RESEARCH - AAD 2009: Stem-cell therapy may resolve ulcers associated with scleroderma

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AAD 2009: Stem-Cell Therapy May Resolve Ulcers Associated With Scleroderma

March 11, 2009 (San Francisco, California) — Stem cells are at the

center of a new therapeutic approach to treating skin manifestations

of scleroderma. Preliminary results from 3 patients were presented

here at the American Academy of Dermatology 67th Annual Meeting. The

procedure was also used with success in 9 patients with nonhealing

wounds without scleroderma.

The process uses autologous bone-marrow-derived stem cells, which are

mesenchymal stem cells that can differentiate into the full range of

skin and muscle cell types. Principal researcher Falanga, MD,

described the research that is taking place at the

Medical Center, in Providence, Rhode Island.

The cells are cultured ex vivo and their numbers are expanded greatly.

A solution of the stem cells and fibrinogen is placed in 1 chamber of

a double-chambered syringe, and the second chamber is filled with a

solution of dilute thrombin.

The 2 solutions combine when ejected from the syringe as a spray over

the wound. The mix begins to polymerize, and that " clotting " helps to

hold the stem cells in place in the wound. The wound is then covered

with 2-layer bioengineered skin, containing a layer of keratinocytes

and a layer of fibroblasts.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589437

Not an MD