by Stemedix | Oct 12, 2020 | COPD, Stem Cell Therapy
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung condition in which airflow to and from the lungs is obstructed, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. The World Health Organization estimates that the condition is the third-leading cause of mortality worldwide. There is currently no cure for COPD, although there is a COPD treatment available to help control its progression.
Recently, researchers have begun to study regenerative medicine approaches, which may be used to treat COPD and actually reverse some of the damage already done to the lungs. Stem cell therapy is one particularly promising option.
How Can Stem Cells Be Used as a COPD Treatment?
Stem cells act as the foundation for all cell types. They have the ability to proliferate and transform into adult cells and can repair injuries. They also have regenerative properties and can therefore help heal compromised lung tissue.
At the site of a wound, stem cells differentiate and release pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors to help draw healing proteins to the injury. Because the stem cells themselves are anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis (meaning they reduce the formation and build-up of scar tissue), they appear to be particularly useful for treating conditions, such as COPD.
How Are Patients Responding to Stem Cell Therapy for COPD?
While clinical trials and studies are still ongoing, stem cell therapy has provided patients with improvements in quality of life, such as improved energy levels, improved sleep quality, and reduction in the rate of tissue damage, and restoration of lung structure and function.
What Is the Process for Stem Cell Therapy for COPD?
Patients who are eligible candidates for stem cell therapy can either have stem cells retrieved from their own tissue, such as fat tissue or donated from umbilical cord tissue. The process is quick, simple, and painless. Stem cell therapy is well-tolerated in the majority of cases, is considered to be safe, and offers a potential alternative option for patients to consider. Contact a Care Coordinator today for a free assessment!
by admin | Oct 6, 2020 | ALS, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy
ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a neurodegenerative disease that has no cure and no substantially effective treatment. Today, there are two drugs available that can slow the progression of ALS— riluzole and edaravone—but these agents may only be modestly effective. Sadly, patients with ALS get progressively worse, sometimes even with treatment. They lose to ability to move, to swallow, and to breathe. It is a devastating disease.
As with other neurodegenerative diseases, researchers are trying to treat ALS with stem cells. Stem cells have the capacity to become other types of cells such as neurons or glia. The notion is that stem cells could be used to rescue and replenish the nerve cells that are dysfunctional or destroyed in ALS. Studies are emerging that suggest that these approaches may bear fruit.
One such stem cell trial comes out of India, published by Dr. Prabhakar and colleagues. The research scientists infused autologous bone marrow-derived stem cells (autologous means the cells were retrieved from the patient and then readministered to the same patient). The scientists conducted the clinical study in ten patients with ALS who had a mean revised ALS Functional Rating Scale score of 30.2 ± 10.58. In other words, patients with this score have about a 60 to 70% chance of being alive for 9 more months.
Impressively, patients treated with autologous bone marrow-derived stem cells did not have a significant reduction in ALS Functional Rating Scale score after one year, which means their disease stayed relatively stable over this time instead of deteriorating. It took about 16.7 months for the score on this scale to drop by 4 points, which is considered a significant drop. The median survival after the procedure was 18.0 months, which is substantially more than would have been expected at the start of the study.
Taken together, these results suggest that patients with moderately severe ALS enjoyed a stabilization of their ALS symptoms for over 16 months on average. While there was no placebo control group, the stem cell-treated patients survived about twice as long as was estimated at the start of the trial.
These positive results must be confirmed in a larger, placebo-controlled trial. However, they strongly argue for further research of stem cells for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Reference: Prabhakar S, Marwaha N, Lal V, Sharma RR, Rajan R, Khandelwal N. Autologous bone marrow-derived stem cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A pilot study. Neurol India 2012;60:465-9
by admin | Sep 30, 2020 | Alzheimer’s Disease, Stem Cell Therapy
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, affects nearly 50 million people around the globe. That number is expected to more than double in the next 30 years without effective treatment. Currently, the treatments for dementia are only mildly effective. The few dementia medications that are available simply prolong the inevitable, slowing cognitive decline modestly.
Even with dementia medication, patients with Alzheimer’s disease and most other dementias have progressive memory loss. Over time they lose the ability to perform common everyday tasks. If patients live long enough, they will become dependent on others for all of their care. In this way, dementia is a devastating illness for loved ones.
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are neurodegenerative diseases, which means nerve cells in the brain become dysfunctional and die. As brain cells lose their ability to function, the person loses the abilities those nerve cells once performed. Since brain cells have little natural capacity to regenerate, once they are sick and die, that particular brain function may be lost forever.
