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Article: U touts advance against leukemia; An alternative treatment using cells from umbilical cords may eventually replace bone-marrow transplants for children, a U scientist says.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- June 8, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Maura Lerner; Staff Writer
For the first time, scientists have shown that there's an effective alternative to giving bone-marrow transplants to children with advanced leukemia.
And it comes from something that's routinely thrown away - umbilical cords.
The study was led by Dr. John Wagner, a University of Minnesota transplant specialist.
He found that umbilical cord blood cells work just as well at fighting a deadly form of childhood leukemia with fewer side effects than bone-marrow transplants. An advantage of using cord cells, Wagner said, is that they are easier to obtain than bone marrow, and don't need to be a perfect ...