Diseases Treatable by Cord Blood

Cord blood stem cell research is a science that has been gaining a lot of attention in recent years. Since the 1980s, the use of stem cells as a treatment for life threatening diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, various kinds of cancer, blood disorders and other congenital diseases, has become increasingly common and effective.

Stem Cell Therapy
Cord blood stem cells are blank cells present in the placenta and umbilical cord of a baby at birth. When these cells divide, they can become any one of 220 different types of cells, such as bone marrow, muscles or brain cells. These new, healthy cells, can be used to replace cells that have been damaged by disease.

Stem cells are found in places other than cord blood – until recently, bone marrow was the main source for stem cells used to treat disease. But using bone marrow is problematic since a perfect donor match must be found and even then, there is a risk of rejection. Viral infections are also a risk for both the donor and the recipient.

Another source of stem cells has been embryos that, for various reason, were not carried to term. This is an extremely controversial method of gathering stem cells for moral, religious and various personal reasons.

Why Cord Blood Stem Cells?
The advantages of cord blood stem cells over embryonic and bone marrow stem cells are:

There is no controversy surrounding the saving of umbilical cord blood
Collecting cord blood is done after birth, so there is no risk to mother or baby
Cord blood stem cells are frozen, which prevents aging - the result is a higher capacity for replication
The concentration of cord blood stem cells is higher than that of bone marrow stem cells
There is a much lower incidence of rejection
There is a lower risk of viral infection

Types and Limitations of Cord Blood Stem Cells
While a person’s own cord blood stem cells can be used to treat some diseases, it is not possible to treat congenital diseases this way, since the stem cells will also be affected. Donor cord blood stem cells from a sibling or unrelated match must be used.

There are two types of cord blood stem cell transplants:

Allogeneic Transplantation: Cord blood stem cells from an unrelated donor or sibling are used.
Autologous Transplantation: The patient’s own cord blood stem cells are used.

The reasons for choosing either type of transplantation therapy is dependent on various factors, which will differ between patients.

Diseases Treated
Diseases that are currently treated using cord blood stem cells are:

Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia

Blood Disorders	Allogeneic Transplantation	Autologous Transplantation
Acute Myelofibrosis	Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes
Beta Thalassemia Major	Yes	No
Blackfan-Diamond Anemia	Yes	No
Fonconi Anemia	Yes	No
Paroxysmal Nocturmal Hemoglobinuria	Yes	Yes
Pure Red Cell Aplasia	Yes	No
Severe Aplastic Anemia	Yes	Yes
Sickle Cell Anemia	Yes	No

Cancers	Allogeneic Transplantation	Autologous Transplantation
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia	Yes	Yes
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia	Yes	Yes
Chronic Leukemias	Yes	Yes
Chronic Lymphiocytic Lukemia	Yes	Yes
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia	Yes	Yes
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia	Yes	Yes
Hodgkin’s Disease	Yes	Yes
Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia	Yes	Yes
Multiple Myeloma	Yes	Yes
Neuroblastoma	Yes	Yes
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma	Yes	Yes
Plasma Cell Leukemia	Yes	Yes
Refractory Anemia	Yes	Yes
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts	Yes	Yes
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation	Yes	Yes
Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts	Yes	Yes

Immunodeficiencies	Allogeneic Transplantation	Autologous Transplantation
Absence of T & B Cells	Yes	No
Absence of T Cells	Yes	No
Ataxia-Telangiectasia	Yes	No
Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome	Yes	No
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome	Yes	No
Chronic Granulomatous Disease	Yes	No
Common Variable Immunodefiency	Yes	No
DiGeorge Syndrome	Yes	No
Kostmann Syndrome	Yes	No
Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency	Yes	No
Neutrophil Actin Deficiency	Yes	No
Omenn Syndrome	Yes	No
Reticular Dysgenesis	Yes	No
Severe Combined Immunideficiency with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency	Yes	No
Wiskott-Alrich Syndrome	Yes	No
X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disorder	Yes	No

Inherited Disorders	Allogeneic Transplantation	Autologous Transplantation
Amegakaryocytosis / Congenital Thromocytopenia	Yes	No
Glanzmann Thrombasthenia	Yes	No

Researchers are studying the effectiveness of stem cells as treatments for the following illnesses:

Disease	Allogeneic Transplantation	Autologous Transplantation
Adrenoleukodystrophy	Yes	No
Breast Cancer	Yes	Yes
Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia	Yes	No
Ewing Sarcoma	Yes	Yes
Familial Erythrophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis	Yes	No
Hemophagocytosis	Yes	No
Gaucher’s Disease	Yes	No
Hunter’s Syndrome	Yes	No
Hurler’s Syndrome	Yes	No
Krabbe Disease	Yes	No
Langerhan’s Cell Histiocytosis	Yes	No
Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome	Yes	No
Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome	Yes	No
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy	Yes	No
Morquio Syndrome	Yes	No
Multiple Sclerosis	Yes	Yes
Nomann-Pick Disease	Yes	No
Osteoporosis	Yes	No
Renal Cell Carcinoma	Yes	Yes
Sanfilippo Syndrome	Yes	No
Scheie Syndrome	Yes	No
Sly Syndrome, Beta-Glucuronidase Deficiency	Yes	No
Tay Sachs Disease	Yes	No
Wolman Disease	Yes	No

While stem cells and their applications for the treatment of disease are still being studying, scientists are hopeful that in the future stem cells will provide treatments and cures for many common disorders, improving the overall quality of human life.

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Diseases Treatable by Cord Blood

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