Stem cells have long been an attractive potential option for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia treatment. Since brain cells become sick and die, the alternative option most recently looked at is to restore and replace those cells with stem cells—cells that can become brain cells? Indeed, stem cells may do so much more. They release countless molecules that help brain cells grow and survive. Not surprisingly, stem cells are the focus of intense research as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Drs. Duncan and Valenzuela reviewed the current status of stem cells as a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The research in animals has been incredibly promising. When stem cells are given to lab animals with experimental dementia, the stem cells find their way to the site of the disease and become new and healthy brain cells.
The research in animals has been so promising, that a number of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials in humans have been completed or are underway. From these trials, we know that stem cells appear to be safe for use in people with Alzheimer’s disease in that no serious adverse events were tied to stem cell use. It is too early to tell if these treatments will change the course of the disease until results are published. For now, we remain cautiously optimistic that the incredible effects of stem cells seen in animals may also translate to the same benefits in humans.
Reference: Duncan T, Valenzuela M. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and stem cell therapy. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2017;8(1):111. Published 2017 May 12. doi:10.1186/s13287-017-0567-5
by admin | Sep 25, 2020 | Autoimmune, Stem Cell Therapy
Humans cannot practically live without an immune system. The immune system helps us prevent and fight off infections and detect and destroy cancer cells. For some, however, experience conditions that affect the immune system. Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, polymyositis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis can make day to day activities challenging.
Patients who do not find relief from current therapies such as immunosuppressants and biologic agents, or those who cannot tolerate the side effects, are limited to optimal options. And when the autoimmune disease is severe, the patient’s quality of life is extremely low.
Researchers recruited patients with various, difficult-to-treat autoimmune diseases to study stem cell treatment outcomes. These patients had tried many other autoimmune disease treatments, and all had failed. The stem cell treatment used in these cases was called “compassionate use” since the patients had exhausted other treatment options and their conditions were all progressed. This compassionate use indication allowed researchers to use large numbers of stem cells—higher than are normally used in stem cell therapy.
The scientists took small amounts of stem cells from adipose tissue, i.e. fat tissue. Under laboratory conditions, they “expanded” the purified stem cells. In other words, the researchers took a relatively small number of stem cells and caused them to multiply them into millions of cells. Millions of cells were needed so that the doctors could have substantial treatment doses for each patient. The patients with autoimmune diseases received multiple doses of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells intravenously. These patients were then followed clinically to observe any change in their disease.
The first thing that the researchers noted was that high doses of stem cells did show to be safe. Multiple infusions of up to 1 billion stem cells infused over less than a month did not result in adverse events.
Just as importantly, people who had failed all other autoimmune disease treatments saw benefit from mesenchymal stem cell therapy. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis or polymyositis who could not stand or walk before treatment were showing success in standing and walking post-treatment. Patients with severe atopic dermatitis had substantial improvements in symptoms. Even a person with progressive autoimmune hearing loss had their hearing restored in one ear (and partially improved in the other ear) after mesenchymal stem cell therapy.
The astonishing results will need to be corroborated in a larger number of patients, but this study did reveal that high dose stem cells were safe in people with various autoimmune diseases. Those who do suffer from debilitating autoimmune diseases and who have not found relief from other treatments may want to research and consider stem cell therapy for a possible alternative option to help manage symptoms.
Reference: Chan Ra, J., et al. (2011). Stem cell treatment for patients with autoimmune disease by systemic infusion of culture-expanded autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells. J Transl Med. 2011; 9: 181.
by Stemedix | Sep 21, 2020 | Stem Cell Therapy, Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death across the world. This umbrella term, also referred to as heart disease, collectively includes a broad range of cardiovascular conditions, including:
- Heart failure
- Coronary artery disease
- Cardiomyopathy
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Ischemic stroke
While these conditions have unique characteristics, they all affect the heart and blood vessels. For instance, in coronary artery disease, the most common cardiovascular disease, the buildup of plaque (known as atherosclerosis) narrows or blocks the arteries. The arteries harden, limiting the amount of oxygen-rich blood that makes its way to the heart. The heart can therefore not pump blood to the rest of the body as needed. In myocardial infarction, or heart attack, blood clots around the plaque. If the blood flow becomes completely restricted, the heart can no longer get necessary oxygen. In ischemic stroke, the clot prevents the blood flow to the brain.
