COVID-19 Breakthrough Using Stem Cells?
A doctor who runs a lab in Wuhan claims he can save thousands of lives after making a breakthrough in treatment using stem cells....
Stem Cell Therapy Cures Second HIV Patient
The New York Times reported that a second patient was cured of HIV after undergoing a form of allograft stem cell therapy. The news broke earlier this month on the 4th when papers like the ‘Times’ and The Wall Street Journal began reporting on the miraculous recovery of whom is being referred to as the “London Patient” (the first patient to be cured of HIV almost exactly 12 years ago was referred to as the “Berlin Patient”). Ironically, the bone marrow stem cell transplants that cured both patients of the virus were actually intended to treat cancer in each case. While there is still much more to be done to find a reasonable way to replicate the results for the more than 70 million people infected with the disease, this success proves that a cure for H.I.V. infection is possible. Bone-marrow transplantation on the scale necessary to treat patients with HIV is unlikely to be adopted as a realistic treatment option in the future....
Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis
In recent clinical trials, umbilical cord allograft stem cells were found to not only be effective in treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis but were found to be safe and even lead to sustained improvements in disability and brain lesions. This report was released on March 20th, 2018 on the website Multiple Sclerosis News Today. The original article titled, “Clinical feasibility of umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal allograft stem cells in the treatment of multiple sclerosis” was published in the Journal of Translational Medicine in January of 2018. Current treatments of MS, while able to reduce the frequency of flare-ups and slow disease progression, are not able to repair damage to nerve cells or the protective layer around nerve fibers known as the myelin sheath. As we discussed in our article, “Not All Stem Cells Are Created Equal”, allograft stem cells must at least be multipotent in order to have the ability to differentiate into multiple cell types. Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs,...
Autoimmune Diseases & Stem Cell Therapy Applications
It can be challenging to treat autoimmune disease. This unique phenomenon occurs when the body’s protective shield, or immune system, attacks its own vital organs, cells, and tissues. Treating autoimmune diseases begins with understanding why the disease takes place in the first place. The body’s main line of defense against infectious organisms is the immune system. In order to protect the body successfully, the immune system must be able to distinguish between cellular components that are part of its own body and those that are not, such as foreign bacteria. There are two general errors the immune system can make during this process. The first is the most common of these two potential errors; the immune system does not react quickly enough and an infection begins. In the second error, the immune system misidentifies its own cells or components as foreign and autoimmune disease happens. Helping With Autoimmune Diseases Medical science has made great advancements in treating many conditions that are forms of...