by admin | Mar 13, 2017 | Studies
Researchers have recently shown how a specific type of stem cell, called umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, can improve the neurological function of patients who have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI). When TBI occurs, the trauma to the head leads the immune system to send cells to the area of injury. The resulting swelling often overwhelms the site of injury, which can cause significant damage to the tissue as a number of brain cells, or neurons, die. The rationale for using stem cells to treat TBI is therefore that by replacing these lost neurons, the functions that are lost as a result of TBI may be restored.
In the current study, published in the journal Brain Research, scientists studied 40 patients who had experienced TBI. Half the patients were selected to act as a control, receiving no treatment, while the other half was given 4 transplantations of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells through the spine. All 40 patients were evaluated both before any treatment was administered, as well as 6 months later. Specifically, each patient underwent the Fugl-Meyer Assessments (FMA), which assesses balance, motor functioning, and sensation, as well as the Functional Independence Measures (FIM), which tests both motor and cognitive functioning.
Though the control group of patients who did not receive any medical intervention did not improve in their FMA and FIM assessments over the 6 month period, the patients who received the stem cell transplants improved on both measures of functioning. In the FMA, improvements were observed in scores for upper extremity and lower extremity motor performance as well as for balance and sensation. In the FIM, a number of scores increased over the 6 month period for the treatment group, including those for self care, mobility, locomotion, communication, and social cognition.
These results demonstrate the great promise of stem cells generally – and of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells specifically – for the treatment of symptoms resulting from TBI. Further studies will be needed to help clarify the specific ways that these stem cells may be able to help patients who have suffered a TBI, and studies that involve multiple centers and larger sample sizes of patients are likely to occur in the future to help in the development of relevant treatments.
Both Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) treatment and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC‘s) have been used as interventions for patients suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Find out more in this article.
Reference
Wang, S. et al. (2013). Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation significantly improves neurological function in patietns with sequelae of traumatic brain injury. Brain Research, 1532, 76-84.
by admin | Jan 11, 2017 | Studies
A group of scientists, led by Jin Nam at the University of California-Riverside, have found a new way to optimize the use of stem cells for orthopedic purposes. The technique involves strategically using biomechanical forces to create the specific cell type needed to repair orthopedic tissues.
The normal development of bone and cartilage critically depend on mechanical stimulation, yet the ideal level of mechanical stimulation differs for cells that make up bone and cells that make up cartilage. The researchers therefore reasoned that employing the right level of mechanical stimulation could help stem cells differentiate into the cell type needed for specific individual injuries.
A certain type of stem cell, called the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) has been shown to be capable of regenerating musculoskeletal tissues. In addition, when MSCs obtained from the patient are used to regenerate that patient’s musculoskeletal tissues, tissue rejection tends to be prevented because the immune system recognizes the transplanted cells as the body’s own cells. Nonetheless, stimulating the stem cells to form tissue has relied mainly on biochemical and biophysical phenomena, which can present a variety of challenges. To avoid those challenges, scientists hoped that they could use biomechanical stimulation for the same purpose.
In their experiment, Nam and his colleagues showed that different levels of biomechanical force could indeed lead MSCs to differentiate into osteoblasts and chondrocytes, the cells that make up bone and cartilage, respectively. These promising results suggest that combining these types of stem cells with targeted biomechanical stimuli will enable better repair of a variety of types of orthopedic damage.
Going forward, researchers hope to better understand the details of how biomechanical cues can determine the fate of stem cells and to use this information to induce stem cells to differentiate into the desired cell type, according to the particular injury. This experiment conducted at the University of California-Riverside helps shed more light on the continued value of stem cells in medicine, as well as the potential benefits of combining these cells with approaches that can help personalize the treatments offered.
Stem cells could revolutionize therapeutic strategies for cartilage repair. Find out more.
Reference
Horner, C.B. et al. (2016). Magnitude-dependent and inversely-related osteogenic/chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells under dynamic compressive strain. Journal of Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine. doi: 10.1002/term.2332
by admin | Nov 30, 2016 | Studies, Kidney Disease
Dr. Xun Zhu and colleagues in Rochestor, Minnesota recently reviewed the medical research that suggests that stem cells can be useful for treating kidney disease. In their review, they focused on the value of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are a type of stem cell that can turn into a number of different cell types, including bone cells, muscle cells, fat cells, and cartilage cells. MSCs have become a popular type of stem cell for therapeutic purposes for several reasons. First, they can be collected in large numbers with relative ease from places like fat tissue or bone marrow. Second, they fight inflammation, thereby reducing problematic symptoms associated with a number of diseases and conditions. Finally, MSCs seem to work along a number of different pathways that contribute to disease.
In their review, Zhu and colleagues discussed how MSCs are promising specifically within the realm of kidney disease. Both acute kidney ischemia and chronic ischemic kidney disease may be improved with MSCs and currently lack other highly effective treatment options. In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, which can both protect and repair the kidney, MSCs also seem able to repair the kidney by releasing chemicals called cytokines. Cytokines are cells that are normally secreted by the immune system and impact other cells in ways that are important for healthy functioning.
