Interest in umbilical cord blood as an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells is growing rapidly. Umbilical cord blood offers the clinician a source of hematopoietic stem cells that are readily available and rarely contaminated by latent viruses. Moreover, the collection of umbilical cord blood poses no risk to the donor; there is no need for general anesthesia or blood replacement, and...

Among blood preparations, serum has been topically used in the management of various ocular diseases in ophthalmology. Like peripheral blood serum, umbilical cord blood serum contains a high concentration of essential tear components, growth factors, neurotrophic factors, vitamin A, fibronectin, prealbumin, and oil. Umbilical cord serum can provide basic nutrients for epithelial renewal and can...

UNLABELLED This quantitative systematic review compared the efficacy and safety of ephedrine with phenylephrine for the prevention and treatment of hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery. Seven randomized controlled trials (n = 292) were identified after a systematic search of electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry), published articles...

We report a rare case of an umbilical cord hemangioma. The umbilical cord consisted of Capillaries and cavernous blood vessels and the hemangioma stressed umbilical arteries and vein. At 40 weeks of gestation, it resulted in intrauterine death of the fetus. Microscopically, there were lots of vessels with various thicknesses in the umbilical cord. Autopsy shows evidences of smothering. These fi...

OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to evaluate the relationship between umbilical cord arterial blood lactate levels with acid base balance to the mode of delivery and short-term neonatal outcome in a large multiracial population delivering at term in University of Malaya Medical Centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two thousand two hundred and twelve patients of more than 37 weeks of gestation with singleto...

BACKGROUND Mesenchymal stromal cells are employed in various different clinical settings in order to modulate immune response. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms responsible for their immunomodulatory effects, which could be influenced by both the cell source and culture conditions. DESIGN AND METHODS We tested the ability of a 5% platelet lysate-supplemented medium to s...

Our purpose was to evaluate whether maternal and fetal hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) concentrations in pregnancies with small for gestational age (SGA) infants are different from those in pregnancies with appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants. Maternal and fetal circulating HGF concentrations were compared between 55 pregnancies with AGA infants and 16 pregnancies with SGA infants at b...

OBJECTIVE To analyse first-day-of-life glucose levels in infants of women with gestational diabetes (GDM) and the influence of maternal, gestational and peripartum factors on the development of neonatal hypoglycaemia. STUDY DESIGN Prospective cohort study including newborns of GDM mothers. Capillary blood glucose (CBG) was measured serially on the first day of life. CBG values were defined as...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the risks and benefits of umbilical cord blood banking for future stem cell transplantation and to provide guidelines for Canadian perinatal care providers regarding the counselling, procedural, and ethical implications of this potential therapeutic option. OPTIONS Selective or routine collection and storage of umbilical cord blood for future autologous (self) or allogen...