In a new study, researchers found umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC) infusions safely reduce the risk of death and quicken time to recovery for the most severe COVID-19 patients.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Miami and elsewhere.
In the study, 24 patients hospitalized at the University of Miami Tower or Jackson Memorial Hospital with COVID-19 developed severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS), a dangerous and often fatal complication marked by severe inflammation and fluid buildup in the lungs.
Each patient received two infusions of either mesenchymal stem cells or a placebo, given days apart.
At one month,100% of patients (<85) who received the UC-MSC infusions survived versus 42% in the control group. Researchers found the treatment was safe, with no infusion-related serious adverse events.
The team also found recovery time was faster among those in the treatment arm.
More than half of the patients treated with the UC-MSC infusions recovered and went home from the hospital within two weeks.
More than 80% of the treatment group recovered by day 30, versus less than 37% in the control group.
Just one umbilical cord, donated from a cesarean section, can yield up to 10,000 doses of the COVID-19 treatment.
The results confirm the powerful anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory effect of UC-MSCs.
The team says these cells have clearly inhibited the ‘cytokine storm’, a hallmark of severe COVID-19.
The results are critically important not only for COVID-19 but also for other diseases characterized by aberrant and hyper-inflammatory immune responses, such as autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes.
The researchers are very much looking forward to applying these cells in clinical trials to halt the progression of Type 1 Diabetes.
One author of the study is Dr. Camilo Ricordi.
The study is published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.
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