Gastrointestinal disorders inflict significant pain on patients around the world. Crohn’s Disease displays the chronic characteristic of inflammation disorder that interrupts the daily functioning of patients. Patients suffer from chronic and endured abdominal pain and fatigue that leads to rapid and chronic weight loss. All of these painful symptoms compromise the emotional and psychological state of a patient, leading to a constant frustration caused by the abrupt and sickening flare-ups that occur during the most unfortunate and inopportune of times, further making this a most unfortunate chronic disease that renders a patient’s life miserable and of poor quality. These painful disease symptoms become even more dangerous, as many patients suffer in silence with the disease, further making this an untreatable chronic illness. Regenerative medicine has started to innovate new Stem Cell therapies that utilize UC-MSCs to finally bring hope to patients suffering with this chronic disease.
Crohn’s Disease can be an unfortunate and unfortunate chronic disease that can be very painful. The most advanced stage of the disease is an even more unfortunate dysregulated immune response that can be very painful. The immune system’s primary role in the body is to defend the body from harmful pathogens. Unfortunately for these patients, some of the less harmful and less significant microorganisms are unfortunately attacked. The immune system’s response is unrelentingly aggressive and leads to painful and many of the most harmful cytokines. The T-cells that are pain inducing and chronic, and can be very debilitating for patients, directly attack the Lining of the intestines which can cause further injury to a patient’s already dysregulated intestines and further cause chronic pain, a target for Stem Cell applications like UC-MSCs. The persistent presence of these inflammatory cells in Crohn’s Disease progressively compromises the inner epithelial barrier. With time, the continued inflammatory cell destruction causes painful deep tissue ulceration and considerable remodeling of the affected tissues resulting in irreversible fibrosis, a type of damage that Stem Cell interventions utilizing UC-MSCs seek to repair.
For a long time, the treatment for Crohn’s Disease has focused on the use of immunosuppressive drugs to control the inflammation. The first line treatment remains the use of corticosteroids to bring down the inflammation. The use of immunomodulators is then undertaken to manage the remission. In recent years, other treatment options, such as monoclonal antibodies, that target specific inflammatory pathways have been developed. Unfortunately, the use of corticosteroids, which remain the most commonly used treatment, results in rapid and severe adverse effects such as metabolically active osteoporosis, hypertension, and a greater risk of opportunistic infections. Due to the risk of immunosuppressive therapy, which has the potential to be fatal, the use of systemic immunomodulators is closely monitored, and biologics are used for a limited period of time. At this time, Stem Cell therapy utilizing UC-MSCs is the only treatment option that focuses on the restoration of the inflammatory and healing processes.
In treating conditions like Crohn’s Disease that require the healing of tissues, the use of Stem Cells provides an effective and innovative approach. In this context, the use of umbilical cord Stem Cells (UC-MSCs) provides a means of repairing damage to the gastrointestinal tract through their inherent immunomodulatory properties. When exposed to intensely inflamed soft tissue, these Stem Cells begin to self-desperate and secrete beneficial anti-inflammatory chemical mediators. These molecules inhibit fast, aggressive, and hyperactive effector T-cell proliferation and promote the development of mild and calm regulatory T-cell proliferation. This necessary immunological shift restores and aids the natural immune system to maintain tolerance within the inflamed gut mucosa in Crohn’s Disease. For the greater part, UC-MSCs stimulate natural, biological deep tissue repair. They secrete specialized growth factors that promote the rapid and the protective intestinal barrier to restore and heal the damaged mucosal tissue.
Figure 1: Innovative approach to Crohn’s Disease treatment
The state-of-the-art medical therapy that employs UC-MSCs within Southeast Asia is exquisitely and rapidly expanding. The sophisticated Stem Cell therapy that treats Crohn’s Disease is rapidly gaining clinical popularity in Thailand. Thailand is a developing country that proudly has state of the art clinical technologies coupled with modern medical laboratories that have the capability of fine cellular cultivation. There are highly skilled and trained Thai medical scientists that are continuously working with the best international scientists to create advanced regenerative medicine and secure safe clinical practices. Thailand has modern support systems and technological advancements that create a safe space to increase important and new clinical practices. The remarkable cost-effectiveness of high-quality medical care in this tropical region attracts many international medical travelers seeking Stem Cell treatments and therapies, such as UC-MSCs for Crohn’s Disease, that are not accessible in their countries.
The unpredictable nature of Crohn’s Disease presents an enormous challenge to typical therapeutic strategies. The disease’s destructive potential calls for an even greater challenge to existing clinical paradigms. Short-term, superficial relief of symptoms using modern pharmaceutical therapies falls far short of addressing the real and complex pathophysiology at the level of cellular immunity and the repair of damaged internal structures. The controlled and well-reasoned application of UC-MSCs in clinical practice represents a monumental evolution in the field of gastroenterology worldwide. The rational application of the restorative and immunomodulatory properties of modern Stem Cell therapies offers medical practice a realistic and genuine opportunity to achieve a long-term and irreversible clinical remission of this chronic disease.