Tag Archives: menstrual blood stem cells

Cryo-Cell CEO Mercedes Walton Invites Women to Share Their Ideas on Self-Care and the Power of Stem Cells

Cryo-Cell International, Inc. a global leader in stem cell innovation, resolves to help women inspire and empower each other to take charge of their health in the New Year, and to spark conversations about the promise of stem cells.  The company will be accepting video entries for its “Resolution Revolution” contest through January 31, 2010, and details on the event can be found at www.celle.com/resolution.

“This time of year, we often make New Year’s resolutions to take better care of ourselves, but the dawn of a new decade is particularly poignant as we look ahead with hope and inspiration at the steps we can take,” said Mercedes Walton, CEO of Cryo-Cell International.  “Never in history have we experienced a time of such rapid advances with stem cells, including the use of menstrual blood stem cells and how they may help women protect their health” she added.  “Because women often look to each other for information and inspiration, we’re looking to empower them to spread the word through video about what the power of stem cells means to them.”

The C’elle service is the first and only one of its kind, empowering women to collect and cryo preserve stem cells from their menstrual flow.

Stem cells from menstrual blood are proven to be a rich source of stem cells which proliferate rapidly and have the ability to become many different types of cells such as cardiac, neural, bone, fat and cartilage.

These stem cells are a potential source for promising regenerative therapies to treat stroke, cardiac, diabetes, breast cancer, spinal cord injury, chronic wounds, Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases.

Since launching its proprietary service, the company continues to expand research and development initiatives worldwide in order to accelerate the potential diagnostic and therapeutic benefits of these unique stem cells. Cryo-Cell partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, where research is underway to better understand the C’elle stem cells and their potential benefit for the treatment of breast cancer.  It also has entered research and licensing agreements with several other organizations to identify potential future diagnostic and therapeutic uses for endometriosis and stress urinary incontinence in women and regenerative medicine specific to wound healing. In 2009, the service was licensed in China, Thailand and Brazil.

Via EPR Network
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Now, Women Can Bank On ‘Monthly Miracle’ For Future Treatment

Women in the city will soon have the option of banking their menstrual blood so that menstrual blood stem cells can be used for treatment of serious disorders through stem cell therapy.

In six months, Life Cell International, in technology partnership with Cryo-Cell International, will set up the facility, which will be the first to store menstrual blood in the country.

Cryo-Cell, which has patented technology to decontaminate samples, started menstrual blood banks in the US last year, and other countries are yet to catch up. Cryo-Cell calls it ‘your monthly miracle’. The endometrium-lining of the uterus regenerates every month, suggesting the presence of stem cells. However, there is no published scientific work on the curative properties of such cells.

Stem cells have the ability to regenerate themselves through cell division and act as a repair system for the body. Research on stem cells provides knowledge about how healthy cells replace damaged ones in adults, leading to the possibility of cell-based therapy to treat diseases.

“Menstrual blood contains millions of stem cells that have many properties and characteristics similar to those of stem cells found in bone marrow and embryos. These stem cells exhibit capabilities for self-renewal and multi-potency,” says LifeCell International executive director Mayur Abhaya. Stem cell research hopes to find answers to problems such as cardiac and degenerative diseases, besides cancer.

The women would be given a collection kit comprising a menstrual cup and collection tubes. The blood would be processed and preserved in liquid nitrogen at extremely low temperatures.

Though the Chennai bank has not decided on the rates, it hopes registration will cost less than that charged for preserving cord blood. At present, the bank, which has stored over 13,000 samples of cord blood at a facility near Chennai, charges Rs 41,100 for collection, processing and storage of the blood for the first year. From the second, the client pays an annual fee of Rs 3,500 to preserve the blood for two decades.

The biggest advantage of menstrual blood, according to LifeCell chief scientific officer Dr Ajit Kumar, is that it can be easily harvested in a painless, non-invasive manner. “And it also extends the scope of stem cell therapy to a larger section of the people. Cord blood is an option open to only those who are pregnant or those planning babies,” he says.

At a time when legal restrictions on collection of embryonic stem cells have been stymieing research, the option to save menstrual blood is a boon because these cells have similar properties to that of cord blood, he adds.

Via EPR Network
More Biotech press releases