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Cord Blood Stem Cells – Playing a positive role in stroke recovery studies
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
According to the National Stroke Association, strokes rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States and serve as a leading cause of disability in adults.1 There are two ways that a stroke can occur: a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel ruptures. Once a pathway to the brain is blocked or damaged, brain cells start to die—causing brain damage. And until recently, many scientists believed that damage to the brain was irreversible. But studies on the effects of cord blood stem cells on rats are showing otherwise further supporting the potential role for the use of a child’s own cord blood in treating Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, a common cause of cerebral palsy, caused by a stroke at birth.
In several studies performed since 2001, scientists induced strokes in mice and administered human cord blood stem cells within 24–48 hours. Scientists reported seeing:
- The development of new nerve tissues 3
- Improvement on behavioral tests 4
- Some functional recovery 5
Categories: Emerging Treatments
To Dads Everywhere – Happy Father’s Day!
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
Mothers may grumble from time to time that fathers aren’t always the best at noticing piles of dirty laundry or dust in the corner, but we secretly respect and appreciate them for the way they can swoop up a crying child and have her belly-laughing within minutes, or grab a daddy longlegs spider (with their bare hands!) so that their child can get a close up look. Dads are special.
So for father’s day, we asked a few ViaCord dads to share their unique perspective on cord blood banking. What we learned busted some long-standing myths about dads.
Categories: Did You Hear?
Viacord is AABB-accredited. What does that mean for you?
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
When you bank your baby’s cord blood, you want the best chances for a successful stem cell transplant. That’s why it’s important to ask the cord blood bank’s representative if their bank is fully accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). AABB accreditation is one indicator to ensure donors and clients that a cord blood bank is delivering a quality process—from collection to storage and, if necessary, transplantation. And since 2003, ViaCord has been proud to be AABB-accredited
Categories: Did You Hear?, Inside ViaCord