by Stemedix | Dec 25, 2023 | Health Awareness, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy, Stroke, Studies
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 795,000 people have strokes every year in the United States, and about 610,000 of these are first or new strokes. Recovering from a stroke can be a complex process that involves many types of therapies, and one option that shows promise is stem cell therapy.
Stem cell therapy promotes growth factors and offers relief from inflammation, providing the possibility of healing the damage the stroke caused. Learn more about stem cell therapy when used for the recovery period after a stroke.
How Strokes Affect the Brain
A stroke is like a heart attack, except it takes place in your brain. It occurs when something blocks the blood supply to the brain, not allowing the organ to get the oxygen and nutrients it needs. If your brain doesn’t receive blood, its cells begin to die off or suffer damage, making it impossible for the organ to do its job.
Your brain controls everything your body does, including how you move and how you think, feel, and communicate. The results of a stroke are immediate.
The two main types of strokes are ischemic strokes and hemorrhagic strokes. Ischemic strokes are the most common type and are caused by blockages. They can occur when:
- A blood clot forms in the main brain artery.
- A blockage forms in the small blood vessels deep within the brain.
- A blood clot from the heart or another type of blockage travels via the bloodstream to an artery supplying the brain.
Hemorrhagic strokes occur when there’s bleeding in or around the brain. They can be the result of a blood vessel bursting in the brain, or a blood vessel on the surface of the brain may burst and leak blood in the area between the skull and the brain.
When you have a stroke, the areas of the brain it affects determine the kind of issues you can struggle with.
Some people experience weakness and paralysis in certain parts of their body, while others struggle with language and the processes of speaking or understanding what other people say. A stroke can even affect what your voice sounds like.
Other issues you may experience include:
- Balance problems
- Incontinence
- Trouble swallowing
- Visual problems
- Extreme fatigue
- Feeling pain
You may also struggle with mental processes like memory, concentration, understanding, and perception. Strokes can even affect your emotions.
Understanding Stem Cell Therapy: What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are the body’s building blocks. They are responsible for creating organs, tissues, and even your immune system. They are undifferentiated cells that can become and create specialized cell types. In other words, they can become any cell within the body, depending on where they’re placed.
Stem cells can also divide indefinitely, either creating other stem cells or specialized cells. When used to help the recovery period after a stroke, stem cells can differentiate into brain cells.
When they’re used in the brain, they don’t integrate and become neurons that reconstruct circuits. They instead start pumping out growth factors that enhance the recovery process, allowing new blood vessels and neurons to form. All of this helps make the brain more flexible, giving it a chance to recover after a stroke.
Neuroplasticity is what’s necessary for people who’ve suffered a stroke. It is the ability of the brain to rearrange its circuits, basing the organization on your behaviors.
Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy After a Stroke
Stem cell therapy is minimally invasive. You don’t have to worry about procedures that require long recovery processes or force you to spend time in the hospital. When you get stem cell therapy, the process is fast and can be done as an outpatient treatment.
Stem cells don’t just mask the symptoms of the damage the stroke caused. Experiencing pain after a stroke many times means turning to pain medications, which temporarily give you relief but also have unpleasant side effects. When you turn to stem cell therapy, your brain gets what it needs to start healing.
One of the most important things that stem cell therapy offers is the chance to relieve inflammation. When you suffer an injury of any kind, including a stroke, your body’s natural healing process causes inflammation.
This type of swelling, however, doesn’t allow a regular flow of blood to the injured area. Without the right degree of circulation, the damaged area doesn’t receive nutrients or oxygen, which makes healing more difficult. Stem cells help reduce inflammation, making the process of healing easier.
How the Stem Cell Therapy Process Works
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been studied for their potential therapeutic applications in various medical conditions, including stroke. MSCs have several properties that make them attractive candidates for stroke therapy:
- MSCs possess anti-inflammatory properties that can help modulate the immune response and reduce inflammation in the brain following a stroke. Excessive inflammation is a key contributor to secondary damage after a stroke.
- MSCs can modulate the immune system, potentially suppressing harmful immune responses while promoting tissue repair and regeneration.
- MSCs secrete various growth factors and neurotrophic factors that support neuronal survival, growth, and differentiation. These factors can contribute to the repair and regeneration of damaged neural tissue.
- MSCs can stimulate the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), which is crucial for supplying oxygen and nutrients to the damaged brain tissue.
- While the ability of MSCs to differentiate into neurons is limited, they may contribute to neural repair indirectly by interacting with the local environment and supporting the survival of existing neurons.
Is Regenerative Medicine Right for You?
Suffering a stroke can be devastating, leaving you with lasting damage and impacting your quality of life. Along with physical therapy and other treatments your doctor recommends, patients are exploring their options with stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy and other regenerative medicine options offer the opportunity to give your brain the tools it needs to start healing. By helping reduce inflammation and bringing growth factors to the treatment area, stem cell therapy provides the chance to promote neuroplasticity and start healing.
by admin | Dec 21, 2023 | Lupus, Exosomes, Extracellular Vesicles, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common multisystemic autoimmune disease that often results in multi-organ damage when left untreated. Currently affecting over 1.5 million Americans, the etiology and pathogenesis of SLE continue to remain unclear.
