Stem Cell Provides Hope for Liver Failure
Liver failure patients have been successfully treated using their own bone marrow stem cells.
Doctors extracted the stem cells from the patients’ blood which were then injected back into blood vessels connected to the liver.
According to a report in the New Scientist magazine the liver function and general health of three of the five patients improved significantly within three months.
Two patients who did not respond showed no ill-effects from the treatment.
The stem cells appear to home in on damaged areas of the liver and make repairs. The process is not yet understood.
Nagy Habib, a surgeon at Imperial College, London, led the trial.
One of the patients, in his 60s: “At the outset, he had jaundice, vomited blood and had ascites - swelling caused by fluid around the liver.”
Two months later the jaundice had disappeared, while levels of albumin - a marker of healthy liver function - rose to normal.
A follow up trial on 18 patients is being planned.
