Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Reduces Frailty in the Elderly

An early stage clinical study has shown that mesenchymal stem cell transplants reduce measures of age-related frailty. The benefits occur most likely because chronic inflammation is a significant contribution to the state of frailty, and mesenchymal stem cell therapies are known to fairly reliably reduce inflammation for a period of at least some months. That may be long enough for tissues in an older patient to recover somewhat before they are again under siege. It is thought that this temporary abatement of inflammation is accomplished through signals delivered by the transplanted stem cells, changing the behavior of native cells, as very few of the stem cells survive for long. This is all quite well documented in clinical practice, and mesenchymal stem cell transplants are widely available these days. Unfortunately, the principal challenge with this line of work is that "mesenchymal stem cell" is a very loose definition, and thus the cells used by one research team or clinic may well have little in common with others that go by the very same name. The outcome is unexplained variability in results; this part of the field is in desperate need of a great deal more standardization than has so far taken place. Chronic diseases and degenerative conditions are strongly linked with the geriatric syndrome of frailty and account for a disproportionate percentage of the health care budget. Frailty increases the risk of falls, hospitalization, institutionalization, dis...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs