| Show Classifieds Wedneday June 2 Standard-Examin- er 1 999 Features Editor: CM 'ST Mood: The innate Insurance The umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells the building blocks of the blood system Scnpps Howard News Service Deborah Whitt Baker of Tenn the umbilical blood she and her husband frozen in a Tucson laboratory is the ultimate family health insurance policy - available if medical catastrophe strikes and a bone marrow transplant becomes necessary Along with choosing a doctor a hospital and the baby’s name expectant parents can now choose what happens to the 25 ounces of blood that can be retrieved from the average umbilical cord It’s a choice driven by the marriage of science and commerce Science has demonstrated that the umbilical cord which sustains the fetus during pregnancy is also a rich source of stem cells Stem cells are the building blocks of the blood system They give rise to the platelets white and red cells responsible for clotting blood ferrying oxygen and fighting disease Research also has demonstrated that stem cells can be used to rebuild the defective or diseased systems of children and sometimes adults But it is a transitory source There is one chance to collect and save those cells It comes shortly after birth A growing number of companies want to ensure that parents don’t miss that chance They reach out to obstetricians childbirth educators and hospital nurses They maintain Internet sites They work health fairs and professional meetings Their message is this: Someday that newborn baby or a sibling or another relative might need a bone marrow transplant The problem might be a cancer or an anemia or relatively rare immune or metabolic problems A bone marrow transplant might make the difference between life and death Parents who took a few minutes immediately after birth to ensure the cord blood was harvested would have a replacement immune system waiting frozen in liquid nitrogen That cord blood could spare the family a frantic search for a genetically similar marrow donor Baker who heard about cord blood banking through her professional contacts as an attorney said she also believes cord blood might eventually prove useful in combating more common diseases like rheumatoid arthritis “They are expanding the scope of what they are using it for” Baker said “Besides I just felt it was the safest thing to do If something came up in the future I would feel bad if I hadn’t done it” Thousands of parents have banked their newborn’s cord blood typically paying commercial banks an average $800 to $1000 in initial collection testing and storage fees There is also an annual fee that averages about $100 To A public bank By BARBARA High-ris- k Scnpps Howard News Service illustration courtesy The Commercial Appeal BANKING ON BLOOD: Along with choosing a docctor a hospital and the baby’s name expectant parents can now choose what happens to the 25 ounces of blood that can be retrieved from the average umbilical cord treatment and we came to realize that she is at higher risk for developing leukemia later” a side effect of the chemotherapy Lisa Burris recalled Today Nolan’s cord blood is stored at the Cord Blood Registry’s Tucson facility and Lisa Burris works for the private company as a cord blood educator More than 12000 families have contracted for Cord Blood Registry services making it the nation’s largest cord blood bank Burris said “Ninety-on- e percent of clients say they do it for peace of mind” Burris said Dr Susan Murrmann a Memphis obstetrician who has done a handful of cord blood collections said cord blood banking is also recommended for infants who might have trouble finding a suitable marrow donor if they ever needed a marrow transplant That might include children who are adopted of mixed race or conceived via in vitro fertilization “I think I would do this if I had children” she said “We have just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of its potential” The potential for the future Cunningham agreed cord blood might someday provide a good vehicle for correcting the genetic mistakes responsible for disorders like sickle cell or Gaucher disease which affects fat metabolism If such gene therapy becomes available cord blood could be collected at birth the correct genetic instructions slipped into the stem cells and later returned to the patient Instead of banking cord blood for Social anxiety a common disorder By JOE CAPISTA The Baltimore Sun What if the thought of made sick with fear? you lost a job because you were frightened of interacting with others? According to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association last year this describes the lives of more than 10 million Americans who suffer from social anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder also known as social phobia is a biological brain disorder that causes people to dread and avoid everyday social situations A study in the Archives of General Psychiatry (1994) reports that social anxiety is the third-mocommon psychiatric disorder after depression and alcoholism st Symptoms include rapid heartbeat trembling sweating upset stomach and even occasional panic attacks when ’ 1 OR COPY The good news is that social anxiety disorder is treatable through psychotherapy and drug therapy Unfortunately it is often misdiagnosed by those who suffer these symptoms as well as by their doctors That’s why professional and y groups have recently teamed up forming the Social Anxiety Disorder Coalition Looking to educate the medical field and public on this psychologically crippling disorder they’ve launched an awareness campaign - titled “Imagine Being Allergic to People” - to let those with the disorder know they are not alone patient-advocac- “It is our hope that people with social anxiety disorder will now seek help the same way that people with other mental illnesses like depression have done” said Mary Guardino executive director of the y group Freedom From Fear patient-advocac- Coalition members include the Anxiety Disorders Association of America the American 4 For more info For additional information on social anxiety disorder contact personal use Cunningham and others argued for donating cord blood to public banks But the St Louis facility can barely cope with cord blood donated from the 38 area hospitals participating in its program Mueckl said she often talks to frustrated women who cannot find a facility who will accept a cord donation The St Louis facility has handled about 4000 collections since opening in 1996 It has also provided needed stem cells to 63 patients worldwide This interest is fueled by reports like the November 1998 study that showed patients benefit from bone marrow transplants involving stem cells from an unrelated donor The study involved 562 patients who underwent bone marrow transplants using stem cells from cord blood donated to the New York Blood Center the nation's largest and oldest public cord blood bank Patient survival was sfimilar to transplants involving marrow harvested from unrelated donors but cord blood was associated with fewer complications triggered by