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Dementia Treatment with Stem Cells

Dementia is a category of diseases that affects the brain and a person’s cognitive abilities such as thinking and remembering, which can create numerous difficulties in daily activities. This is a long-term condition, which often progressively gets worse as time passes. About 50-70% of all dementia cases are sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease, but there are other forms of the disease including vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, etc.

The disorder has a tendency to be misunderstood by many people who believe it is a natural part of aging, whilst others think that simple forgetfulness means dementia. None of these beliefs are accurate. Although the disease mainly targets the older population, those above ages of 65 and up, it is not a normal process that happens to everyone who grows old.

Comparison of a normal aged brain (left) and the brain of a person with dementia (right).

There is no cure for dementia at the moment and aside from providing help to the patient in a form of care and some medications that can slightly improve problems, for most people symptoms deteriorate. However, modern medicine improves daily and new discoveries such as stem cell treatment for dementia brought new hope and light to those suffering from this condition.

Stem cell for dementia is the key treatment mode used in our clinic. The method is based on the delivery of new adult stem cells into the tissues damaged by the disorder. Many specialists are sure that this approach has the potential to alleviate the symptoms of the disease. Stem cell therapy for frontotemporal dementia is also an option for patients facing changes in behavior, and problems with speech and language.

Contact us

Get a free online consultation of medical advisor to find out if stem cells would work for you.

Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina
Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina, MD

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor


Stem Cells Treatment for Dementia: How It Works

Cell-based therapy aims to restore degenerated neuronal networks, and consequently cognitive function, through the introduction of stem cells for dementia patients. Various scientific research asserts that stem cells make a great contribution to rebuilding damaged nerve fibers. These cells may be used as a cellular delivery system, utilizing a paracrine “bystander” mechanism through either native or induced production of neuroprotective growth factors. Alternatively, therapeutic restoration may occur through differentiation and participation of the stem cells in repopulating damaged neuronal circuits. This is a finely balanced, complex, and multistep process, with great potential benefit for those suffering from the disease.

In the process of stem cell treatment, tens of millions of cells are placed into the patient’s body. This amount exceeds the person’s daily losses of healthy cells by thousands of times. Naturally, such active cell replenishment rejuvenates and renews organs, displacing old and damaged cells.

Stem Cell Therapy for Dementia: Patient Results

A clinical trial showed such therapeutic effects of stem cell transplantation in dementia treatment as:

  • increasing acetylcholine levels to improve cognition and memory;
  • modulation of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis due to secreting neurotrophic factors by stem cells;
  • increasing neuronal survival and neuronal differentiation;
  • improving neuropathological and behavioral recovery;
  • activation of microglia (glial cells that are located throughout the brain and spinal cord, and act as the first and main form of active immune defense in the central nervous system).

Together, these effects lead to reducing symptoms.

Patient’s family experience who underwent stem cell treatment for dementia at Swiss Medica:

“My mom is walking better, she is holding a conversation better with me and our family” (patient from the UK).

Dementia treatment results after stem cells therapy

More information on a typical case of treatment with stem cells for dementia:

Dementia treatment with stem cells, patient from the UK
Despite its healing properties, stem cells are not a guaranteed cure. Stem cell clinical trials for dementia demonstates that 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 be not enough. Cell therapy works more effectively when combined with other therapeutic methods that help activates the tissue repair process.

Contact us

Get a free online consultation from our medical advisor to find out if stem cells would work for you.

Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina
Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina, MD

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor


Stem Cell Therapy at Swiss Medica Clinic: the Procedure

In our clinic, patients receive autologous or allogeneic (taken from donated tissues) mesenchymal stem cells for dementia. The cells are taken from bone marrow and/or adipose (fat) tissue. During the therapy process, no general anaesthesia is needed. Our specialists take small amounts of body tissue to access stem cells, located in either bone marrow or the abdominal area (when using fat tissue), which are both easily accessible. After this simple process is completed, stem cells are separated from the tissue and activated. Finally, they are returned to the patient’s body using an IV drip.

