Stem cell therapy is an innovative treatment that offers hope for people suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: COPD. Unlike conventional treatments, stem cell transplantation can reverse lung damage, regenerate damaged tissue and improve respiratory function.
Boosting COPD lung recovery with stem cell therapy
What we know is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a group of chronic inflammatory diseases affecting the lungs. They include asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and bronchiectasis.
These conditions cause short breath, wheezing, chest tightness, chronic cough, among other symptoms caused by damage to the lungs.
Stem cells are immature cells, which have the capacity to proliferate and become any other type of cell. In the case of COPD, transplantation of mesenchymal or hematopoietic stem cells triggers a regeneration process to repair damaged tissues and restore respiratory function.
In addition, stem cells have anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties, which modulates the inflammatory response of the lungs, reducing excessive scarring and improving respiratory function.
Method of systemic administration of cell therapy for pulmonary diseases.
Stem cell transplantation for COPD is performed by vascular or intravenous route to avoid patient discomfort. The cells are transported through the bloodstream and reach the lungs by natural blood pumping. They then migrate to the damaged lung tissue where they differentiate into specialized cells, such as alveolar or epithelial cells to regenerate tissues.
How can cell therapy help in lung treatment?
Stem cell therapy offers much hope for COPD patients:
Regeneration of damaged tissues
The stem cells’ ability to differentiate and the growth factors they release help restore the structure of the lungs and stimulate the repair of damaged tissues and the formation of new blood vessels. These characteristics are key to restoring respiratory function.
Reducing inflammation
Lung diseases associated with COPD are characterized by chronic inflammation that makes breathing difficult and can have serious consequences. The anti-inflammatory properties of stem cells help reduce lung inflammation and symptoms.
Combating pulmonary fibrosis
Lung fibrosis is one of the consequences of COPD and the immunomodulatory properties of stem cells help stop the progression of fibrosis, as well as delay lung tissue scarring and reverse damage through regeneration.
Modulation of the immune response
Stem cells have the ability to modulate the immune response, particularly to allergies. This, together with their anti-inflammatory capacity, can improve the quality of life of patients with asthma.
Preventing transplant rejection
Stem cell therapy can be used to prevent lung transplant rejection by improving the patient’s immune response.
Improved quality of life
In severe cases, where surgical and pharmacological alternatives have already been exhausted, stem cell therapy helps improve quality of life by improving lung function, which reduces fatigue, shortness of breath and shortness of breath.
Why choose our stem cell treatment specialists?
At ProgenCell we have a multidisciplinary medical team, with different medical specialties and highly specialized in cell therapy. Since our foundation in 2008 we have attended hundreds of successful cases of patients who have recovered their health and quality of life that support us.
We have a clinic with state of the art facilities, with the latest technology to provide the best experience to our patients located in Tijuana, just one minute from the border with the United States. We offer shuttle service from the airport or the border area.
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Frequently Asked Questions about COPD
Symptoms may be quite mild at first, sometimes almost not perceptive or not noticed by the patient, reason why sometimes they don’t look for medical assistance. And it’s when, unfortunately, in an advanced stage the diagnosis is done. You might even dismiss them as a cold, beginning with coughing and shortness of breath.
Patients may experience the following symptoms during different stages of the disease:
- Shortness of breath,
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Chest tightness
- Mucus
- Fatigue
- Hypoxic spells
- Dizziness
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is chronic and irreversible airway inflammation. Currently, there is no curative treatment for COPD, only palliative treatment and follow-up. Postponing a treatment for COPD can cause other health diseases to be added to the current lung illness, like heart conditions, irregular blood pressure and respiratory infections that can damage the patient’s lungs.
COPD is caused by a damage to the lungs. It’s a disease that takes a long time to develop. Damage occurs from breathing in unhealthy substances constantly and over time. This includes air pollution, chemical fumes, gasses, vapors, or mists, tobacco smoke (including second-hand smoke), and dust.
One of the main causes for COPD is excessive smoking and irritant chemicals, patients with COPD are usually over 40 years and have a background of smoking. The more you smoke, the higher the risk of developing COPD is.
Some risk factors of developing COPD are asthma, workplaces where forced to be exposed to chemicals and fumes, as well as inhaling dust activities. Also, often poorly ventilated homes, induce families to breathe fumes from cooking and heating fuel.
Some, not the majority of the patients with COPD may have a genetic predisposition due to a deficiency in alpha1-antitrypsin which is a protein that can affect lungs and the liver when it decreases.
In order to be diagnosed you would need to visit your primary care doctor to get your medical history and symptoms evaluated. Mainly you will be asked if you have a smoking history. Some tests can be performed in order to evaluate your lung condition depending of your present condition, you may be asked to have a spirometry, x-rays, oxygen levels, among others.
One of the most important things is to AVOID smoking. Smoking causes not only COPD but it also leads to other various diseases such as heart disease, lung cancer among other diseases.
The best recommendation would be for you to stop smoking, not get exposed to secondhand smoke, hazardous chemicals, etc.
Although stem cells can be obtained from different sources, such as: bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue and even teeth, we prefer to use fresh, autologous bone marrow; as it contains many stimulating factors and growth factors. As research studies advance and more beneficial qualities for regenerating and repairing tissue are discovered, we are becoming more and more convinced of its potential for anti-aging, prevention and for treating a wide variety of degenerative conditions. That is why we want to bring the benefits of stem cell therapy for COPD to all those patients with a medical condition, even when traditional treatments have had little or no results.
References:
Niewoehner D. Structure-function relationships: the pathophysiology of airflow obstruction. In Stockley R, Rennard S. Rabe K, Celli B, eds. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell, 2007: 3-19.
Fernando J Martinez, James F Donohue, Stephen I Rennard. The future of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment-difficulties of and barriers to drug development. Lancet 2011; 378: 1027-37
Is Stem Cell Therapy Right for You?
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