Stem Cell Research

From CNNMoney, here is an interesting press release.


Press Release:

Taking Control: Future Therapies for a Host of Serious Diseases May Be Found in Women's Menstrual Blood



July 07, 2008: 01:28 PM EST


OLDSMAR, Fla., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With today’s hectic lifestyle, where most women are juggling careers, family, relationships, and a host of activities, the idea of possibly facing a serious illness in the future is not something that readily comes to mind -- especially when a woman is in the prime of her life. But what most women don’t know, is that the key to treating a number of possibly life-threatening diseases that she, a parent, a sibling or even her children may face in later years, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, may be found within her own body -- in vital stem cells, which can now be harvested from her own menstrual blood.

Now, thanks to the revolutionary research and technology of C’elle, a service dedicated to providing women with a safe and easy method of collecting and preserving stem cells found in her menstrual fluid each month, even the busiest woman can take control of her future, right in the privacy of her own home. With C’elle’s non-invasive collection process, menstrual cells are processed and cryo-preserved (stored at a very low temperature) for potential cellular therapies that may be used in the future. These self-renewing cells one day may even be used for sports medicine or cosmeceutical treatments, such as anti-aging therapies.

"C’elle enables and empowers a woman to take control of her future health, and possibly of those genetically closest to her, in a fast, painless and stress free way," said Michelle Kay, Marketing and Sales Manager for C’elle. "We live in exciting times, as science and technology are discovering how extremely valuable menstrual blood stem cells really are, and the enormous treatment potential they represent for future therapies. C’elle’s ongoing research is supporting these promising findings."

For more information about C’elle, please call 1-877-892-3553 or visit www.celle.com.

Menstrual blood contains stem cells? For Real? Wow. So if this is true, why are the government agencies spending all their time on fighting over the embryonic stem cells? I did a little research and found some articles in various medical journals and other reputable sources. In 2006 there were some Japanese researchers that first presented the results from some research at a medical conference. Quite a bit of research has gone on since then.

Apparently experiments in lab dishes were successful in showing that menstrual stem cells can be grown into various organ tissues, including brain, lung and heart! This is more successful than other adult forms of stem cells, and is much less controversial than using embryonic stem cells.

Additionally the menstrual cells are very easy to collect. Women between the ages of 12 and 45 produce them regularly every month. This really is an incredible discovery and I'm glad I found out about it.

So, this C'Elle company is providing kits that women can use to collect and store their own menstrual stem cells, which can be used in the future if the medical technology advances in stem cell research and if the woman ever needs these cells for medical treatment that can involve stem cell therapy. I think it's a pretty good idea. For several years they've had the service to save and store umbilical blood just for those same reasons. Why not provide it for menstrual blood?