CAN STEM CELL THERAPY BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OPTION FOR LIVER CIRRHOSIS?

The liver is the largest solid organ in body and is vital to body’s metabolic functions and immune system. It performs large number of functions such as process nutrients, extract energy, filter toxic chemicals including alcohols from the body, help in blood clotting, store iron and many vitamins etc. Without a functioning liver, it becomes very difficult for person to survive.
Treatment approaches for Liver Cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is a slowly progressive disease in which scar tissue replaces the healthy tissues of liver. The formation of scar tissue prevents the liver functioning affecting the processing of nutrients, hormones, drugs and naturally produced toxins in the body. Treatment for liver cirrhosis is very necessary; otherwise it can be fatal for a person. Currently, it is not possible to reverse the damage done to liver; however progression of disease can be stopped depending on the cause of it.
If you are having cirrhosis due to alcoholic liver disease, doctor will prescribe you to stop drinking completely. If non alcoholic disease has caused liver cirrhosis to you, doctor will recommend losing weight through physical activity and healthy eating for reducing fat, scarring in liver. Medications such as ursodial will be prescribed if you have liver disease due to hepatitis, infections, bile duct disease etc.
At advanced stage of liver cirrhosis, your doctor will consider a liver transplant after they have ruled out all other treatment options. The liver transplant is potential curative option, the high costs, lack of donors, immunosupression issues make it a limited option. There is a strong dearth for developing alternative treatment modality.

Stem cell therapy for Liver disease
With the advancements made in regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy is being explored by researchers for curing liver cirrhosis. Stem cells are the naïve cells of the body, which can be differentiated to any cells if provided proper enviornement. This remarkable potential of stem cells has been exploited by the medical science as a possible cure for a variety of debilitating diseases.
Various types of Stem Cells had been investigated as a regenerative therapy for liver cirrhosis. These stem cells include bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNC) and peripheral CD34 positive cells. Some early studies have shown encouraging results in patients who had autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation.
The stem cells can be harvested from potent sources such as bone marrow or adipose tissue and can be injected back into the body at the targeted place. These stem cells then can be differentiated into liver cells with the help of certain growth factors and immunological factors such as cytokines. The stem cell injection can also be coupled with stem cells stimulation therapy, wherein resident stem cells are stimulated to multiply and differentiate inside the body as a booster effect.
A clinical study at PGIMER, Chandigarh carried out on patients of liver cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis through the Stem Cell Therapy that involved stimulating a patient's bone marrow by an injection called (Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (GCSF) that produces new cells called hematopoietic stem cells. With the stem cell therapy, the survival was better in the patients who have taken therapy. The patients showed improvement in nutrition, better control of ascites, reduction in liver stiffness, lesser infection episodes and improvement in liver function.
The use of stem cells for treating liver failure or liver cirrhosis is still at a very nascent stage, but in near future it will definitely come up as potential treatment approach for suffering with liver problem.

Lifestyle interventions to keep your liver healthy

Our lifestyle plays a very crucial role in maintaining one’s health. A liver is apparently a very important organ performing many different functions that are required to continue smooth functioning of our body mechanism. In order to maintain such a crucial organ in its functional state, it is thus utmost important to understand different good as well as bad lifestyle inventions, which influence smooth functioning of liver. Apparently, one should try to avoid parameters that are dangerous for liver and accept good habits, which can maintain it in a better form.

Alcohol poisons and promotes inflammatory responses in the liver. If alcohol abuse continues, it can lead to permanent scarring of the liver (cirrhosis). However, over three-fourths of the liver can be damaged before symptoms occur. If more than two alcoholic drinks are consumed each day, serious Liver Damage will eventually occur. The individual will tire more quickly since his blood is dirtier, and he will become more susceptible to infections, as well as brain and kidney dysfunction. Alcohol also thickens the blood and slows its circulation. It reduces the liver’s capacity to cleanse the blood from impurities and pathogens. Since any amount of alcohol burdens the liver and compromises its efficiency, why drink it at all?

Smoking and Tobacco consumption, smoking as well as tobacco consumption is suppose to be the major inducer of three major adverse effects on the body, which have been identified as increase toxin effects, immunological effects as well as oncological effects. It has known to increase the cytotoxic potential, leading to cellular death of the liver and fibrosis. It can thicken the blood to considerable extent that promotes the oxidative stress of hepatocytes.

Overeating, obesity, and excessive visceral fat (the fat stored in the abdominal organs) also damage the liver. Overeating generates more free radicals. Free radicals are unsteady molecules that are responsible for damaging the cellular membrane and DNA. As one of the primary function of liver is to detoxify our body from the free radicals, overeating magnifies this free-radical assault on the liver; leading to the functional reduction of the organ.

What can you do to save your liver?

