Mesenchymal stem cells onn the treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury
- Dr. Kouzi
Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury with Mesenchymal Stromal Cells December 2022
In this news story, we have Mr. Eric Lyons who has been suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that occurred in 2017. Eric is living not only for himself and his family, but also for more than 50 children in Cambodia as a founder of Hope for the Silent Voices, a non-profit organization that works to bring attention and resources to the severely neglected, disadvantaged, abused, and discarded children and teenagers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Earlier, he had a sporty lifestyle, that included Thai boxing, basketball, American football, enjoying the outdoors, and travelling to many countries. From the adventurous lifestyle of the last few decades, he had a lot accidents, both mild and severe. He was also in a major car accident. All of these incidences were later believed to have caused cumulative injuries to his brain, at a noticeable level. His doctors explained to him that brain injury is like water dripping into a glass little by little… before the glass is filled, the patient may not recognize anything significant, but the damage already exists. Once the last drop fills the glass, it acts like a catalyst, and will show the results of all the damage. In Eric’s case, he hit his forehead very strongly with a door frame in 2017. He started to gradually lose his cognition, physical movement, including memory and ability to collect his thoughts and convert them to speech. He lost his reading skills from losing the ability to focus his left eye for 5 months. He could not even walk straight during that period. He could not sleep. At that time, Eric determined himself as only 15% of the person he was before the injury. Eric enrolled in a brain clinic in Dallas Texas, where he met 23 out of 24 inclusion criteria. During 2018 he passed through over 100 sessions of neurofeedback, plus hyperbaric oxygen therapy and craniosacral therapy. Eric’s brain-body connectivity was getting better as he had better body balance, vision, memory, and motor tasking. He felt he was at 70% of his full ability. What about the missing 30%? That’s where the story of stem cells begins. MSC Treatment Journey At this point, Eric did not completely have his memory back, and he could not stand working for longer than 30 min. He realized that his full-efficiency was not yet recovered. Especially, he still lost his emotional control which he considered very important as he mainly worked among extra-sensitive people. During the treatment period with neurologists, he opened his mind searching for other alternative treatment protocols to gain back his full cognitive ability. Eric learned that infusions of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are a treatment option for brain injury, but that it is often given in unregulated clinics which carried risk. Eric heard people talking both for and against it. Eric decided to do his homework and learn about stem cell treatment. Due to his struggles in reading and analysis, he relied on help from allies and spent five months reviewing scientific articles and clinical trials data about stem cell treatment for neurological disorders. He found that, not only were MSC in trials for brain injury like what he suffered, but there were also clinical trials that showed improvement in patients with stroke, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease. Eric always felt lucky to be surrounded by remarkable people who always supported him. He talked to a friend in Thailand who was knowledgeable in stem cell treatment and finally connected him to a functional medicine hospital in Thailand in the year 2019. At the hospital, Eric started over his journey of brain testing and questions about stem cell treatment until everything was cleared in his mind. He felt reassured to know that the cells came from a facility that had AABB accreditation for somatic cells and came with a Certificate of Analysis showing all quality control testing results. Eric underwent three weeks of treatment at the hospital in Thailand. He got 220 million MSC in total, mainly via spinal injection so the cells effectively bypassed the blood-brain barrier to sooth the damages existing at every lobe of his brain. Additional IV injections of MSC also helped to reduce inflammation throughout his body. In addition to the MSC, his treatment protocol included simultaneous sessions of physical therapy to promote muscle-nerve connectivity. It came out that his post-treatment analysis was drastically improved. Present Life The missing parts of normal life are no longer Eric’s concern. He has gotten most of his abilities back and believes that what he has gained after the treatment is much more than he ever expected. He works efficiently for longer periods of time, is emotionally balanced, and has been able to live the lifestyle he had before his accident. Eric runs a marathon now and then. Eric has a YouTube page with videos intended to help other TBI patients. After many months of despair, confusion, mourning, Eric finally realized that in some strange way, this TBI was seemingly a gift being granted to him for some kind of an overhaul on life and his approach to and through it. The experience taught him that he could choose to believe in a positive outcome, a better outcome than he could yet see or comprehend. We must believe in what we cannot see. That is the definition of faith. Eric’s final thoughts for parents and patients who have the choice of stem cell therapy or are thinking of stem cell therapy as an option are: “In looking back on my stem cell journey from exploration through contemplation through finally making the life-changing decision to indeed undergo not 1, but 2 separate rounds of stem cell therapy; I realized how sheltered and small-minded I was in my ability to believe in something so powerful (and attainable) to aid in my recovery. To conduct proper due diligence, I needed to step outside of the conventional circles I typically would explore such things. Nobody I knew had explored or attempted stem cell therapy; so I felt a bit blind and alone, initially. But eventually I determined that the only true risk was that the therapy simply might not work for me. It was purely a financial loss versus what I felt was a proper conclusion that the cells received via Cryoviva would not in fact be harmful to me. At least that was the conclusion I came to. If it was simply a financial one then running after the possibility of a vibrant and dynamic restoration of health was completely worth it. Human nature is to have doubt and fear over the unknown. I most definitely had reservations about embarking on this path but simply because I had nothing to compare it to and nobody in my circle who had familiarity. But that should not impede one's pursuit of attempting great things. The benefits were astounding and life enhancing. I can see myself going back for more treatments if and when it becomes necessary. Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation
New evidence on the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
- Dr. Kouzi
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A new study is adding to evidence that people with multiple sclerosis can benefit from a type of stem cell transplant -- including some patients who are in a more advanced phase of the disease.
