Stem Cell Treatment to Cure Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune diseases are witnessed in millions of people across the world. As per the National Institutes of Health, 50 million Americans, which is 20 percent of the World’s total population is suffering from autoimmune diseases. Largely, autoimmune diseases are chronic and life-threatening and hence an increasing number of patients are opting for stem cell treatment in the USA.
But before we proceed further, let us understand what are Autoimmune Diseases -
Autoimmune is a severe condition under which the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies healthy body cells as foreign cells and attacks them. It causes abnormally low activity or overactivity of the immune system. In the case of overactivity, the body attacks and damages its own tissues. Whereas in low activity or immune deficiency, the body’s ability to fight invaders decreases and the body becomes vulnerable to infections.
There are around 80-100 chronic autoimmune diseases which include-
Type 1 diabetes
Rheumatoid arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis
Multiple sclerosis
Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)
Inflammatory bowel disease
Addison’s disease
Celiac disease
The symptoms of these diseases can vary from fatigue, muscle aches, swelling, and redness. Often symptoms come and go until the disease becomes acute.
Generally, autoimmune ailments are treated with immune suppressive agents such as steroids and methotrexate. Although an improvement is temporarily observed with these medications, an adverse effect is seen in the long run which is not in the case of stem cell therapies. Also, many patients become resistant to conventional therapy and over usage of drugs.
Many autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis cannot be treated with conventional medicines. However, they are manageable with stem cell treatment.
Stem cell-based treatments are newly developed treatment procedures that are non-invasive in nature and result in a quick recovery.
And that’s not all,
Although being on a nascent stage, stem cell treatment is regarded as the future of modern medicine as it has opened many new vistas for healthcare and treatment of serious and life-threatening diseases.
Stem Cell Treatment Procedure
Step 1 – Fat Harvesting – The treatment initiates with a small volume of fat being extracted from the patient’s body which is also known as incision. The incision differs for each patient. Thinner patients require more incision in comparison to other patients.
Step 2 – Cell Processing – After the harvesting process, stem cells are isolated from the fat tissue. The cells are separated from the adipose to prepare them for re-introduction in the body.
Step 3 - Stem Cell Delivery – Once the stem cells are harvested, the cells are directly injected to the patient’s body. Depending on the treatment plan, intravenous delivery of cells is also implemented to banish the underlying causes of inflammation, destructive immune response or restricted blood flow.
Stem cell therapy has revolutionalized autoimmune care
Stem cell therapy for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases is consistently developing and has generated promising results. However, the recent developments in stem cell therapy are only the tip of an iceberg that holds many opportunities in the future.
It is of no surprise that stem cells potent to treat serious diseases which were previously incurable. It is a procedure under the rapidly growing field of regenerative medicine that cures diseases naturally by utilizing a patient’s own stem cells.
Stem cell therapy is a miracle for patients who suffer from Autoimmune diseases as it is the best alternative to surgery and involves minimal recovery time.
Stem cell therapy boosts the immune system and the overall functioning of the human body. Cell-based treatments not only treat the damaged tissues but also miraculously modulate the immune system and help the body to preserve its ability to fight off diseases.
The role of Mesenchymal stem cells in curing Autoimmune Diseases
A person’s fat tissues contain abundant mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These cells are repair cells which have healing abilities and even replace the damaged tissues, form new blood cells and improve the blood flow.
The special property of these cells is that they not only target the symptoms but eliminate the underlying cause of the illness or injury. The treatment provides lasting healing and relief.
Stem cells, especially the MSCs are undifferentiated cells that have the ability of self-renewal and can differentiate and proliferate into many specialized cells.
Due to their immune regulatory and regenerative properties, MSC treatments are clinically effective to treat a number of immune diseases. When injected in the body, mesenchymal stem cells return to inflamed tissue and start producing anti-inflammatory agents.
Moreover, mesenchymal stem cells boost the production of T regulatory cells. T regulatory cells are an immune cell that function to protect the body against immunological self-attack.
In a nutshell, a combination of stem and regenerative cells has shown remarkable effectiveness in recent years. The unique combination terminates the destructive immune response. It also effectively restores the normal functioning of the body by repairing the damage at a cellular level, increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation. Stem cell treatment is now referred to as ‘gamechanger’ because it treats the ailment naturally and reboots the immune system of the body.
The treatment of patients from stem cell therapy has been proved effective in treating blood and immunity disorders. The techniques applied may vary from hematopoietic to bone marrow transplantation and so on. The success rate of stem cell treatments is high. However, the healing process depends on the stem cells present in the implanted tissue.