgical Translational Laboratories and Pediatric Program in Regenerative Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, which address problems that originate with traumatic injury and the consequences of resuscitation and critical care. The Program focuses on progenitor cell based therapy (stem cells) for traumatic brain injury, and related neurological injuries (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, stroke, spinal cord injury), recently completing the first acute, autologous cell therapy treatment Phase I study for traumatic brain injury in children.
When Nikki Dines was expecting her first baby, her mum Linda offered to meet the costs of cord blood banking for her newest grandchild. It was an offer Nikki was delighted to accept.
A good friend of Linda’s had recently done the same for her first grandchild and the idea made sense to her.
“So often grandparents buy the cot, or car seat and pram for a new baby – but we wanted to give something that would last a lot longer than that. We felt that paying for cord blood banking was a really meaningful gift – something that would last a lifetime” said Linda.
“We know that the chances of needing your own stem cells in the future are increasing every day so it’s reassuring to us that we’ve been able to help protect our grandchildrens’ health now and in the future.
Cord blood is the blood that remains in a baby’s umbilical cord following birth and after the cord is cut. It’s a valuable source of stem cells, which are a perfect DNA match for that baby. Cord blood stem cells can only be collected right after a baby is born, via a simple and painless procedure.
Three years after that first conversation, Linda and her husband now have 5 grandchildren – and have paid for cord blood banking with CordBank NZ for them all.
“We are so grateful for their generosity” said Nikki and her husband Elliot, now the proud parents of three gorgeous children.
“It’s really comforting to know that our children have their cord blood stored should they need it in the future. And as we have the cord blood stored for all three of our children, they each have access to their own perfectly matched stem cells when they need them.”
Two New Zealand children have already been successfully treated with their own cord blood, and current research shows there’s a 1 in 200 chance that children born today will need a stem cell transplant in their lifetime. Parents banking their baby’s cord blood now can rest easy in the knowledge that they have these cells safely stored.
The scientific journal Cell Transplantation has 2 studies that have explored umbilical cord blood stem cells for lung and heart disorders. Both studies were conducted using animals so they are very preliminary, but they offer great potential for future treatments.
In one study, researchers investigated the therapeutic benefits of transplanting human umbilical cord blood (UCB) mensenchymal stem cells (MSC) into newborn laboratory rats with oxygen-deprived lung injury. They found that the cells have a protective effect against hyperoxia-induced lung injury, likely due to anti-inflammatory effects. These results might eventually lead to the discovery of treatments for hypertoxic neonatal lung disease, or bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature human infants.
Another research team examined the potential therapeutic role of umbilical cord mononuclear cells (UCMNC) for the treatment of congenital heart defects. They found that the transplants enhanced diastolic properties, most likely through blood vessel growth. The study found that UCMNC transplants are “feasible and safe” and seem to “positively influence the diastolic properties of the RV under chronic volume overload.” Read the study here.
Chloe Levine was born seemingly perfect — she was the happy and healthy baby her parents had dreamed of.
But by the time she was 9 months old, Chloe was not reaching the milestones her older sister Shayla had met at that age.
Chloe’s right hand was constantly clenched in a tight fist – she couldn’t even hold her bottle. And she wasn’t able to crawl; she would “shuffle” her body across the floor in a seated position, her mother, Jenny, recalls.
Soon after Chloe’s first birthday, the Levines, who live in Denver, learned their daughter had suffered a stroke in utero and had become afflicted with cerebral palsy.
The Levines remembered they had banked stem cells from Chloe’s umbilical cord at her birth, and wondered if they could be used to help treat her.
On May 28, 2008, at the age of 2, Chloe received a 15-minute re-infusion of her stem cells.
Within four days, her parents saw a noticeable difference, although Kurtzberg said most kids show benefits three to nine months later.
The rigidity on Chloe’s right side loosened up and her speech started to improve. She was able to ride her toy tractor, which in the past had been too difficult for her to pedal.
“Her life is completely normal, she doesn’t drag her right foot, she can use her right hand,” Jenny Levine said. “She rides a bike, a scooter…we’re taking her skiing this year. She’s fabulous.”
Dr. Charles Cox, from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School, has been studying cord blood cells for the past 2 1/2 years.
