The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. There are currently 2.8 million people living with Multiple Sclerosis worldwide, including 9000 people in Ireland, with a prevalence of 193 per 100,000 people. Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis include sens...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sorina Amarculesei, Ava O'Meara Cushen, Cathy Brougham
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Technological University Dublin 2023-12-01
Series:SURE Journal: (Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal)
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arrow.tudublin.ie/sure_j/vol5/iss1/4
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832576204478087168
author Sorina Amarculesei
Ava O'Meara Cushen
Cathy Brougham
author_facet Sorina Amarculesei
Ava O'Meara Cushen
Cathy Brougham
author_sort Sorina Amarculesei
collection DOAJ
description Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. There are currently 2.8 million people living with Multiple Sclerosis worldwide, including 9000 people in Ireland, with a prevalence of 193 per 100,000 people. Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis include sensory loss, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, spasticity, depression, optic neuritis, gait ataxia, diplopia, and loss of bladder control. Currently, there is no standardised treatment or cure for Multiple Sclerosis with many strategies focusing on symptoms. Stem cells have emerged as promising approaches for Multiple Sclerosis therapeutics. Clinical trials primarily focus on mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies for Multiple Sclerosis. Furthermore, due to their immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory characteristics, adipose derived stem cells have recently surfaced as novel therapies for diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis. Current knowledge shows that there is potential for adipose derived stem cells to replace other adult stem cell-based therapies, as they are much more readily available and involve less invasive isolation procedures. There are currently 371 clinical trials involving mesenchymal stem cells and 462 clinical trials involving adipose derived stem cells, with research focused on skeletal applications, wound healing, and to a lesser degree, haematological and neurological disorders. Although adipose derived stem cells could represent a valuable treatment option for many diseases, several drawbacks to their advancement remain, such as their pro-tumorigenic properties, possible negative alteration of the immune system, and the difficulty in assessing their migration patterns once administered in vivo. Adipose derived stem cell-based therapies have been described as a double-edged sword, with both beneficiary and unfavourable effects observed. Most current clinical trials continue to focus on establishing the safety and efficacy of adipose derived stem cell-based therapeutics, with promising results becoming progressively evident. This review reports stem cell-based therapies as potential therapeutic approaches in the treatment and management of Multiple Sclerosis. This paper explores the characterisation and aetiology of the disease, current treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, and clinical trial data that investigated the therapeutic safety and efficacy of proposed stem cell-derived Multiple Sclerosis treatments.
format Article
id doaj-art-6d4dc49b933e4bbfbc202a766eb2a80c
institution Kabale University
issn 2990-8167
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Technological University Dublin
record_format Article
series SURE Journal: (Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal)
spelling doaj-art-6d4dc49b933e4bbfbc202a766eb2a80c2025-01-31T10:28:14ZengTechnological University DublinSURE Journal: (Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal)2990-81672023-12-015110.21427/370d-ms60The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a reviewSorina Amarculesei0Ava O'Meara Cushen1Cathy Brougham2Athlone Institute of TechnologyTechnological University of the Shannon: MidlandsTechnological University of the Shannon AthloneMultiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. There are currently 2.8 million people living with Multiple Sclerosis worldwide, including 9000 people in Ireland, with a prevalence of 193 per 100,000 people. Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis include sensory loss, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, spasticity, depression, optic neuritis, gait ataxia, diplopia, and loss of bladder control. Currently, there is no standardised treatment or cure for Multiple Sclerosis with many strategies focusing on symptoms. Stem cells have emerged as promising approaches for Multiple Sclerosis therapeutics. Clinical trials primarily focus on mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies for Multiple Sclerosis. Furthermore, due to their immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory characteristics, adipose derived stem cells have recently surfaced as novel therapies for diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis. Current knowledge shows that there is potential for adipose derived stem cells to replace other adult stem cell-based therapies, as they are much more readily available and involve less invasive isolation procedures. There are currently 371 clinical trials involving mesenchymal stem cells and 462 clinical trials involving adipose derived stem cells, with research focused on skeletal applications, wound healing, and to a lesser degree, haematological and neurological disorders. Although adipose derived stem cells could represent a valuable treatment option for many diseases, several drawbacks to their advancement remain, such as their pro-tumorigenic properties, possible negative alteration of the immune system, and the difficulty in assessing their migration patterns once administered in vivo. Adipose derived stem cell-based therapies have been described as a double-edged sword, with both beneficiary and unfavourable effects observed. Most current clinical trials continue to focus on establishing the safety and efficacy of adipose derived stem cell-based therapeutics, with promising results becoming progressively evident. This review reports stem cell-based therapies as potential therapeutic approaches in the treatment and management of Multiple Sclerosis. This paper explores the characterisation and aetiology of the disease, current treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, and clinical trial data that investigated the therapeutic safety and efficacy of proposed stem cell-derived Multiple Sclerosis treatments.https://arrow.tudublin.ie/sure_j/vol5/iss1/4multiple sclerosisstem cellsstem cell technologyadipose derived stem cellsadscasccnsmsstem cell therapymscscurrent therapiesclinical trials
spellingShingle Sorina Amarculesei
Ava O'Meara Cushen
Cathy Brougham
The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review
SURE Journal: (Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal)
multiple sclerosis
stem cells
stem cell technology
adipose derived stem cells
adsc
asc
cns
ms
stem cell therapy
mscs
current therapies
clinical trials
title The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review
title_full The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review
title_fullStr The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review
title_full_unstemmed The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review
title_short The potential of stem cell therapy in Multiple Sclerosis treatment: a review
title_sort potential of stem cell therapy in multiple sclerosis treatment a review
topic multiple sclerosis
stem cells
stem cell technology
adipose derived stem cells
adsc
asc
cns
ms
stem cell therapy
mscs
current therapies
clinical trials
url https://arrow.tudublin.ie/sure_j/vol5/iss1/4
work_keys_str_mv AT sorinaamarculesei thepotentialofstemcelltherapyinmultiplesclerosistreatmentareview
AT avaomearacushen thepotentialofstemcelltherapyinmultiplesclerosistreatmentareview
AT cathybrougham thepotentialofstemcelltherapyinmultiplesclerosistreatmentareview
AT sorinaamarculesei potentialofstemcelltherapyinmultiplesclerosistreatmentareview
AT avaomearacushen potentialofstemcelltherapyinmultiplesclerosistreatmentareview
AT cathybrougham potentialofstemcelltherapyinmultiplesclerosistreatmentareview