A new method of treatment of severe lung diseases
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Australian scientists have reported on the development of a new treatment for certain severe lung diseases, such as emphysema, asbestosis and severe asthma. The researchers found that cells located in the human placenta can significantly reduce the level of infection of the lungs and promote healing of scars and pathogens in the lungs.
A team of scientists from the Institute for the Study of Pulmonary Diseases in Western Australia has already completed a series of tests on the organisms of laboratory mice and is now preparing for clinical trials in humans. According to Professor Juben Moodley, cells from the placenta can successfully mimic other cells of the body, which until now was considered only by stem cells.
"We found that there are cells on the placenta walls that develop with the embryo, but they are not part of the embryo, they are on the placenta and are part of it," he says. "These cells can successfully differentiate into the lungs, not completely, but enough to fight diseases. "
Australian scientists say that experiments on mice have been even more successful than expected and now scientists are full of optimism to succeed on the human body.
As told at the Institute of Pulmonary Research, a control group of laboratory mice was exposed to the anti-cancer drug bleocimin, which provokes pneumonia. As a result of pneumonia, scars form on their walls, which are very similar to those scars that remain in the human body.
However, after the action of placental cells on the lungs of rodents, the scars quickly disappeared. "I think that this method of exposure will be very useful for patients who are on the ventilation of the lungs," believes Moodley.
Of course, the developers say, it would be possible to use stem cells to treat scars, but here there is an ethical problem associated with this method. In the case of placental cells, there is no such problem.
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