Stem Cell Therapy for Crohn's Disease: A Promising Treatment Option

Stem cell transplant therapy is a new and promising treatment for Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease is an auto-immune chronic intestinal inflammatory condition that affects approximately 1 percent of the population. Typical treatments include anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant drugs, and/or surgery.

Purpose

• Stem cell transplant therapy is being explored as a treatment for patients who have not responded to conventional treatments of Crohn's disease.

Features

• Stem cell therapy for Crohn's involves autologous stem cell transplantation. In autologous stem cell transplantion, stem cells are taken from the patient's own spinal fluid.

Significance

• Autologous stem cell therapy is still in the early stages of research and implementation. In 2009, twelve patients in the United States underwent stem cell transplant therapy; eleven patients showed positive results. Similar trials were conducted in Europe.

Potential

• It has been found that patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation for other conditions experienced remission of their Crohn's disease. These results inpsired further research into stem cell therapy for Crohn's disease.

Time Frame

• According to a February 2009 article in Medical News Today, the process for the stem cell transplant takes approximately two months. The procedure involves chemotherapy, stem cell collection and stem cell transplant.