Treating Traumatic Brain Injuries with Stem Cells

by Mohimenul Islam SEO service provider

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a resulting condition that occurs in the aftermath of severe trauma. It can be brought on by a massive head injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, side effect of disease, or other catastrophic incident. The effects of TBI are as varied as the causes that create them.

TBI symptoms can be divided into three categories: sensory, physical, or cognitive. These symptoms can be further divided into categories of severity from Mild to Moderate. The worst thing about TBI is that there is no rock solid treatment. Stem Cell therapy is known to work but has yet to become a mainstream practice. The application of stem cells are a very popular trend in the medical field. They have a wide range of uses in cases that effect the brain as they can rebuild damaged tissue.

What Are Stem Cells

A stem cell is an unprogrammed cell with the ability to transform into other types of cells within the human body that. This shape-shifting ability allows stem cells to become muscle, bone, cartilage, and many other types of specialized cells. The reason why stem cells are such a big deal is because of their regenerative capabilities.

Using their ability as mimics stem cells can repair damage tissue. Some experts even believe eventually stem cells will be able to regenerate entire organs. This makes them very effective for treating diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's, cancer, and Alzheimer's. It also makes them effective for any time of traumatic brain injury. Using stem cells cuts down on the need for surgeries or organ transplants as they simply regenerate what needs to be fixed.

How Stem Cells Treat Brain Injury

Stem Cell Therapy collects stem cells from other parts of the body and then injects them into damaged areas so they regenerate tissue. This is the basic outline of a stem cell operation. The stem cells are found either in the fatty layer of the patients body or from bone marrow.

Once the cells have been harvested they are transplanted via injection or minor surgery into the damaged area they will treat. Stem cells naturally migrate to damaged areas. In the case of traumatic brain injury treatment they flock to the damaged brain tissue and begin regenerating.

The way stem cells actually treat TBI is by continual reproduction integrated inside brain tissues. The reproduction promotes brain cell regeneration and repairs damage resulting in recovery. A patient suffering from TBI resulting in cognitive symptoms, difficulty concentrating for instance, would begin to experience better focus as the cells repair that part of their brain.

Stem cell therapy is at the heart of what is known as regenerative medicine. This is an exciting new field that may hold the solution to many serious illnesses, chief among them being Alzheimer's and cancer. Regenerative medicine may also provide a solution to organ transplants as stem cells may one day be able to rebuild damaged organs completely.

Where to Find Stem Cell Therapy

Unfortunately, stem cell therapy is still in a development stage. Stem cell therapy for TBI is available, but only through the use of clinical trials. Physicians and scientists are still experimenting with the benefits stem cells provide. In order to attain treatment one has to sign up for a trial and be admitted into the program.

It is important to know the difference between embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells as adult cells are the ones primarily used in stem cell therapy. Embryonic stem cells are mostly used to aid the body in recovering from chemotherapy. They are more widely used in actual medical institutions. TBI is treated mostly with adult stem cells harvested from patient bodies or grown in a laboratory. Such therapy is mostly outpatient and done through the use of clinical trials.

There are two main types of trials. Ones that use injections and are performed mostly outpatient, and ones that stem cell delivery which is a minimal neurosurgery that implants cells directly into the area of the brain that needs repair. It is important to be fully informed before accepting stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy is also quite costly but may or may not be covered by an insurance plan.