Autoimmune Diseases
Recent research highlights the therapeutic role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in managing autoimmune diseases. MSCs play a vital role in the maintenance and repair of adult mesenchymal tissues, responding to inflammation and injury with immune-modulating and immunosuppressive effects that help regulate immune responses.
HSCs also show promise in treating autoimmune conditions such as systemic sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, helping to improve patient health and quality of life.
In developed countries, increased life expectancy, lifestyle factors, and environmental changes have contributed to a rise in degenerative and autoimmune diseases. Stem cell therapies offer a promising treatment approach, as they encourage tissue repair and provide protection against immune-related damage.
Understanding Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases are serious conditions where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, producing harmful antibody responses. These conditions can target a single organ or affect multiple organs, potentially causing widespread damage. While autoimmune diseases are often difficult to manage, stem cell therapy has shown promise in treating conditions like multiple sclerosis, lupus, Type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.
How Can Stem Cells Help Treat Autoimmune Diseases?
Autoimmune conditions are typically managed with immune-suppressing medications like steroids, methotrexate, cyclosporine, and infliximab (Remicade). While these treatments can provide relief, they often come with potential long-term side effects and may require lifelong use.
Stem cell therapy, however, offers a different approach. In patients with various autoimmune disorders, stem cells have shown significant healing potential. Beyond repairing damaged tissues, stem cells uniquely modulate the immune system, reducing harmful immune responses without compromising the body’s ability to fight infections.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are particularly effective in targeting inflamed tissues. They produce localized anti-inflammatory agents that calm immune responses specifically in the affected areas, rather than impacting the entire immune system. MSCs also encourage the production of regulatory T cells—specialized immune cells that help protect the body from attacking its own tissues, further supporting a balanced immune response.
Which types of stem cells are used to treat autoimmune diseases and how are they collected?
The adult stem cell used to treat autoimmune diseases originates from human tissue of the umbilical cord (allogeneic mesenchymal). The mesenchymal stem cells that we use are retrieved after normal and healthy births from donated umbilical cords. Every mom has been screened her medical history and is tested for infectious diseases following US FDA guidelines. All cells are again tested for sterility, viability, activity and only expanded one time. This is know as Passage One or P1 stem cells. The cells are also pre-selected by the cell biologist using proprietary techniques to ONLY select the best cells. This is sometimes referred to as selecting “ Golden Cells”.
Treatment with stem cell
Thousand of patients with autoimmune diseases have received umbilical cord stem cells as a treatment of their disorder in the past 13 years. Rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus are among the autoimmune diseases that are successfully treated with stem cells.
