Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Aggressive Stem Cells Might Improve Transplant Outcome

Source: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Date: December 8, 2006

Summary:

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated in mice a way that might reduce the time it takes for a bone marrow transplant to rebuild a child's immune system, and so reduce the risk of potentially fatal virus infections that can occur during this time. The finding is important because children whose own bone marrow stem cells have been destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer routinely undergo bone marrow transplantation. Therefore, reducing the time it takes for the immune system to regenerate T lymphocytes would be an important step in reducing infection risk in these children and improving their long-term outcomes.

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