Stem cell therapy is attracting attention as a treatment that may broaden the options available for diseases that previously had no treatment options. The influence of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering iPS, is significant, but expectations for this field span academia, industry, politics, and many other areas. However, there is also the reality that, despite a lack of established evidence, cell therapies are being offered as self-pay (non-insured) medicine under the banner of “stem cell therapy.” This is not to say that every clinic providing self-pay treatment is suspicious. There may well be clinics that perform treatment safely while complying with the law. In Japan today, laws regarding stem cell therapy have been put in place, and bodies such as the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine have taken measures such as expanding their certified-physician systems, so the groundwork is being laid for an environment in which safe and effective stem cell therapy can reach the general public.
Various medical and research institutions are advertising clinical trials of stem cell therapy, recruiting participants for research, and promoting self-pay treatments touting things like cosmetic benefits and life extension; opportunities for the public to encounter cell therapy are increasing and are expected to keep increasing. When you come across such an opportunity, it is ultimately you who must decide whether to undergo the treatment or to participate in the research. Of course, if you could enjoy only the benefits of cell therapy there would be nothing to worry about, but unfortunately, with cell therapy still at a developmental stage, you need to make the decision about whether to receive treatment only after carefully considering and understanding the side effects and other factors that must be taken into account. In other words, in the end, the only thing that protects your own safety is your own knowledge.
In this article, I hope to deliver to you information about stem cell therapy that is as accurate as possible.
There is also a video.
Overview of Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy is a treatment that has been attracting attention in the medical field in recent years. Its potential is said to be limitless, and groundbreaking therapeutic effects are anticipated for many diseases and disorders. However, stem cell therapy also carries risks. In this article, I will explain in detail the overview of stem cell therapy, along with its merits and demerits, and its current status and future.
What Is a Stem Cell
A stem cell is a type of cell that exists within the human body, possessing the ability to self-replicate and to differentiate into various kinds of cells. Stem cells are mainly divided into two types: “embryonic stem cells,” which are pluripotent, and “somatic stem cells,” which have limited differentiation ability.
Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are special cells taken from human or animal embryos. These cells have the ability to differentiate into various types of cells, for example nerve cells, muscle cells, and skin cells. Because of these characteristics, they have become extremely important in the fields of regenerative medicine and research.
Embryonic stem cells also have the ability to divide infinitely while maintaining an undifferentiated cell state. This allows researchers to secure the quantity of cells they need. In addition, treatments that use this characteristic to repair diseased or damaged cell tissue are being developed.
However, the research and treatment of embryonic stem cells also involve ethical problems. Because the process of extracting them from embryos destroys the embryo, debates arise concerning respect for life and the beginning of life. For this reason, the advancement of research and the development of treatments are being pursued cautiously.
Somatic Stem Cells
Somatic stem cells are a type of cell that plays an important role in the growth and repair of our bodies. Stem cells have the characteristic of being able to self-replicate and differentiate into various kinds of cells.
Somatic stem cells exist in the tissues of the adult body and can differentiate into a variety of cells such as skin, bone, muscle, blood vessels, and nerves. In this way, they compensate for the loss of cells that accompanies bodily injury and aging, and carry out the repair and regeneration of tissue.
For example, in the process of a wound on the surface of the skin healing, somatic stem cells differentiate into new skin cells and repair the wound. In addition, the blood stem cells within blood vessels differentiate into blood cells such as white blood cells and red blood cells, maintaining the composition of the blood.
Medical technologies that use somatic stem cells are also being researched, and treatments are being developed to repair tissue damaged by disease or injury or to restore function. As a result, new possibilities are opening up for the treatment of diseases and disorders that had previously been difficult to treat.
Types of Stem Cell Therapy
Cell therapy is a method that cultures and proliferates stem cells inside or outside the patient’s body and uses them to treat disease or disorder. There are mainly two types: autologous stem cell transplantation and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation
Autologous stem cell transplantation refers to a treatment method that uses the patient’s own stem cells. In this method, stem cells (mainly somatic stem cells) collected from the patient are appropriately cultured and proliferated outside the body and then returned to the patient’s body, aiming to treat disease or disorder.
The greatest advantage of autologous stem cell transplantation is that there is almost no risk of rejection. Because the patient’s own cells are used, the immune reactions and rejection responses that occur when transplanting another person’s cells are unlikely to occur. For this reason, it is considered highly safe and to have few side effects.
Autologous stem cell transplantation is widely used in particular for the treatment of blood cancers (e.g., acute myeloid leukemia), being performed to restore bone marrow function after a patient has received high-dose anticancer drugs or radiation therapy. It is also applied to the treatment of autoimmune diseases (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus) and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis).
However, autologous stem cell transplantation also has limitations. When the patient’s own stem cells are the cause of the disease or disorder, or when a sufficient quantity and quality of stem cells cannot be collected, treatment can become difficult. Therefore, the choice of treatment method and its scope of application should be carefully considered according to the disease and the situation.
