Interesting Study (longitudinal) On Local kids

About 1,000 children from Ventura County will be involved in an unprecedented study that monitors their health from before they’re born — before some are even conceived — until they reach the age of 21.

Organizers say the study of about 100,000 children nationwide will help them learn the effects of environmental factors ranging from mold to air pollution on growing childhood health problems like obesity, diabetes, autism and asthma.

“It will show us what our children are exposed to in the environment, what they eat and how to make it safer in our neighborhoods,” said Lois Manning, director of maternal, child and adolescent health for the Ventura County Public Health Department, one of the study’s local organizers.

The county’s role in the federally funded National Children’s Study was announced a year ago, but the $14 million then allocated to UCLA for the project was targeted for Los Angeles County. Another $17.4 million was allocated to the university’s Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities about a month ago. Part of that will be used to fund the survey locally.

Planning is a painstaking process that includes studying birth rates in Ventura County communities and developing partnerships between study organizers and healthcare providers, schools and parents clubs.

Active recruitment of participants in Ventura County won’t begin for about two years. Organizers are not looking for volunteers. Instead, they will seek out participants in a carefully planned but random process designed to protect the integrity of the study and the anonymity of the children.

Most of the women in the study will be in the early stages of pregnancy. Because researchers also want to study health factors that emerge before a child is conceived, about a quarter of the participants will be women with plans to become pregnant in the next four years. They’ll be found in door-to-door visits in randomly selected communities.

Once families are selected, environmental tests will be conducted of their homes and neighborhoods, with dust, water and air samples taken. There will be ultrasounds of fetuses as well as intricate exams of newborns, including analyses of umbilical cord blood.

The exams will continue throughout childhood, allowing researchers to compile more than 21 years of data.

“It will be an incredible thing once it’s all done,” said Dr. Neal Halfon, director of the UCLA healthier children center.

The data will help researchers understand the role chemicals and other environmental influences play not only in physical illnesses but in developmental disorders like autism, Halfon said. The study will wade into the nature vs. nurture debate and try to pinpoint the reach and limits of genetic influences.

It should bring a better understanding of some heart disease and mental health issues that may originate in childhood but only emerge later.

“We need to understand all this,” said Halfon “and if we can, it could have not only dramatic effects on how to shift policies to reduce risks for children, but it could have a dramatic effect on the cost of healthcare.”

Manning said the long-term goal in Ventura County is to plan local strategies to fight diabetes, obesity and other problems.

The challenge, she said, is getting the program launched and finding families willing to commit 21 years of their lives.

Common causes of low white blood cell counts

The medical term for a low white blood cell count is leukopenia. Perhaps the best known cause are the acute and chronic leukemias. However there are at least thirty known causes of a lowered white blood cell count. Some of these are quite common. Others are rather rare. There are ones that are relatively mild and those that are very serious.

However since this on the more common etiologies I will concentrate on the more well known, prevalent conditions.

These diseases include aplastic anemia, bone marrow failure, ideopathic myelofibrosis (scarring of the bone marrow), Gaucher disease type 3, AIDS, SARS, Spleen disorders, Vitamin Deficiency Cancer chemotherapy ( side effect), Lupus, Typhoid fever.

Some of the above, illnesses leukapenia is the main symptom.In others its one of many symptoms. Low white blood cells is only part of the disorder.

Bone marrow is the spongy part of the interior of the bone where the main three components of the blood are produced from the hematopoietic cells. Hematopoietic cells are stem cells that are the origins of the major parts of one's blood. These are the red blood cells (corpuscles), white blood cells and platelets. Since I am writing only on leukapenia I will focus only on the white blood cells.

The fact that the WBCs originate in the bone marrow is the reason for some of the causes dealing with this part of one's body. These include aplastic anemia, bone marrow failure, melofibrosis, the leukemias. The first three mentioned include one thing in common. That is low counts of WBCs, RBCs and platelets. The differences are myelofibrosis includes the same characteristics and scarring of the bone marrow. Bone marrow failure can be part of several syndromes. Many of them are genetic. Some of these are Fanconi's Anemia, Schwachman Diamond Syndrome, Severe Congenital Neutropenia. Neutropenia means low neutrophils. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell and lastly absent Thrombocytopenia syndrome.

