Umbilical cord blood saves girl with severe pulmonary hypertension

Stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood are used as a standard treatment for 80 diseases. In recent years, there have been increasing reports on the use of these cells in the treatment of additional conditions. Doctors in Germany have successfully used them to treat pulmonary hypertension in a three-year-old girl.

Pulmonary Hypertension – What Kind of Disease Is It?

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is currently an incurable disease. It leads to death within approximately five to seven years after diagnosis. The disease is named after the elevated pressure in the pulmonary blood vessels and can result in overload and failure of the right side of the heart. The causes of pulmonary hypertension can vary, but all patients struggle, among other things, with shortness of breath or severely limited physical capacity. For this reason, researchers are constantly searching for new approaches and therapies to prolong the lives of people with pulmonary hypertension and improve their quality of life.

Stem Cells and Pulmonary Hypertension

Doctors in Germany have announced the first successful treatment of pulmonary hypertension using cells derived from umbilical cord blood (HUCMSC – human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells). The patient was a three-year-old girl suffering from PAH and Rendu–Osler–Weber disease, who received intravenous injections of allogeneic stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord blood of her younger brother. The injections were administered five times over a period of six months. The girl’s clinical condition was assessed after two and six months. Not only were there no side effects, but there was also an increase in physical endurance and an improvement in cardiovascular parameters. Prior to the stem cell infusion, the girl suffered from growth disorders and poor weight gain. After the first infusion, she began to grow—within three months she grew 10 cm. In addition, the girl is now six years old and is doing well.

According to the researchers, regeneration of the vascular system damaged by the disease, as well as a significant reduction in cellular damage, are responsible for the improvement observed with umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy. The study also reports on the role of prostaglandin PGE2, which may play a key role in the regenerative and immunomodulatory properties of umbilical cord blood–derived stem cells.

The researchers unanimously emphasize that further studies should be conducted and that active efforts should be made to explore additional possibilities and applications for stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood.

References:

https://www.aabb.org/news-resources/news/article/2022/07/13/cord-blood-derived-stem-cells-may-help-treat-pulmonary-hypertension

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053249822018472

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44161-022-00083-z