Stem cell treatment

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faire_jour

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so, it is actually finally happening! Guess deafdude wasn't so crazy after all! I read about a study that they are doing with infants who have a hearing loss (not genetic) and who have banked cord blood.

i was astounded when i read about it. I really had no idea that they were that far along.
 
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted

so, it is actually finally happening! Guess deafdude wasn't so crazy after all! I read about a study that they are doing with infants who have a hearing loss (not genetic) and who have banked cord blood.

i was astounded when i read about it. I really had no idea that they were that far along.
Click to expand...

Oh not again, not in your life time
 
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted

so, it is actually finally happening! Guess deafdude wasn't so crazy after all! I read about a study that they are doing with infants who have a hearing loss (not genetic) and who have banked cord blood.

i was astounded when i read about it. I really had no idea that they were that far along.
Click to expand...

Just curious, do you have a link to what you read? Just wondering why there needs to be banked cord blood. And does the genetic factor mean the DNA would produce the same deaf cells that already exist?
 
Wirelessly posted

yeah, it's very small and very narrow, but it is happening.

i was surprised.
 
Only children six weeks to 18 months of age with cord blood banked at Cord Blood Registry are eligible to take part in the study. The hearing loss must be acquired and cannot be genetic. Only ten children will be able to take part. For more information and to register for the clinical trial
Click to expand...

:hmm: Are they saying this research they are doing are not for the genetically deaf.. or it will not work for them??
 
Wirelessly posted

Babyblue said:
Only children six weeks to 18 months of age with cord blood banked at Cord Blood Registry are eligible to take part in the study. The hearing loss must be acquired and cannot be genetic. Only ten children will be able to take part. For more information and to register for the clinical trial
Click to expand...

:hmm: Are they saying this research they are doing are not for the genetically deaf.. or it will not work for them??
Click to expand...

dunno. Could be either one. But for this study, they are not included.
 
Probably because if it's genetic, the gene causing it would also be in the cord blood, so no point treating it with that.

My guess: stem cell therapy will be a viable option within the lifetime of people who are now young children. Within the usable life-time for those of us over 50 - probably not. But we might see the glimmer of success on the horizon, even if not usable for ourselves.
 
Bottesini said:
That's a pretty small trial.
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It is. Looks like only 10 kids? I wonder why so few. Is there a concern that it won't go well so they're limiting it to just a few to begin with? Still would be interesting to see the results of the 10.
 
Beach girl said:
Probably because if it's genetic, the gene causing it would also be in the cord blood, so no point treating it with that.
Click to expand...

That would make sense. At least for this trial anyway. There might have to be a whole different thinking process in making this work for genetic deafness.

I'm so interested in this subject -- not necessarily for me -- but to think of the possibilities of how it can help so many people: blindness, heart/lung/kidney/liver issues, and so on.
 
Frisky Feline said:
Is this link one? Pregnancy Blog - For All Your Pregnancy Things by PregnancyWeekly: Cord Blood and Hearing Loss - First Clinical Trial Underway
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Well, that is certainly nothing to get excited about. First clinical trial? Ten infants with acquired loss? Yeah, maybe in the next 50 years we might be seeing results. But given the fact that just recently the most advanced area of using one's own stem cells resulted in rejection, this clinical trial is likely to only result in complications being discovered that were not predicted.

What concerns me more is that there are actually parents out there who are so disturbed by their child's deafness that they would let them be used as an experiment.
 
Babyblue said:
:hmm: Are they saying this research they are doing are not for the genetically deaf.. or it will not work for them??
Click to expand...

Yes, that is exactly what they are saying. The loss must be the result of some sort of traumatic insult to the hearing mechanism; eg meningitis, CMV, etc.
 
Beach girl said:
Probably because if it's genetic, the gene causing it would also be in the cord blood, so no point treating it with that.

My guess: stem cell therapy will be a viable option within the lifetime of people who are now young children. Within the usable life-time for those of us over 50 - probably not. But we might see the glimmer of success on the horizon, even if not usable for ourselves.
Click to expand...

That is exactly why they are not attempting to treat deafness with a genetic etiology.

I don't see it being a treatment for deafness in the lifetime of today's young children. Perhaps their children.
 
jillio said:
Well, that is certainly nothing to get excited about. First clinical trial? Ten infants with acquired loss? Yeah, maybe in the next 50 years we might be seeing results. But given the fact that just recently the most advanced area of using one's own stem cells resulted in rejection, this clinical trial is likely to only result in complications being discovered that were not predicted.

What concerns me more is that there are actually parents out there who are so disturbed by their child's deafness that they would let them be used as an experiment.
Click to expand...

I agree.. They should test on willing adults.
 
jillio said:
Yes, that is exactly what they are saying. The loss must be the result of some sort of traumatic insult to the hearing mechanism; eg meningitis, CMV, etc.
Click to expand...

The thing I wonder about CMV is that the impact happens while the mother is still pregnant with the child. It isn't something "acquired" after birth. I don't know how that works.
 
AlleyCat said:
That would make sense. At least for this trial anyway. There might have to be a whole different thinking process in making this work for genetic deafness.

I'm so interested in this subject -- not necessarily for me -- but to think of the possibilities of how it can help so many people: blindness, heart/lung/kidney/liver issues, and so on.
Click to expand...

The first uses we will see from stem cell therapy will be in relation to disease process that is fatal or results in a shortened lifespan: diabetes, heart disease, etc.
 
AlleyCat said:
The thing I wonder about CMV is that the impact happens while the mother is still pregnant with the child. It isn't something "acquired" after birth. I don't know how that works.
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Yes, but it is still considered an acquired etiology, because it is not coming from the fetus's own genetic make up. Most of us think of acquired loss as that coming after birth, which is correct. This is not dependent upon the time the loss occurred, but rather the reason for the loss itself. So they are using "acquired" in a different context than we usually see it used in relation to hearing loss.
 
Babyblue said:
I agree.. They should test on willing adults.
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I agree because the adult can communicate by letting doctors know while babies or toddlers how suppose the doctors know if its working or not. or what if kids are in pain and thought it s normal. guess doctors prefer small kids with fresh skin ..
 
Babyblue said:
I agree.. They should test on willing adults.
Click to expand...

Willing adults would not have stemcells from their umbilical cords in storage.

That's not even routine now, to store an infant's cord blood. When did they start doing it, maybe a decade or so ago?

You've got to go with what you've got - babies with stored cord blood are the only likely group.
 
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