Fanconi's anemia's characteristics are exactly the same as aplastic anemia. This is because Fanconi's anemia is an example of congenital form of this condition. It is considered a rare disorder by the US Offfice of Rare Disorders. ORD is part of the National Institute of Health(NIH). There needs to be less then two hundred thousand cases in the US for it to be considered a rarity. National Organization of Rare Disorders notes its rarity too. The symptoms include low white blood cells. Somebody with Fanconi's Anemia is subject to infections due to leukopenia. There are other symptoms but they are irrelevant here. It is genetically recessive. That is both parents need to carry the genes. It strikes individuals of nearly every ethnicity. Schwachman Diamond syndrome is. Severe congenital neutropenia is from birth, low neutrophil count.

Schwachman Diamond Syndrome is a rare disorder too. A major difference between SDS and FA is the former includes pancreatic insufficiency.

One commonality of these disorders syndromes is that each of them include bone marrow failure. This isn't terribly surprising since its the bone marrow where with other blood components the white blood cells are produced.

Chemotherapy that is medications to fight various cancers can cause low white blood counts. This is somewhat ironic to me when used for leukemias. Since some leukemias present with low white blood cell counts to begin with. Luckily its the norm for the bone marrow to eventually recover back to normal. the rate and how long this takes depends on the person. This means that the patient needs to be under excellent medical and nursing care in order to prevent as much as possible, complications due to low WBCs. This means a completely sterile room. Everyone in the room wearing a hospital gown, gloves and if needed a surgical mask. Plus if needed, prescriptions to fight infections.

The leukemias are considered both blood and bone marrow cancers. Some people who are leukemic possess an overabundance of white blood cells. While others a very low count. There are acute and chronic types. Acute means fast growing. Chronic means slow growing. These types can be further divided into lymphatic and myeloid. Lymphatic refers to a certain type of white blood cell, lymphocyte. Myeloid means it comes from myeloid type cells. Myeloid is its beginning was in the bone marrow or spinal cord.

Lastly lowered white blood cell counts can be part of Lupus and Typhoid fever. Lupus is an auto immune disease that is a form of arthritis that can effect every human system. Typhoid is a now rare disease that is characterized by reduced appetite, headaches, general aches, fever, severe diarrhea and lethargy.

To sum it up, there are many causes of reduced white blood cells. Most are to do with the bone marrow. Fortunately many are treatable and even curable.

The Miracles of Menstrual Blood Stem Cells

With the whole world reeling under the shadow of many incurable and debilitating diseases, if there is some chance of helping in the treatment of these life-threatening medical conditions, then all sorts of new possibilities may unfold in our lifetimes. One such possible way of improving the quality and perhaps even the duration of life is through the collection of potentially life-impacting stem cells found in the menstrual blood of woman. With advancements in stem cell research and development, a number of pre-clinical studies have demonstrated in scientific peer-reviewed journals that menstrual blood contains self-renewing stem cells which may potentially be utilized to treat various diseases. The menstrual blood which is discharged by every woman in their monthly periodic cycle as biological waste has been found to contain vital mesenchymal stem cells. These stem cells have properties similar to stem cells harvested from bone marrow and embryonic stem cell markers, and as such, may potentially be used to benefit the donor or possibly their first-degree relatives such as parents, siblings and children in future regenerative therapies.

However, now with the revolutionary discovery of menstrual blood stem cells, there is an innovative new service named, CÉLLE^SM, that empowers women to collect and cryo-preserve stem cells harvested from their own menstrual fluid for future potential medical and/or cosmeceutical therapies. Menstrual blood is collected and transported to Cryo-Cell International’s laboratory for processing and cryo-preservation. When the isolated menstrual blood goes through the process of cryo-preservation, the menstrual stem cells are frozen in time. This process allows menstrual stem cells to retain their viability and potential for a long period of time, perhaps decades or even longer.

The stem cells which are retrieved from isolated menstrual blood may possibly be utilized in the future potential treatment of debilitating diseases such as breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and others. Furthermore, these isolated menstrual blood stem cells demonstrate significant promise for future possible treatment of other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury.

If you have made up your mind to preserve your menstrual blood stem cells, let the Célle service help you make life simple. Visit our website www.celle.com to purchase our pioneering technology which provides women with the hope of building their personal healthcare and wellness assets by cryopreserving their precious menstrual blood stem cells. With Célle’s exclusive and patent-pending technology, and its easy-to- use kit, you can opt for the collection and preservation of your priceless menstrual blood stem cells without any hassle or inconvenience. So don’t just think of the present, think about the future health and well-being--not just for yourself, but potentially for other family members as well.