Stem Cells Liver Disease
The human liver is a highly resilient organ with amazing regenerative abilities. Unfortunately for a number of reasons it can break down over time, and although there are a number of different treatments available for complete liver failure a transplant is the only option – and this can be a risky business at best. Although not even a full liver is necessary to be transplanted from one individual to another in order for treatment to be successful (given that even if 40% of the original liver is transplanted into a patient the liver’s natural generation ability will cause it to re-grow to roughly the original size) the chances of organ rejection are still high and a major concern for many people suffering from liver disease. Additionally the widespread epidemic of liver failure means that for every one successful liver transplant 10 people are left on the waiting list hoping to receive one of their own.
Because of the risk of organ rejection among other concerns (including simply finding a suitable donor quick enough to save the life of an individual) alternative treatments utilizing adult stem cell therapy has been explored. In fact, researchers in both London and Japan are currently exploring treatment methods utilizing adult stem cells for the treatment of chronic liver disease and liver fibrosis.
This move towards liver repair and exploration of stem cell therapy to repair liver damage is partly due to the fact that there is a lack of any significant dialysis machine to assist with the liver’s functions (unlike dialysis for kidney failure), making the need for a treatment method other than an invasive transplant dire. Additionally studies have shown that liver disease is on the rise in many countries around the world, with highly-industrialized countries such as the UK and US among two of the homes of the fastest growing liver-disease demographic in the world.
The stem cells being used in the treatments underway in the UK and Japan are being extracted from the patient’s own bone marrow, effectively eliminating the risk of rejection from the patient as the cells will simply be modified native cells to the patient’s body. Adult stem cells extracted from bone marrow are proving highly flexible for use in many different areas of treatment, ranging anywhere from tissue repair (such as that being done in these cases in regards to liver damage) to even being utilized in the treatment of traumatic brain injury cases.
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