In animal trials, researchers found that umbilical cord blood cell therapy improved the pathology and cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease. According to a report:

Following a series of low-dose infusions of human umbilical cord blood cells into mice with Alzheimer's-like disease, the amount of amyloid-ß and ß-amyloid plaques-hallmarks of Alzheimer's pathology in the brain-was markedly reduced. Amyloid-ß induces an inflammatory response in the brain associated with the interaction of CD40 and CD40L, two pro-inflammatory molecules.

Human umbilical cord blood cell therapy was associated with suppression of CD40-CD40L activity, suggesting that this therapeutic approach modulates the activity of the immune system, offering the potential to target the pathogenic inflammatory response that may contribute to a variety of degenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease.

The study is published in the journal Stem Cells and Development (free full text access).