Stem cell ‘mist’ cured COVID-19 patients in the Middle East, doctors say. Here’s how
Doctors around the world are experimenting with stem cells as possible treatment for coronavirus symptoms.
Some medical professionals extract stem cells — cells that are able to develop into many different cell types — and then reinsert them into patients intravenously, or through their veins.
Now, research coming from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reveals a new way to use these special cells to fight coronavirus: turn them into a mist for patients to inhale.
“We’re hopeful,” Dr. Fatima al-Kaabi, head of hematology and oncology at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in the UAE, told CNBC. “We’ve seen a favorable outcome.”
The treatment works like this: Doctors first remove stem cells from an infected patient’s blood, “activate them,” turn it into a mist and then have patients inhale it into their lungs, according to a statement released last week by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention.
All of the 73 UAE coronavirus patients who were treated with the stem cell mist were cured of the virus, the statement said. The stem cell treatment could also help symptoms such as shortness of breath and “possibly” coughing, al-Kaabi told CNBC.
About a quarter of these patients were intubated in the intensive care unit, the outlet reported.
The doctors from the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center who developed the method hypothesized that the introduced stem cells help patients regenerate new lung cells, and keep the immune system from working overtime to fight COVID-19, the disease the virus causes.
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The UAE Ministry of Economy has granted a patent for the treatment, according to the statement.
“The treatment has successfully undergone the initial phase of clinical trials, demonstrating its safety,” the statement said. “None of the patients who have received the treatment reported immediate adverse effects.”
It’s important to note, however, that the treatment was given along with “conventional medical intervention” and will not replace other forms of treatment, according to the statement.
“Non-pharmacological interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as staying at home, social distancing and infection prevention and control measures remain necessary to reduce the burden of the disease on the healthcare system.”
The news comes after three critically ill COVID-19 patients in the United States improved after being treated with an experimental stem cell treatment for the first time, the Miami Herald reported.
South Florida doctors used stem cells grown from umbilical cord tissue and inserted them intravenously, according to the outlet. Several days later, two of the patients were discharged from the ICU and the third was recovering.
Umbilical cord stem cells, typically thrown away after birth, “could generate enough stem cells to treat over 10,000 patients,” Dr. Camillo Ricordi, a University of Miami professor and stem cell therapy researcher, told the Herald.
The treatment has not gone through a clinical trial, but the doctors claim it is a “game changer,” the Herald reported.
