It is hard to believe that 15 years have already passed since the first studies began using stem cells to treat cerebral palsy. In that time, more than 2,400 people have been treated via clinical trials based on stem cell research. Of these treatments, cord blood stands out with trials using either donated cord blood or a person's own cord blood. Yet, no stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy has been approved anywhere in the world to date. The reason is simple. More trials are needed and more evidence must be gathered before moving to the next phase of adoption within the greater medical community. 

The future is bright! Indeed, evidence is mounting from these clinical trials and groups like the Cerebral Palsy Alliance are taking notice. For this edition of Share the Science, we are proud to welcome Dr. Madison Paton and Dr. Megan Finch-Edmondson who have done a thorough review of over 15 years of evidence from clinical trials using cord blood as well as mesenchymal stem cells, brain/neural stem cells and haematopoietic/blood-forming stem cells. Their review helps to understand the potential of these treatment methods, as well as identifying the areas that still need to be explored. 

Join us to better understand the scope of previous studies as well as the encouraging results from these clinical trials. Be a part of the discussion, as we ask 'What steps are next?' 'What treatments are worthwhile?' 'Can this be scaled to large groups of people?' and. . . 'What is the role of cord blood in this exciting future?' 

SHARE THE SCIENCE
with

Madison Paton, PhD & Megan Finch-Edmondson, PhD
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, University of Sydney
 
"Witness 15 Years of Cord Blood in the Treatment of Cerebral Palsy"

Free webinar.  Open to the public.
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Wednesday, May 4th, 2022  5pm EDT / 2pm PDT

RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE. Click here to watch via the Share the Science archive.
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The Cerebral Palsy Alliance has been operating for over 70 years. The CPA organisation was developed by a group of parents of children with cerebral palsy, and was originally known as the Spastic Centre of New South Wales (Australia). Led by Neil and Audrie McLeod, whose daughter Jennifer had cerebral palsy, these parents built a brighter future for their children – pioneering treatment, education, equipment, employment, recreation, independent living and research for people with cerebral palsy worldwide. 

Today, Cerebral Palsy Alliance provides family-centred therapies, life skills programs, equipment and support for people and their families living with cerebral palsy and other neurological and physical disabilities.  In addition, for over a decade CPA has been driving international research into the prevention, treatment and cure of cerebral palsy through the CPA Research Foundation .

The past two years have brought dramatic change to the healthcare industry due to the Covid pandemic. In particular, biotherapies have been impacted. In this special presentation by AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies), presenters will suggest ways for cord blood banks and users to diversify uses of this life-saving medical resource and delve into the current regulations from the USA and the EU.
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Dr. Angie Muniz and Federico Quezada will present and welcome discussion from attendees regarding the following areas:

• Current US FDA/EU regulations
• Medical applications of cord blood for uses other than transplantation
• Preparing agreements/business considerations in order to establish partnerships with sponsoring institutions

​Christina Celluzzi, PhD, MS, Director of Biotherapies, AABB, will moderate the session and provide a short introduction.

You will also learn more about AABB’s cellular product toolkit and the cord blood and Spanish language subsections. These resources offer unique opportunities for your professional development.

Join us live for this exciting webinar and discussion to explore the ways cord blood will evolve to meet new needs in the biotherapy industry. 

​Unrelated donor cord blood is a rapidly available cryopreserved stem cell source that has the advantage of reduced stringency of required HLA-match. This extends transplant access to minority patients and those in need of urgent transplantation.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, optimization of cord blood transplantation (CBT) practices including graft selection, conditioning, graft thaw and early post-transplant supportive care — especially prevention and management of graft-versus-host disease and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections — has resulted in a dramatic reduction in transplant-related mortality after CBT for high-risk acute leukemia in adults.

This combined with very low rates of relapse has resulted in very high survival in this patient population. These promising results and the future of adult CBT will be discussed in detail in this Share the Science session.

Register now to receive a link to the recording and slides.

SHARE THE SCIENCE
with

Juliet Barker, M.D.

Director, Cord Blood Transplantation Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center​
 
"Optimizing Practices in Cord Blood Transplantation"

Free webinar.  Open to the public.
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Thursday, December 9th at 2 pm ET / 11am PT

RECORDING AVAILABLE NOW