By: Sanika Patil
How does bone marrow transplantation help recover any cancer or other bone marrow diseases by the use of an allogeneic transplant?
The first successful bone marrow transplant was conducted in two identical twins in the year 1956 by Dr. E Donnal Thomas, M.D. He was later awarded a Nobel Prize for establishing bone marrow transplants for treating leukemia and other blood-related diseases. The study helped understand radiotherapy given to leukemia patients with the installment of healthy bone marrow provided by an identical twin.
This treatment is used to treat hematological disorders such as leukemia, autoimmune diseases, etc.
Shows 10-day improvement survival after total body irradiation.
This research aims to show how stem cells may be removed from the bloodstream of the bone marrow.
Stem cells are called “transformer cells” because they can transform into other cells like red blood cells and bone marrow cells.
Allogeneic transplant: Bone marrow can be recovered through the transplant of stem cells from a donor. This helps treat bone marrow cancer or other bone marrow-related diseases.
A risk involved in this process is a disease called Graft versus host disease (GVHD).
This disease occurs when the transplanted stem cells identify tissues and organs as foreign and attempt to attack them.
Patients who have a transplant may get this disease over a period of time or immediately after the transplant.
Higher risk if the stem cells are from a donor who is not related to you.
Prevention of this disease is by removing the T-lymphocytes from the transplanted marrow.
Chances of death
Bone marrow transplant is being used as a treatment method for the following immune diseases, and it increases the rate of survival:
1. Multiple Sclerosis
A disease in the brain and the spinal cord, which comprises the central nervous system, and can control your actions.
Occurs when the immune system is attacking the nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord.
Leading to the alteration of the electrical messages to the brain.
2. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Random attack on cells, which causes inflammation in the body. Mainly the joints are the most affected part of the body.
The lining of the joint is inflamed causing the joint to develop more damage.
Researchers have interpreted that this is most commonly caused by some inheritable traits passed down from generation to generation, or either it depends on the environmental factors.
Factors can be smoking, anxiety, and stress disorders.
3. Lupus
Similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis, this is another inflammatory disease, occurring when the tissues or organs of your body are attacked.
The healthy tissues are being attacked instead of fighting back to the inflammation caused.
Symptoms are noticeable sometimes in the form of rashes and joint pain.
Lupus comes in many forms; but the main 3 common ones are:
Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus: This type mainly affects individuals by their skin causing sensitivity to the sun.
Drug-Induced Lupus: This type is caused by medications, but its short term.
Neonatal Lupus: This type is affected in infants from birth. Since, the mother of the infant might have gone through pregnancy having lupus or sometime earlier in life.
4. Systemic Sclerosis
It is one of the rare chronic diseases caused due to vascular abnormalities.
Another genetic disease passed down by family members.
Connective tissue disorder
Symptoms can be the skin thickening on the fingers and toes along with internal organ fibrosis
5. Crohn’s disease
A disease caused in the digestive tract
The exact cause is still being researched
Symptoms can be diarrhea, cramps in your abdomen, and weight loss
This disease often leads to individuals being malnourished and fatigued
The experiment being displayed by the use of tools for bone marrow transplant
According to the GlobeNewsWire, a new product called the “ApoGraft” is being used in a clinical trial of leukemia patients by the company Cellect Technology. This product helps select or signify the appropriate cells required for increasing the immune therapy thereby preventing GVHD following bone marrow transplantation.
Along with new developing technology comes the rapid rise of the success rate in bone marrow transplantation. Cure Sickle Cell Initiative is an example in which a new therapeutic gene is added to the bone marrow to produce anti-sickling cells, and currently shows positive results from preclinical and clinical trials.
Sources:
Tallman MS;Rowlings PA;Milone G;Zhang MJ;Perez WS;Weisdorf D;Keating A;Gale RP;Geller RB;Laughlin MJ;Lazarus HM;Luger SM;McCarthy PL;Rowe JM;Saez RA;Vowels MR;Horowitz MM; “Effect of Postremission Chemotherapy before Human Leukocyte Antigen-Identical Sibling Transplantation for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in First Complete Remission.” Blood, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10942365/.
“Bone Marrow or Stem Cell Transplantation - What You Need to Know.” Drugs.com, https://www.drugs.com/cg/bone-marrow-or-stem-cell-transplantation.html.
Quoin Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. “Cellect Biotechnology Announces the ApoGraft™ Bone Marrow Transplantation of First Patient in U.S.” GlobeNewswire News Room, Quoin Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., 2 Sept. 2021, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/09/02/2291181/0/en/Cellect-Biotechnology-Announces-the-ApoGraft-
Bone-Marrow-Transplantation-of-First-Patient-in-U-S.html.
“What Conditions Do You Need a Bone Marrow Transplant for?” MedicineNet, MedicineNet, 20 Feb. 2020, https://www.medicinenet.com/conditions_bone_marrow_transplant_blood_cancer/article.htm.
Comentarios