Scientists Develop A New Stem Cell Therapy For Brain Cancer

The treatment could greatly the survival times for patients with glioblastomas

Pet Scan of Human Brain (Wikimedia publc domain)

Glioblastomas is an especially virulent form of brain cancer, almost universally fatal to those who contract it. The cancer can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, but such treatments only delay the inevitable. Thus far it has been proven to be all but impossible to eradicate glioblastomas permanently. Tumors can be removed, but they leave behind cancerous tentacles that grow back into cancers. The survival rate for this form of brain cancer is just over 30 percent, according to Gizmag.

Now, a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have come upon a new way to treat brain cancer using adult stem cells derived from human skin. In 2006, the discovery was made that skin cells could be converted into stem cells that could then be converted into any type of cell of the human body. The discovery led to a Nobel Prize awarded in 2012. The possibilities for regenerative medicine are profound.

The UNC team harvested adult skin cells called fibroblasts, which produce collagen and connective tissue, and engineered these to become induced neural stems cells. The cells were then implanted into mice. The researchers discovered that the cells hunted down and destroyed brain cancer cells, increasing survival times to between 160 to 220 percent.

The team also is exploring ways to have the cells create cancer killing proteins and even incorporate drugs to further fight tumors in order to increase the potency of the potential therapy.

The stem cell therapy being developed by UNC is just one of the cutting-edge approaches that go beyond the “carpet bombing” approach to fighting cancer that can damage surrounding tissue and make the patient sicker and weaker. Eventually, the therapy has to be tested on human test subjects to ascertain its real effectiveness and to ferret out any side effects it may have. One can have good hopes that, in the fullness of time, the stem cell therapy will join the arsenal of weapons that oncologists have at their disposal to fight cancer and to save more lives.

What is stem-cell treatment?

Stem-cell treatment involves the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. Stem-cells have a very unique ability to mimic the cells around the space in which they are exposed. If you implant the stem-cells into the heart, they become new heart cells. If you implant them in bone marrow, they will become new bone marrow cells. This is the primary reason they are so valuable and effective in treating previously untreatable diseases and conditions. They are especially powerful in non-invasive regenerative therapies for joints and muscles. Why go under the knife if you can rebuild faster and stronger without the dangers of surgery?

How does Discover Optimal Healthcare use Stem Cells?

The most common type of stem-cell therapy is a bone marrow transplant. Significant promise has also been been shown in regard to brain and spinal cord injury, treatment of various heart conditions, even in curing baldness, deafness, or blindness. Stem cells have become increasingly effective at repairing injury in the joints and bones. Many patients are looking for an alternative to surgery for their knee or back pain. That is where stem cell injections can be implemented to reduce pain and rebuild injured joints, bones or muscles.

Read more about stem-cell treatment at: http://dohealth.net/services/stem-cell-treatment/