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation refers to a treatment method in which stem cells collected from another individual are transplanted into the patient. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is used mainly for the treatment of blood cancers, immunodeficiency syndromes, myelodysplastic syndromes, and the like.
In allogeneic stem cell transplantation, the matching of the tissue type (HLA type) of the donor and the recipient is important. When the tissue types match, rejection after transplantation is less likely to occur, so the therapeutic effect is enhanced. A matching donor is often a sibling or relative as the most suitable, but when no match is found among relatives, a provision may be received from an unrelated donor with a matching HLA type or from a cord blood bank.
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is said to carry a higher risk of rejection and of a complication called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) than autologous stem cell transplantation. However, it is possible to reduce these risks through conditioning therapy (anticancer drugs and radiation therapy) performed before transplantation and through immunosuppressive therapy after transplantation.
For allogeneic stem cell transplantation, the optimal treatment method should be selected according to the patient’s condition and the degree of donor matching. In addition, choosing an appropriate medical institution and specialist physician is the key to a successful treatment.
Advantages of Stem Cell Therapy
Self-Repair Ability
The greatest advantage of stem cell therapy is that treatment can be carried out by taking advantage of the body’s self-repair ability. This makes it possible to fundamentally resolve the cause of disease or disorder, and long-term therapeutic effects are anticipated.
Success Cases That Cannot Be Ignored
Stem cell therapy has been reported to bring groundbreaking therapeutic effects even to diseases and disorders that had previously been difficult to treat. For example, effects are anticipated for intractable diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. The treatment that has advanced furthest toward clinical use is therapy using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). In Japan, MSC treatment for acute GVHD and traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is approved as insured medical care. With regard to spinal cord injury, although it is a conditional approval, Stemirac (injection), manufactured and sold by Nipro Corporation, has received approval as a regenerative medicine product.
Risks and Limitations of Stem Cell Therapy
Possibility of Complications
Stem cell therapy may give rise to complications such as post-transplant rejection, infection, and tumor formation. With intravenous administration, pulmonary embolism is possible; with intra-arterial administration, the cells can become a source of embolism, leading to an ischemic state and the possibility that the organ being supplied with nutrition may become necrotic. As for direct surgical transplantation, because the invasiveness is great, the complications accompanying surgical invasion also cannot be ignored. To minimize these risks, appropriate transplantation techniques and strict infection control are indispensable.
Ethical Issues
Stem cell therapy raises ethical issues, particularly when embryonic stem cells are used. The acquisition of embryonic stem cells requires the destruction of fertilized eggs, and debate involving human dignity continues.
The Current Status and Future of Stem Cell Therapy
Current Treatments
At present, stem cell therapy is used mainly for the treatment of blood cancers and immunodeficiency syndromes. In addition, although still at the clinical-trial stage, treatment research for the intractable diseases mentioned above is also progressing. Individual treatment methods will be explained in their respective articles.
Future Prospects for Stem Cell Therapy
Research on stem cell therapy is advancing day by day, and it is anticipated that treatments for even more diseases and disorders will be developed in the future. In particular, in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, it is said that it will become possible to regenerate and repair damaged organs and tissues.
Points to Note When Receiving Stem Cell Therapy
Obtaining Correct Information
Information about stem cell therapy is widely covered on the internet and in the media, but it is important to obtain accurate and reliable information. Please refer to the opinions of experts and information from trustworthy medical institutions.
Choosing an Appropriate Facility
When receiving stem cell therapy, it is important to choose an appropriate facility. Please check the qualifications and experience of the physician performing the treatment, the facility’s equipment and hygiene conditions, the treatment costs, and so on, and choose a facility you can trust.
Conclusion
Stem cell therapy is a treatment that is attracting great attention in the medical field, and groundbreaking therapeutic effects are anticipated for many diseases and disorders. However, because risks and ethical issues also exist, it is important to gather sufficient information and choose an appropriate facility when receiving treatment. In the future, it is hoped that stem cell therapy will develop further and contribute to the health of many people.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What kinds of diseases is stem cell therapy effective for? A: At present, treatments for blood cancers and immunodeficiency syndromes are being carried out, and treatment research for intractable diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes is progressing.
- Q: What kinds of risks does stem cell therapy have? A: Stem cell therapy may give rise to complications such as post-transplant rejection, infection, and tumor formation. In addition, when embryonic stem cells are used, ethical issues must also be considered.
- Q: How much does stem cell therapy cost? A: The cost of stem cell therapy varies depending on the disease and the treatment method. It also varies depending on the facility and the country, so it is important to confirm the treatment costs in advance.
- Q: Is stem cell therapy covered by insurance? A: Whether stem cell therapy is covered by insurance differs depending on the content of the treatment and the country. We recommend inquiring with a medical institution or insurance company about whether specific insurance coverage applies.
- Q: What are the points to note when receiving stem cell therapy? A: When receiving stem cell therapy, it is important to obtain accurate and reliable information and to choose an appropriate facility. Please check the qualifications and experience of the physician performing the treatment, the facility’s equipment and hygiene conditions, the treatment costs, and so on.