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Asthma Treatment with Stem Cells

Asthma is inflammation of the lower respiratory system that is caused by inflammation in the airways.

Over the past few decades, there has been a marked jump in the incidence of allergies. Today, there are 5 subdivided variants of hypersensitivity reactions, one of which is responsible for allergic hyperreactive immune response.

Allergies occur when a foreign protein – an allergen – enters the body, eliciting a protective immune response. The result of an allergic reaction can be allergic shock, vasomotor rhinitis, urticaria, false croup, and angioedema. 

One of the most common inflammatory disorders is bronchial asthma caused by bronchial hyperreactivity. The basic mechanism of the disease is the narrowing of the bronchi during an asthma attack, accompanied by bouts of breathlessness, and in severe cases, the development of asthmatic status.

From this article, you will learn about what asthma is and about treating it with therapy based on mesenchymal stem cells.

The development of allergic inflammation

In allergic subjects, persistent or repetitive exposure to allergens results in chronic allergic inflammation which in turn produces long-term changes in the structure of the affected organs and substantial abnormalities in their function. And this is how the process of allergic inflammation launches:

  1. Allergen – a substance which typically is intrinsically innocuous in itself and common in the environment – enters the body.
  2. The antigen-presenting cell takes up the allergen molecule and presents its epitopes, through the MHC II receptor. The activated antigen-presenting cell then migrates to the nearest lymph node.
  3. T cells (type of lymphocytes) are activated and recognize the allergen. They instruct the T cell to differentiate into the Th2 cell.
  4. B cells (type of white blood cells) recognize the allergen through the activated Th2 cell.
  5. B cell would be activated.
  6. Differentiate into plasma cells, at which point they would actively synthesize antibodies of the IgE isotype.
  7. IgE antibody recognizes epitopes of the allergen molecule, circulates around the body through the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems, and finally binds to its FcεRI receptor on mast and basophil cells.
  8. When the allergen re-enters the body it binds to the IgE, which is on the cell surface, resulting in an aggregation of the receptor causing the cells to release preformed mediators. One of these mediators is histamine which causes the 5 symptoms of allergic inflammation: heat, pain, swelling, redness, and itchiness. Another mediator is IL-4, which affects more B cells to differentiate into plasma cells and produce more IgE, and thus the vicious cycle continues.

Existing modern technologies allow for the successful treatment of allergic conditions, including asthma. One of these methods has been successfully applied in the practice of the leading stem cell therapy clinic Swiss Medica XXI, and this approach is a stem cell therapy for asthma.

The physiological process that leads to the development of allergies.

Stem cell treatment for asthma attack

The basis of mesenchymal stem cell therapy lies in their ability to modulate the immune system. Even under severe bronchial asthma, stem cell therapy contributes to the regeneration of lung tissue and relieves inflammation, which leads to a significant reduction in the incidence of attacks and their duration.

Stem cell therapy for asthma patients reduces the allergic response of the organism to allergens including house dust, animal dander, pollen, and foods. It also increases resistance to colds and infectious diseases reducing the frequency of exacerbations. 

When treating asthma with cell-based drugs, a person’s stem cells will be taken from the bone marrow or adipose tissue and then cultured to a required amount in a special laboratory. After reaching a certain number of these cells, they will be administered to the patient intravenously and/or via inhalations.

Swiss Medica stem cell treatment clinic.

What is the recovery like for stem cells for asthma?

After undergoing stem cell therapy for bronchial asthma, you may wonder about any special care or time off from work that might be needed in the recovery phase.

Using these cells is like tapping into your body’s resources to treat itself. As a result, it is not hard on the body and there’s usually no need for extensive recovery. 

There may be minimal swelling and bruising, and some patients may need analgesics for the pain at the injection sites, but that’s typically it. Within a week or two, the patient should be back to normal. Below, you can see an example of a patient’s experience after cell-based treatment for asthma.

Patient’s results of stem cell therapy for asthma

This is the story of Daniela, a 31-year-old woman from Romania who visited the Swiss Medica clinic (Moscow branch) to treat her asthma.

Daniela had been dealing with asthma for seven years before her treatment, dealing with difficulty breathing, cough and wheezing, episodes of pneumonia, and difficulty doing physical activity. She had tried all sorts of medical treatments, with no luck, which led her to look for alternatives.

This is how she came across using stem cell for asthma therapy, at the Swiss Medica clinic. She visited the clinic for ten days where she received treatment that involved a 30-minute intravenous infusion, inhalation therapy, and other types of treatment. She had no side effects during the entire time.

That was when she started to notice improvements, such as a reduction in her coughing and an improvement in breathing during physical activity and at rest, which allowed her to decrease how much medicine she was using.

Three months later, she revisited the clinic for a second session of treatment. She recognized that her allergic symptoms improved, her skin started to look better, and she felt more energetic than before.

Stem cell treatment for bronchial asthma and bronchiectasis.
Despite their healing properties, stem cells are not a guaranteed cure. The effectiveness of the therapy depends on multiple factors: initial condition, duration of the illness, age of the patient, hereditary predisposition, lifestyle, etc. Also, applying only stem cells for some cases may not be enough. Cell therapy works more effectively when combined with other therapeutic methods that help activate the tissue repair process.

