- Researchers at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami have proven that an innovative idea of treatment for coronavirus really works.
- Stem cell transfusions can save lives and accelerate the recovery of COVID-19 in patients with severe illnesses who develop life-threatening ARDS.
- Stem cells migrate to the lungs and can correct the immune and inflammatory response, reducing so-called cytokine storms. “It is like smart pump technology in the lung to restore the normal immune response and reverse potentially fatal complications,” said Dr. Camillo Ricordi in a statement.
As terrible as 2020 was, with COVID-19 being largely responsible for the whole tone of last year, there is one important thing that does not receive enough praise. This is the science that has allowed health officials and doctors to develop protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and save more patients who end up developing fatal complications. A large number of discoveries have allowed doctors to change the way they treat patients.
The introduction of anticoagulants in COVID-19 therapy and drugs that can moderate the inflammatory response has allowed more people to survive the battle against the terrible disease. New drugs, such as monoclonal antibodies, can prevent serious cases, and vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in clinical trials in preventing complications from COVID-19. But SARS-CoV-2 is so infectious that the death toll remains high. The greater the number of cases, the more deaths can be expected, although the actual mortality rate is quite low. That is why the US has had so many deaths in the past few months, and more people will not survive COVID-19 in the coming months.
Vaccines are the type of miracle cure that can prevent death, teaching the immune system to prepare itself to deal with the virus from the moment it sets foot in the body. But vaccines cannot be used on people who are already infected with the pathogen. That’s when the world will need better therapies. A team of doctors has just found the innovative treatment that can save even more lives than is possible now. The researchers at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami proved a theory based on anecdotal evidence. Stem cell therapy can accelerate the recovery of COVID-19 and prevent death.
Best deal of the day 
The best-selling black masks are FINALLY back in stock after being sold out on Amazon Price:$ 26.25 
Available on Amazon, BGR can receive a commission Available on Amazon BGR can receive a commission
Some doctors have attempted to transfuse stem cells in COVID-19 therapy in several countries, with American doctors showing great success. But these were not studies that would allow the country to create new treatment protocols. New drugs, such as vaccines, need to undergo randomized, double-blind studies that prove, without a doubt, that they are effective and safe.
This is what the UM team did with infusions of mesenchymal stem cells derived from the umbilical cord. The doctors studied 24 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at the UHealth Tower or UM / Jackson Memorial Hospital. Patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which appears in other diseases and can be fatal. The patients received two infusions a few days apart, with a placebo or stem cells.
“It was a double-blind study. Doctors and patients did not know what was infused, ”said Dr. Camillo Ricordi in a statement. “Two infusions of 100 million stem cells were delivered in three days, for a total of 200 million cells in each individual in the treatment group.”
Ricordi, the senior author of the study published in Translational stem cell medicine, is the director of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) and the Cell Transplant Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
The researchers found that the patient’s survival was 91% in the stem cell group compared to 42% in the placebo group. All patients under the age of 85 who received the stem cells survived for a month.
Stem cell patients recovered faster than those in the control group. More than half of the patients treated with stem cells returned home two weeks after the last treatment. More than 80% of the stem group recovered on day 30, compared to less than 37% in the placebo group.
“The umbilical cord contains progenitor stem cells, or mesenchymal stem cells, that can be expanded and provide therapeutic doses to more than 10,000 patients on a single umbilical cord,” said Ricordi. “It is a unique resource of cells that are under investigation for their possible use in cell therapy applications, whenever you have to modulate the immune or inflammatory response.”
The doctor said the university has been working with China for more than 10 years on these therapies, looking for stem cells to treat type 1 diabetes. Stem cell-based therapies can be used in other diseases that cause an exaggerated immune response, not just on COVID-19.
“Our results confirm the powerful anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effect of UC-MSC (umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells). These cells clearly inhibited the ‘cytokine storm’, a trademark of the serious COVID-19, ”said Dr. Giacomo Lanzoni, the study’s lead author, in a statement.
Stem cells have antimicrobial activity and lead to tissue regeneration, in addition to correcting the immune and inflammatory response.
The therapy “requires only an intravenous (IV) infusion, such as a blood transfusion,” according to Ricordi. “It’s like smart pump technology in the lung to restore the normal immune response and reverse life-threatening complications.” Stem cells were found to naturally implant in the lungs, which is the most compromised area in patients with COVID-19 who develop ARDS.
The university plans to study stem cell therapy in patients with COVID-19 who have not developed complications but are at risk of being intubated. If successful, the therapy can prevent the progression of COVID-19 to a serious condition where complications arise.
Although Ricordi and his team have proven that this stem cell therapy is safe and effective for patients with COVID-19, it is unclear if and when it can be used on a larger scale. The United States is still dealing with a record number of hospitalizations, and patients who develop complications will need weeks to recover. Other countries are also experiencing huge spikes in COVID-19.
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby and, before he knew it, was already sharing his views on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he’s not writing about gadgets, he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he tries desperately. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.