Human umbilical cord blood cells ameliorate Huntington's disease in transgenic mice.

Human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells given in megadose quantity (71-74 x 10(6) and 100-105 x 10(6)) were able to increase the life span of B6CBA-TgN(Hdexon1)62Gpb mice (Huntington disease) from an average of 88 days to 97.8 and 103.4 days respectively. The rate of weight loss, which begins in these mice before the onset of symptoms of chorea, was far less in the animals receiving human cord blood mononuclear cells (p<0.01) than the weight loss in untreated control mice. With the full understanding that additional histological and behavioral studies are indicated, but because of the potential clinical significance, a brief report is being submitted.