Dr Kurtzberg’s presentation was delivered electronically to the AusACPDM conference in Christchurch on March 6th. Due to flight cancellations, Dr Kurtzberg did not make her planned trip to Christchurch in person. Instead she sent her presentation, recorded the audio for it and sent that through. The two were sync’d and played to the conference. When the recorded conference was over she came on the phone to host a most interesting question and answer period. So what did I learn from her presentation.
• Cord blood (stem cells) are used to treat a number of hereditary illness’ in young children that would otherwise die. What has to happen in these cases is that the child’s immune system is destroyed using chemotherapy, a foreign source of stem cells is introduced resulting in the body accepting these cells and reconfiguring itself, and thus curing the condition. A radical treatment but justified in the face of death.
• In the USA cord blood is often collected for the Public Bank. This is where a public facility collects the cord blood and stores it for anyone’s use. The donor gives up their rights to it. Cord blood can also be collected by private clinics who store it solely for the donor’s eventual use. The collection process is quite simple, however the preparation and hygiene for storing the sample is quite involved. Cryogenic storage can keep samples viable for at least 20 years, probably more.
• Using cord blood to treat children with cerebral palsy is really in its trial phase. The only children it could benefit are those whose cerebral palsy has been caused by post-utero causes. This would therefore, only account for 5-10% of cases of cerebral palsy. Most cases of cerebral palsy are caused in-utero for unknown reasons. As cord blood is the same as the baby’s blood, reintroduction after birth is a waste of time for cerebral palsy in-utero caused. Dr Kurtzberg is running a trial on the benefits of cord blood re-introduction for those whose CP is caused post-utero, and whose parents were fortunate enough to have their cord blood stored. To date she has re-introduced a child’s own cord blood into 198 children with CP. Results to date look encouraging. Her trial is continuing and scientific results will be about 4 years away. There have been virtually no adverse reactions to the reintroduction, only minor things like the child developing a cold have been noted, so the down side is virtually nil. People from all over the world may apply to be on this trial if their child’s cause of CP is post-utero and they have stored their child’s cord blood. Dr Kurtzberg is in the final stages of seeking FDA approval to run this clinical trial.
(Google Dr Kurtzberg and Duke Health)

Dr Mike Sullivan, a pedeatric oncologist from Christchurch University also spoke on stem cells. He spoke of the dangers of stem cell treatments in places like China, Russia and Mexico. Stem cells from a foreign source would be attacked by the childs own immune system and they would be destroyed within a week. (hence the reason when treating hereditary/blood/Immune illness, for destroying the child’s immune system first). Also as the stem cells are from a foreign source, origins unkown, the risks of problems occurring are significant and reports of tumors forming have been documented. The scientific evidence for any improvement for this type of treatment using someone else’s stem cells does not exist.
Dr Sullivan also went on to review techniques presently being developed that will allow science to manufacture your own stem cells from skin tissue and other sources. This may, over time, negate the need for one to collect their own cord blood.
This field of stem cells is rapidly changing and holds great potential over the next 10 years.
Harvey Brunt

But wait, there’s more….
I attended a lecture at Brain Week held at Auckland University on the 20th March on Stem Cells by Assoc Prof Bronwyn Connor. An interesting presentation that added to my knowledge bank. This presentation discussed the different stem cells available:
Embryonic stem cells: These are the ones that have the moral issues around, as they come from human embryoes.. These are basically unprogrammed and can be used to make any cell in the body. They effectively are awaiting instructions. These stem cells can reproduce 10x more rapidly than adult stem cells. Programming them as to what parts of the human body they should make it the tricky part. You can see the potential for good and bad that exists here.
Adult stem cells: In the adult human reside many areas where stem cells exist. These stem cells are partially programmed to produce cells related to that system in the body.In the brain there is a fluid cavity whose lining is rich in brain stem cells. These are normally used to replace olfactory cells in the nose, however when damage occurs in the brain they race off to start repairing this damage. Stem cells In cord blood exist that are partially programmed to create new blood, it is these cells that are hoped to cross the brain protection barrier and effect some repair to post-utero damage in children with CP. Similarly in bone marrow there is a rich supply of stem cells to help the immune system.
Be Wary: One of the issues with embryonic stem cells is that if their programming has not be rigorous, and some are unprogrammed then there is a significant risk of teratomas being formed (tumours). In fact the one clinical trial being done has been halted due to this.
Harvey Brunt