Researchers use umbilical cord cells to produce cartilage, bone
DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE- THE DAILY YOMIURI
29th May 2007
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Researchers at Tokyo University's Institute of Medical Science have had high levels of success in using stem cells found in blood from the placenta and umbilical cord to produce cartilage and bone.
As people age, they become subject to bone fractures, which can lead to their becoming bedridden, and painful knee joints caused by arthritis. Many hope that the cord blood stem cells could be used to treat such problems.
The findings will be presented at an international symposium on cord blood transplantation to be held in Los Angeles in May.
The institute's cell-processing division, which produced the results, was able to successfully harvest 20 of 25 stem cells from the cord within five hours of a baby's birth. When fostered for three weeks with the aid of chemicals, an about three-millimeter-wide piece of collagen-containing bone was produced.
