BOSTON — Amniotic fluid, like umbilical cord blood, has been discovered to contain stem cells that could be used to repair severe birth defects. Dr. Dario Fauza, at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, says that infants are difficult to treat surgically and often suffer from surgery related complications such as life-threatening infections. He hopes that his research with stem cells from amniotic fluid will make some surgeries unnecessary.
“People always thought that amniotic fluid was just a deposit of dying cells … but that's not true. They are very vibrant cells,” Fauza said.
Dr. Fauza admits that there are some risks involved in removing amniotic fluid from the womb. But the amount needed for stem cell collection is very small and the cells can then be used to grow, for instance, cartilage tissue that might be used to repair damaged trachea. Some children born with malformed tracheas do not survive surgical attempts to take cartilage tissue from other parts of their bodies. Cartilage grown from stem cells would also be proof against immune system rejection.
Dr. Fauza also works with fetal tissue that is taken in a minimally invasive procedure from a pre-born child with a birth defect like spina bifida. The cells are cultivated and new tissue can be grown ready for surgery immediately after birth.
Adult Stem Cells Used to Cure Blindness
LONDON — UK physicians are pioneering the use of adult stem cells to cure blindness resulting from a damaged cornea — so far, they have used the therapy to restore eyesight in 40 patients.
Opthalmic surgeon at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Sussex, Sheraz Daya, explained to the BBC, “Many people who've had injuries to their eyes, or even people born with congenital deficiencies of stem cells, land up having a problem with the top layer of their cornea.”
Although corneal transplants have been used to treat the condition for some time, “even if we do a corneal transplant, that will not stay clear; it'll cloud over and fail,” Dr. Daya said. “So what we need to do is replace those stem cells that are missing.”
Doctors use the patient’s own stem cells or those from a donor to re-grow the cornea — the transparent part that makes up the front surface of the eye.
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(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