genetic incompatibility between the donor and patient Most cord blood transplants have involved children Wallas said the current federal study is designed to determine if the approach typically yields enough cells for adult transplants Researchers also hope to determine if cord blood w'ould make transplants possible across a wider genetic divide patient-don“Those are both critical questions” Wallas said or wmi 900 Parklawn Drive Suite 100 Rockville MD 20852 1 A 9 wwwadaaorg American Psychiatric Association 1400KSt NW Washington DC 20005 Including : Out 'West 0 The Baltimore Sun S er Anne Murray Concert wwwpsychorg Guardino added “I have seen firsthand what appropriate diagnosis and treatment can do for a person for the first time in years to enjoy spending time with and family friendships their career” er For After The Association of America Psychiatric Association and Freedom From Fear Together they have produced a brochure and a video that has been distributed to thousands of health-car- e providers and consumers around the nation non-citr- PacExage Anxiety Disorders (202)682-600- flip-flo- V these organizations (301)231-925- ‘ 1 kids confronted with a social environment ' CHUCK doesn't begin to it Your stomach's ' - and it's not because you’ve just met the person of your dreams Vomiting and diarrhea can make you miserable Why are your stomach and bowels reacting so strongly? It's probably because of some irritant such as viral stomach flu something you ate or certain medications The list goes on Whatever the cause vomiting and diarrhea are two ways your body can remove the problem from your system Sometimes though they are signs of a more serious problem or infection such as hepatitis or parasites If you have any of the following symptoms call your doctor Severe steady abdominal pain Vomiting that lasts more than 24 hours An inability to keep down just sips of liquids for more than 2 hours Severe diarrhea that lasts more than two days Bloody or black vomit or stools If you don't have any of these symptoms try self-carDrink drink drink: Keep fluids in your body by sipping clear liquids such as water or flat soda at room temperature Can't stomach the thought of drinking something? Try ice chips or frozen juice bars And avoid coffee alcohol and milk products - they’ll only irritate your delicate stomach even more Vomiting and diarrhea can cause dehydration so it’s important to stay hydrated Children especially can become dehydrated quickly Signs include extreme thirst lightheadedness or dizziness sunken eyes extreme fatigue or weakness and infrequent urination or dark yellow urine Eat light As your symptoms lessen begin - slowly - eating light meals such as gelatin and juices Next try bland foods in small quantities And remember BRAT: bananas rice applesauce and toast In the next few days think small and frequent meals think pasta and foods potatoes Avoid high-fib(whole grains and raw vegetables) fatty and spicy foods and alcohol until you're feeling better Soothe your stomach Part 1: Some medications can help Look for those that include kaolin pectin or bismuth or ask your pharmacist for help Soothe your stomach Part 2: Avoid aspirin medications that contain aspirin and aspirin substitutes they can cause upset Upset" Childhood cancer brought the Burris family of Murfreesboro Tenn to cord blood banking Halee Burris was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment to combat Wilms tumor a kidney cancer when a Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse showed her parents an informational video about cord blood banking Lisa Burris was pregnant at the time with the couple’s second child Nolan who is now 20 months old “Halee was nearing the end of her Because cord blood banks are unregulated no one knows exactly how many facilities offer the service or how many families have banked the blood The Food and Drug Administration is seeking comment on proposed industry regulations J Los Angeles Timts About 3000 patients daily contact the National Marrow Donor Program looking for a genetically similar volunteer to act as a marrow donor White patients have an 80 percent chance of finding a good match among the current pool of 3 million potential donors The odds drop to 60 percent for African-America- n and other minority patients Odds are small that most families who bank cord blood for personal use will ever need it Estimated odds that the average child would need the banked cord blood range from 1 in 10000 to 1 in 200000 In comparison there is a 1 in 30000 chance of being struck by lightning But those odds are sometimes little comfort to parents said Kathy Mueckl nurse coordinator of the St Louis Cord Blood Bank at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Dr John Cunningham of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis said cord blood storage makes sense for families with children battling diseases that might eventually require a bone marrow transplant The problems range from leukemia and lymphoma to sickle cell anemia or metabolic storage disorders like Hurler disease “The cord blood would then be available if the sick sibling ever needed a transplant” he explained noting that St Jude has never done a bone marrow transplant using banked cord blood system Symptoms include rapid heartbeat trembling sweating upset stomach Some tips to soothe stomach The odds are small life-savi- 0 STAY WELL In a handful of communities including St Louis Chicago and Durham NC parents can also donate cord blood to public banks The donations are then made available to bone marrow transplant candidates some locally some internationally There is no charge to donate And if the donating family ever needed the cord blood some banks would make it available if it hadn’t already been used Free collection and storage are available to families whose children have medical problems including sickle cell disease and cancers which might eventually require a transplant The new federally funded program is based at Children’s Hospital in Oakland Calif Researchers work directly with the family’s obstetrician The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute is also funding research at three additional centers to determine if cord blood could make bone marrow transplants more available by expanding the national donor pool “I hope this will plug a hole in the current system” said Dr Charles Wallas an investigator with the study’s Duke University Medical Center arm By MARY POWERS 625-427- An Overnight Stay at Out West Bed & Breakfast Dinner for Two at Outback Steak House $5000 Gift Certificate from ZCMI Anne Murray fill out this official entry form and mail or bnng to: Ann Murray Contest: CO Standard-Examine- r 455 23rd Street Ogden Utah 84402 by 5 pm June 4 1999 Simply in concert Tuesday June 15 at the Kenley Centennial Amphitheater in Layton Catch Anne on her world tour singing her 1 I ! hits “Snowbird “ “Can I Hava This Dance” and “You Needed Me” For tickets call 546-857- 5 this coupon to win an out from the I I and enter with night after-conce- rt Call Standard-Examine- r! to subscribe to Standard-Examin- I er J -) |
