The prospect of using embryonic stem cells to treat the most common cause of blindness in humans has moved closer after a major investment was made into research from the world’s largest drug company, Pfizer.

This is HUGE is the world of stem cells and their potential for curing so many terminal illnesses.

This injection of private funding will help the research team to turn its scientific discoveries into a medical therapy for AMD.  It affects more than 500,000 people in Britain and is the number one common cause of blindness.

The UCL group, led by Professor Pete Coffey, has used embryonic stem cells to grow eye tissue that was destroyed in AMD and has transplanted it into animal eyes to reverse eye damage from the disease.

Professor Coffey’s team intends to begin human patient trials in 2010 or 2011 and will receive funding support from Pfizer. The company will also provide the facilities for producing therapeutic cells to treat people who are ready to have this form of surgery.

Pfizer will have an exclusive option to conduct clinical trials of the therapy and to commercialize any product that emerges from them. This is where Pfizer plans to benefit from their investment.  Financial details of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.

How Stem Cells Work:

It is found that stem cell transplantation cannot be used to treat all kinds of diseases but can treat more than 70 different types of diseases. Researchers have found that stem cells stored from umbilical cord can be used to treat various types of cancers, disorders and abnormalities.

With the success of stem cell transplantation in 1988 stem cells have been used to treat various diseases through stem cell transplants. The major advantage of stem cell transplants is that there is no requirement for a perfect donor match like in a bone marrow transplant and cord blood is available in cord blood banks, which can be made available.

Diseases that are treated by stem cells are:

1) Acute Leukemia

• Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia (ALL)
• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
• Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia
• Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia

2) Chronic Leukemia

• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
• Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (JCML)
• Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML)
Syndromes
• Myelodysplastic Syndromes
• Amyloidosis
• Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)
• Refractory Anemia (RA)
• Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts (RAEB)
• Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation
• (RAEB-T)
• Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts (RARS)

Disorders

1) Stem Cell Disorders

• Aplastic Anemia (Severe)
• Fanconi Anemia
• Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH)
• Congenital Cytopenia
• Dyskeratosis Congenita

2) Myeloproliferative Disorders

• Acute Myelofibrosis
• Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia (myelofibrosis)
• Polycythemia Vera
• Essential Thrombocythemia

3) Lymphoproliferative Disorders

• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Hodgkin’s disease
• Prolymphocytic Leukemia

4) Phagocyte Disorders

• Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
• Chronic Granulomatous Disease
• Neutrophil Actin Deficiency
• Reticular Dysgenesis

5) Inherited Metabolic Disorders

• Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS)
• Hurler’s Syndrome (MPS-IH)
• Scheie Syndrome (MPS-IS)
• Hunter’s Syndrome (MPS-II)
• Sanfilippo Syndrome (MPS-III)
• Morquio Syndrome (MPS-IV)
• Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (MPS-VI)
• Sly Syndrome, Beta-Glucuronidase Deficiency (MPS-VII)
• Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Mucolipidosis II (I-cell Disease)
• Krabbe Disease
• Gaucher’s Disease
• Niemann-Pick Disease
• Wolman Disease
• Metachromatic Leukodystrophy

6) Histiocytic Disorders

• Familial Erythrophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
• Histiocytosis-X
• Hemophagocytosis
• Langerhans’ Cell Histiocytosis

7) Inherited Immune System Disorders

• Ataxia-Telangiectasia
• Kostmann Syndrome
• Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency
• DiGeorge Syndrome
• Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome
• Omenn’s Syndrome
• Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)
• SCID with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency
• Absence of T & B Cells SCID
• Absence of T Cells, Normal B Cell SCID
• Common Variable Immunodeficiency
• Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
• X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disorder

Other Inherited Disorders

• Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
• Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia
• Glanzmann Thrombasthenia
• Osteopetrosis
• Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Ceroid Lipofuscinosis
• Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria
• Sandhoff Disease

9) Plasma Cell Disorders

• Multiple Myeloma
• Plasma Cell Leukemia
• Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia
• Amyloidosis

Abnormalities

1) Inherited Platelet Abnormalities

Amegakaryocytosis / Congenital Thrombocytopenia

2) Inherited Erythrocyte Abnormalities

• Beta Thalassemia Major
• Sickle Cell Disease
• Blackfan-Diamond Anemia
• Pure Red Cell Aplasia

