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Improving Chronic Hepatitis Outlook: Umbilical Cord Blood

December 16, 2008

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A potential alternative to liver transplant surgery, stem cells from umbilical cord blood may be the solution that those living with chronic hepatitis have been looking for.

by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.

Once chronic hepatitis has progressed to the end stages of liver disease, there is only one medically accepted option for a person’s recovery. Despite organ transplantation currently being the only choice for helping someone with a non-functioning liver, researchers from Spain are bringing another avenue of hope to those with end stage liver disease. By finding that umbilical cord blood may offer an effective alternative to liver transplants and a potential strategy to treat chronic hepatitis, Spanish scientists could have forever changed the outlook of chronic hepatitis.

About Umbilical Cord Blood
Harvested from the umbilical cord right after a baby is born, stem-cell containing umbilical cord blood is retrieved after the cord has been clamped and cut. Highly coveted by modern medicine, stem cells have the ability to grow into any one of the body’s specialized cells.

Although they are concentrated in cord blood, few stem cells are collected from this source because the total amount of blood from an umbilical cord is small. Despite the challenge of obtaining the quantity needed, stem cells from the umbilical cord have exceptional applications because they are unlikely to cause a graft-versus-host disease after a transplant.

Cord blood cell transplants are already becoming common as a therapy for diseases of the blood. While stem cells from umbilical cord blood appear to be a medicinal panacea, obstacles ranging from possible side effects to political opposition have thwarted their full therapeutic potential.

Cord Blood Stem Cells for the Liver
Fueled by encouraging research that surfaced five years ago, a recently conducted study has demonstrated that stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood offer real hope for those with chronic hepatitis.

· The Earlier Research – Appearing in the journal Blood in 2003, Xiuli Wang and coworkers transplanted specialized stem cells obtained from umbilical cord and bone marrow into immuno-deficient mice to evaluate a stem cell-based treatment strategy for liver disease. Based on their expression following liver damage, the researchers concluded that bone marrow and umbilical cord stem cells should be considered as an effective treatment strategy for liver diseases.

· Recent Research – To be published in an upcoming issue of Cell Transplantation, a collaborative study conducted by Spanish scientists concluded that mononuclear blood cells derived from the human umbilical cord blood may be useful in the treatment of liver disease, such as hepatitis. The researchers introduced human umbilical cord blood cells through the hepatic portal vein of mice with induced hepatitis. Subsequently, they found a significant improvement in both histological damage and the hepatic function of the animals following cell transplantation.

Today, the need for donor livers far outpaces the supply as more people with chronic hepatitis reach the end stages of liver disease. If future studies using stem cells from umbilical cord blood continue to prove their effectiveness against liver disease, the Spanish research results announced in July of 2008 will be heralded as a major advancement in the field of regenerative hepatic medicine. In addition to the prestige this success could bring, stem cells from umbilical cord blood could become the victor over chronic hepatitis that we’ve all been waiting for.

References:

http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/2002-05-1338v1, Albumin expressing hepatocyte-like cells develop in the livers of immune-deficient mice transmitted with highly purified human hematopoietic stem cells, Xiuli Want, et al., Retrieved July 20, 2008, Blood, American Society of Hematology, December 2002.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/feature1/, The Power to Divide: Stem Cells, Rick Weiss, Retrieved July 20, 2008, National Geographic Society, 2008.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/96995126.html, Umbilical Cord Blood: The Future of Stem Cell Research?, Erica Lloyd, Retrieved July 20, 2008, National Geographic Society, April 2006.

http://prensa.ugr.es/prensa/research/verNota/prensa.php?nota=552, Scientists use stem cells from the umbilical cord to treat hepatic diseases, Luis G Fontana, Retrieved July 17, 2008, University of Granada, 2008.

http://www.bchealthguide.org/kbase/topic/special/uq1027spec/sec1.htm, Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells, Retrieved July 20, 2008, Healthwise, Incorporated, 2008.

http://www.medinewsdirect.com/?p=533, Umbilical Cord Blood Derived Stem Cells Used to Treat Liver Disease, Retrieved July 17, 2008, MediNEWS.Direct!, July 2008.

Posted by Editors at December 16, 2008 4:43 PM