I am very interestingly following news reports about studies being done on using various types of stem cells to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's. Today I saw this news brief from EurekaAlert which describes a study at Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine where they injected mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the perineum of the mice.
Because I am not a science writer, let me quote a bit from the news brief:
"Our findings suggest that MSC therapy could become a useful treatment for inflammatory bowel disease," says Biju Parekkadan, PhD, of the Center for Engineering in Medicine, the paper's lead author. "Several previous studies have observed these cells' ability to inhibit specific subsets of T cells and relieve symptoms in particular autoimmune disorders. But this is the first demonstration of their ability to suppress a broad-based autoimmune reaction and protect gastrointestinal tissue."
Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system loses control over lymphocytes (white blood cells) that attack an individual's own tissues. Treatments for these diseases – more than 80 conditions, ranging from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis to gastrointestinal disorders like Crohn's disease – are primarily directed against symptoms; and even those that target the immune system do not completely suppress the out-of-control response. Found in the bone marrow, MSCs give rise to tissues supporting blood cell development and secrete factors that can modulate several immune system activities. Their use has recently received FDA approval to treat severe graft-versus-host disease in children.
Of course the problem is that the long term effects of Stem Cell Treatment on humans is not known yet.
Martin Yarmush, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine and senior author of the study is quoted as saying "Before we can think about testing this approach in patients, we need to know more about long-term effects of MSC infusion – including immunosuppressive effects."
I imagine that it will be the job of the severely ill amongst us to join medical studies to test stem cell treatments in people. Then we can monitor their progress and make sure there are not unpalatable extra side effects of the treatments. I imagine they are concerned that the extra stem cells effect the immune system in other ways; cancer is something we all want to avoid for example. I also do not want to grow a third leg. (Ok, little starfish humor there...)