Other Malignancies

• Ewing Sarcoma
• Neuroblastoma
• Renal Cell Carcinoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Brain tumor
• Ovarian Cancer
• Small Cell Lung Cancer
• Testicular Cancer

2. My child’s umbilical cord blood can potentially be used to treat:

A. My Child
B. My Child’s Siblings
C. Myself
D. All of the above

3. Current research on future stem cell applications includes:

A. Heart Disease and Stroke
B. Spinal Cord Injury
C. Diabetes
D. All of the above

4. Which of the following statements is/are true?

A. The survival rate is higher when stem cells are transplanted from a relative.
B. There is an increased chance of a match between your child’s cord blood and a sibling.
C. Your child’s stem cells can also be used for other family members.
D. All of the above

5. Why is cord blood valuable?

A. Because it contains red blood cells
B. Because it contains stem cells
C. Because it contains white blood cells
D. Because it contains platelets

6. Umbilical cord blood is collected:

A. During pregnancy
B. During birth
C. Immediately after your child is born and the cord is cut
D. 5 days after your child is born

7. Cord blood is collected from:

A. The umbilical cord
B. The umbilical cord and placenta
C. The umbilical cord and uterus
D. The umbilical cord and navel

8. Cord blood stem cells have the ability to regenerate:

A. Red Blood Cells
B. White Blood Cells
C. Platelets
D. All of the above

Answers:

1. D

Stem cells are involved in the curing of over 40 different life threatening diseases and illnesses. The ongoing research and development in stem cell research are leading to a direction where the applications of stem cells will continue to grow and expand rapidly to include many of the currently untreatable, but horribly devastating diseases and illnesses. Banking and donating your child’s cord blood now will help ensure that your family has this potential life-saving resource at your fingertips whenever you may need it.

2. D

Your child’s umbilical cord blood stem cells are a distinct match to your child, so any time your child needs them they will be available for immediate use. This eliminates the need for searching to find a matching donor and no chance of rejection or tissue incompatibility. Furthermore, by donating your child’s umbilical cord blood it can also be used for siblings and other members of your family who have matching tissue. Siblings have up to a 50% chance of compatibility, which is great odds.

3. D

There is fast development in the field of stem cell research. Stem cell research offers hope for many untreatable degenerative illnesses and diseases, including the repair of hair tissue or brain tissue to treat heart disease and strokes, spinal cord injury, arthritis, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and others. Cord blood banking, or donation of umbilical cord blood, allows your child to take full advantage of future emerging treatments as they become readily available.

4. D

Once banked, your child’s umbilical cord blood stem cells can provide insurance for your entire family, biologically. Since umbilical cord blood stem cells are at a more primitive stage than bone marrow, doctors are able to generate a wider variety of tissue types. Therefore, they regenerate faster and there is a decreased risk of rejection by the body and deadly complications such as Graft-versus-Host illness.

5. B

Umbilical Cord blood is valuable because it contains powerful things called haematopoeitic stem cells. Stem cells are referred to as “miracle cells” because they are master cells which have the unique ability to regenerate and replenish any cell in the blood. Cord blood stem cells are a proven alternative to bone marrow and can be used to treat illnesses.

6. C

Umbilical Cord blood is collected right away after your child is born and the umbilical cord is cut. Umbilical cord blood collection takes your doctor only a few minutes to perform and is 100% safe. It does not affect the childbirth experience in any way.

7. B

Umbilical Cord blood is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta after the child is born and the umbilical cord is cut. The umbilical cord blood is normally discarded after birth. By choosing to save your child’s cord blood, you are offering your child a distinct health advantage for the future years of its’ life.

8. D

Umbilical Cord blood stem cells can regenerate in any cell in blood, including oxygen carrying red blood cells, infection fighting white blood cells, which play a crucial role in the body’s immune system (ability to fight disease), and platelets, which help to clot blood during cuts and bruises.

9. D

Studies have shown that cryogenically frozen stem cells hold their viability following fifteen years of storage. Extrapolation based upon a half-life mode suggests that stem cells can be cryo-preserved for the lifespan of a patient.

10. D

Your child’s own umbilical cord blood stem cells are a perfect match to your child, so any time your child needs them, they are available for immediate use and can save a life. There is no need to search for a matching donor and there is no chance of rejection or tissue incompatibility. Therefore, there is a reduced risk of infection and rejection. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are able to proliferate faster and generate a wider variety of tissue types!