Clinical and laboratory results document psoriatic arthritis in a 56-year old patient. The symptoms did not resolve with standard treatments (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids and methotrexate). TNF-alpha inhibitors (certolizumab pegol and adalimumab) were added to the treatment regime, with some adverse effects. A trial of human umbilical cord stem cell therapy was then initiated. The stem cells were enriched and concentrated from whole cord blood, by removal of erythrocytes and centrifugation.

The patient received several infusions of cord blood stem cells, through intravenous and intra-articular injections. These stem cell treatments correlated with remission of symptoms (joint pain and psoriatic plaques) and normalized serologic results for the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

These improvements were noted within the first thirty days post-treatment, and were sustained for more than one year.

The results of this trial suggest that cord blood stem cells may have important therapeutic value for patients with psoriatic arthritis, particularly for those who cannot tolerate standard treatments.

The original article can be viewed here.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells which have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into mature cells. They are highly proliferative, implying that an unlimited number of mature cells can be generated from a given stem cell source.

On this basis, stem cell replacement therapy has been evaluated in recent years as an alternative for various pathologies. Degenerative retinal diseases cause progressive visual decline which originates from continuing loss of photoreceptor cells and outer nuclear layers. Theoretically, this therapy will enable the generation of new retinal cells from stem cells to replace the damaged cells in the diseased retina. In addition, stem cells are able to perform multiple functions, such as immunoregulation, anti-apoptosis of neurons, and neurotrophin secretion.

With recent progress in experimental stem cell applications, phase I/II clinical trials have been approved. These latest stem cell transplantation studies showed that this therapy is a promising approach to restore visual function in eyes with degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardts’ macular dystrophy, and age-related macular degeneration. This review focuses on new developments in stem cell therapy for degenerative retinal diseases.

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