Can COVID-19 patients benefit from stem cells?
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many studies have been performed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UCMSC) infusions in COVID-19 patients. In COVID-19 patients, intravenously given mesenchymal stem cells may be able to decrease severe adverse effects, mortality, and recovery time.
Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome stem cell therapy objectives
The therapeutic applications of stem cells as a possible treatment for a range of illnesses have been extensively researched, and the number of clinical studies using Mesenchymal Stem Cells has exploded in recent years.
What is COVID-19 post-acute syndrome?
There are growing reports of persistent and protracted sequelae following acute COVID-19, similar to post-acute viral symptoms reported in survivors of previous virulent coronavirus outbreaks. Patient advocacy organisations have aided in the identification of post-acute COVID-19, a condition marked by persistent symptoms and/or delayed or long-term consequences more than four weeks after start.
Patient’s Medical History
This patient was brought to the emergency department in late April with typical COVID-19 symptoms and many comorbidities. The patient’s health deteriorated while intubated in the intensive care unit (ICU), despite routine care and therapy with convalescent plasma. The patient’s renal and liver function deteriorated to the point that he needed dialysis. During his stay in the ICU, the patient developed sepsis and had a stroke, and he remained unconscious for almost seven weeks.
Treatment Outcomes
The patient’s multiple organ failure was resolved, he was able to wake up from his coma, and his neurological, lung, hepatic, and renal functions were all restored after the therapy. The patient was taken off of supplemental oxygen and dialysis. The patient is now able to eat, drink, and talk, as well as recover motor function. Inflammation levels that had been high at admission and had risen throughout ICU care had reverted to normal. The guy was just released from the intensive care unit and is now receiving physical therapy to recuperate from the stroke he experienced while in the ICU.
Why are COVID-19 stem cells generated from umbilical cord tissue?
Umbilical cord tissue is a normal byproduct of delivery, but it is also high in mesenchymal stem cells, which may be utilised to repair, rejuvenate, and cure a range of ailments.
Immune rejection is not a problem for mesenchymal stem cells generated from cord tissue. They are undifferentiated, young, immunoprivileged cells that have yet to be “claimed.” There are no blood products connected with them, thus no HLA matching is required; cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells are widely accepted.
Recent research has shown that, although stem cells may be found in every live person, their quantity and potency decreases as people age. Furthermore, cells derived from the tissues of patients with autoimmune/degenerative diseases may include components of such diseases, reducing the efficacy of their usage in therapies. Both of these problems are avoided using cord tissue-derived stem cells, which are minimally invasive to the patient and always accessible for rapid use.