Stem Cell Therapy Helps Treat Severe COVID-19

Cytokine storm is considered as the reason behind acute respiratory distress in COVID-19 patients. Stem cell therapy improves patient survival by modulating the immune system toward an anti-inflammatory state, finds a new study.

Experts tested treatment using umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (UC-MSCs) on COVID-19 patients. Since we have only the supportive care to assist in treating COVID-19, this study suggests an alternative therapy on intubated, critically ill COVID-19 pneumonia patients.

As the cytokine storm is considered as the reason behind acute respiratory distress in COVID-19 patients, Ismail Hadisoebroto Diligo, corresponding author of the study, said, "The exact cause of cytokine storm is still unknown, but our study indicates that the presence of non-manipulated umbilical cord stromal stem cells improves patient survival by modulating the immune system toward an anti-inflammatory, immune state."

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‘Patients who received stem cell-based intravenous infusions showed a 2.5 times higher survival rate than those who did not receive it.’

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells are multipotent stem cells that can be derived from many sources, including the umbilical cord.

The team sought to investigate the efficacy of UC-MSC administration as adjuvant therapy in critically ill patients with COVID-19. A total of 40 patients from four COVID-19 referral hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia who had been under the support of ventilators due to COVID-19 pneumonia were enrolled in the study. The patients were separated into two groups where one group was given intravenous infusions with UC-MSC while the other group was given infusions without them.

Key findings of the study are,

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• The survival rate of patients who received infusions with UC-MSC was 2.5 times higher than those who didn’t receive it.

• Comorbid patients who received infusions with UC-MSC showed 4.5 times higher survival rate than the comorbid patients who didn’t receive it.

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• The infusions with UC-MSC were safe and well-tolerated by the patients. No signs of life-threatening complications or acute allergic reactions were seen up to seven days of post-infusion monitoring.

"Although our study focused on a small number of patients, we think this experimental treatment could potentially lead to an effective adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients in intensive care who do not respond to conventional supportive treatment," Diligo added. The outcomes of the cutting-edge study were published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine .

Test your Knowledge on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Coronavirus is a large positive-strand RNA virus that is surrounded by a protein envelope. The virus obtains its name from the S protein spikes on its surface, which resemble a crown. The overall pattern of increasing coronavirus cases is shown to spike up with the “second wave” of COVID-19.

With spiking effects of the second wave of coronavirus, the best way to keep it at bay is to follow COVID-appropriate safety practices like wearing a mask, regularly cleaning your hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue along with physical distancing (6 feet about 2 arm's length), that may help evade the severity of COVID-19 infection.

Source-Medindia