Stem Cell Transplants Show Promise for Lupus Like Diseases

Stem Cell Transplants Show Promise for Lupus Like Diseases

Stem cells have shown promise for treating a number of autoimmune diseases, where the immune system attacks the body. Lupus causes chronic inflammation as a result of immune system attack of the body’s tissues and organs and so is a reasonable candidate for stem cell therapy.

The cells of the immune system that tend to be attacked in lupus are bone marrow cells, so replacing these cells with stem cells could improve the inflammation that occurs in the disease. Recent research has shown that stem cells do in fact demonstrate an ability to help with lupus-like diseases. A recent paper published in Experimental Nephrology described the development of this research and some of the results.

The scientists who authored this recent paper had previously shown that bone marrow transplantation could be used to reconstruct the immune system in a way that could cure severe immunodeficiency, as well as other fatal diseases including forms of cancer and congenital abnormalities due to genetic disorders or problems with metabolism.

More recently, they have begun conducting stem cells transplants with a specific stem cell type called hematopoietic stem cells. These cells have been successfully used in oncology to treat cancers, and it was hypothesized that they could also be useful in autoimmune diseases like lupus.

An advantage to using these cells is that much of the work had already been done to determine how to best isolate the stem cells and how to perform transplantations with them. It is therefore not surprising that researchers successfully transplanted these cells during their research into the application of these cells in lupus-like diseases. Their results showed that hematopoietic stem cells could both prevent and cure a host of autoimmune problems that are related to lupus.

Though hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been performed on patients since 1997 and is conducted in parts of Europe, as well as in China and Brazil, clinical trials in the United States are still underway. Further research will help to define the specific role of hematopoietic stem cells in potential treatment options for lupus and related diseases and to determine how to safely deploy these strategies.

 

Stem cell treatment for lupus is a new alternative therapy to help manage the symptoms of this disease. Learn more about it here.

 

Reference

Good, RA et al. (2002). Mixed bone marrow or mixed stem cell transplantation for prevention or treatment of lupus-like diseases in mice. Experimental Nephrology, 10(5-6), 408-420.

Stem Cells Treated with Morin Hydrate Can Protect Against Hearing Loss

Stem Cells Treated with Morin Hydrate Can Protect Against Hearing Loss

Given the promise they have shown for treating neurodegenerative disease and different types of damage to the brain, it is likely that stem cells have the potential to combat hearing loss. Researchers have recently shown how combining neural stem cells with a specific compound, called morin hydrate, can protect against hearing loss.

Unlike cells of many other organs, hair cells in the inner ear, referred to as cochlear hair cells, are not able self-renew once they are damaged. As a result, damage to these cells of the inner ear increase vulnerability to hearing loss. Replacing these cells with stem cells, has therefore been thought to be a good way to try to reduce this vulnerability.

A major challenge in using stem cells to combat disease or disorders such as hearing loss is finding the best way to transplant the cells so that they survive, differentiate, and function. In this study, published last month in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, scientists set out to determine if combining neural stem cells with morin hydrate may make those stem cells more viable and increase their ability to help with hearing loss. Morin hydrate was chosen because it has been associated with a number of beneficial effects, including the suppression of inflammation and cancer activity.

The results of their study showed that morin hydrate was able to improve neural stem cell survival and proliferation and that the compound enabled the types of connections between cells that are necessary for proper neuronal functioning and the protection against hearing loss. In addition to the positive impact of morin hydrate on the stem cells themselves, the compound was also shown to prevent hearing loss that resulted from gentamicin, a specific type of antibiotic.

These initial results demonstrate that the inclusion of morin hydrate in stem cell therapy has promise. Future research will help determine how the combination of morin hydrate and stem cells could be used to address hearing loss and potentially other disorders.

Learn how stem cells can help reduce noise-induced hearing loss here.

 

Reference

He, Q., Jia, Z., Zhang, Y., & Ren, X. (2017). Morin hydrate promotes inner ear neural stem cell survival and differentiation and protects cochlea against neuronal hearing loss. Journal of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, 21(3), 600-608.

