INFANT TO GET NEW IMMUNE SYSTEM\Officer's grandson will undergo first step of treatment.Byline: Daniel Taub Daily News Staff Writer A North Hollywood police lieutenant's 7-month-old grandson is scheduled to undergo the first step of a treatment today that doctors hope will prolong his life. Blayke LaRue, who suffers from the genetic immune-system disorder XLP XLP Xypoint Location Platform XLP X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Syndrome XLP Crosslinked Polyethylene XLP Extended Life Program XLP Literate Programming in XML XLP Extra Low Pulse , is scheduled to undergo chemotherapy at UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. today to completely break down his immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. , said Blayke's mother Theresa LaRue, of Oxnard. This will prepare Blayke's body for the injection of healthy white blood cells White blood cells A group of several cell types that occur in the bloodstream and are essential for a properly functioning immune system. Mentioned in: Abscess Incision & Drainage, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Complement Deficiencies in about 10 days, LaRue said. If Blayke's body accepts the white blood cells, which help the body fight disease and infection, it will start reproducing cells on its own and give Blayke a normal immune system, LaRue said. "If it takes, and it starts producing, he could live a very long life," LaRue said. Blayke will have to remain in a carefully monitored, filtered hospital room from the time of his chemotherapy until his immune system begins working, LaRue said. The white blood cells Blayke will receive are from the umbilical cord umbilical cord (ŭmbĭl`ĭkəl), cordlike structure about 22 in. (56 cm) long in the pregnant human female, extending from the abdominal wall of the fetus to the placenta. of a newborn who has a similar tissue make-up to Blayke's, said Dr. E. Richard Stiehm. Transfer of white blood cells from an umbilical cord was first performed in 1990 and has been done about 200 times since then. Blayke, along with his 3-1/2-year-old brother Garrett who also suffers from XLP, has inspired thousands of Los Angeles residents - including almost 500 last Friday in Woodland Hills - to register with the National Marrow Donor Program The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the federally funded registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors in the United States. These potential donors, numbering more than 6. . Bone marrow transplants bone marrow transplant: see bone marrow. can be used to help patients regenerate healthy white blood cells. A direct bone marrow match has been found for Blayke through the program, but doctors feel that it is safer to use a close umbilical cord match for a child as young as Blayke, LaRue said. "They're having real good results using the umbilical cord with children," she said, pointing out that the immature umbilical cord cells are less often rejected, and when there is a rejection, it is less likely to be fatal. If the umbilical cord cells are rejected - and if Blayke survives - doctors will use marrow from a registered donor with a direct match, Stiehm said. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Blayke LaRue, 7 months, gets a visit from his parents Theresa and Scott at the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX hospital. The boy will begin the first step today of a special treatment to correct a genetic defect in his immune system aimed at prolonging his life. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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