As the most common cause for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease impacts a person’s memory and overall cognition. There is no cure for the degenerative disease, which is characterized by a loss of brain cells. Over time, people with the condition lose the ability to function and perform day-to-day tasks.
In addition to having difficulty recalling memories, people with Alzheimer’s may:
- Have trouble finding the right word in a conversation
- Get lost or lose their sense of direction
- Experience personality or behavioral changes
- Forget appointments, conversations, and people’s names
While the precise cause of the disease is unknown, it’s believed to result from a combination of environmental, lifestyle, and genetic risk factors. Some symptoms of the disease can be managed through treatments, but they cannot stop the disease’s progression.
Recently, however, a new type of regenerative medicine has been explored for Alzheimer’s: stem cell therapy.
Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer’s
Stem cell therapy for Alzheimer’s involves the delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to the body intravenously. These unique cells target inflammation and tackle it with their anti-inflammatory properties. They can also replace the damaged brain cells by differentiating into specialized cell types, including neurons.
Everyone has stem cells which promote healing in the body. They can be found in sources such as bone marrow and adipose tissue. While their effectiveness decreases over time, stem cells can be retrieved from other sources, including donated umbilical cord tissue. They can then be expanded to higher numbers to regenerate brain cells instead of simply managing symptoms. As a result, this powerful treatment could improve the recovery of key functions, as well as memory recall.
Although a complete cure for Alzheimer’s has yet to be developed, the groundbreaking progress being made in the field of regenerative medicine, and stem cell therapy in particular, could pave the way for game-changing therapies.
This post was written by Becky Palmer, a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine. Regenerative medicine has the natural potential to help improve symptoms sometimes lost from the progression of many conditions. Click here to learn more.