Stem Cells Shown to Reduce Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Stem Cells Shown to Reduce Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

When cochlear cells within the ear are damaged from exposure to high levels of noise, long-term, permanent hearing loss can occur. Because this hearing loss is associated with damaged cells, researchers have reasoned that replacing those cells with stem cells may provide a means for reversing noise-induced hearing loss. A recent study, published in the journal Neurobiological Disorders has shown that the transplant of epithelial stem cells can in fact help with this type of hearing loss.

The stem cells that were used in the study were isolated from the tongue and were shown to have the ability to survive and proliferate outside the body. Once transplanted, they were also shown to survive and to integrate themselves appropriately.

The auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold test was used before and after transplantation to determine whether the stem cells actually impacted hearing loss level. The ABR test is a neurological test that assesses whether the brainstem responds to auditory clicking sounds. The test was developed in 1971 and is now the most widely used test for evaluating responses to auditory stimuli. The test reveals the threshold at which noise can produce a response, with lower thresholds indicating better auditory functioning.

Compared to before the transplantation, tests performed 4 weeks after transplantation showed that the stem cell transplants were associated with lower ABR thresholds. Thus, not only did the stem cells survive, proliferate, and integrate normally within the ear, but they were also associated with improved auditory abilities.

These results indicate that stem cells are a promising candidate for reversing long-term hearing loss that is caused by noise-induced damage to cells of the inner ear. Further research will help to clarify the best ways these cells may be used to reverse hearing loss and to what extent their application can benefit those who have suffered noise-induced hearing loss. It is also possible that the relevant research will help reveal ways that stem cells can be used to help those who suffer from other types of hearing loss as well.

Read more about how stem cells treated with morin hydrate can protect against hearing loss here.

 

Reference

Sullivan, J.M., Cohen, M.A., Pandit, S.R., Sahota, R.S., Borecki, A.A., & Oleskevich, S. (2011). Effect of epithelial stem cell transplantation on noise-induced hearing loss in adult mice. Neurobiological Disorders. 41(2), 552-559.

Stem Cells Show Promise for Improving Female Pattern Hair Loss

Stem Cells Show Promise for Improving Female Pattern Hair Loss

Female pattern hair loss is not well understood, but a new study has helped shed light on how stem cells may be able to help treat the disorder. While both aging and family history of male or female pattern baldness can increase the likelihood of experiencing female pattern hair loss, there also appear to be hormonal contributors. Specifically, levels of male hormones, known as androgens, may change during the course of female pattern baldness.  These hormonal changes could help explain why women who have undergone menopause are more likely to experience thinning of the hair.

There is currently only one drug that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat female pattern baldness. The drug, minoxidil, is a topical treatment applied to the scalp. Unfortunately, the drug does not always help with the symptoms of female pattern hair loss. Other treatment options involve replacing the hair through hair transplants, hair weaving, and hairpieces. Transplants can leave scarring and also have a risk of infection, as they require that tiny plugs of hair are removed where the hair is thicker and transplanting into the balding portions of the scalp. Transplants are also quite expensive.

Because of the limitations of the current options for those with female pattern hair loss, combined with the psychosocial impact of the disorder, researchers have focused attention on the potential promise of stem cells to help generate new hair as a potential therapy. In the current study, researchers focused on adipose tissue-derived stem cells in patients because these cells have been shown to lead to hair growth in conditions outside the body.

The researchers observed 27 patients with female pattern hair loss who were treated with adipose tissue-derived stem cells and saw that 12 weeks of therapy was sufficient to enhance hair growth in these patients. The stem cell therapy led to both thicker and denser hair. In other words, by using stem cell therapy, patients grew hairs that were themselves thicker and also grew more hairs overall.

In addition to the positive effects of stem cell therapy in improving the female pattern hair loss, no adverse side effects were observed. It is therefore likely that stem cells could be used more broadly to help patients with female pattern hair loss grow hair that is less conducive to the appearance of baldness. Future research will help to clarify how and to what extent stem cells can help with this particular type of baldness, as well as other balding disorders.

Learn more about five main benefits of stem cell therapy here.

 

Reference

Shin, H et al. (2015). Clinical use of conditioned media of adipose tissue-derived stem cells in female pattern hair loss: A retrospective case series study. International Journal of Dermatology, 54(6), 730-735.

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