The procedure is completely safe, quick, simple, and painless. Donated cells from the placenta or umbilical cord are also applied if required.

Indications and Contraindications for Cell Therapy

Due to its benefits, therapy with stem cells can be promising in the absence or insufficiency of the effect of the main therapy, and also in the presence of side effects from the medical drugs.

Contraindications are:

  • previous bad experience with cell products;
  • any type of cancer or a precancerous condition;
  • any life-threatening or terminal health conditions;
  • infectious disease in the acute stage;
  • stroke or transient ischemic attack in the last 3 months;
  • deviations of some indicators in blood tests;
  • pregnancy and lactation;
  • mental disorders and addictions;
  • contraindications to anaesthesia and/or high risk of bleeding and/or pathological processes in the area of the proposed biopsy (does not exclude the possibility of using donor cell products),
  • and some others.

Safety Issues & Side Effects

The procedure of stem cell therapy for dementia is very quick and simple. It does not require general anaesthesia. In most cases, there are no any side effects. According to stem cell clinical trials for dementia, sometimes there may be a short-term increase in temperature and as an individual reaction of the body, but not more than 2% of cases. And it passes independently and does not entail negative consequences for the patient’s health.

Also, this kind of therapy does not cause any allergic and immune reactions (due to the immune-privileged status of multipotent MMSCs).

The Advantages of Our Treatment System:

  1. Low probability of side effects (rarely side effects such as short-term fever or temporary weakness are observed).
  2. Stem cells for dementia themselves do not induce allergic or immune reactions.
  3. General anesthesia is not required.
  4. We apply only adult stem cells that are safe for the patient (no embryonic or fetal cells).
  5. The procedure is quick and simple.
  6. We apply both autologous (patient’s own) and donated cells, depending on personal illness and medical needs.
  7. We provide round-the-clock observation of doctors for the period of treatment.

Get a free online consultation

Contact us to learn about the expected results of the stem cell treatment for dementia, its cost and duration.

Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina
Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina, MD

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor


What the Treatment Includes:

After collecting your medical reports, we make a personal treatment program. Such a program usually includes not only stem cell therapy for frontotemporal dementia and other types of the disease but also additional therapies, such as:

  • Transcranial brain stimulation;
  • SIS (Super Inductive System);
  • Xenon gas rehabilitation therapy;
  • Brain therapy by the magnetic field,
  • and others.

These therapies stimulate the activity of introduced stem cells and contribute to the reduction of symptoms of the disease. In addition, this treatment has a rejuvenating effect on the whole body.

Contact us

Get a free online consultation to learn how stem cells will work for your personal case, what the treatment involves, and what its cost and duration are.

Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina
Dr. Aleksandra Fetyukhina, MD

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor


List of References

  1. What should we know about dementia in the 21st Century? A Delphi consensus study. Michael J. Annear, Christine Toye, Frances McInerny, Claire Eccleston, Bruce Tranter, Kate-Ellen Elliott, and Andrew Robinson. BMC Geriatrics. 2015; 15: 5.

  2.  Advances in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Alina Solomon,1,2 Francesca Mangialasche,3 Edo Richard,4 Sandrine Andrieu,5 David A. Bennett,6 Monique Breteler,7 Laura Fratiglioni,3 Babak Hooshmand,3 Ara S. Khachaturian,8 Lon S. Schneider,9 Ingmar Skoog,10 and Miia Kivipelto. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2014 Mar; 275(3): 229–250.

  3. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and stem cell therapy. Thomas Duncan and Michael Valenzuela. Stem Cell Research&Therapy. 2017; 8: 111.

  4. Stem Cell Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. Ming Li, Kequan Guo, and Susumu Ikehara. International Journal of Molecular Science. 2014 Oct; 15(10): 19226–19238.

More sources

Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor

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