Treating Alzheimer’s Disease with Umbilical Cord Tissue Mesenchymal Stem Cells
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Alzheimer’s disease is considered the most common form of dementia. This disease causes various problems with memory, behavior, and thinking. People who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease experience symptoms that typically develop slowly and get worse over time. Unfortunately, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can become severe enough to interfere with the daily lives of patients.
Even though Alzheimer’s has the ability to impact any person of any age, the chances of a person being diagnosed with this condition greatly increase once they reach the age of 65.
There are three types of Alzheimer's disease:
- Early onset: Early-onset Alzheimer's disease occurs in people under age 65 and accounts for less than 5% of all cases. People who have Down syndrome are more likely to suffer from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists have been able to successfully diagnose several ways in which early-onset Alzheimer’s disease is different from other types of the disease. People who suffer from early onset tend to have more significant brain changes, such as the development of tangles and plaque, as well as the loss of brain volume.
- Familial: Familial Alzheimer's disease is an inherited form of the disorder that accounts for less than 1% of all cases. Alzheimer’s disease is familial when members of at least two generations have been diagnosed with the disease.
- Late onset: This type of Alzheimer's disease represents the vast majority of cases and has no known cause. Patients who are diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease generally do not have any history of having the disease run and their families. Unfortunately, scientists have been unsuccessful in determining what gene causes this condition.
No matter what kind of Alzheimer’s disease a person suffers from, it can be incredibly debilitating. Unfortunately, this condition impacts millions of people across the world.
How Many People Have Alzheimer’s Disease?
According to current estimates, approximately 5.8 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. 5.6 million of those diagnosed are over the age of 65 years old, while around 200,000 people are under the age of 65.
The number of people living with dementia is estimated to be 55.2 million worldwide, which is around 5.2% of the world's population over 60 years of age.
Approximately 60% to 80% of all dementia patients suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists believe that the number of people diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s will increase from 55 million people across the globe suffering from this condition in 2022 to a total of 79 million by 2030. This number is further expected to increase to a total of 139 million by 2050.
Unfortunately, more than 120,000 people die from Alzheimer’s disease in the United States every year. This makes this disease the sixth leading cause of death in our country.
What are the Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease?
People who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease often exhibit a variety of symptoms. The symptoms that a patient has generally depend on the severity of their disease diagnosis. In general, the diagnosis of the disease is categorized as being either preclinical Alzheimer’s, mild Alzheimer’s, moderate Alzheimer’s, or severe Alzheimer’s.
In preclinical Alzheimer’s disease patients, doctors may be able to detect the formation of tau tangles or amyloid plaques on the brain. These symptoms generally develop at least a decade before patients begin to experience thinking and memory problems.
Patients who suffer from mild Alzheimer’s may seem healthy but often find it difficult to make sense of the world. Patients who suffer from this degree of Alzheimer’s may have problems with judgment, memory loss, losing track of dates, the loss of spontaneity, repeating questions, getting lost, or losing things. In many cases, Alzheimer’s is diagnosed at this stage.
Moderate Alzheimer’s disease can include symptoms such as withdrawal from social activities, increased confusion, increased memory loss, starting to hallucinate, problems organizing thoughts, and problems coping with changing situations.
Patients who suffer from severe Alzheimer’s often experience an overall general decline in physical health. This can be evident in foot, skin, and dental problems. Patients may have problems swallowing, experience seizures, be unable to communicate, sleep more, and lose the ability to control their bladder and bowels. Patients may also experience significant weight loss due to having very little interest in eating.
The unfortunate truth is that there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. In most cases, doctors utilize various treatment methods in order to slow the progression of the disease and help alleviate some of the symptoms.
What Treatment Options are Available for Alzheimer’s Disease?
In many cases, doctors prescribe medications to help patients alleviate some of the symptoms they experience related to Alzheimer’s disease. The most common types of medications prescribed to patients include Cholinesterase inhibitors and Memantine (Namenda). Cholinesterase inhibitors work to boost levels of cell communication in patients. This can help to improve some of the behavioral conditions and symptoms that patients experience, such as feeling depressed or agitated.
Memantine (Namenda) is generally prescribed to help improve brain cell communication while trying to slow down the progression of symptoms that patients who suffer from moderate Alzheimer’s and severe Alzheimer’s experience. In some cases, patients are also prescribed antidepressants to help control some of the associated symptoms of the disease.
Other types of medications have been approved for patients suffering from this debilitating condition in recent years. However, it is important to note that there is truly no absolute cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
Currently, we are seeing more scientific studies surrounding the use of umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells to treat patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The study so far is showing these stem cells as effective when it comes to providing relief in symptoms and progression that patients who have this disease experience.
What are Umbilical Cord Tissue Mesenchymal Stem Cells?
First isolated in 1991, umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells, or UCT-MSCs, are a type of stem cells that are isolated from the Wharton jelly of the umbilical cord. These stem cells are particularly unique because they have the ability to differentiate into various types of cells. These include:
- Hepatocytes
- Adipocytes
- Chondrocytes
- Osteoblasts
- Myocytes
There are several properties that make UCT-MSCs ideal for treating autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. They have anti-inflammatory properties, and they are immune privileged. This means that the body’s own immune system is able to accept them more easily than most other forms of stem cells.
Due to the anti-inflammatory and regenerative characteristics of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, studies surrounding the use of these cells to treat various autoimmune and degenerative disorders have provided positive results when it comes to their potential use in the future. This is particularly true when it comes to treating Alzheimer’s disease in patients who suffer from this debilitating condition.
Studies Surrounding the use of UCT-MSCs for Treating Alzheimer’s Disease
Scientists have conducted several studies over the past few years using UCT-MSCs to treat dementia in mice, rats, and various other types of nonhuman primates. In one study, researchers were able to create a triple transgenic mouse model.
In the study, scientists employed UCT-MSCs from the Wharton’s jelly of the umbilical cord to treat mice suffering from dementia. After a four-week follow-up, it was observed that mesenchymal stem cells enabled substantial improvements in spatial learning and memory decline in the rodents. Further, soluble Aβ levels and Aβ deposition decreased significantly, while proinflammatory cytokines decreased as well. Additionally, IL-10 levels increased drastically. The outcomes further suggested that ubiquitin conjugate levels dropped, cell death was reduced, and when stem cells were exposed to the dementia environment, they produced greater therapeutic effects.
A study surrounding the use of double transgenic mouse models also proved valuable when it comes to the impact that umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells have on treating Alzheimer’s disease. There has been evidence that transplanting T regulatory cells and umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells into double transgenic Alzheimer’s disease mice improves impaired cognition and is effective in reducing Aβ plaque formation. An increase in soluble Aβ was also noted as a result of the study. Furthermore, there was a decrease in systemic inflammatory factors and activated microglia, suggesting that co-transplantation of MSCs and T regulatory cells may have a synergistic effect on Alzheimer’s disease.
Studies that have been conducted so far have indicated that stem cell therapy is a promising option for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and research in this area is ongoing. As we have seen, umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells offer potentially therapeutic benefits when it comes to treating Alzheimer’s disease due to their ability to differentiate into different types of cells. We also see that stem cells are able to target multiple affected areas at once. The results from preclinical trials that have been conducted so far indicate umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells can be used clinically as a safe and efficient way to effectively treat Alzheimer's patients and in turn, provide for a better quality of life for the patient and their family.
Stem cell therapy could change your life. Find out how by reaching out to Cellebration Wellness at 1.800.601.8290 today.