The research is the latest look at a potential alternative treatment for some patients with MS -- using their own blood stem cells to try to reboot their faulty immune systems.
Studies have found that the approach may benefit some patients in the earlier stages of MS. Now, the new findings suggest the same could be true of some patients in the second phase of the disease, known as secondary progressive MS.
Researchers found that among more than 2,000 Italian adults with secondary progressive MS, those who received the stem cell therapy fared better over five years than those taking standard medications.
Overall, 62% saw no worsening in their disability, compared with 46% of patients on medication. A small number -- 19% -- even maintained some improvement over five years, versus 4% in the medication group.
Experts said the findings add to evidence of the promise of the stem cell approach. But they also had important cautions.
For one, the study was not a clinical trial that directly tested stem cells against standard MS medications: It looked back at the records of patients treated for MS at various Italian medical centers somewhere between 1997 and 2019.
That means there could be "confounding factors" -- differences between patients who did or did not receive stem cell transplants -- that make it hard to draw conclusions, said Bruce Bebo, executive vice president of research for the National MS Society.
On top of that, patients taking MS medications did not receive the latest drugs approved for the disease. So it's unclear how those more targeted medications might stack up against stem cells.
Those are critical points, given that stem cell transplants are no small undertaking, according to researcher Dr. Matilde Inglese, head of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Genoa in Italy.
The whole process takes about three months, including a hospital stay and a period where patients have a severely compromised immune system. Ideally, Inglese said, eligible patients would get into a clinical trial testing stem cells against the best available MS drugs.
One such trial, called BEAT-MS, is underway in the United States.
MS is a neurological disorder caused by a misguided immune system attack on the protective sheath around nerve fibers in the spine and brain. The symptoms include vision problems, muscle weakness, numbness and difficulty with balance and coordination.
Cord blood contains immune cells capable to be used in immunotherapies. An important publication from R&D Department of Biohellenika
- Dr. Kouzi
Аn optimized, simplified and clinically approved culture system to produce, in large scale, dendritic cells capable of priming specific T cells
Eleni Gounari a,b,*, Nikolaos Tsagias a, Angelos Daniilidis c, Kokkona Kouzi a,d, George Koliakos a,b
a Biohellenika Biotechnology Company, Thessaloniki, Greece
b Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
c 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hippokratio General Hospital, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece d Department of Histology Embryology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece A
Keywords: Dendritic cells Hematopoietic stem cells Specific T-cells Colorectal cancer (CRC) Cancer immunotherapy
A B S T R A C T
Cancer immunotherapy using dendritic cells (DCs) able to induce specific immune responses to naïve T lymphocytes raises great research interest. However, the extremely complex and expensive methods used to produce DCs, combined with the limited number of autologous DCs in the circulation make any application almost impossible. Aim of the study is the development of an optimized and simplified system to easily produce in large scale cord blood-derived DCs, loaded with common tumor antigens, capable of promoting controlled Th1 immunoresponses following clinically approved maturation with vaccines. CD34+cells cultured in the presence of a cytokine cocktail in miniPERM® bioreactors and the generated DCs were matured using anti-flu vaccines. Autologous T cells plated with DCs pulsed with overlapping peptides CEA and WT1 for multiple stimulations. 200 billion of myeloid DCs were produced and matured in just 8 h in bioreactors, presenting an increased expression of the co-stimulatory molecules and also high levels of Th1 related cytokines. Upon just the 2nd stimulation, the T cells exhibited specificity following stimulation with the CEA/WT1 peptides and strong cytotoxic capacity in co-culture with a colorectal cancer (CRC)-cell line. The high produced doses of DCs, easily maturated with clinically approved agents, and capable of priming specific T cells, could potentially strengthen the further progress in DCs-mediated cancer immunotherapy field.
