What is involved when you get MSC therapy?

There are big differences between cord blood therapy versus therapy with Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC). Here is a quick comparison

Unlike cord blood, MSC do not contain immune system cells. There is no chance of the donor and patient rejecting each other and triggering "graft versus host" disease. This makes MSC very versatile - a patient does not have to find a sibling or matched donor, a patient can receive MSC from any unrelated donor. Medical researchers agree that, when properly prepared, it is safe to use MSC therapy products that are “off-the-shelf”.

During the past decade, over a thousand clinical trials have given a variety of MSC from different sources to over 55 thousand patients. Although MSC have been tried for many conditions, in most cases the correct dose of MSC still has not been established. There are also questions about the relative benefits of big doses versus repeated smaller doses.

The rate of complications from MSC treatments in clinical trials has been very low and the complications were mostly mild. But commercial clinics may not be as safe as clinical trials, and the regulations on commercial clinics varies between countries (we have articles about Mexico and UAE). The FDA has issued “warning letters” to a number of commercial clinics in the United States that supposedly give injections of MSC from birth tissues. Oftentimes their product does not actually contain live stem cells, or even worse they may be contaminated with bacteria. Consumers should check the credentials and quality control practices of any clinic and their suppliers before purchasing MSC therapy.

References:

• Ankrum JA, Ong JF, and Karp  JM. Nature Biotechnology 2014; 32:252–260. Mesenchymal stem cells: immune evasive, not immune privileged
• FDA: For Consumers - FDA Warns About Stem Cell Therapies