13 February 2012

Stem Cells in VLBW/Very Low Birth Weight Babies

      In a new study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in Dallas, Texas, researchers have reported that early transplantation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral ventricles of neonatal rats with birth-related brain damage is possible, and that the donor cells can survive and migrate in the recipient's brain. The study was designed to have the rat's brain damage mimic brain injury in infants with very low birth weight.

 Here is the article in full.

This is encouraging news! My only concern is where the placental mesenchymal cells are coming from. It doesn't say and if it is from aborted babies then I would not want to be a part of that. But if it is from donated placenta than this would be very exciting news and give hope to the moms who experience what we do that maybe the severe brain injuries in micropreemies will be a thing of the past some day.



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