Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking – A hope for HIV cure

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HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus that attacks the immune system, people infected with it can live up to many years without showing any symptoms. This virus slowly deteriorates the immunity of a person and is transmitted to another if certain precautions aren’t followed.

Signs and symptoms of late-stage HIV infection may include:

If left untreated, HIV weakens the ability to fight infection leaving the person vulnerable to many diseases. There are a few signs and symptoms which shouldn’t be taken lightly if they are prevalent for a long time. These symptoms are a Blurred vision, fever of above 37C (100F) lasting for weeks, night sweat, weight loss, permanent tiredness, shortness of breath, diarrhoea (which is usually persistent or chronic), dry cough, white spots on the tongue or mouth, swollen glands lasting for weeks.

Prevalence and Incidences of HIV in India

Men, but less so women, showed a distinct age pattern of deaths from AIDS, peaking at age 25-34. In India, more than 2.1 million people are suffering from HIV, with 172,000 deaths occurring annually

Treatment

HIV is treated using a combination of medicines. This is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART does not cure the disease; it can control the virus so that you can live a healthier life and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to others.

Benefits of umbilical cord stem cells for curing HIV

The world’s first clinical trial which aims to cure five HIV patients within three years using transplants of blood from the umbilical cord is set to start in Spain. Till now, only one person has been completely cured of HIV and is known as the “Berlin patient”. He was diagnosed with both HIV and Leukaemia and needed to be treated for cancer. The doctors used a bone marrow of a donor who had a certain cellular mutation which resisted HIV.

Patients suffering from AIDS-related lymphoma are witnessing the birth of new treatment methods for their illness, and one of these procedures successfully utilizes HIV-resistant umbilical cord stem cells. Doctors have identified stem cell transplantation as a viable treatment method for relapsed or high-risk AIDS-related lymphoma, suggesting a more effective cure for patients currently suffering from this disease.

Here’s an info-graph to illustrate and summarize the above-mentioned facts.

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The alarming numbers of HIV incidences in India and proven results of stem cell transplants, make the need for Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking in India evident. Babycell is one of the best and largest service providers of cord blood stem cell banking. Along with stem cell preservation, Babycell also provides value added services like newborn screening (NBS), CFU assay- to test the ability of stem cells to differentiate, HLA testing, Father’s wellness program and more.

Pregnancy exercises and its benefits

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Doctors recommend regular exercise during pregnancy for an overall health of the mother and the baby.

The need and importance of exercises during pregnancy

Maintaining a regular exercise regime throughout your pregnancy can help you stay healthy and feel confident. It also improves posture and decreases common physical discomforts. Pregnancy exercise also helps prevent gestational diabetes, improves blood circulation, relieves stress, and builds stamina, which is much needed for labor and delivery. Exercise also helps in a smoother weight loss transition post pregnancy. It is also known to boost the mood and help expecting mothers sleep better.

It is recommended that pregnant woman must exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. A perfect workout is the one that gets your heartbeat going, makes you supple, manages the weight gain as well as prepares your muscles without putting any additional stress on you or the baby.

Even if you have never exercised regularly before, you can safely begin the exercise program during pregnancy after consulting with your gynaecologist. But do not try a new, strenuous activity.

Pregnancy exercises can be broadly classified into two categories:

  • Cardiovascular development exercise
  • Exercises to increase strength and flexibility

Cardiovascular development exercises                       

Walking:

Walking is an ideal exercise for pregnant women. It not only keeps you energized but also provides the necessary fitness without causing too much pressure on the knees or ankles.

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Swimming

Swimming is one of the best pregnancy exercises as it works out both major muscle groups – arms and legs. It also provides the much-needed relief by making expectant mothers feel light and weight-less for some time.

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Dancing

Dancing is a fantastic and fun exercise during pregnancy! Not only do you get the thrill of moving your body to music you love, but it will keep you flexible while toning your muscles.

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Exercises to increase strength and flexibility

Yoga

Yoga helps in maintaining muscle tone as well as increases flexibility. It relieves the tension of lower and upper back, neck and shoulders. Yoga also fine tunes our emotional balance.

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Stretching

Stretching during pregnancy keeps you relaxed and improves flexibility. If rightly combined with deep breathing, also brings more oxygen to your baby to help him grow.

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Squats

Squatting is a perfect exercise to open your pelvic outlet and allow more room for your baby to descend. Practicing squats now will make it easier to squat during labor.

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Babycell is one of the best on stem cell preservation banks in India. Babycell understands needs of expecting mothers; you can consider attending the Mummy ki Paathshaala and Mother Care Forum sessions offered by Babycell. These sessions guide pregnant women on areas like exercise, nutrition tips, parenting tips, and more. Go ahead and register today for a complimentary antenatal care session by Babycell.

Eight-year Old receives a Life Saving Stem Cell Treatment

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This is a story of Veena who was cured of Thalassemia by using umbilical cord stem cells.
Veena was detected with Thalassemia major since her birth. Veena’s parents always wanted her to live a normal life like other children. They visited a lot of doctors and pediatricians. Their lives revolved around appointments, medication and the constant worry of her condition getting worse.

While on the lookout for alternate solutions to her therapy, they came across stem cell banking therapy that had a cure for a myriad of disease, Thalassemia being one of them. This led them to Babycell’s center.

The doctors suggested her family to have another child and bank the new-born child’s cord blood stem cells which will help them cure Veena’s condition. Dr. Vijay Ramanan (Hematologist) was the specialist appointed to take this procedure ahead. The team executed the process smoothly with conscious moves at every step and the operation went as it was anticipated.

Veena’s transplant has been successful and has changed her life forever. She now lives a normal life just like others kids, playful and full of life. The best part about this transplant is that she is now free from all the machines and transfusions she was previously dependent on. She is living a healthy life with no worries, and a future full of surprises and ambitions.