Efficacy of fetal stem cells in Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy

Abstract

The absence of effective treatment methods for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) calls for new therapeutic approaches. One of the promising treatment methods for DMD is stem cell therapy. This study demonstrates the impact of fetal stem cells (FSCs) on functional capacity and life quality of DMD patients and the ability of FSCs to prevent DMD-related complica-tions in order to inhibit the disease progression. FSC therapy substantially improves functional capacity, life quality, left ventricular ejection fraction, and forced vital capacity of the lungs of DMD patients; this was confirmed by comparison of neurological, laboratory (aspartate amino-transferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatine phosphokinase, and lactate dehydrogenase), and morphofunctional findings (left ventricular ejection fraction and forced vital capacity) in DMD patients before the treatment, and 6 and 12 months after the FSC treatment.