A Nigerian medical group and its U.S. counterpart, BIOHEART Inc, U.S., have concluded plans to introduce regenerative medical therapy for the treatment of diseases in Nigeria, Dr Prosper Igboeli, a gynaecologist, has said.
Igboeli, Managing Director of M and M Hospital, Fertility and IVF Centre, made the disclosure in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday.
“This is a new technology in delivering health treatment to patients, in the past we have always used drugs for every ailment.
“In recent times, scientists and the medical community have pioneered the stem cell technology; stem cell is also called regenerative medicine therapy whereby certain cells in our body can repair themselves.
“Stem cell therapy has been found to be beneficial in managing several disease states, since 1998, scientists and investigators have uncovered many sources and different types of stem cells in the human body,’’ Igboeli said.
He said in the early stages of stem cell research and development, many scientists used discarded and donated embryos for their studies.
The doctor said the scientists cloned monkey, pig, gaur, cattle, cat, rat and so on.
According to him, it generated a lot of public fury and debate as they considered embryos as potential humans and their use unethical.
Igboeli noted that many countries banned embryonic stem cell research based on ethical considerations.
“Today, we have better understanding of how the body utilises the adult mesenchymal stem cells to repair its own damaged tissues and organs.
“Virtually, all tissues in the human body possess stem cell capabilities, the most notable are stem cells derived from adipose tissues, bone marrow, muscle, teeth among others.
“None of these sources of stem cells has ethical issues or concerns; they have found acceptability in many countries,’’ he said.
The doctor said the disease state in which stem cell therapy had been found to be benefici but not limited to management of alopecia, auto immune diseases and cancer.
He identified others as congestive heart failure, diabetes, erectile dysfunction and degenerative joint diseases, orthopaedic conditions, for instance, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal cord injuries, stroke among many others.
Igboeli said because of the long term nature of many of the human conditions needing stem cell therapy, it was always beneficial to harvest the stem cells.
“Some of the stem cells are used at the point of patient presentation.
“The rest are processed through further cellculture, cell expansion through several passages and cryopreserved in vials stored in sub-zero temperatures for future use by the patient,’’ he said.
Igboeli said doctors would be trained to carry out the evolution of stem cells and their application in modern medical therapeutics in Nigeria.
The doctor said the regenerative medicine treatment and cell expansion centre would be inaugurated on July 23.
