Cell therapy can be appropriate for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) including resultant emphysema and chronic bronchitis. This novel approach utilizes adult stem and regenerative cells from your body fat which aim to repair the damaged tissue in your lungs while reducing inflammation and restoring the flow of oxygen-rich blood to these vital organs.
Impact On Daily Living
Because COPD prevents normal breathing, nearly every aspect of a normal life is greatly impacted as a result. Living with this condition, you may find that even seemingly simple tasks like playing with your grandchildren or carrying a load of laundry becomes increasingly challenging. This progressive disease has become the third leading cause of death in the United States according to the CDC.
What is COPD?
In the course of COPD, worsening airflow limitation makes it increasingly difficult to get air in and out through the bronchial tubes. COPD is also characterized by chronic inflammation in the lungs and system-wide inflammation throughout the body.
Symptoms of COPD can vary, but in general may include:
- Shortness of Breath (dyspnea)
- Frequent respiratory infections
COPD symptoms worsen over time and there is no cure known at this time.
Adult Stem Cell Therapy for COPD
Adult stem cells could be thought of as small physicians in the way that they go to work healing and repairing the body on a daily basis. It is these repair cells which take care of our bumps and bruises or normal “wear and tear.” Although your lungs possess their own population of healing adult stem cells, there are simply not enough cells present to keep up with the degree of ongoing lung tissue damage which occurs in COPD.
Surprisingly, your adipose (fat tissue) is one of the most potent and concentrated sources of adult stem cells in your body. Once isolated, these powerful healing cells can be put to work to provide cellular level repair of damage found in your lungs as a result of COPD.
Your own healing cells can target a slowed degenerative progression of COPD, restore blood flow, address system-wide inflammation and stimulate the repair and replacement of damaged lung tissue. The combination of these factors may lead to a number of improvements in quality of life, including:
- Improved functional capacity
- Better breathing
- Increased energy and stamina
- Reduction of bronchial infections
Adult stem cell treatment at Okyanos is a minimally invasive, same-day outpatient procedure. Though recovery can and does vary from patient to patient, our protocols are designed and carried out with the goal of keeping “downtime” to a minimum. A general overview of the procedure is as follows:
- First, water-assisted fat harvesting is done to obtain about a cup of adipose (fat) tissue from the hip or abdomen area.
- The unique blend of stem and regenerative cells which exist in the adipose tissue are then isolated and prepared for injection utilizing an EU-approved, closed/sterile, fully automated CGMP cell processing system.
- In accordance with the individualized treatment plan prepared for each patient, adult stem and regenerative cells are delivered intravenously to address the systemic factors relating to COPD.
Safety Study of Cell Therapy to treat Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (February, 2012.) NIH online Clinical Trials resource center. Retrieved from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT01110252?term=stem+cells+AND+COPD&rank=1§=X80156#outcome2
Cell Therapy For Lung Disease: A Step Forward (June, 2013) in Chest Journal. Retrieved from: =1692809
Bone Marrow–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Repair of the Injured Lung (October, 2004) in American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. Retrieved from 