There are several lifestyle treatments which may help to control cardiovascular disease, including:
- Smoking cessation
- Weight regulation
- Maintaining a healthy diet
- Routine exercise
- Controlling blood pressure and cholesterol
There are also medications and surgical interventions available for certain types of heart disease. With that being said, experts are also exploring stem cell therapy as an alternative or additional treatment.
Stem Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease
Stem cell therapy is the use of the body’s natural, versatile cells to promote healing. Stem cells act as the foundation for other cells and have natural anti-inflammatory properties. As such, they can promote healing in damaged cells and tissues, as well as regeneration. When transplanted into patients with cardiovascular disease, it’s believed that the cells could release healing factors to reduce inflammation, promote new blood vessel development, minimize cell death, and regenerate new, healthy cells.
According to ClinicalTrials.gov, there are more than 1,500 studies that have been or are being conducted regarding the use of stem cells in patients with cardiovascular disease. Scientists have already made strides by discovering several key benefits across a number of cardiovascular conditions. For example, stem cells have been shown to:
- Improve left ventricular function, blood flow, and quality of life following a heart attack.
- Improve the heart’s functional capacity and ventricular remodeling, as well as quality of life, in heart failure.
- Enhance cardiac function in ischemic stroke.
- Improve limb function and decrease muscle atrophy, autoamputation, and connective tissue damage in peripheral artery disease (PAD).
In particular, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells are showing remarkable promise for chronic conditions such as heart disease. They have a number of powerful properties, including:
- No exposure to environmental toxins or impact from the aging process
- High rate of regeneration
- High proliferation ability
- Abundant supply of cells compared to those extracted from adipose tissue or bone marrow
These cells are administered intravenously, and because they are not sourced from the patient themselves, minimize discomfort and recovery time. While stem cell therapy may not be for every patient with cardiovascular disease, the right candidates seeking a safe, non-surgical option may wish to explore the treatment. If you’re interested in exploring stem cell therapy, contact a Care Coordinator for a free assessment!
by admin | Sep 16, 2020 | Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Stem Cell Therapy
Rheumatoid arthritis causes chronic inflammation of multiple joints throughout the body. This joint inflammation eventually causes the cartilage and bone to break down, and the tendons and ligaments surrounding the joints stretch and become deformed. Consequently, people with rheumatoid arthritis experience pain and loss of function in affected joints.
Unfortunately, rheumatoid arthritis is not just a disease of joints. Rheumatoid arthritis also causes systemic inflammation. People with rheumatoid arthritis commonly experienced fevers, weight loss, and chronic fatigue. Many patients report being achy or stiff apart from joints directly affected by arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause bone loss, muscle weakness, skin lesions, and kidney disease. Patients may also experience lung, heart, and vascular diseases.
The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown; however, since it is an inflammatory disease, the main treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is an anti-inflammatory medication. Some lifestyle changes may help to ease some of the symptoms but most physicians initially recommend using a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug or DMARD soon after rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed. DMARDs can modestly reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and help reduce the risk of patients developing debilitating joint abnormalities. DMARDs include drugs such as methotrexate or biologics such as infliximab or tofacitinib. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis usually also must take glucocorticoids, i.e. steroids to acutely control inflammation. Unfortunately, these agents have considerable side effects, especially when taken for long periods of time. Moreover, the treatments are not curative. As such, researchers are still looking for better treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.
Scientists recently conducted a prospective Phase 1/2 study of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. They selected 64 patients with rheumatoid arthritis between the ages of 18 and 64. Volunteers received an intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells and were followed for three years. At both the 1 and 3 years follow up appointments, the rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with mesenchymal stem cells had substantially lower levels of the blood markers that indicate rheumatoid arthritis (namely C-reactive protein, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor, and anti-CCP antibody). The test of physical function also significantly improved at 1 and 3 years after stem cell treatment [Health Index (HAQ) and Joint Function Index (DAS28)]. The treatment was also safe, and no serious adverse effects were reported.
The results of this stem cell clinical trial are particularly remarkable because patients received only one intravenous treatment and enjoyed at least three years of improvement in their disease both in the blood markers but also in symptoms and physical functioning. Although not a cure, this study shows the apparent safety of mesenchymal stem cell treatment and the impressive benefits to allow patients to consider researching stem cell therapy as an alternative option for their rheumatoid arthritis symptom management. Indeed, if additional larger studies confirm these impressive results, umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell treatment may become a possible standard of care in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in the future.
Reference: Wang L, Huang S, Li S, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Prospective Phase I/II Study. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2019;13:4331-4340. Published 2019 Dec 19. doi:10.2147/DDDT.S225613
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