Study Reveals Cord Blood Has the Potential To Treat Spinal Cord Injuries
Conducted at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai in Toronto, the study examined the results of cord blood, when applied to rats after having undergone an acute spinal cord injury. The researchers behind the study noticed an improvement in the neurological functions of the animals after they were treated with cord blood samples. Over the course of six weeks, the animals also showed improved locomotor functions, exhibiting the ability to move around more easily than rats that were left untreated. The cord blood seemed to slowly eliminate the injury, as the researchers noticed the injured area decreased in size over the 6-week period. The study’s abtract concluded that: “UCB MPSCs [umbilical cord multipotential stem cells] improve neurologic function of rats with acute SCI [spinal cord injuries], possibly by the release of factors that reduce secondary injury For the past decade, researchers have attempted to prove that cord blood has the ability to repair and regenerate damaged cells. This study puts field one step closer to having a cure for not only blood disease but also other types of physical injuries.