Improving effects of mesenchymal stem cells on symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

AIM: We aimed to identify the improving effects of umbilical cord tissue-derived (UCTD) MSCs on the symptoms of COPD in our phase 1.2 clinical study. MATERIAL METHODS: Our study consisted of five patients with COPD. Respiratory function tests, SGRQ symptom, activity and impact scores and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) were examined before UCTD MSC treatment. All the patients were administered a total of 4 doses of UCTD MSCs by intravenous infusion at two-week intervals. All the tests were repeated three months after the treatment for evaluation of the response to MSCs treatment. RESULTS: The mean age of five male patients was 56. The mean pretreatment FEV1/FVC ratios were 66.9 %. Pretreatment mean SGRQ symptom, activity and impact scores of the patients were 78.2, 83.8 and 58.02 respectively. The mean walking distance of the patients was 307 meters before MSCs treatment. The mean FEV1/FVC value of raised to 69.58 % after the treatment. The mean SGRQ symptom, activity and impact scores were noted as 39.8, 60.98 and 45.18 respectively. The mean walking distance of the patients raised to 362 meters after the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that four doses of MSC treatment considerably alleviated the severity of symptoms of COPD (Tab. 2, Fig. 7, Ref. 25).