All About Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Activation Patches

What Are Stem Cells?

To better understand mesenchymal stem cell therapy, we should learn some of the basics about stem cells.

Stem cells are human cells that have the ability to grow into any type of cell in the body.

There are three main differences between stem cells and other cells in your body:

What Are the Types of Stem Cells?

There are two main types of stem cells — embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem cells come from a blastocyst (the medical term for an embryo a few days after fertilization). These cells can become any type of specialized tissue in the human body. Embryonic stem cells are also known as pluripotent stem cells due to their ability to become any type of cell.

Embryonic stem cells are not developed from eggs that have been fertilized in a woman’s body. Instead, they come from eggs donated to research following an informed consent process and are fertilized in vitro (in a laboratory). Nevertheless, there are ongoing ethical issues related to the use of embryonic stem cells.

Researchers are investigating how to make other types of stem cells act like embryonic stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells are adult stem cells that are made in a laboratory to behave like an embryonic stem cell.

Embryonic stem cells can help scientists understand more about how cells change into different types of cells (also known as cell differentiation).

Adult Stem Cells

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are normally found in the body of an adult. You have adult stem cells throughout your body to help repair and replace damaged or diseased tissue. Adult stem cells can renew and generate new cells to repair damaged tissue.

You may hear the term somatic stem cells when referring to adult stem cells. Somatic refers to any cell in the body that isn't a reproductive cell (such as eggs or sperm).

Parts of the body where you can find adult stem cells include:

Researchers are still learning about which tissues adult stem cells can differentiate into. Some studies have found that adult stem cells can only make cells similar to the areas from which they were taken. However, other studies have found that adult stem cells may be able to generate other types of cells different from the cells in the area they were taken from.

There are several different types of adult stem cells, including:

Now that we’ve reviewed stem cell basics, let’s dive into mesenchymal stem cells and mesenchymal stem cell therapy.

What Are Mesenchymal Stem Cells?

Mesenchymal stem cells are a type of adult stem cell that is found in connective tissue, blood vessel walls, and lymphatic tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into several different types of cells, including:

What Do Mesenchymal Stem Cells Do?

Researchers have found mesenchymal stem cells throughout the body, including bone marrow, fat, blood, umbilical cord, and dental pulp (the tissue inside your teeth). Mesenchymal stem cells can affect healing, inflammation, and immune function by releasing different substances, such as growth factors and proteins.

The ability to isolate mesenchymal stem cells from so many different body tissues make this type of stem cell a good type of stem cell to use to treat disease. Additionally, mesenchymal stem cells have fewer ethical issues associated with them because they do not come from embryonic stem cell lines.

Mesenchymal stem cells may have several applications in tissue and organ regeneration.

How Are Mesenchymal Stem Cells Grown?

Mesenchymal stem cells can be taken from fat tissue, dental pulp, the umbilical cord, or bone marrow. Scientists use these cells to grow more mesenchymal stem cells in a process called cell culture.

When mesenchymal stem cells are used in regenerative medicine, they are often taken from the same person who will be receiving the treatment. When your own stem cells are taken from your body, grown in a laboratory, and given back to you, they’re known as autologous mesenchymal stem cells. If stem cells from another person are used, they’re known as allogeneic stem cells.

What Health Conditions Can Mesenchymal Stem Cells Treat?

Stem cells were first used to make new blood cells in 1948. Since then, mesenchymal stem cells have been studied to regenerate tissue to treat several different diseases.

Eye Disease

Retinal eye diseases can cause vision loss. Your retina is the part of your eye that converts light into the images you see. When disease or age-related changes occur in your retina, it can lead to problems with your vision and, ultimately, vision loss. Examples of retinal eye diseases include macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and diabetic retinopathy.

Several clinical studies have found that mesenchymal stem cell therapy can help support the survival and growth of cells in the retina. This can help improve vision in people with retinal eye diseases.

