Stem Cell Therapy Helps Treat Severe COVID-19

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.’

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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