From Stem Cells To Lung Cells
The US Leader is NOW in Mexico. The inclusion criteria were severe COPD, clinical treatments ineffective, limited life expectancy, limitation in daily physical activities, acceptable nutritional conditions and cardiac function, satisfactory psychosocial and emotional profiles and family support, the possibility of pulmonary rehabilitation physiotherapy, smoking cessation for at least six months before the protocol was applied, aged between 40-72 years and scoring higher than three in the Modified Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale test.
At the time of this writing (April 2019) it appears that stem cell therapy can be safely performed, although the long-term side effects remain unknown. Although your lungs possess their own population of healing adult stem cells, there are simply not enough cells present to keep up with the degree of ongoing lung tissue damage which occurs in COPD.
Int J Stem Cells 2016; 9: 192-206. In addition, pulmonary fibrosis has responded well to stem cell treatment too. Wilkinson DC, Mellody M, Meneses LK, Hope AC, stage 2 emphysema Dunn B, Gomperts BN. Development of a three-dimensional bioengineering technology to generate lung tissue for personalized disease modeling.
The stem cells reduce lung inflammation and the destruction of lung tissue. Moreover, especially in a disease such as severe emphysema, the relatively enlarged air spaces with marginal blood supply can complicate the efficacy of stem cell treatment. Stem Cell Implantation: Once the stem cells are ready to be implanted, the doctor will identify the most potent method of infusion based on the patient's physical and mental well-being.
In this study, researchers used a class of cell called iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells). Jacob A, Morley M, Hawkins F, McCauley KB, Jean JC, Heins H, et al. Differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into functional lung alveolar epithelial cells. Unproven stem cell treatments for lung disease: an emerging public health problem.
In that way stem cells may one day be used to cure lung diseases. Cell therapy works more effectively when combined with other therapeutic methods that help activates the tissue repair process. They also build healthy respiratory tissue that had been destroyed by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).