Another Area of Medicine with Little Hope
In 2016, the World Health Organization reported that lung problems affected 251 million individuals with an estimated 3.17 million deaths, accounting for approximately 5% of all global deaths. And unfortunately, not much can be done to mitigate this problem. The Mayo Clinic says that “effective therapy is available that can control symptoms, slow progression, reduce your risk of complications and exacerbations, and improve your ability to lead an active life.” And they subsequently list the treatment protocols which include stopping smoking, the use of bronchodilators, steroids, antibiotics, oxygen therapy, and ultimately a lung transplant. In other words, there is nothing that can be done to help repair the lungs; we can only manage the symptoms.
Stem Cells Can Repair the Lungs
As with most of the organs of the body, stem cell research has demonstrated that bone marrow stem cells have the ability of migrating into the lungs and transforming into new lung cells.[1][2] Consequently, scientists began investigating ways of tapping into the regenerative potential of adult stem cells in order to help repair damaged lungs, which led to the discovery that a simple injection of bone marrow-derived stem cells could help repair the lung.[3] This approach soon became the focal point of investigation with various types of lung problems.
Stem Cells Can Repair Lung Damage from Smoking
Long-term exposure to cigarette smoking is the main cause of lung problems. Duplicating long-term exposure to cigarette smoking in mice, it was reported that injection of bone marrow stem cells into the bloodstream led to reduced inflammation in the lungs, along with other markers of lung damage.[4] In fact, over the years, many other studies have reported that stem cell injection into the bloodstream can improve lung function.[5][6][7][8][9]
Endogenous Stem Cell Mobilization and Cigarette Smoking
On the basis of these observations, scientists investigated whether the release of one’s own stem cells could also help repair the lung and improve the consequence of cigarette smoking. Using compounds that are known to trigger Endogenous Stem Cell Mobilization (ESCM), it was documented that ESCM can indeed help reverse the consequence of cigarette smoking, improving both lung function and the capacity to exercise physically.[10][11]
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Number of Circulating Stem Cells and COPD
Like many other age-related problems, several studies suggest that lung problem could result from long-term reduction in the number of stem cells in circulation. When comparing healthy individuals with people experiencing a decline in the health of the lungs, those with declining health were found to have, on average, a 3-fold reduction in the number of circulating stem cells.[12]
Conclusion
In conclusion, ESCM using a natural herbal stem cell enhancer could help support pulmonary function and increase general quality of life for people with declining respiratory health.
Sources
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[2] Pluripotency of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult marrow.
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[9] MSCs relieve lung injury of COPD mice through promoting proliferation of endogenous lung stem cells.
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[10] AMD3100 ameliorates cigarette smoke-induced emphysema-like manifestations in mice.
Barwinska D, Oueini H, Poirier C, Albrecht ME, Bogatcheva NV, Justice MJ, Saliba J, Schweitzer KS, Broxmeyer HE, March KL, Petrache I. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2018 Sep 1;315(3):L382-L386.
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[12] Circulating haemopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells are decreased in COPD.
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