Differentiation, 125 (2022) 54–61
2022 Update: How many clinical trials use cord blood or cord tissue today?
- Dr. Kouzi
2022 Update: How many clinical trials use cord blood or cord tissue? August 2022 Frances Verter, PhD
Source # Cumulative Trials Advanced Cell Therapy through end of 2021 # Recruiting Trials Any Therapy June 2022 Cord Blood 276 110 Cord Tissue 464 n/a Other Perinatal 151 n/a
From the beginning of advanced cell therapy with cord blood until the end of 2021, 276 cord blood clinical trials have been registered worldwide. We checked the status of these trials in June 2022 and found that 110 cord blood trials, both advanced therapy and traditional transplants, are recruiting at 281 locations. We have updated our portal of recruiting cord blood trials to enable patients and their families to look up these recruiting trials by the diagnosis treated. We have also updated our statistics on advanced cell therapy with cord tissue, as well as other perinatal sources such as the placenta and amniotic membrane. Cumulatively through the end of 2021, there have been 464 trials with cord tissue alone and 151 trials with other perinatal tissues and combinations of perinatal tissues. Annual numbers of trials with cord tissue have grown more than four-fold over the time span from 2015 to 2020. In 2021 there were 30 trials registered for cord blood and 96 for cord tissue. We have not updated our portal of recruiting cord tissue trials because it has simply become too time consuming to check the status of so many trials. To learn more about cord blood banking, visit Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation at https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/news/2022-update-how-many-clinical-trials-use-cord-blood-or-cord-tissue
The cord blood in immunotherapies, a new era
- Dr. Kouzi
Recently a new parer was published by the R&D Department of Biohellenika, usind the cord blood to develop autologous immunotherapies
Аn optimized, simplified and clinically approved culture system to produce, in large scale, dendritic cells capable of priming specific T cells
Eleni Gounari a,b,*, Nikolaos Tsagias a, Angelos Daniilidis c, Kokkona Kouzi a,d, George Koliakos a,b
Differentiation, 125 (2022): 54–61
a Biohellenika Biotechnology Company, Thessaloniki, Greece
b Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
c 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hippokratio General Hospital, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
d Department of Histology Embryology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Keywords: Dendritic cells Hematopoietic stem cells Specific T-cells Colorectal cancer (CRC) Cancer immunotherapy
A B S T R A C T
Cancer immunotherapy using dendritic cells (DCs) able to induce specific immune responses to naïve T lymphocytes raises great research interest. However, the extremely complex and expensive methods used to produce DCs, combined with the limited number of autologous DCs in the circulation make any application almost impossible. Aim of the study is the development of an optimized and simplified system to easily produce in large scale cord blood-derived DCs, loaded with common tumor antigens, capable of promoting controlled Th1 immunoresponses following clinically approved maturation with vaccines. CD34+cells cultured in the presence of a cytokine cocktail in miniPERM® bioreactors and the generated DCs were matured using anti-flu vaccines. Autologous T cells plated with DCs pulsed with overlapping peptides CEA and WT1 for multiple stimulations. 200 billion of myeloid DCs were produced and matured in just 8 h in bioreactors, presenting an increased expression of the co-stimulatory molecules and also high levels of Th1 related cytokines. Upon just the 2nd stimulation, the T cells exhibited specificity following stimulation with the CEA/WT1 peptides and strong cytotoxic capacity in co-culture with a colorectal cancer (CRC)-cell line. The high produced doses of DCs, easily maturated with clinically approved agents, and capable of priming specific T cells, could potentially strengthen the further progress in DCs-mediated cancer immunotherapy field.
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