A compassionate-use study has generated promising results for the potential treatment of muscular dystrophies using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from Wharton’s jelly (WJ), a substance found in the umbilical cord. The study, led by doctors at Klara Medical Center (KMC), Czestochowa, Poland, and reported in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, found that individuals treated using WJ-MSC exhibited significant improvement in several body muscles, with no serious side effects.
“Administration of WJ-MSCs in neurological indications is controversial; still, this paper shows that cell therapy is a reasonable experimental treatment option, although the eligibility criteria for treatment needs to be optimized,” said Beata Świątkowska-Flis, MD, PhD, neurologist, unit head at KMC’s Polish Center for Cell Therapies and Immunotherapy, and study leader.
