Scleroderma

The efficacy on intravenous infusion of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells was studied by researchers from five different countries—South Korea, United States, Japan, China, and Germany. These findings were reported in the Journal of Translational Medicine, titled: "Stem cell treatment for patients with autoimmune disease by systemic infusion of culture-expanded autologous adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells."

Dr. Jeong Chan Ra and RNL research team were successful in treating patients with autoimmune diseases which were related to tissue damage and limited therapeutic options.

Autoimmune diseases arise when the body's immune system attacks itself. There are different kinds of autoimmune diseases which include systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune hearing loss, spastic myelitis, Bechet's syndrome and so on. Symptoms of autoimmune diseases are long-term and result in permanent damage.

Dr. Ra's team previously demonstrated the safety on intravenous infusion of adipose-derived stem cells in humans. In addition to the safety, the team identified the efficacy on these diseases such as autoimmune hearing loss, multiple sclerosis, polymyositis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis, in this study. Patients who received stem cell infusion multiple times showed no adverse effects as well as side effects.

In the case of autoimmune hearing loss, the patient was administered with her own stem cells. Her hearing returned to normal (scaled out to 15dB) while she didn't respond to steroids.

A multiple sclerosis patient suffered from severe side effects from high dose steroids and had difficulty walking. The patient's condition improved tremendously from administration of stem cells intravenously as well as intra-thecally. In addition, the patient was able to move her legs using her own muscular strength.

Other autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis were not able to be treated with existing medication. However, these illnesses became manageable with stem cell treatment.

Researchers are continuing to develop sophisticated stem cell technology using 5g of fat as a standard, which can be expanded to 1 billion stem cells. Moreover, this technology became more efficient and convenient for patients because repetitive stem cell injections are possible from one time fat extraction. Their studies also showed the stem cell's homing effect, by which patients need less surgeries and transplants.

Dr. Jeong Chan Ra, president of RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute expressed, "The fact that we showed the way patients can be treated from their own stem cells is very rewarding to me." Dr. Ra added, "We are working towards becoming our country's medical hub for treating autoimmune diseases."

Source: PRNewswire