The discovery of stem cells has become one of the most outstanding achievements in medicine.
Many diseases can be treated with their help, and the list of these pathologies is constantly expanding.
Doctors learned how to restore damaged organs and tissues using a patient’s own stem cells, so the therapeutic direction was called regenerative medicine.
In the 21st century, more and more research is being conducted on stem cells.
Since 2006, the Regenerative Medicine journal has been published in the UK, which highlights key achievements in this field.
If regenerative medicine is not used in your country yet, you can undergo stem cell therapy in Germany.
This treatment option helps to stop the development of even the most severe chronic diseases.
How do stem cells work?
Stem cells can be transformed into any other cells in the body. They fill the defect zones, providing regeneration of tissues affected by the disease.
Stem cells contain many growth factors. Most of them are released already in the first hours after the therapy starts. These substances stimulate reparative processes.
If stem cells are used in cancer treatment, two more mechanisms are added to their effect on the body and the course of the disease.
The first is restoring hematopoietic function that is impaired due to high-dose chemotherapy. The second is strengthening antitumor immunity if a patient undergoes a donor stem cell transplant.
What diseases can be treated with stem cells?
Stem cells in medicine can be used to treat any chronic diseases that are accompanied by atrophy and degeneration of normal tissues, for example, in the internal organs, joints, and nervous system.
Stem cells can be used for multiple sclerosis treatment and treatment of cerebral palsy, chronic pancreatitis, pulmonary fibrosis, coronary heart disease, hemoblastosis, osteoarthritis, optic nerve atrophy, and dozens of other diseases.
A complete list of diseases treated in clinics in Germany can be found on the Booking Health website.
How is the treatment carried out?
Stem cell treatment involves the following:
- Harvesting stem cells
- Their cultivation (reproduction), freezing and storage; this stage is not mandatory, as in many cases cells are injected immediately after their harvesting
- Stem cell injection into the patient’s body
Stem cells are usually harvested from the blood. To do this, blood is passed through a special device that gathers cells. A patient may receive special medications to increase their number.
In oncology, stem cells are often obtained from the bone marrow. This procedure is performed under anesthesia.
A doctor inserts a needle in the back to harvest the marrow from the pelvic bone.
Joint therapy is most often conducted with mesenchymal stem cells collected from adipose tissue.
Liposuction is performed first. The adipose tissue is then placed in a special device in order to receive a stromal vascular fraction rich in stem cells.
It is injected into a joint or a zone of bone damage, for example, in fracture healing.
Doctors in countries with poorly developed medicine harvest stem cells from adipose tissue “manually” by centrifugation and enzyme treatment, but this method is less effective, as many cells are damaged.
When treating diseases of the internal organs, stem cells are usually administered intravenously.
They find the damaged zone and are built into it. Less commonly, cells are injected into the eye, cerebrospinal fluid (for example, in cerebral palsy treatment), into the arteries that feed the organ, etc.
You are welcome to visit the Booking Health website to use the services in the field of regenerative medicine in one of the German hospitals.
Here you can find prices, compare the cost of treatment in different hospitals and book a medical program at the best price.
The specialists of the Booking Health company will help you to make the right choice and organize your trip.