There is probably nothing more frightening
than getting the diagnosis that something
is potentially wrong with your future baby.
So, fetal surgery opened the door to fetal intervention,
to fetal treatment and a broad range of fetal therapies.
So as a fetal surgeon,
I have always been interested in the placenta.
I even have a stuffed placenta in my office.
This organ, one of the fastest growing body parts,
it develops blood vessels that allow blood
to go back and forth between the fetus and the mother.
I mean, it's just amazing.
I knew that there was interesting biology in the placenta.
The CuRe Trial, which stands for
Cellular Therapy for In Utero Repair
builds on previous work that's been going on a long time.
I started collaborating with a fabulous bioengineer,
and the two of us have been scientific partners
over the last decade
to bring these engineered placental-derived stem cells
to therapy for children with spina bifida before birth.
We first asked the question, how we can really
use the most advanced bioengineering technologies,
including placenta-derived stem cells,
to help the patient to recover better.
So they are very smart.
They can help the spinal cord tissue to grow better
and in the end, actually, we got the FDA approval
for the clinical trial.
Spina bifida is all from a simple failure of that spine
and that spinal cord to close early in gestation
and can result in lifelong paralysis,
bowel and bladder dysfunction,
as well as some central neurologic problems.
The CuRe Trial is an attempt
to improve the neurologic outcome or the baby's ability
to do things like walk after the operation.
We're placing human stem cells into the fetus
during fetal surgery.
We create a piece of tissue
that has the stem cells growing on it.
We trim this piece of tissue to the right shape and size,
and place it right on the exposed spinal cord of the fetus
during the operation.
And in that way, the stem cells gives its effects
during the rest of gestation.
So this is a very long term trial to figure out
whether these stem cells helped or not.
We know that the MOMS trial, which was a clinical trial
that really established fetal surgery for spina bifida
as the new gold standard, had a great improvement
in outcomes for children.
But we know that the vast majority of children still
could not walk unassisted after fetal surgery
despite the improvements.
So this is an opportunity to make a huge difference
in the children's lives and their family's lives
and improve that outcome for them.
The way that the CuRe Trial is conducted
is extremely rigorous.
There's oversight from the FDA.
The CuRe Trial is part of CIRM,
which is the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.
And so the amount of science, of regulation, of passion
that's gone into getting the CuRe Trial
to where it is now, is phenomenal.
This particular clinical trial is all UC Davis
and we are so lucky.
We have the GMP, the Good Manufacturing Practice Facility,
right around the corner
for generating the clinical-grade cells.
So it's like we are destined to it.
I cannot be more excited for my patients.
I think it will make a tremendous difference.
Even if you do not become a CuRe patient,
absolutely come and contact us.
You can still be treated with fetal treatment
provided you're eligible.
I really do think that we can reverse the damage
that was done and potentially eliminate nearly all
of the disability associated with spina bifida.
I really believe it's possible.