It’s hard to believe that 2016 is coming to an end. We’ve had an amazing year at ViaCord and hope the same for you! Let’s take a quick look back at some highlights.
Clinical Research Studies Continued to Give Hope to Families.
The last few years has seen a shift in using Cord Blood stem cells from exclusively for transplant indications into the growing arena of regenerative medicine research. Regenerative medicine refers to a process of using living cells to potentially replace or ‘regenerate’ humans cells that have been damaged by disease, genetics, injury or simply aging in order to restore or establish function in a patient. This year researchers continued in their quest to unlock new possibilities for these powerful cells.
Cerebral Palsy
A Phase II clinical research study at Duke University Medical Center completed in the Spring of 2016. The goal of the research was to determine the efficacy of a single intravenous infusion of autologous Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) for the treatment of pediatric patients with spastic cerebral palsy. Study results, presented at the 57th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, showed that when patients were given an adequate dose of their own cord blood stem cells, their Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) improved significantly.111
The full results of the Phase II CP are expected to be published soon, while additional studies are underway to evaluate cord blood use in siblings and even unrelated children. Further details can be found on clinicaltrials.gov.
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continued to be another area of focus for researchers in 2016. Late this summer researchers at Duke University completed a Phase I research study to determine the safety of a single intravenous infusion of Autologous Umbilical Cord blood in children with ASD. A Phase II trial is now underway and you can find more information about it here on clinicaltrials.gov.
Our families and fans showed us how to #LoveWithConfidence
In February we asked our customers and followers on social media to post a picture of who they #LoveWithConfidence for a photo contest. Let’s just say, our families and fans are bursting with love! Over 700 people participated and the amount of love that was shown reinforces how amazing our ViaCord families and fans are. Thank you to everyone who showed us who they #LoveWithConfidence. You can read more about the contest on our blog here. And stayed tuned to see what contests 2017 will bring.
ViaCord, The March of Dimes, and Superheroes.
In May, we had the honor of sponsoring The March of Dimes annual walk around the iconic Charles River in our hometown of Boston. ViaCord, along with our parent company PerkinElmer raised over $20,000 to help fight premature births. We also had the help of some Superheros – yes, superheros. A Superhero inspired tent fit with an obstacle course, games and of course capes was a hit with kids of all ages…even adults! You check out some adorable pics of the day here on Instagram.
