A new development has surfaced for the use of adult stem cells for babies. The information stems from research from the University of Maryland Medical School.
The researchers found that even newborn babies already have adult type stem cells in their hearts. Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council tells OneNewsNow that during heart repair surgery, doctors removed snippets of tissue.
"They grew these cells in the lab and found they grew really well," Prentice says. "They were an adult-type stem cell that shows a lot of promise to be able to put in and repair heart damage, like from a birth defect or some other heart disease that the little baby is born with, or to grow new heart valves and so on."
He suggests it is not too farfetched to believe that at some point in the future those repairs could begin to take place shortly after birth. Prentice indicates there is also the possibility the stem cells could be obtained while the baby is still in the uterus.
"Keep in mind that they're all over your body, even at that point in your life while you're still in the womb," he explains. "They're in the amniotic fluid, they're in the umbilical cord blood -- and with just a few of those cells you could grow and make a heart valve or make new heart tissue, injecting it back in even while you're still in the womb."
Prentice stresses that while there is much more research to be done, the hope is that it will open up a whole new avenue of treatment before an infant comes into the world.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow.com
