Alzheimer is the most common cause of dementia. This complex disease affects the nerve cells in the brain, making operative treatment very challenging. As the disease progresses, nerve cells or neurons become damaged or lost. Thus, being a neurodegenerative disease, can cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease tackle this challenge?
Some of the Common Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is divided into three stages such as mild (early stage), moderate and severe (late stage). A person with AD may look physically healthy but may have trouble making sensible verdicts. Problems may include:
- Lapses in memory
- Struggle to find the right words
- Poor judgment
- Taking longer to complete normal tasks
- Confusion
- Repetitive questionings
- Mood swings
- Inability to handle money payments
- Wandering aimlessly
- Misplacing things
- Increased anxiety and aggression
The above symptoms become increasingly severe if not treated urgently. People affected by Alzheimer’s disease have an abnormal build-up of proteins like amyloid beta that masses together to form ‘plaques’; and ‘tau’ develops into ‘tangles’ in the brain. These plaques and tangles lead to Alzheimer’s disease by preventing the nerve cells from communicating or from getting the essential nutrients they need.
Treatment
Successful cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease helps in supplying healthy cells to damaged areas of the brain and join the new neurons into the neuron networks without any side effects or allergies. This approach could be beneficial if done in the initial stages.
Cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease has been useful to patients after testing the safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. These cells are extracted from patients own (autologous) bone marrow derived from their pelvic bone. The cells are treated in the laboratory and administered intravenously back into patients’ blood. The recovery ratio for AD with cell therapy is high as it helps to slow down the progression of the disease.
Why Mesenchymal Stem Cells?
Mesenchymal stem cells are specially harnessed from the patients in the treatment of AD as they are easily available and for their ease of differentiating into potential neuronal cell types. They have the blood-brain barrier penetration property, are low on tumorigenicity and can incite an immune response. The bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells increase their immune-modulatory ability by the releasing soluble factors and secreting neurotrophic factors.
The beneficial properties of mesenchymal cells stimulate the proliferation and survival of the dead or damaged tissues and nerve cells. Their anti-inflammatory and immune modulatory properties also contribute to the recovery in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, the consistency of MSCs is supposedly embedded in phenotypic expression and differentiation and based on its safety and effectiveness.
Cell treatment for AD may not completely cure the patients but can help them to gain control over their relapses.
Cell Therapy is beneficial for many types of disorders that are said to be beyond restoration. They includes neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, autism, muscular dystrophy, brain stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, etc. Various hospitals around the globe utilize mesenchymal cells to regenerate functional tissues and damaged or injured organs.
