Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Fetal blood --- Cord blood --- Umbilical cord blood --- Blood --- Analysis.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) and, more recently, umbilical cord tissue (UCT) have been stored cryopreserved in private and public cord blood and tissue banks worldwide, since the umbilical cord blood was used for the first time in a child with Fanconi anemia with his HLA-identical sibling, following strict guidelines that imply high-quality standards and total rastreability of these units. The hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are clinically used in hematopoietic treatments for blood disorders and hemato-oncological diseases. Also, the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from the UCT and UCB, nowadays, can be used as coadjuvants of hematopoietic transplants. In the near future, these stem cells will have a crucial role in regenerative medicine. For this reason, these cells have been tested in several clinical trials and compassive treatments in children and adults, concerning a wide range of pathologies and diseases, for instance, for the treatment of cerebral paralysis. Considering the worldwide availability of UCB and UCT units and the absence of ethical concerns will probably become the best sources for cell-based therapies for hematological and nonhematological pathologies. The UCB will also have a crucial role in neonatology-predictive analysis in the near future.

Fetal blood --- Analysis. --- Cord blood --- Umbilical cord blood --- Blood --- Medicine --- Stem Cell Research --- Health Sciences --- Cell Biology

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

There is extensive evidence from animal models that gonadal steroids, produced in fetal and neonatal life, act on the developing organism to produce sex differences far beyond the reproductive system. That early gonadal steroid exposure also plays an important role in human development is supported by studies of individuals with disorders of sex determination and differentiation. It is much less clear whether normal variation in gonadal steroid exposure predicts sexually dimorphic health outcomes or within-sex variation. This is largely due to challenges related to the assessment of gonadal steroid exposure in the developing fetus and neonate. Regarding the prenatal period, serial measurements of serum hormone levels in the fetus, for use in studies of later development, are not possible for ethical reasons. Researchers have measured hormones in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and amniotic fluid; used putative anthropometric indices such as the relative lengths of the 2nd and 4th digits (2D:4D); evaluated common variants in genes related to hormone production, transport, and metabolism; and examined development in opposite sex twins and the offspring of mothers with hyperandrogeny. Each of these approaches has particular strengths and notable weaknesses. Regarding the neonatal period, serial measurements in serum are often impractical for studies of typical development. Salivary hormone assays, frequently used in studies of older children and adults, have not been extensively investigated in neonates. The most appropriate timing for testing is also open to debate. Early work suggested that testosterone levels in males begin to rise after the first postnatal week, peak around the 3rd to 4th months of life, and then drop back to very low levels by 1 year. However a more recent study of 138 infants did not demonstrate this pattern. Testosterone was highest on the day of birth and gradually dropped over the first 6 months. Even less is known about patterns of early estrogen exposure, though highly sensitive bioassays indicated that sex differences are present in early childhood. In addition, the design and interpretation of studies may be impacted by widespread acceptance of conceptual frameworks that are not well-supported empirically. For example, many researchers presume that the free hormone hypothesis, which states that unbound hormone is more readily diffusible into tissues and thus a better measure of actual exposure, is true. However this hypothesis has been challenged on multiple grounds. A second example: it is generally accepted that masculinization of the human brain is primarily mediated by the androgen receptor (in contrast to rodents where the estrogen receptor plays a major role), in part because chromosomal males with complete androgen insensitivity generally espouse a female gender identity. However this is not always the case, and other sexually dimorphic outcomes have not been carefully assessed in CAIS. The aim of this research topic is to gather together experimental and review papers which address the diverse challenges in assessing prenatal and neonatal gonadal steroid exposure for studies of human development with the expectation that this will allow more critical appraisal of existing studies, identify critical research gaps, and improve the design of future studies.

Endocrinology. --- minipuberty --- Testosterone --- androgen receptor --- digit ratio --- prenatal --- sexual differentiation --- umbilical cord blood --- Opposite-sex twins --- Saliva --- Hypogonadism

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)--from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood--are used to treat patients with cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma, disorders of the blood and immune systems, severe aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease, and certain inherited metabolic diseases. In addition to cord blood's direct therapeutic value to patients, it is also used for basic research on blood, blood stem cells, and immune cells. In recent years, the U.S. government (through the Health Resources and Services Administration) has endeavored to increase the overall national inventory--which currently contains over 200,000 units--as well as the number of high-quality units and the number of units from racial/ethnic minorities. Despite the important clinical and research roles of cord blood products and a clear public health need for increasing and diversifying our national inventory, little is systematically known about the economics of the industry, including what banks' costs and revenues are, cost structures and determinants of financial health, successful collection efforts for cord blood banks (CBBs), whether the market is competitive or similar to a public goods market, and the role of the government in the market. In this report, we aim to fill these knowledge gaps by (1) describing the existing public CBB system, (2) assessing current trends and economic relationships from the perspective of key stakeholders in the public CBB system, and (3) providing recommendations to improve the economic sustainability of the public CBB system.

Fetal blood --- Blood banks --- Fetal Blood. --- Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation. --- Blood Banks --- Economic aspects --- economics. --- United States.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Regenerative Medicine Using Pregnancy Specific Biological Substances is an international attempt to bring researchers working on the potential uses of pregnancy specific biological substances in regenerative medicine, under one umbrella. More than 72 distinguished authors from five continents have contributed in the 40 chapters of the book. It will be a good reference source, not only for practicing clinicians, but also for those interested in research in immunotherapy; stem cell therapy; regenerative therapy and various specialities such as cardiology, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery. This book brings together some of the important work that is being done along with unpublished observations that will help to shape the contours of future therapy in the field of modern regenerative medicine. It promises to be an eye-opener to the enormous potential of hitherto discarded material that had been so far considered as a pure biological waste. The book will have served its purpose if it acts as a stimulant to professionals and clinical scientists who can build on the knowledge and expand the curative potential of pregnancy-specific biological substances.

Degeneration (Pathology). --- Pregnancy. --- Regenerative medicine. --- Tissue engineering. --- Regenerative medicine --- Placenta --- Fetal blood --- Amniotic liquid --- Fetal tissues --- Stem Cell Transplantation --- Investigative Techniques --- Medicine --- Tissue Transplantation --- Cell Transplantation --- Transplantation --- Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment --- Health Occupations --- Disciplines and Occupations --- Surgical Procedures, Operative --- Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation --- Methods --- Regenerative Medicine --- Fetal Tissue Transplantation --- Human Anatomy & Physiology --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Pathology --- Physiology --- Placenta. --- Fetal blood. --- Amniotic liquid. --- Fetal tissues. --- Fetal tissue --- Liquor amnii --- Cotyledon (Anatomy) --- Cord blood --- Umbilical cord blood --- Medicine. --- Gene therapy. --- Internal medicine. --- Blood transfusion. --- Hematology. --- Surgical transplantation. --- Medicine & Public Health. --- Blood Transfusion Medicine. --- Transplant Surgery. --- Gene Therapy. --- Internal Medicine. --- Tissues --- Body fluids --- Embryology --- Pregnancy --- Blood --- Uterus, Pregnant --- Regeneration (Biology)