Many degenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or heart failure, have always been concerning when it comes to finding effective treatments for them. The ones we have nowadays typically treat only the symptoms, without coming into the source of the condition and finding the way to treat it to its root.
On the other hand, new developments in stem cell therapy have come a long way to providing a ray of hope for people suffering from such conditions, as they address the cause of degeneration and help with the right therapy. It is an innovative way to provide patients with long-term remedies, and here is some additional information about how stem cell therapy opens new doors of possibilities and hopes for people with degenerative conditions.
What are degenerative conditions?
The neurological, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems are all susceptible to degeneration when cells and tissues experience deterioration. The effects of such issues are in the form of various disabilities, pain, and diminished quality of life in many aspects, which makes it quite difficult for people suffering from these diseases to live happily and function as they have done before. For example, Parkinson’s disease causes tremors and stiffness, Alzheimer’s disease leads to memory loss and poor reasoning, and osteoarthritis causes decreased mobility and constant discomfort. All of these symptoms are very challenging to deal with every day, and unfortunately, all the treatments present nowadays only treat the symptoms, rather than working on regeneration and healing. Also, many of these symptoms are of a progressive nature, making them worse over time and causing even more problems for people who have to live with such hardships.
What are stem cells?
Stem cells are cells that makeup muscles, nerves, and blood, and they can transform into many other kinds of cells. Also, they are essential for the body’s growth, which makes them necessary for the repair of any damaged tissue. When the body suffers some kind of damage or injury, these cells can respond quickly and help with self-renewing, helping with healing and treatment. Many kinds and varieties of stem cells are present in living organisms, and each one of them has its own benefits and uses. For example, embryo stem cells can differentiate into any kind of cell in the body, the same as adult stem cells, which are usually located in fat or bone marrow. There are also induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that can act like embryonic cells and help with specific types of damage or degeneration in the human body, wherever they are needed. These cells present great hope for the future of medicine and dealing with degenerative conditions, as they can replace and regenerate injured or sick tissues, helping to alleviate the symptoms and treating the root of the problem.
Direct transplantation
Direct transplantation of stem cells is one of the basic and most used methods of treatment, which means injecting them directly into the injured tissue or organs. As stem cells can easily adapt to their surroundings, they can differentiate into different types of cells and treat the damage by repairing the tissues’ structure and function. For example, in neurodegenerative illnesses, these cells can restore normal brain function and work on alleviating motor symptoms. Just like Dr Louis Cona states, stem cells have self-renewal, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory properties, and they can modulate the immune system, and locate and reduce areas of inflammation. When injected directly, they can be sent to the needed location using injections or catheterization, which are some of the least invasive ways. Also, when using autologous cells, it means that the patient’s stem cells are taken for the treatment, while allogeneic cells can also be used, which are donated by another person. Direct transplantation can help with many conditions, including spinal cord injuries, cardiovascular issues, and cartilage, but the whole process must be followed carefully, as it has to be made sure that the transplanted cells will survive, integrate, and differentiate just the way they need to heal the damaged tissue and help with a specific health problem.
Drug delivery
Stem cell therapy can also be done using specific drugs and medications that treat the injured or sick tissues. These cells have amazing migration abilities, so they can be perfect for focused treatment, and it can be possible to treat conditions like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological diseases with such medications when proteins and growth factors are added. For example, these medications can be used to apply substances that can encourage the growth of new blood vessels, especially after a heart attack. Also, cancer patients can benefit from this type of treatment greatly, as such drugs provide antitumor substances that are delivered directly to the tumor site without damaging healthy tissues and organs. Such treatment lowers the adverse effects and increases the drug’s efficacy, as it sends the substances directly to the places they should be treated. Even though this kind of treatment is still in its early stages and needs to be studied more thoroughly, it presents great promise and gives more hope for the effective treatment of various degenerative conditions.
Immunomodulation
Immunomodulation with stem cells is a new kind of treatment that uses mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to interact with other immune cells in promoting tissue healing and suppressing hyperactive immune responses. For example, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease are some conditions that can be successfully treated using this method, as these stem cells can alleviate inflammation, prevent any additional damage, and encourage the immune system to react positively to the treatment and help the body heal itself. Also, they can decrease the chances of rejection in organ transplantation, as they lower the immunological responses to the transplanted organ. Immunomodulation proves to be quite effective and has great chances of changing the way degenerative conditions are treated, and it can revolutionize the whole of healthcare if used properly and studied more thoroughly.
Personalized medicine
One great trait of stem cell therapy is that it can be personalized to each patient, which can help out in many ways. Autologous therapies use the patient’s cells during the treatment process from different sources like their blood, bones, and other parts. One of the main reasons why this is done is because the likelihood of your body rejecting the treatment is much lower since it does not treat it like something that does not belong there. Also, usually, the patient does not have any allergic reactions to the treatment. These cells can be used to specifically target parts of the body, such as tissues so that it can better treat the area. These stem cells can be altered and specialists can get rid of bad genes using genetic manipulation; this can be used to treat many different disorders that do not let people function properly.
Broad application
Another great thing about stem cell therapy is that it can be used to treat many different types of problems people face and it seems like it is only going to broaden its scope. This therapy can help out with many different neurological conditions by replacing damaged cells with new, healthy ones. When it comes to cardiovascular diseases, this treatment can be used to help repair damaged heart tissue. They can help build new blood vessels and even in the near future, they could replace dead cells with healthy ones. People who have problems with their immune system can be aided by using this treatment. They can reduce joint inflammation, help reset the whole immune system if there is a need for it, and treat gut problems people face. With the rapid progress of technology and treatment plans, it is safe to say that we have not seen all of the ways this therapy can help humans.
What are the challenges?
Stem cell therapy, although it provides many benefits and is a strong hope for people all over the world, still has its challenges and obstacles it faces on its way to improving and becoming more commonly used. For example, some stem cells may not integrate well with the damaged tissue, causing further damage or tumors, and researchers are doing their best to solve these problems and find ways to lower the chances of this condition. Also, ethical concerns present a huge challenge, especially when talking about embryonic stem cells, as they are harvested from embryos in their early stages, which raises many moral concerns and questions. As it is an innovative method of treating various conditions, stem cell therapy is still in its early and developing stages, which can pose many risks and questions, but as the research goes on, it proves to be more beneficial and hopeful when it comes to treating various degenerative conditions.
Stem cell therapy has helped many people around the world and scientists from different fields are exploring the way this treatment can help people out even more. Whatever progress is made, all the work put into it is worth it since it can give so much benefit to human beings. Because of it, many people can function more easily and feel better and the number of them can only grow.
