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Cells taken from a patient’s own lungs could potentially treat or cure chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which affects about 1.4 million people in the UK and causes breathing difficulties.
Research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy, revealed that after a cell transplant, patients experienced improved breathing, increased mobility, and a better quality of life.
The therapy successfully repaired lung damage in two patients with emphysema, a progressive form of COPD.
The groundbreaking treatment involves harvesting lung cells capable of repairing damage, cloning them to create millions of copies, and injecting them back into the lungs. This technique has been praised as a potential game-changer by the charity Asthma + Lung UK.
Cells taken from a patient’s own lungs could be used to treat — or even cure — chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd), that affects about 1.4 million people in the UK and leaves many struggling for breath. Pictured: A female doctor with a lung illustration
COPD is an umbrella term for severe respiratory diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Pictured: File photo of lungs
COPD is an umbrella term for severe respiratory diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Patients with COPD often experience breathing difficulties due to inflamed and narrow airways. Stem cell therapy has been explored as a potential treatment option.
Stem cells have the ability to regenerate or repair almost any body tissue. For example, mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow or umbilical cord blood have been used to treat various diseases, but studies on their efficacy in treating COPD have produced mixed results.
The treatment described in the research involves using progenitor cells, which are descendants of stem cells. Instead of differentiating into any type of tissue, progenitor cells only develop into the tissue they originated from.
Researchers at Tongji University in Shanghai, China, collected a type of progenitor cell called P63+ from the lungs of 17 COPD patients. These cells were then cultured in the lab to produce millions more.
A few days later, the lab-grown cells were transplanted into the patients’ lungs via a bronchoscopy procedure, where a tube with a camera is inserted into the airways through the mouth while the patient is sed
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