“Umbilical cord blood cell therapy for traumatic brain injury has a lot of pre-clinical work that has been done, suggesting that it’s beneficial,” Cox said. “I believe that cord blood is equivalent or better than bone marrow-derived cells.”
Cox said if the parents do not choose to save the cord blood, it is considered medical waste and thrown away.
“Really, the issue of cord blood banking today comes down to trying to understand what the future holds in terms of regenerative medicine as a field,” Cox said. “So, the long-term look is, and even the intermediate-term look is that it’s not science-fiction. I see it expanding and accelerating over the next two to five years.”
Oxygen deprived newborns are the focus of a new study underway at Duke University in North Carolina. The pilot programme is being led by Dr Joanne Kurtzberg, who succesfully reinfused New Zealander Maia Friedlander with her own cord blood last year. The purpose of the pilot study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of infusions of autologous (the patient’s own) umbilical cord blood stem cells in term gestation newborn infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
See the full details of the study here.
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood may provide the raw material to repair the hearts of thousands of babies born each year with defective heart valves, according to data presented at the recent American Heart Association annual meeting.
Cardiologists from the University Hospital of Munich report they are about five years away from transplanting new heart valves into children with heart defects, made from the children’s own cord blood.(1)
Congenital heart defects – or problems with the heart’s structure that are present at birth – are the most common type of major birth defect.(2) In children with heart valve abnormalities, the valves do not fully open or close and impede the flow of blood.(3) While surgeons can transplant new valves from donors or from artificial material, these valves won’t grow as the children do, meaning these individuals will require repeated operations to provide them with new, larger valves, said Dr. Ralf Sodian, the cardiac surgeon who led the research.(1)
Replacement heart valves made from the child’s own cord blood stem cells would theoretically grow with the child and change shape as needed, significantly reducing the number of surgeries necessary for these patients.
In this study, the cord blood stem cells were seeded onto biodegradable heart valve scaffolds and grown in the laboratory. The cells formed a tissue layer around the scaffolding and further tests showed the engineered cells formed viable heart tissue. When their ability to handle blood flow and pressure were tested, the valves created from cord blood stem cells showed capabilities similar to natural heart valves.(4)
Similar results from a pre-clinical study showed cord blood endothelial stem cells demonstrated excellent growth potential for tissue-engineered vascular grafts that could replace human heart defects.(5)
The research presented at this meeting – as well as those pre-clinical findings – offer a compelling reason why parents with a child diagnosed intrauterinely with congenital defects should consider preserving their child’s cord blood, since it may offer a treatment option in the future.
About Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. Approximately one million people die of cardiovascular disease annually despite medical intervention, with coronary artery disease claiming 50 percent of those lives.(6) Although heart disease impacts an older population whose heart muscle, arteries and pumping function have deteriorated over time, heart ailments also strike the very young. According to the National Institutes of Health, congenital heart disease is responsible for more deaths in the first year of life than any other birth defect.(7)
About Cardiovascular Disease and Cord Blood
The stem cells found in a newborn’s umbilical cord blood are one type of stem cell holding great promise in cardiovascular repair.
Repairing Blood Vessels and Improving Ventricular Function
The heart demands a large volume of blood flow in order to bring nutrients and oxygen to the muscle tissue after it has been damaged. Research demonstrates that cord blood stem cells are capable of giving rise to vascular endothelial-like cells, which are believed to aid in the repair of heart tissue damage due to myocardial infarction.
Cardiomyocytes and Cord Blood: In Vitro Studies Show Promise
Permanent loss of cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) and the formation of scar tissue following a heart attack result in irreversible damage to cardiac function. Human cord blood contains several different types of stem cells including hematopoietic, endothelial and mesenchymal stem cells. Although still in early stages, four in vitro studies have shown that under certain treatment conditions, cord blood mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells (14,15,16,17) and were able to induce regeneration of healthy cells from damaged cardiomyocytes.(17) This suggests that cord blood stem cells have a high potential to differentiate into cardiomyocytes and aid the regeneration of cardiomyocytes lost due to heart damage.
Advances in Peripheral Vascular Disease
The ability of cord blood stem cells to become vascular endothelial-like cells, and thus, blood vessels, indicates they will likely have potential applications beyond the heart.
