Stem cell????

[Confused]

Has anyone known anyone who had stem cells used on them to stop pain?

[meirish]

I don't know that much about stem cells but I was under the impression that they are used to replace certain cells in our body that are not working well. I guess the concept of using for pain seems like a very complicated concept. Hope someone knows the answer for you. meirish

[Linda196]

Very recently, there have been some developments in the field of stem cell therapy that indicate there is a possible role in chronic pain management. The theory is that stem cells release neurotropins that change the transmission of pain impulses, and also lay down a matrix for the growth of new nerves that don't send "damaged" singles (in the case of neuropathy),

This link is to a scientific report from 2019, but it is written fairly simply. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6813895/

The prep for a stem cell transplant involves chemo and/or immunosuppressants to completely wipe out the existing immune system, in order to prevent rejection of the cells, so there are some theorists who say it's not the new cells that cause improvement, but the destruction of the existing malfunctions. Although it has been used in some clinical treatments, it's still considered "unproven but with promise".

[Confused]

Thank you Linda,

I have always figured it would take major steps to try for a stem cell  intervention.  You would be surprised at what is offered.  Yet I hear of no sjogren's patients who have had significant reduction of pain through the use of stem cells. 

[Confused]

Actually Linda,

There is a doc who is using the patients own stem cells, centrifuging them and tossing them back into the body.  Not the whole deal where they take out all of your blood and do whatever to the stem cells as well as you are not quarantined. 

And being as how I have heard of no such routine that has caused any reduction in any autoimmune patients I wonder why things like this are not stopped.

When you are talking about a stem cell transplant I believe that has been used overseas but was used on a patient with lyme disease and the procedure did not help her at all.

[Linda196]

A reimplantation of your own stem cells is an autologous transplant and requires no prep, usually given to someone who had have malignancies, because it doesn't have any of the immune mediated cells to effect immune systems problems, but it does avoid the immunosuppression required for allogenic transplants, using a donors cells.

If the goal of treatment is to "rebuild" the immune system, I've never totally understood the rationale of giving back more of the cells that may have contributed to the problem in the first place.