Safety issues & side effects

Stem cell therapy for asthma is a promising option for patients, but they may worry about the side effects that this might come with.

The fortunate thing is that research has shown that these cells serve as a very safe option with only minor and short-term side effects when present. While there aren’t too many studies specifically assessing asthma in humans, animal studies have shown efficacy with minimal adverse effects, and human studies for other respiratory conditions showed no serious safety concerns.

What the stem cells treatment programme may include

If you’re interested in receiving stem cell therapy for bronchial asthma at Swiss Medica, you may want to know more about what this program includes and the components that comprise it.

The first thing that will usually happen is the harvesting of the stem cells from the appropriate location. After this, they will be properly cultivated to obtain a large enough supply for treatment. As the process takes time, donated stem cells can be used for the therapy. In this case, the harvesting procedure is not required.

To treat asthma, cell-based drugs will be introduced into the body through an intravenous infusion and inhalation. These are the major procedures that most patients will undergo. Due to our personalized treatment strategy, additional therapies may be used, such as hypoxy-hyperoxy therapy and mesodiencephalic modulation (MDM). Alongside their properties, they increase the effects of introduced stem cells.

Cost of stem cell therapy for asthma

How much you pay to treat asthma at a clinic like Swiss Medica depends on: 

  • the exact procedures that you will require;
  • the severity of your condition;
  • the duration of the treatment;
  • the number of procedures;
  • additional therapies and services.

If any co-existing medical conditions are present, this may further increase the price.

The cost of stem cell therapy for asthma can vary, but the best way to determine how much it will cost for you would be to reach out to the clinic for a free consultation. Our medical experts will be able to give you a good estimate of the cost, and you will also learn what the treatment may include and what the results may be expected for your case of the disease.

The treatment process at the Swiss Medica regenerative medicine clinic.

The advantages of our treatment for asthma

Swiss Medica ХХI Century has been working for 20 years already. Its successful clinical experience covers restoration and revitalization of the body. Our specialists manage and prevent several serious age-related and chronic diseases. Working with modern technologies, we are constantly improving our knowledge, developing skills and approaches in this field. The current advantages of using mesenchymal stem cells for the therapy:

  1. Low risk of side effects and rejection.
  2. Absence of any immune and allergic reactions.
  3. No need for general anaesthesia.
  4. Painless procedures.
  5. Absence of oncological complications in view of adult stem cell maturity (which means there is no risk of uncontrolled reproduction).
  6. The short after-treatment period.
  7. Good tolerability of cell-based therapy at any age.
  8. The effect of treatment is both in relation to the disease itself and to the whole organism as a whole.

Besides stem cell for asthma treatment, Swiss Medica ХХI Century clinic offers other safe and effective treatments associated with a team of highly qualified professionals. We realize the importance of conducting personalized care and promise you proven results. We provide 24/7 medical support for every patient, and we stay in touch even after discharge from the clinic.

Get a free online consultation

Treatment with stem cell for asthma and allergies may be preferable as a form of treatment since it uses your body’s тnatural healing processes to reduce inflammation, repair damaged cells, and so on. 

Patients who have used stem cell for asthma at Swiss Medica clinic have reported improvement in symptoms like cough and difficulty breathing, with no side effects whatsoever. This is a testament to the high quality of care and safety standards that we follow to give the patient the best from regenerative medicine technologies.

Get a free online consultation

Get a free online consultation with a medical expert at the clinic to discuss the expected results for your case of the disease, the procedure, the cost, and the duration of the treatment.

Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina
Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina, MD

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor


List of References

  1. Galli, Stephen J et al. The development of allergic inflammation. Nature vol. 454,7203 (2008): 445-54.

  2. Kim, Ruth L., Bang, Young, Kim, Jeonghyeon, Mo, Yosep, Kim, Yujin, Lee, Geun, Elias, Jack A., Kim, Hye Y., and Ryun Kang. Mesenchymal stem cells exert their anti-asthmatic effects through macrophage modulation in a murine chronic asthma model. Scientific Reports 12, (2022). Accessed June 22, 2023.

  3. Shin, J. W., Ryu, S., Ham, J., Jung, K., Lee, S., Chung, D. H., Kang, H. R., & Kim, H. Y. (2021). Mesenchymal Stem Cells Suppress Severe Asthma by Directly Regulating Th2 Cells and Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells. Molecules and cells, volume 44, issue 8, pages 580–590.

  4. Tzouvelekis, A., Paspaliaris, V., Koliakos, G., Ntolios, P., Bouros, E., Oikonomou, A., Zissimopoulos, A., Boussios, N., Dardzinski, B., Gritzalis, D., Antoniadis, A., Froudarakis, M., Kolios, G., & Bouros, D. (2013). A prospective, non-randomized, no placebo-controlled, phase Ib clinical trial to study the safety of the adipose derived stromal cells-stromal vascular fraction in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Journal of translational medicine, issue 11, page 171.

More sources

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor

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