Cellular Therapy: A New Hope for Asthma Treatment
Bogotá DC, May 2, 2023. World Asthma Day is celebrated, and it is crucial to learn about this condition as it currently stands as the second most relevant chronic respiratory disease.
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite advances in treatment and early comprehensive management approaches, it remains a debilitating condition for many individuals.
It is estimated that in Colombia, 1 in 8 people suffer from asthma. Asthma is considered the second most prevalent chronic respiratory disease, following Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Asthma typically manifests during early childhood, and its greatest impact is seen in old age after years of cumulative lung damage.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), also known as multipotent stromal cells, are cells that can be extracted from a wide range of human tissues. They are characterized by their capacity for proliferation and differentiation, which has attracted the attention of the medical and scientific community seeking an alternative for patients affected by various conditions/diseases.
“There is sufficient scientific evidence demonstrating the immunomodulatory capacity of MSCs, which would explain the documented benefit of their use in patients affected by severe forms of COVID-19, as well as the results obtained in animal models of asthma and their confirmation in tests with patients affected by this disease,” explains Dr. Carlos Escobar, Scientific Director of Trustem.
Recent studies have shown that MSCs have the ability to modulate the response of the innate and adaptive cellular immune system, including the modification of the functioning of different cell lineages such as macrophages and lymphocytes, ultimately leading to the stable modulation of bronchial inflammatory response, which is the fundamental phenomenon for the bronchoconstriction seen in asthma crises, Escobar explains.
Although research on the use of stem cells for asthma treatment is still in its early stages, there are reasons to be optimistic about their potential to help patients with this chronic disease. According to the Scientific Director of Trustem, more studies are needed to better understand how stem cells can be effectively used in asthma treatment. Clinical evaluation of this alternative should be advanced, which could even lead to the use of cell derivatives instead of the cells themselves.
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