Title: Can New-born Stem Cells Be Used to Treat Hepatitis?
1Can New-born Stem Cells Be Used to Treat
Hepatitis?
2- The liver which is located in the upper
right-hand side of the abdomen, performs many
important functions that might affect the regular
metabolism of human body like - Breaking down carbohydrates, fats and proteins,
storing glycogen, minerals and vitamins, - Filtering toxins and
- Eliminating cholesterol, hormones and bilirubin.
But, sometimes, the liver might dysfunction or
might suffer from an inflammation as a reaction
that occurs when the liver cells are attacked by
disease-causing microbes or substances.
What Is Hepatitis? Hepatitis is also one such
infection. It is caused by other viruses,
bacteria, parasites, and toxin reactions to
drugs, alcohol, and chemicals leading to liver
inflammation, failure and cirrhosis.
3What Are The symptoms Of Hepatitis?
According to Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), approximately 4.4 million
people across the world are affected by chronic
hepatitis B and C, in which the symptoms start
developing slowly.
In some cases of hepatitis, symptoms may not
occur at all, until there is a liver damage. In
acute hepatitis however, flu-like symptoms,
fatigue, dark urine, stomach ache, weight loss
and skin and eyes turning yellow are some of the
common symptoms. So, the treatment also depends
upon its types and severity.
4How Is Hepatitis Treated?
While Hepatitis A is an acute and short-term
disease, Hepatitis B and C are more likely to
become chronic. In case of hepatitis A, (which
is caused by consuming contaminated food or
water), the treatment is largely based on
addressing the symptoms, monitoring the liver
health and getting vaccinated to prevent the
affected from falling sick. Medication,
hospitalisation or transplantation is rare
requirement in hepatitis.
Hepatitis B and C, which is transmitted through
injection use, and sexual contact, is normally
treated with antiviral medications. Although an
expensive treatment procedure, but it requires
regular medical evaluation, monitoring, and
testing, to check whether the virus is responding
to the treatment. However, as a result of chronic
hepatitis C, if someone develops liver cirrhosis,
the patient might have to get a liver
transplantation done.
5- Can New-born Stem Cells Be Used to Treat
Hepatitis? - Haematopoietic Stem Cells was used to treat
Hepatitis C - A study had shown that, in November 2000, a
45-year-old man was diagnosed with hepatitis C.
Going deep, except getting a few tattoos done, no
proper source of the viral infection was found. - To reduce the viral load, he may have been given
a combination of antiviral therapy, but he
developed a progressive pancytopenia, even after
the discontinuation of the antiviral therapy. He
also became transfusion dependent. With the
outcome of the treatment, it was decided that the
patient might eventually need umbilical cord
blood (haematopoietic) stem cell transplantation.
So, since he did not have any siblings, baby stem
cells from unrelated umbilical cord blood were
offered for transplantation. Due to
Haematopoietic Stem cells ability to rebuild
blood, except a small post transplantation
complication, 9 months after, his liver function
was tested normal and the chances of the
returning of the viral load were below the levels
of detection.
6- Peripheral infusion of UCMSCs showed good
therapeutic effects for HBV-related liver failure - In a study, which had 64 patients affected with
HBV-related liver failure and 59 patients with
HBV-related liver cirrhosis, after prolonged
umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)
treatment, significant changes were observed. In
fact, those who belonged to the age in-between 16
and 60 years, after the therapy, the patients
were excluded from - Severe complications including gastric vein
rupture, haemorrhage and septicaemia - Other autoimmune treatable diseases
- Liver transplantation
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Liver cancer
To Conclude Overall, the long-term effectiveness
of umbilical cord (cord blood) stem cell therapy
could further be judged in large-scale and
well-controlled trial.
7Source https//www.cordlifeindia.com/blog/can-new
-born-stem-cells-be-used-to-treat-hepatitis/