El Mejor Momento

Posiblemente no has pasado tanto tiempo pensando en el destino del cordón umbilical después de que tu bebé haya nacido. Y eso es totalmente comprensible; tienes un montón de cosas más por las cuales preocuparte… ¡Vas a tener un bebé!

Quizás has escuchado que la sangre de cordón umbilical y el tejido pueden ser preservados después de dar a luz, ¿pero por qué alguien haría eso?

La respuesta está en las células madre dentro del cordón umbilical que pueden ser usadas en tratamientos para salvar vidas. Es un procedimiento muy sencillo que las futuras madres realizan para ayudar a proteger a sus hijos (o a otras personas).

En el pasado, la tarea del cordón umbilical terminaba con la llegada del bebé y era simplemente tirado como un desperdicio médico.

Pero en 1978, los científicos se dieron cuenta de que la pequeña cantidad de sangre que quedaba en el cordón umbilical después del nacimiento, contenía valiosas células madre hematopoyéticas del mismo tipo de las que se utilizan en un trasplante de médula ósea.

De hecho, resulta que la concentración de células madre en la sangre de cordón umbilical es generalmente más alta que la que se encuentra en la médula ósea de un adulto. (1)

Más allá de trasplantes y tratamientos para salvar vidas, los científicos están explorando nuevas y emocionantes maneras en las que la terapia con células madre puede potencialmente tratar condiciones que actualmente no tienen cura, como el autismo, la parálisis cerebral, la pérdida de audición adquirida y el accidente cerebrovascular pediátrico.

Tan solo en la Universidad de Duke, hay planificado un proyecto vanguardista de 41 millones de dólares para estudiar en ensayos clínicos el uso de las células madre de cordón umbilical en pacientes con autismo y ciertos trastornos cerebrales y lesiones. (6)

Echa un vistazo a algunas de las áreas en constante investigación.

FUENTES:

1. Waller-Wise R. Umbilical Cord Blood: Information for Childbirth Educators. The Journal of Perinatal Education. 2011; 20(1):54-60.

2. Paiuk, Cara. "A Parent's Wild Ride To Cord Blood." [Web blog post.] Parent's Guide to Cord Blood. Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, July 2013. Web. [cited Apr. 2016]

3. Broxmeyer HE, Lee M-R, Hangoc G, et al. Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, generation of induced pluripotent stem cells, and isolation of endothelial progenitors from 21- to 23.5-year cryopreserved cord blood. Blood. 2011;117(18):4773-4777

4. Ballen KK, Verter F, Kurtzberg J. Umbilical cord blood donation: public or private? Bone Marrow Transplantation. 2015 Oct;50(10):1271-8.

5. Global Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) At One Million [Web site post.] American Society of Hematology. Web. [cited Oct 11, 2017]

6. Duke Medicine News and Communications. http://Psychiatry.Duke.Edu/News/News-Archive/Marcus-Foundation-Grant. 2016. Web. [cited April 19, 2016.]

7. Florida Hospital; CBR Systems, Inc. Safety of Autologous Stem Cell Infusion for Children With Acquired Hearing Loss. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000- [2016 March 14]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02038972 NLM Identifier: NCT02038972.

8. Baumgartner J, Personal communication. January 28, 2016

9. Niskar AS, Kieszak SM, Holmes A, et al. Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among Children 6 to 19 Years of Age. The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA. 1998;279(14):1071-1075.

10. Dawson G., et al. Autologous Cord Blood Infusions Are Safe and Feasible in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results of a Single-Center Phase I Open-Label Trial. Stem Cells Translational Medicine. 2017; doi:10.1002/sctm.16-0474.

11. Kurtzberg, J.; Duke University Medical Center. Cord Blood Infusion for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet}. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02847182 NLM Identifier: NCT02847182.

12. Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance, CDC, "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years. 2010Surveillance Summaries." March 28, 2014 / 63(SS02);1-21 [cited April 19, 2016] http://www.cdc.gov

13. Florida Hospital; Cord Blood Registry, Inc. Safety of Autologous Human Umbilical Cord Blood Treatment for Perinatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000- [2016 April 19]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02460484 NLM Identifier: NCT02460484.

14. Baumgartner J; Save the Cord Foundation; Mediware. (2015 December 4). "Autologous Cord Blood Stem Cell Applications for Pediatric Stroke and Acquired Hearing Loss." [Webinar]. Share the Science Speaker Series. Retrieved from http://www.savethecordfoundation.org/share-the-science-with-dr-baumgartner-focus-on-stroke-hearing-loss/ [cited April 19, 2016]

15. Baumgartner J, Personal communication. January 28, 2016

16. Lloyd-Jones d, Adams R, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. 2009 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation. 2009;119:e1-e161.

17. Nakanishi K, et al. Rat umbilical cord blood cells attenuate hypoxic–ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats. Scientific Reports. 2017; 7: 44111.

18. Kurtzberg J; Roberson Foundation. A Randomized Study of Autologous Umbilical Cord Blood Reinfusion in Children With Cerebral Palsy. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000- [19 April 2016]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01147653 NLM Identifier: NCT01147653.

19. The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. Safety and Effectiveness of Banked Cord Blood or Bone Morrow Stem Cells in Children With Cerebral Palsy. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000- [9 May 2016]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01988584: NCT01988584.

20. Georgia Regents University. Safety and Effectiveness of Cord Blood Stem Cell Infusion for the Treatment of Cerebral Palsy in Children. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000- [9 May 2016]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01072370: NCT01072370.

21. Christensen D, Van Naarden Braun K, Doernberg NS, et al. "Prevalence of cerebral palsy, co-occurring autism spectrum disorders, and motor functioning - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, USA, 2008." Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2014 Jan;56(1):59-65.

22. Be the Match. "Cord Blood is Changing Lives." [Web fact sheet.] Web. [cited April 19, 2016] https://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Donate-cord-blood/Cord-blood-is-changing-lives

23. Grupp SA, Dvorak CC, Nieder ML, et al. Children’s Oncology Group’s 2013 blueprint for research: Stem cell transplantation. Pediatric Blood Cancer. 2013;60:1044–1047.

24. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, "Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Facts." Web fact sheet. June 2016. Web. [cited June 13, 2016]. http://www.lls.org/sites/default/files/file_assets/ FS2_Cord_Blood_Transplantation_FINAL%206.1.16.pdf

25. Verter, Frances. "FAQs." [Web site post.] Parent's Guide to Cord Blood. Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation. Web. [cited April 19, 2016]

26. VidaCel. "Dónde donar." [Web fact sheet.] Web. [cited Oct 2, 2017]