Neural Diseases

Neural diseases are health conditions that involve the brain or spinal cord. Examples of neural diseases where mesenchymal stem cell therapy has been used include:

To treat neural diseases, autologous mesenchymal stem cells are injected into the blood vessels or spinal cord (intrathecally). Most studies on mesenchymal stem cell therapy for neural diseases are still in the early phases, and more research is needed to determine how safe and effective this type of treatment is.

Liver Disease

People with late-stage liver disease can have permanent scarring (called fibrosis) that makes it difficult for the liver to work properly. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy has been used to treat liver diseases such as liver cirrhosis, primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Clinical trials have found that mesenchymal stem cell therapy can improve signs and symptoms of some types of liver disease and prevent further disease progression.

Kidney Disease

People with kidney disease can’t properly filter waste out of the blood, causing a wide variety of health problems. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for kidney disease may help kidneys to replace damaged tissue so they can work better. Clinical trials using mesenchymal stem cells for kidney disease have shown mixed results. While many studies have shown improvement in kidney function after mesenchymal stem cell therapy, other studies have found that the therapy didn’t help.

Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people in the United States (US). The cells of the heart can become damaged in heart disease when blood vessels become blocked, cutting off blood flow and oxygen to parts of the heart. Early studies using mesenchymal stem cells for heart disease have found that this therapy can improve heart function and improve quality of life.

Bone Disease

Regenerative medicine can be helpful in several different types of bone disease, including osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and bone fractures.

Traditional treatment for these bone diseases may not be enough for some people. Treatment for osteoporosis usually involves drugs to help stop your bone from breaking or to help build more bone. Osteoarthritis treatment usually only involves pain medications and therapy to help relieve pain. In some cases, an entire joint can be replaced with medical parts to improve function and pain. Bone fractures can be treated with surgery and immobilization.

Mesenchymal stem cells may be able to improve bone regeneration and improve symptoms associated with these diseases.

Wound Healing

Healing a wound in your body is a complex process involving many steps and different types of cells. Research suggests that mesenchymal stem cells may be able to improve wound healing at any stage of the healing process and reduce the amount of scarring that occurs from the process.

What Are the Side Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy?

Like any medical treatment, there are potential risks. The most common side effects associated with mesenchymal stem cell therapy include:

Stem cell therapy that involves using stem cells donated by another person (allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells) may carry more risks, such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD can happen when your immune system sees the donated stem cells as foreign cells and begins to attack parts of the body.

Talk to your physician to find out the risks of the specific type of mesenchymal stem cell therapy you receive.

What Are Stem Cell Activation Patches?

Stem cell activation patches don’t contain any stem cells. Instead, these patches aim to stimulate the production of your own stem cells. These patches are designed to support other types of stem cell therapy or injections. Stem cell activation patches are also known as photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) or phototherapy patches.

Stem cell activation patches work by producing infrared light from the heat of your own skin. The infrared light is reflected back through your skin. It’s thought that infrared light may stimulate substances in your body that can stimulate stem cell production and promote healing.

Some clinical trials support the use of stem cell activation patches when they’re used along with other stem cell therapies. However, clinical trials haven’t shown that using stem cell activation patches alone can stimulate stem cell production. More studies are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this type of treatment for different health conditions.

Are You Interested in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy?

The best way to find out if mesenchymal stem cell therapy is right for you is to talk to your physician. Because stem cell therapy is a new area of research, you may be able to find a clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell therapy on certain diseases. Check with your physician to find out about clinical trials in your area.

You may also check for stem cell research at reputable universities, the National Institute for Health (NIH), or biotech companies, such as:

You may come across stem cell clinics in your research. Stem cell clinics are for-profit businesses that may make misleading claims that are not supported by clinical data. In general, stem cell research at reputable university institutes is available to people who qualify at no cost. Stem cell clinics often have high out-of-pocket costs for their treatments. Talk to your physician for recommendations on recommended stem cell research centers.