At present, glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants are the most prescribed course of therapeutic treatment and mostly as a way to manage and treat symptoms of SLE, not the cause itself.
Considering that the etiology and pathogenesis of SLE are accompanied by immune disorders including abnormal proliferation, differentiation, and activation and dysfunction of T cells, and that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) play important roles in the immunity process, researchers are increasingly turning their attention to MSCs and EVs as potential therapeutic treatment options for SLE.
In this review, Yang et al. examine the immunomodulatory effects and related mechanisms of MSCs and EVs in SLE with hopes of better understanding SLE pathogenesis and guiding biological therapy.
Examining the potential use of MSC and MSC-EVs in SLE treatment the authors found some studies have established that MSCs reduce adverse effects of immunosuppressive drugs and when combined have demonstrated distinct effects on T cell activation and bias.
Additionally, Yang et al. report that MSCs are able to participate in the immune response in two distinct ways: paracrine effect and directly through cell-to-cell interaction. Since reconstruction of immune tolerance and tissue regeneration and repair are required parts of SLE treatment and since MSCs possess high self-renewal ability, rapid expansion in vitro and in vitro, and low immunogenicity, allogeneic MSC transplantation has demonstrated strong evidence for the therapeutic potential of MSC in SLE.
Besides the ability to repair and regenerate tissue, MSCs, and MSC-EVs have strong anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, making them a potentially ideal treatment option as part of a therapeutic strategy for SLE. Considering that MSC-EVs have similar biological functions with MSCs, but are also considered cell-free, the authors point out that MSC-EVs could be the better choice for SLE treatment in the future.
Despite the potential of MSC and MSC-EVs, Yang et al. point out that genetic modification, metabolic recombination, and other priming of MSCs in vitro should be considered before MSC/MSC-EVs application for SLE treatment. The authors also recommend further clinical evaluation of the time of infusion, appropriate dosage, interval of treatment, and long-term safety of MSC/MSC-EVs in the treatment of SLE before any form of the combination is used as a treatment option.
Source: “Immunomodulatory Effect of MSCs and MSCs-Derived Extracellular ….” 16 Sep. 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481702/.
by admin | Dec 14, 2023 | Parkinson's Disease, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most predominant neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, affecting over 10 million people. Characterized by a slow and progressive loss of control of the neurological system as a result of dopamine depletion, symptoms of PD often include tremors, slowed movement, impaired posture and balance, and gradual loss of automatic movements.
While PD cannot be cured, current treatment is focused on alleviating symptoms and slowing the progression of the disease. Specifically, deep brain stimulation or therapies to increase DA levels by administering a DA precursor are the available therapy options for PD.
However, research has found that DA precursor therapy has little effect on the progression of PD and its efficacy decreases as the disease progresses.
Recent progress in the clinical understanding of regenerative medicine and its properties associated with stem cell therapy has provided the opportunity to evaluate new and potentially effective methods for treating a wide range of neurodegenerative illnesses, including PD. Specifically, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been found to be the most promising form of stem cell and have demonstrated the ability to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and produce neurotrophic substances.
In this review, Heris et al. discuss the application of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes in PD treatment.
Research has identified dysregulation of the autophagy system in the brains of PD patients, suggesting a potential role for autophagy in PD. In PD models, MSCs may activate autophagy signals and exhibit immunomodulatory effects that alleviate inflammation and improve tissue healing; this type of treatment had previously been used in treating various forms of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative illnesses.
The authors indicate that MSCs can be administered either systemically or locally. While systemic transplantation allows MSC-based treatment of pathologies affecting the entire body, local transplantation aims to alleviate symptoms associated with illnesses that originate from certain organs and is performed through intramuscular or direct tissue injection.
Research has also demonstrated that stem cell-derived dopaminergic transplants could be a suitable method for the long-term survival and function of transplants; in the case of MSC therapy, the average dose in animal models is usually 50 million cells for each kg of weight.
MSC-derived exosomes demonstrate therapeutic characteristics similar to their parents, have the ability to avoid whole-cell post-transplant adverse events, have a high safety profile, cannot turn into pre-malignant cells, and no cases of immune response and rejection have been reported.
While the use of MSCs in the treatment of PD continues to show potential, Heris et al. point out that many of the clinical trials have had few participants and can be costly. Considering these limiting factors, the results from these studies are not able to be generalized to everyday medical care without further clinical studies to address these concerns.
Source: “The potential use of mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes in ….” 28 Jul. 2022, https://stemcellres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13287-022-03050-4.
by admin | Dec 7, 2023 | Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cells respond to signals released by damaged or diseased tissue by differentiating in an effort to replace these cells.
As researchers continue to learn more about the various applications of stem cells as they relate to the body’s healing process, they’ve discovered two significant issues relating to the process of stem cell application. The first issue involves various methods that enable the stem cell transformation to targeted cells or successful engrafting. The authors of this review indicate that there are many proposed solutions to this issue, which are not covered as part of this review.
