Stem cell therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: which, when and how?

Curr Opin Gastroenterol

Department of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

Published: July 2013

Purpose Of Review: Stem cell therapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Currently, stem cell therapy is not part of the standard of care and is usually only performed as a part of clinical trials. In this review, clinical results, proposed underlying mechanisms, and future research directions will be discussed.

Recent Findings: Administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has been evaluated for IBD treatment over the past years. MSC therapy is being explored as a treatment option for fistulizing Crohn's disease and for luminal Crohn's disease. It is shown to be well tolerated, but results on efficacy are inconsistent. HSC transplantation seems to be very effective, but serious adverse events are common. Therefore, future research should focus on improving efficacy of MSC therapy, and on improvement of safety of HSC therapy.

Summary: Both MSC and HSC therapy offer clinical potential, but currently are not routinely used for IBD treatment. MSC therapy seems well tolerated but results on efficacy are conflicting. HSC transplantation is shown to be effective but safety concerns remain. Nonetheless, for severe refractory IBD cases, stem cell therapy could well become the next-generation treatment option.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MOG.0b013e328361f763DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

stem cell
16
cell therapy
16
msc therapy
12
therapy
8
inflammatory bowel
8
stem cells
8
ibd treatment
8
treatment option
8
crohn's disease
8
well tolerated
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!