The Future of Cord Blood Stem Cell Cardiac Therapy
As a next step to the research presented at the American Heart Association meeting, the study investigators plan to begin experiments next year to test their procedure in animal models. They will implant the heart valves made from cord blood into the hearts of young lambs, observing their ability to grow and function over time.(1)
The growing library of research on cardiac repair suggests an infant’s own cord blood could prove to be a valuable treatment option not just for treating a congenital heart defect, but perhaps later in life if the individual experiences a sudden and serious heart attack.
References
1. Waters R. Cord Blood Stem Cells May Help Repair Babies’ Heart Defects. Bloomberg. November 10, 2008. Accessed November 2008.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Heart Disease Page. http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/about.htm. Accessed April 2008.
3. Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The Heart Center. Heart Conditions, Diagnosis and Treatment. http://www.pediatric-cardiology.com/Heart_Health/heart_health.asp. Accessed November 2008.
4. American Heart Association Press Release. Umbilical cord blood may help build new heart valves. http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=548. Accessed November 2008.
5. Schmidt D, Breymann C, Weber A, Guenter CI, Neuenschwander S, Zund G, Turina M, Hoerstrup SP. Umbilical cord blood derived endothelial progenitor cells for tissue engineering of vascular grafts. Ann Thorac Surg. 2004 Dec;78(6):2094-8.
6. Harris DT, Badowski M, Ahmad N, Gaballa MA. The potential of cord blood stem cells for use in regenerative medicine. Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy. 2007;7(9):1311-1322.
7. U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. Medline Plus. Congenital Heart Disease page. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001114.htm. Accessed January 2008.
8.National Institutes of Health. Stem Cell Information Page. http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/scireport/chapter9.asp. Accessed January 2008.
9. Ma N, Stamm C, Kaminski A, Li W, et al. Human cord blood cells induce angiogenesis following myocardial infarction in NOD/scid-mice. Cardiovascular Research. 2005;66(1):45-54.
10. Hu CH, Wu GF, Wang XO et al. Transplanted human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells improve left ventricular function through angiogenesis in myocardial infarction. Chin Med J (Engl). 2006;119(18):1499-506.
11. Ma N. Ladilov Y, Kaminski A, Piechaczek C. Stamm C. Umbilical cord blood cell transplantation for myocardial regeneration. Transplant proc. 2005;38(3):771-3.
12. Leor J, Guetta E, Feinberg MS et al. Human umbilical cord blood-derived CD133+ cells enhance function and repair of the infarcted myocardium. Stem Cells. 2006;24(3):772-80.
13. Henning RJ, Abu-Ali H, Balis JU, Morgan MB, Willing AE, Sanberg PR. Human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Cell Transplant. 2004;13(7-8):729-39.
14. Cheng F, Zou P, Handong Y. Induced differentiation of human cord blood mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro. J Huazong Univ Sci and Tech. 2003;23(2):154-157.
15. Nishiyama N, Miyoshi S, Hida N, et al. The significant cardiomyogenic potential of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. Stem Cells. 2007;25(8):2017-24.
16. Bonanno G, Mariotti A, Procoli A, et al. Human cord blood CD133+ cells immunoselected by a clinical-grade apparatus differentiate in vitro into endothelial- and cardiomyocyte-like cells. Transfusion. 2007;47(2):280-9.
17. Yamada Y, Yokoyama S, Fukuda N, et al. A novel approach for myocardial regeneration with educated cord blood cells cocultured with cells from brown adipose tissue. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007;353(1):182-8.
18. U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. Medline Plus. Peripheral Vascular Disease page. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/peripheralvasculardiseases.html. Accessed January 2008.
19. Ikeda Y, Noboru F, Wada M, Matsumoto T, Satomi A, Yokoyama SI, Saito S, Masumoto K, Katsuo K, Mugishima H. Development of angiogenic cell and gene therapy by transplantation of umbilical cord blood with vascular endothelial growth factor gene. Hypertens Res. 2004;27(2):119-128.
20. Cho S-W, Gwak S-J, Kang S-W, et al. Enhancement of angiogenic efficacy of human cord blood cell transplantation. Tissue Eng. 2006;12(6):1651-1661.