Every year, stem cell therapy gains massive traction due to its incredible regenerative and auto-repair properties. More specifically, patients who deal with chronic, incurable conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are closely following any news about this cutting-edge technology.
What is a stem cell?
A stem cell is a special biological entity that has unlimited differentiation potentials and can become any type of cell, hence is also called an undifferentiated cell. The body keeps a large number of these cells in different sites (e.g. bone marrow, umbilical cord, adipose tissue) in case it endures lesions that need regenerative capacities.
The fascinating feature of stem cells is their ability to differentiate into different cell types, including hepatocytes, nerve fibers, osteocytes, chondrocytes, and keratinocytes.
Are stem cells extracted from fetuses?
Perhaps the unethical aspect of stem cell therapy is the most commonly believed misconception out there. This is because early research focused on extracting stem cells from fetuses and embryos, which is what stuck with media outlets and the general population.
However, as mentioned earlier, stem cells are kept in the body to repair inflicted damage, allowing medical professionals to extract these cells and use them to manage a variety of conditions and their symptoms.
How do stem cells help with MS?
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic condition that’s caused by a type IV hypersensitivity reaction, which occurs when the immune system releases antibodies and specific cells to target a certain tissue. In the case of MS, the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths on nerve fibers that allow for fast bioelectrical transmissions of signals.
Stem cell therapy can potentially help MS progression and symptoms in two major ways:
Immunomodulating
By getting rid of the hyperactive immune cells and replacing them with new regulated ones, using stem cell therapy, the reaction against nerve fibers is potentially halted and symptoms may start to temper down.
Re-myelinization
Instead of targeting the immune system, stem cell therapy also helps by having the ability to regenerate myelin sheath. Note that the process of re-myelinization does not occur spontaneously without having progenitor cells to rely on.
In other words, if the patient does not receive stem cell therapy, the myelin sheaths that were destroyed in the relapse phase are irreversibly lost.
How long does it take for possible symptom improvement?
Typically, patients experience symptom improvement after several months of receiving therapy, with peaking results between the 3rd and 6th-month post-procedure. Some may experience feeling improvements earlier. The types of symptoms expected to improve include all signs that were triggered by multiple sclerosis-related inflammatory and immune reactions.
Is stem cell therapy superior to conventional treatment?
The answer to this question is not straightforward, as many factors fall into play. To keep it short, conventional therapy focuses on suppressing your immune system, which predisposes you to several infectious pathogens. Moreover, it cannot modulate the immune system nor regenerate the damage inflicted on the nerve fibers.
Incorporating stem cell therapy in the treatment of MS has opened a door to new opportunities to manage a condition that was initially thought incurable. It is important to remember that this is a management tool that can be done in conjunction with traditional medicine as well as healthy lifestyle choices.
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