News

Umbilical cord blood - hope in the treatment of cerebral palsy

Eysins, Switzerland, August 2008

A clinical trial at Duke University in the USA uses umbilical cord blood in the treatment of cerebral palsy, a motor disability caused by brain damage. The treatment involves an autologous infusion of umbilical cord blood in the blood of a child whose cord blood was taken shortly after birth. The trial will ultimately study 40 children and track the progresses by evaluating both motor and cognitive skills for two years after the treatment. Cerebral palsy cannot always be diagnosed prior to birth and a successful outcome of this trial would further support the need for high inventories of allogeneic cord blood or increased awareness of autologous cord blood banking.