Stem Cells Neuropathy
Neuropathy is an unfortunately relatively common issue that many people around the world face as a result of a number of different factors ranging from trauma to disease side effects. Regardless of the specific cause, however, the result is the same – a failing of proper neurological processes that can cause numbness, lack of responsiveness and for some people even complete paralysis.
Thankfully research is being done into a number of different processes that can help combat this ailment and bring about an effective treatment – or even complete cure – for many people that have experienced this symptom in the past or are suffering from it now. Each of these focuses on treating the direct cause of the neuropathy, not the symptom itself, and for many individuals preliminary research has already shown great progress.
One of the most common forms of neuropathy for many people, direct brain trauma (even minute) is being explored by stem cell researchers around the world as a prime candidate for initial test treatments as well progressive treatments for those having already been afflicted. Focusing on utilizing adult stem cells found within bone marrow (commonly extracted from the hip of a patient) and programming them to target specific neural pathways in the brain, initial reports have shown surprisingly optimistic results for many people by working to rebuilt neural pathways and prevent excessive damage from cascading into other regions – particularly if the treatments can be applied soon after the trauma is received.
Initial treatments are already currently under way at hospitals in some locations globally, with particular interest on children head traumas suffered in Texas. The results have shown a treatment of adult semi-differentiated stem cells can restore necessary brain pathways that would otherwise cause long-term neurological damage (with neuropathy being only one possible outcome) and prevent further damage from swelling from occurring.
For neuropathy caused by other chronic diseases such as diabetes treatments are further being explored in this regard as well. In terms of diabetes, as one example, research is being done on utilizing adult stem cells to stimulate insulin production within the pancreas and thus allow for the progressive damage to be halted before it gets worse. Existing damage could then be focused on with additional stem cell focus in order to re-grow damaged synaptic responses.
While neuropathy is difficult to focus on in particular due to the varied nature of it causes one thing is certain: advances in stem cell development and application are proving beneficial in all areas, and for many sufferers looking for help a treatment may soon be available in a medical center near you if it is not available already.
Subscribe to the comments for this post