Stem Cell Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful and potentially crippling disease. Stem cells are a type of cells that continue to grow and divide as long as the person or animal is alive and may be turned into other specific types of cells. Stem cell treatments are being used for many disorders, including RA. The stem cells can replace damaged cells and provide healthy growing cells free of the disease.
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History
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Rheumatoid arthritis has been found in skeletal remains from more than 4,500 years ago, but it was first given a name by French physician Guillaume de Baillou in 1591. There are many types of arthritis that typically cause painful joints, stiffness, limited movement and swelling. RA is different from most forms of arthritis because it is not only an inflammatory disease but an autoimmune disease, meaning the problem is that your body is attacking itself. RA can attack not only your joints but also your skin, blood vessels and other organs of your body.
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Significance
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An estimated 5 percent of the US population suffers from some form of autoimmune disease, including RA. RA can also cause heart disease and death. The economic cost of lifelong treatment and disabilities, as well as the suffering, is immense. Routine treatment for RA provides some pain relief but does not cure it. Many people have bouts of severe pain even with medications. In addition, with traditional treatment joint deformation and organ damage continue to occur.
Patient Stem Cells
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Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands' research for severe, refractory RA included chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This uses patients' own stem cells from their blood or bone marrow. All patients who were treated had improvement. Similar results were confirmed in an Australian study. In a longer study in Austria with three patients, two had an 11- and 14-year remission, respectively, and the third had a relapse after 2 years then 11 years of remission. Other studies have had success, and all found the stem cell therapy to be safe.
Embryonic and Umbilical Cord
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Embryonic stem cells are the most versatile, but controversy over their use has resulted in limited research in the United States. However, umbilical cords contain Messenchymal stem cells, which have great ability to become many other types of cells. They are usually injected directly into or near the affected joints. The advantages of these stem cells are that their use is not controversial and that the patient does not need immune-suppression drugs. Results have demonstrated repairs to the joints and cartilage.
Adult Stem Cells
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Stem cells can be harvested from an adult, but they are not as versatile as Messenchymal stem cells. However, research results using adult stem cells have been promising. If harvested from the patient, immune-suppression drugs are not needed. When this is not possible, adult stem cells can be used from a donor. The patient will still get the benefits of the treatment but will need immune-suppression drugs.
Benefits
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Stem cell therapy does not just relieve pain and inflammation. In many cases stem cell therapy provides long-term remission or possibly even cures rheumatoid arthritis. Unlike treatments aimed at relieving symptoms, stem cell therapy stops the damage from continuing and restores function to damaged joints. It also allows patients to stop traditional drugs taken for pain and inflammation that may have serious side effects.
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