New Strategy of Clinical Studies for Premature Babies with Ischemic Brain Damage

In Japan, we started autologous cord blood therapy for newborns with HIE in 2014 (described in Chap. 1). Another research group started autologous cord blood therapy for patients with cerebral palsy in 2017. However, cerebral palsy is induced in nearly twice as many premature babies with IVH and PVL as that by term newborns with HIE (Touyama et al. Brain Dev 38:792–799, 2016; Koterazawa et al. No to Hattatsu 48:14–19, 2016; Glinianaia et al. Dev Med Child Neurol 59:864–870, 2017). Therefore, we are now promoting a new clinical study protocol of cell therapy for premature newborns with PVL or IVH.