Avoid alcohol and other risk factors for hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), such as poor personal hygiene, poor sanitation, intravenous street drugs, unsafe sex, body piercing, and tattooing. If working in a medical setting, use gloves when handling body fluids or drawing blood; consider the advantages and disadvantages of the hepatitis vaccine.

An individual who is obese or has a “pot-belly” needs to work on losing weight. If the liver has been infiltrated with fat, slow, steady, and permanent weight-loss is much kinder to the liver than fast weight-loss. Permanent weight loss, however, can reverse NAFLD. Rapid weight-loss promotes inflammation and fibrosis in the liver. Judicious weight loss has other benefits to offer. In an obese individual, even a modest weight loss will significantly improve blood-sugar levels and cholesterol and blood fat profiles.

Green leafy vegetables are high in antioxidants that help to protect the liver from the free-radical damage, it incurs by processing toxins. Chlorophyll (the green pigment of plants) reduces toxin absorption from the gut, thereby reducing the toxin load the liver has to handle. Chlorophyllin, a water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll, reduces the formation of DNA adducts from heterocyclic amines which damage the colon. (*a DNA adduct is a perverting junction of DNA and a cancer-producing molecule). Chlorophyllin also reduces the development of aflatoxin B1, a carcinogenic mold that damages the liver. Legumes offer special benefits to the liver. Soybeans, in particular, improve the antioxidant activity of the liver.

Thus, once the damage is done, it is very difficult to reverse the process with current therapeutic interventions; which suggest liver transplant as the only possible cure. Apparently, many people are already in a queue to get a suitable organ donor for their liver ailments, and even though they get an organ, it is highly unpredictable, whether the procedure is accepted by the body or not? However, with the technological innovations and scientific advancements, some of the alternative medicines such as Stem Cells Therapy can now be offered to stop further progression of liver damage and with the possibility of regenerating already damaged part to a great extent, in order to restore the liver function back.

Liver Treatments with Stem Cells: “The powers” need power to make them powerful!

“Stop acting like a god in Greek mythology without any empathy for the human beings!”

Sounding weird? But for those who believe in mythology or has a strong interest in reading the myth can correlate the phrase with the Greek titan Prometheus, who was tortured by the hideous attempt of Greek God to punish him for exposing the secrets of gods to men! His liver was preyed by the eagles and his sufferings went eternal due to the liver’s ability to redevelop. Although eagles grew weary of the daily feast from a constantly replenished source; the legend tried to explain the world, the unexplainable………….the substratum of the “Power of Regeneration”.

As per the mythology,” There could not be any life without regeneration!” but the science says “There could not be any death with regeneration”

Let’s explore a science behind the enigma of regeneration! Regeneration in medicine, as has been tagged, typically involves achieving back the lost functions of various organs to address vast majority of medical problems. However scientists, who have commented on the history of the regenerative medicine, have also debated over the facts that organs most liable to be injured and therefore most likely in need of regenerative treatments are indeed those with the greatest regenerative capability. The Liver can be topped amongst this list.

Our liver is a phenomenal organ with an intrinsic capacity to regenerate after its loss either by accident or from injury. This tremendous regenerative potential of liver has been observed in number of rat models wherein after partial removal of the liver approximately 70% of the lost tissue is generated. The similar situation has also been observed in case of human beings where few years after the liver transplants, liver becomes hypertrophic i.e. gets bigger to compensate for the loss. If this is the case then questions might arise in your mind that how does liver regenerate on its own, and if it does, then why does it need an external dose of regenerative medicine?

The answer to this question lies in the fact that the tissues like liver have inherent sources of power inside them. These powers are entities which are ready for the action all the time. If given appropriate circumstances these powers can interact with the surrounding environment to stop further destruction and to enhance repairing of what has been damaged, as a routine practice! They are named as “Stem Cells”. 

Stem cells, with the capability to be any cells of the body can trigger reparative regeneration inside the liver to form lost hepatocytes. But in chronic conditions such as scarred liver tissue, liver injury etc, these cells have to do whole lot of work and hence become overburdened. This stressful situation provides the rationale for liver losing its ability to regenerate over the period of time with the complete functional damage.  But with the scientific advances it is possible to boost the process of liver regeneration externally.

Apart from liver there are some other habitats for residential stem cells such as Adipose Tissue, Bone Marrow which can be isolated outside the body. Thanks to the advances of the tissue culture techniques! The Technique is helping worldwide healthcare professionals to isolate stem cells outside the body, concentrate them in large number and reinsert back into the targeted site, where they can secrete number of growth factors, cytokines etc to start the process of healing.

Liver Treatment with Advancells

At Advancells, we are utilising your own stem cells isolated from the two abundant and potent sources such as Adipose Tissue and/or Bone Marrow as a treatment regimen for Liver Diseases. Our top priority is to provide very comprehensive, individualized treatment pattern which is best suited for the patients undergoing treatment.