In this review, Maric et al. address the second known issue, analyzing cell homing. More specifically, understand how to direct the migration of most of the transferred cells to the desired location. Research has demonstrated that the greater the number of administered stem cells, the better the treatment outcomes. However, research has also indicated that there is a saturation plateau where no additional benefit has been achieved.
Previous studies have demonstrated positive results for non-invasive methods of stem cell transplant. However, it’s typical for stem cells to dissipate to other organs rather than to the brain, which are the targeted areas for a wide spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases.
Reviewing the existing research on stem cell homing, the authors draw a number of conclusions, including the location of the stem cell injection site impacts the homing results with better migration results when injections are closer to the targeted locations; preprocessing may increase homing efficiency; there are a number of potential methods that may improve the homing mechanisms; understanding the mechanism of neurodegenerative disease is essential to understanding the homing process and to predict the engraftment results; stem cells improve the plasticity of the brain; and that intrathecal application has many benefits, fewer adverse effects, and has been shown to be safe.
Additionally, Maric et al. raise issues that require further study, including evaluating the discrepancy between in vivo and in vitro results; paying more attention to the prospects of mathematical, physical, and computer models and simulations; investigation of real-time development and spatial information of the homing processes; and the need for a deeper understanding of homing mechanisms in homing mechanisms in intrathecal and other ways of administration.
The authors conclude that, in the case of neurodegenerative diseases, intrathecal application of stem cells via direct delivery to the cerebrospinal fluid has the advantage of no blood-brain barrier restriction, further study into the long-term study of what specifically slows the migration of injected cells is required.
Source: “Stem Cell Homing in Intrathecal Applications and Inspirations … – NCBI.” 13 Apr. 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9027729/.
by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Erectile Dysfunction, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a disorder that affects the quality of life and the sexual relations of more than half of the male population aged over 40 years. Currently, it’s estimated that his disorder will affect more than 300 million men in the next five years.
According to the Mayo Clinic, male sexual arousal is a complex process that involves the brain, hormones, emotions, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels. Erectile dysfunction can result from a problem with any of these. Additionally, stress and mental health concerns can cause or worsen erectile dysfunction.
The treatment of ED has traditionally been based on the temporary enhancement of penile erection but without a permanent treatment option. Current temporary treatment options include phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors (PDE5is) such as vardenafil, avanafil, tadalafil, and sildenafil, which are the most widely known and used medications for the treatment of ED.
Unfortunately, the treatment failure levels associated with these drugs are high, with unresponsive rates ranging between 20 and 40%. These failure rates often require the use of additional treatment options for the management of ED, including the use of intracorporeal injections, vacuum erection devices, and penile prosthesis implantation. However, the use and application is also limited due to the high cost, intolerance to side effects, pain, and unsatisfactory results.
Recently, several studies have suggested the use of stem cells for the treatment of ED to be promising in terms of damaged tissue repair as well as clinical efficacy.
In their review of current literature, Protogerou et al. evaluate and summarize the methods of administration, the cell types used in the performed clinical trials, and the safety and efficiency of procedures designed to treat ED.
Specifically, the authors reviewed 10 clinical studies published between 2010 and 2020 and used bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs), adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs), umbilical cord stem cells, and placenta-derived stem cells. One of the studies reviewed also examined the re-administration of stem cells as a potential therapeutic option. From the authors’ findings, each study demonstrated encouraging results characterized by improved sexual function with no side effects.
Protogerou et al. also point out a number of limitations with these studies, including each being a small study with a short follow-up period, various etiologies of ED, and without control groups.
Despite these limitations, the authors highlight the urgent need for a double-blind randomized controlled study for the clinical effect of stem cell treatment in ED to sufficiently understand the ideal therapeutic strategy for using stem cell therapy to treat ED. Source: “Erectile Dysfunction Treatment Using Stem Cells: A Review – PMC.” 6 Jan. 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7825548/.
by admin | Nov 23, 2023 | Autoimmune, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy
Recent estimates indicate that one in every 10 people is affected by an autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the normal function of the immune system mistakenly attacks normal and healthy cells within the body; examples of autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and lupus. Currently, there are over 80 known types of autoimmune disease.
Because of their proliferation and differentiation ability, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have increasingly drawn interest from the research community as a potential option for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
In this study, Zeng et al. evaluate the efficacy and safety of MSC transplantation in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Specifically, this review included a total of 18 RCTs involving rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Reviewing the therapeutic effects of MSCs on each of the diseases, the authors found that with the exception of MS, transplantation of MSCs may improve clinical symptoms and clinical efficacy of these autoimmune diseases. However, the authors also point out that MSCs appear to produce certain specific effects on different autoimmune diseases.
Although no obvious adverse events resulting from MSC transplantation were reported or observed during these studies, and while MSCs appear to have certain effects on different autoimmune diseases, the authors conclude that this review provides relevant evidence for the design of future clinical trials specifically assessing MSC cell source, dosage, route of drug administration, and intervention in the most ideal disease state when treating this group of diseases.
Source: “Efficacy and Safety of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation in ….” https://www.hindawi.com/journals/sci/2022/9463314/.
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