by admin | Jan 7, 2018 | COPD, Stem Cell Research
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of a long list of diseases that may be impacted by stem cells. A number of studies have suggested that mesenchymal stem cells may protect against the lung damage associated with COPD, but they have not been able to explain how the cells may achieve such protection.
Understanding the mechanism by which stem cells offer therapeutic value is critical for developing effective therapies that can help patients. As such, researchers from London and Hong Kong undertook a collaborative study to investigate how stem cells may protect the lungs of those with COPD. Their results were recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The researchers hypothesized that stem cells may work by reducing the damage that mitochondria endure in COPD. Mitochondria are the cell’s energy source and are damaged through a process known as oxidative stress, which occurs when the cells are exposed to free radicals. In COPD, when oxidative stress damages mitochondria, the lungs often become inflamed, resulting in the death of lung cells.
To test their hypothesis, the scientists looked at the effect of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells on airway smooth muscle cells. Consistent with their hypothesis, they found that the presence of the stem cells reduced mitochondrial damage caused by oxidative stress. The stem cells also reduced the amount of cellular death.
While more research is needed to determine how exactly stem cells can be used to treat patients with COPD, the finding that stem cells can prevent damage to lung tissue is promising. Now that researchers have also helped clarify how these cells are able to prevent such damage, they are equipped with information that could help them optimize any cell-based therapies that are developed for COPD.
by admin | Nov 25, 2017 | Studies, ALS
A recent publication in Stem Cells Translational Medicine described an open-label phase I clinical trial that was designed to assess the safety of a stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The specific procedure involved two repeated injections of autologous bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells into the spinal canal of patients with ALS. The researchers found that the injections were safe during their implementation and that they did not have any unsafe effects during a follow-up period of one year.
The phase I clinical trial included 8 patients whose ALS was either definite or probable. The patients underwent a procedure to have mesenchymal stem cells isolated from their bone marrow, and the stem cells were expanded outside the patients’ bodies for 28 days. Unfortunately, a patient died before treatment, so only 7 of the patients then had the spinal canal injections of the stem cells. The two injections were given 26 days apart.
Conventional tests to evaluate the status of ALS in patients were used to assess the impact of the stem cells on the patients’ disease. In the 6 months following the injections, the disease progression did not accelerate, according to the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score. There were also no serious adverse events observed over a 12 month follow up. Some adverse side effects occurred but subsided with or without treatment within a few days.
The significance of this study is the observation that this particular stem cell therapy procedure appears safe for ALS patients. Further research will help likely determine how stem cell therapy for amyotorophic lateral sclerosis can be used to slow the disease progression, while maintaining high degrees of safety.
Learn more about stem cell therapy for ALS here.
by admin | Nov 22, 2017 | Studies, Supranuclear Palsy
A recent publication in the Journal of Translational Medicine has highlighted the potential for stem cells to help patients with progressive supranuclear palsy and has proposed measures for testing the safety of stem cell therapy. Like Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy is a neurodegenerative disease that is progressive and characterized by abnormal deposits of the protein tau in the brain. Also like Parkinson’s, there is not a reliable prevention or cure for the disease.
Previous studies have shown that stem cells can help improve Parkinson’s disease symptoms, including problematic functioning of the brain chemical dopamine. Though the etiology of progressive supranuclear palsy is unknown, because it has some physiological features that are similar to Parkinson’s, researchers have reasoned that stem cell therapies may also help the patients who suffer from this disease. However, given that Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy can be differentiated on a clinical basis, it was initially unclear what specific impact stem cells may have on progressive supranuclear palsy.
Nonetheless, consistent with the idea that stem cells may help those with progressive supranuclear palsy, some studies have provided promising data for the ability of stem cells to improve relevant symptoms. The aim of the recent Journal of Translational Medicine publication was to lay out a plan for testing the safety of stem cell therapy in progressive supranuclear palsy patients.
The researchers propose a randomized, double-blind phase I clinical trial that would also be placebo-controlled to assess the safety of stem cell therapy using mesenchymal stem cells in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy patients. In addition to providing evidence on the safety of the stem cell therapy, another value in executing the proposal from this publication is the ability to distinguish whether the effects of stem cells in progressive supranuclear palsy that have been previously observed are due to placebo. In other words, this placebo-controlled trial would allow researchers to determine whether patients improve because they believe they are going to improve or because the stem cell therapy has a direct impact on their disease.
Learn more about stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
by admin | Nov 13, 2017 | Studies, COPD
In response to the limitation of current treatments of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), researchers have posted that stem cells may be a good option for patients who suffer from COPD. One of the key characteristics of COPD is inflammation seen in the lungs, and this inflammation leads to tissue destruction. Thus, researchers have tried to zero in on stem cells that could help minimize inflammation. In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers show that certain stem cells can reverse inflammation and also demonstrate, at a molecular level, how the stem cells achieved this challenge.
For the study, researchers chose to use bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells because this type of stem cell has reliably been shown to repair tissue that has been damaged by heart attacks or strokes. Further, clinical trials have shown that these cells can be used in COPD patients safely and are associated with a reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is a prognostic marker, with higher levels indicating a worse prognosis in COPD patients.
Given the promise of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of COPD, the researchers aimed to help clarify the mechanism by which these stem cells may achieve their positive impacts on COPD patients. Such information would be useful when developing specific treatment protocols for this group of patients.
The researchers found that the stem cells did, in fact, reduce inflammation of the airway by inhibiting the action of an enzyme called cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The suppression of COX-2 is known to be associated with relief of both inflammation and pain. The study also suggests that this suppression may specifically occur within macrophages, which play a role in inflammation.
These results help to solidify the idea that stem cell therapy can be useful for COPD treatment and point to a mechanism by which the use of stem cells could achieve the clinical goal of improved COPD symptoms and pathology. Further research into this mechanism may help researchers optimize stem cell interventions for COPD.
To find out more about stem cell therapy for COPD treatment, click here.
by admin | Nov 7, 2017 | Studies, Lupus
A recent study published in Clinical and Experimental Medicine provides new evidence that mesenchymal stem cell transplantation may be a safe treatment option for patients who suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus and who do not respond to conventional treatments like immunosuppressive drugs and steroids. Previous studies that have examined the efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for lupus patients have suggested that the procedure is safe. In those studies, few if any adverse side effects have been observed.
Given the promise of mesenchymal stem cells for treating systemic lupus erythematosus, the scientists conducting the current study wanted to more comprehensively evaluate the technique’s safety. They studied 9 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who were not responding to immunosuppressive drugs or steroids. The patients underwent umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation and were evaluated immediately following the procedure and again 6 years earlier.
To evaluate safety, the researchers performed tests of the blood, urine, and liver. They also checked the heart with electrocardiograms, did chest radiography, looked at white blood cell and platelet counts, and checked for markers of cancer. None of the tests the researchers performed demonstrated adverse side effects of the umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation either immediately after or 6 years after the procedure. One patient experienced a warm sensation with dizziness following the transplantation, but no patients experienced headaches, nausea, or vomiting.
These results help to bolster the idea that mesenchymal stem cells may provide a safe therapeutic option for systemic lupus erythematosus patients who do not respond to conventional therapies. Studies that evaluate both longer-term safety of the procedure as well as its efficacy in improving the symptoms and progression of lupus will help scientists and clinicians better understand how stem cell regiments can be used to help lupus patients.
To learn more about stem cell therapy for lupus patients, click here.
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