"Our study is the first to report that the potential therapeutic mechanism of umbilical cord blood cells is more through targeting and fixing this malevolent peripheral immune functioning rather than through direct interaction with neurons," says Dr. Tan from the Rashid Laboratory for Developmental Neurobiology at the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry. "We believe restoring the balance between molecules that promote and inhibit inflammation could play a big role in future treatment strategies against Alzheimer's disease."

The deposits, or plaques, are known to interact with CD40 and CD40L, which are inflammatory molecules. Targeting immune suppression using blood cells from a human umbilical cord may help to improve the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease.

CD40-CD40L activity using such human umbilical cord blood cell therapy has been successfully suppressed or diminished using this approach. These recent developments were the result of studies in Alzheimer's afflicted mouse models and are the first studies to address the potential therapeutic impact of umbilical cord blood cells on targeting immune functioning. Medical experts around the world are closely following further studies.