In a human clinical trial, led by Dr. Gary Steinburg a professor at the Stanford School of Medicine, researchers injected adult stem cells into the brains of patients that had suffered a stroke. This was a small study, but all recipients saw at least some motor function restored. These patients were able to walk again and they’re still able to do so more than 2 years after their treatments. This suggests that stem cell treatments could be our best hope yet to reverse the effects of a stroke.
Treating Alzheimer’s
A Japanese study is even taking on one of the world’s most debilitating diseases. The research is taking place at Kyoto University and may provide real hope for Alzheimer’s patients. Using a combination of drugs and stem cell therapy doctors are hopeful that they can prevent the onset of the disease, although they caution their results are preliminary.
At Park Avenue Stem Cell Therapy Center in New York City they are also investigating the effectiveness of using a technique called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) to treat a range of degenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s. This method, imported from Asia, uses some of the patient’s own fat cells (adipose) to extract stem cells that are then injected back into the patient. If these methods prove effective, doctors may be able to treat Alzheimer’s with day surgery in the near future.
Age Related Frailty
As promising as all of these research studies are, none of them address the problem of the age related frailty we deal with as we get older. The results of two separate recent studies released in The Journals of Gerontology show potential to do exactly that. Patients in their 80’s and 90’s received infusions of stem cells in a double blind study. The majority of patients showed significant improvement in brain function, heart health, and overall fitness levels.
