Stem Cell Secretome as an Emerging Treatment
for Parkinson’s Disease
FRIDAY, 10 MAY 2019 | Nina Klein
Stem Cell Secretome as an Emerging Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic nervous system disorder that affects the patient’s movement. Symptoms will usually start gradually, with tremors being the most common symptom, but the disorder can also cause stiffness or slowed down movement.
A certain genetic predisposition in combination with environmental factors are most likely responsible for the neuronal degeneration that causes Parkinson’s Disease. It is thought that several factors on a cellular level, including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and a dysfunctional protein degradation machinery, play a crucial role in PD.
To date, there is no cure for Parkinson’s Disease. Current available therapeutic strategies do not impact the progression, merely help with the symptoms and can cause severe side effects. This makes novel treatments for PD an urgent necessity. Cellular dopamine-replacement approaches have been proposed as the basis for PD therapies thirty years ago1, but results were not consistent. The use of stem cells has arisen as an encouraging approach, given their regenerative, self-renewing and anti-apoptotic nature. Within the scope of a replacement strategy, different types of stem cell sources appear promising, amongst them mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and neural stem cells.
Current research strongly suggests that the effectiveness of stem cells does not come from the cells themselves, but their secreted components in form of microvesicles or exosomes2. The sum of all secreted compounds, called the Stem Cell Secretome, is accepted as the main therapeutic force. A recent scientific review article3 summarized the ongoing clinical trials and other research efforts that investigate Stem Cell Implantation and Stem Cell Secretome Therapy for PD. While long-term data is still lacking, the results are very encouraging, and show the magnificent potential of cell secretome as a cell-free treatment alternative for PD.
The authors further argue that a full characterization of the secretome, as well as disease-specific modulation of the secretome are the necessary next steps to further advance this therapeutic approach. In combination with other treatments, it may then be possible to significantly improve the state-of-the-art treatment options of Parkinson’s Disease.
References:
- Parmar M, Torper O, Drouin-Ouellet J. Cell-based therapy for Parkinson’s disease: a journey through decades toward the light side of the force. Eur J Neurosci. 2018;55:4763–4776.
- Teixeira, F. G., Carvalho, M. M., Sousa, N., & Salgado, A. J. (2013). Mesenchymal stem cells secretome: a new paradigm for central nervous system regeneration?. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 70(20), 3871-3882.
- Marques, C. R., Marote, A., Mendes-Pinheiro, B., Teixeira, F. G., & Salgado, A. J. (2018). Cell secretome based approaches in Parkinson’s disease regenerative medicine. Expert opinion on biological therapy, 18(12), 1235-1245.
News & Insights
The Power of Exosomes
The term “exosomes” has frequently been in the news in recent years. They have been known to biologists since their discovery in the 1980s, but they remain something unknown to most other people. As their relevance in the pharmaceutical and medical field increases, we want to explain in simple ways what exosomes are, and why they are disrupting science.
Stem Cell Treatment Improves Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) and Chronic Back Pain
Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is one of the most common sources of back pain and affects approximately 30 million people every year. It can lead to a chronic debilitating condition and can have a serious negative impact on a person's quality of life. Although several structures within the spine have been identified as sources of pain, the intervertebral disc accounts for approx. 40-50% of all chronic lower back pain. When pain from DDD is severe, traditional non-operative treatment may be ineffective.
Recent research has shown that the injection of bone marrow stem cells into degenerating discs can halt and in some cases even reverse their degeneration. This is important, because this in turn slows down or halts the cascade of secondary problems resulting from a degenerating discs, such as chronic back pain, restricted motion, spinal cord and nerve root compression with radiating pain in arms and legs, deformation and inflammation in vertebral bodies (osteochondrosis), facet joint arthrosis and others.
Does stem cell therapy for knees work?
As kids, nasty grazes aside, we may not have thought a lot about our knees. As adults, our situation is a little different. We may feel our joints hurt a little more often.
However, it’s not only those entering their twilight years who are susceptible to knee pain and degeneration. Anyone trying to maintain an active lifestyle or doing regular physical exercise will be no stranger to knee injuries.
Are knee surgeries the only way to treat these injuries and get rid of the pain? Luckily, no. Stem cell treatment is giving hope to patients worldwide. In this post, learn more about knee injuries and how stem cell-based treatments can offer a longer lasting solution to your knee problems..
Can stem cells help with orthopedic issues?
All around the world, patients with various diseases are turning to stem cell-based treatments to improve their conditions. People with orthopedic issues are no exception.
In this article, we’ll discuss the different orthopedic conditions and how stem cell therapy can help alleviate their symptoms and tackle their root cause.
How much does stem cell therapy cost?
If you, or perhaps someone close to you, suffers with a challenging illness, you may be exploring viable alternative treatments. You may even have come across stem cell therapy as an avenue to explore. But where do you start? And could you even afford it?
