Bone marrow Stem Cell treatment saves loss of lower limb (Hindu - Chennai, India ) Chennai, Oct 22. (PTI): Perhaps for the first time in the country, a private hospital has saved a diabetic, suffering from critical limb ischemia, the loss of a lower limb by bone marrow stem cell treatment. "The 68-year-old woman, hailing from Andhra Pradesh and suffering from critical ischemia, with a very large ulcer at the left calf and foot and advised amputation of the left lower limb, sucessfully underwent autologous (one's own) bone marrow stem cell treatment at the vascular department of the city's Vijaya Hospital" the hospital's chief vascular surgeon Dr S R Subrammaniyan told a press conference here today.

He said the woman's ulcer healed 60 days later. A new blood vessel formation improved circulation to the affected leg.

Stating that bypass surgery to salvage the limb was ruled out due to the advanced condition, Subrammaniyan, who was assisted by a team of doctors, said the patient's bone marrow was tapped under general anesthesia and was injected into the affected portion of the woman's calf muscle. A month later the dose of 100ml of bone marrow was repeated.

The healing process commenced very rapidly and health granulation started covering the previously ischemic portion, he said, adding that close to 40 per cent of the foot area, 20 per cent of the calf area and 100 per cent of the lateral wound had been covered with skin. The remaining portion was treated with skin grafting and could successfully heal. "The patient is now able to use her left foot," he said.

Stating that the treatment alone would cost about Rs 50,000, he claimed that by 2015 about 20 per cent of the country's population would be diabetics. "Today it is about four per cent," he said.
 
Saved by Sibling's Stem Cell

When Julie and Jonathan Henderson found out that their two-year old son Nicolas had T-cell lymphoma, they were devastated. They had just found out that Julie was pregnant, and what was supposed to be an exciting time preparing for the new baby, turned into months of doctor visits, hospital stays and chemotherapy. After Nicolas' chemotherapy failed to work, the Henderson's doctor tried a relatively new transplant procedure using Stem Cells taken from the umbilical cord blood of their newborn baby, Nathaniel. They worked with CRYO-CELL International Inc., the world's largest and fastest growing U-Cord Stem Cell banking firm, to process, test and store Nathaniel's umbilical cord blood. Today, Nicolas is a happy, energetic four-year-old, who is in remission. He and his baby brother Nathaniel share a special bond.
Paralysed woman walks after 20 years

Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bed-ridden since damaging her back in an accident two decades ago. Mi-Soon's treatment with Stem Cell therapy has come to be the world's first published case in which, a patient with spinal cord injuries has been successfully treated with Stem Cells from umbilical cord blood.

Stem Cell Injections at AIIMS, Delhi The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has pioneered a Stem Cell treatment in which patients are injected with the cells to improve their condition. The path-breaking treatment is the result of two years of research conducted from February 2003 to January 2005 at India's premier medical research institute, the Times of India newspaper reported. Stem Cells are versatile cells that have the ability to grow into any kind of tissue in the skin, heart, liver or any other organ leading to regeneration. According to the institute's director, Dr. P. Vengugopal, a total of 35 patients with heart conditions that could not be treated by bypass surgery were injected with Stem Cells at AIIMS in 2003. After six months, 56 per cent of dead heart muscles in all the patients revived and after 18 months the revival was 64 per cent. There was no mortality among the patients, all of whom were at the stage when a heart transplant seemed to be the only answer. Two patients suffering from chronic diabetes, requiring 36 units of insulin daily were injected with Stem Cells and now needed only half a tablet daily. Dr. Venugopal said patients suffering from muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy were also being treated with Stem Cell injections. The treatment would also be tested on immune disorders and cancer. The Stem Cells used for the treatment are extracted from the patient's bone marrow or taken from the umbilical cord of a new born.

Thus the potential for the future is immense. This is particularly so for India, where every kind of disease occurs and people are often diagnosed at a late stage. This is where the regenerative aspects of Stem Cell are very helpful, says Dr. Venugopal. A national Stem Cell centre is being set up at AIIMS which would coordinate the research findings and its applications.

About Cord Blood:

Cord blood, which is also called "placental blood," is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth and after the cord is cut. Cord blood is routinely discarded with the placenta and umbilical cord.

Your baby's umbilical cord blood is a valuable source of stem cells, which are genetically unique to your baby and family.

About Stem Cell:

Stem cells are the body's "master" cells because they create all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body. The stem cells found in cord blood are the building blocks of your blood and immune system and most readily reproduce into:

Red Blood Cells - which carry oxygen to all the cells in the body
White Blood Cells - which fight infection
Platelets - which aid in clotting in the event of injury

There are three sources where stem cells are commonly found, they are:
+ Bone Marrow
+ Peripheral Blood (the blood that circulates through your body)
+ Umbilical Cord Blood

The ability of cord blood stem cells to differentiate, or change into other types of cells in the body is a new discovery that holds significant promise for improving the treatment of some of the most common diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's.

• More tolerant of tissue mismatches

• Have a lower risk of severe graft-vs-host disease (a major complication in stem cell transplants)

• Rarely contaminated with latent viruses

Cord blood is also "privileged" or unexposed to most diseases that make bone marrow from an adult more difficult to use in transplantation.

More importantly, cord blood from your baby is a perfect match for your child, if it ever should be needed, and has a 1 - in - 4 chance of matching a current or future sibling. Childbirth is thus a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collect and preserve these stem cells and harness what is otherwise discarded as bio-medical waste.

So, when you preserve your baby's cord blood stem cells, you ensure your family the gift of life.

Processing Cord Blood
the stem cells are separated from the red blood cells and plasma instead of freezing the blood as a whole. This method produces cells with greater viability and is preferred by Physicians, because it minimizes the risk of blood type (ABO) incompatibility later.

Once the stem cells are separated from the red blood cells and plasma, they are placed in 5ml cryovials in preparation for freezing and storage. The designated Cord Blood registry uses a small amount of your baby’s own plasma and Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) to protect the cells. The DMSO solution can be spun out of the cell in the future, when it is needed for transplant.

Your baby's cord blood sample is stored in multiple cryovials. On an average, we store cryovials of each cord blood sample. This provides the families a significant benefit in the future, since the cells may be used for more than one treatment.

Each vial is bar coded and clearly marked with: Cord Blood Identifying Number, Account Number, Date of Processing and Contents. Each vial is individually wrapped using a cryo sheathing to protect against cross-contamination. Your vials then enter the first stage of the cryopreservation, with a slow-rate introduction to the freezing process. Most of the present day Cord Blood Registry uses this technique of slow-rate introduction to ensure the safety of the cells. The progression to lower and lower temperatures keeps the cells from going into shock from the extreme negative temperature of -196° Celsius.