Pre-clinical research into how MSCs may be used to address kidney disease has been promising. For instance, in a study where rat kidney transplants were being rejected by the rats’ immune systems, MSCs helped reduce the inflammation caused by the immune systems’ reactions. Similarly, in a phase II clinical trial, MSCs reduced the incidence of kidney transplant rejection in human patients. In a separate phase I clinical trial, patients who had undergone heart surgery were given injections of MSCs derived from bone marrow and as a result, were 20% less likely to suffer from acute kidney ischemia postoperatively. Further, the length of hospital stays and the readmissions rates were reduced in this group by 40%.
Researchers have also begun to consider the impact of MSCs on diabetic nephropathy, a progressive disease of the kidney that can occur in diabetes patients. Their pre-clinical studies have shown that MSCs can minimize diabetic nephropathy in rats by lowering inflammation.
The work compiled by Zhu and colleagues demonstrates that significant value that MSCs bring to treating several forms of kidney disease. Going forward, researchers will aim to determine the best route of MSC delivery for each type of disease and how long the effect of MSCs can last.
To learn more about how stem cells could help those with Diabetic kidney disease, click here.
Reference
Zhu, X.Y., Lerhman, A., & Lerman, L.O. (2013). Concise review: Mesenchymal stem cell treatment for ischemic kidney dissease. Stem Cells, 31, 1731-1736.
by admin | Nov 7, 2016 | Studies
A group of Japanese researchers have just released a study that advances our understanding of how we can use a specific type of stem cells to help patients recover from cartilage damage. This group worked with a specific type of stem cell called bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) because these cells confer a number of advantages over other types of stem cells that have been used to repair cartilage. Though one particular type of stem cells, called autologous chondrocytes, have been implanted over 20,000 times for therapeutic reasons, these cells are associated with long and arduous surgeries because it is difficult to harvest the required cartilage and periosteum. Another type of stem cell, referred to as suspended cultured chondrocytes, on the other hand, have the potential to result in leakage, with an uneven distribution of cells throughout the site.
Unlike these other stem cell options, BMSCs can be easily harvest through methods that are relatively minimally invasive. The team in Japan also believes that BMSC implantation is safe, as they observed no tumors or infections in the more than 6-year follow-up period of their study. Nonetheless, previous work with BMSC showed that the cells did not lead to the generation of cartilage that was sufficient to replace old cartilage. To overcome that problem, these scientists decided to explore ways to provide large numbers of cells over a short period of time. Because BMSC from humans lose their ability to differentiate into different types of cells after having traveled long distances, the researchers believed that injecting cells directly into the injury site would improve the chances that good cartilage would develop. In addition, adding a specific agent, called, fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) could help the cells proliferate.
In this study, the researchers tested these ideas to help determine the ideal conditions for transplanting BMSCs for cartilage repair. They found that their method of transplantation led to better cartilage development than was seen in controls, with rats receiving BMSC treated with FGF-2 directly into the area with cartilage injury having higher Wakitani scores. Wakitani scores are used to assess the regeneration of cartilage tissue and how well the new tissue is integrated into the surrounding tissue.
Given that many cartilage defects do not tend to repair themselves and can often lead to osteoarthritis, it is important to find effective ways to regenerate cartilage. There are a number of limitations to the current therapies, but this study demonstrates how our tools for cartilage repair are progressing and the promise of stem cells to help rebuild defective cartilage.
Learn more about using stem cells for orthopedics here.
Reference
Itokazu et al. (2016). Transplantation of scaffold-free cartilage-like cell-sheets made from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for cartilage repair. Cartilage, 7(4), 361-372.
by admin | Jul 25, 2016 | Stem Cell Research, Studies
Research has pointed strongly toward autologous adipose tissue-derived mesencymal stem cells (AdMSC‘s) as a treatment option for a number of neurological diseases. There is growing evidence that these cells can successfully differentiate into neurons in the brain, thereby protecting the brain against certain diseases of the central nervous system. Adipose tissue is particularly attractive when seeking to use mesenchymal stem cells (MSC’s) because it is easy to retrieve MSCs in this type of tissue. Now, a case study published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports demonstrates how AdMSC‘s were successfully used to treat a patient suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a disorder closely related to Parkinson’s disease.
There are currently no good treatment options for PSP. Dopaminergic drugs that are used for Parkinson’s disease are often implemented with PSP patients because of clinical similarities in these diseases. However, the benefits are both minor and short-lived. As described in this case report, researchers successfully used a novel form of therapy on a 71-year old South Korean man with PSP.
The man was examined before his treatment and continually for six months afterwards. The AdMSC protocol improved the patient’s performance on the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale (PSPRS) and improved both his cognitive performance and his ability to conduct daily activities. In addition to the treatment’s efficacy, it also bore limited safety concerns, as mild fever and short-term elevated blood pressure were the only adverse side affects observed with the procedure.
The patient underwent four intrathecal and five intravenous infusions infusions of AdMSC’s to increase the chances of clinical efficacy. Specifically, the strategy of the intrathecal infusions was to increase the likelihood of getting the AdMSC’s into the central nervous system. However, because the intrathecal cavity is narrow, the dosage that can be achieved through this route is limited. Thus, intravenous injections were administered as a way to increase the dosage amount. Though this success of AdMSC’s administration in PSP is just the beginning, it represents great potential for the use of stem cells in this rare but deadly disorder.
To learn more about the safety of adipose stem cell procedure, click here.
Reference
Choi, S.W., Park, K.B., Woo, S.K., Kang, S.K., & Ra, J.C. (2014). Treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy with autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 8(87), 1-5.
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