Authors: Natalia Leigh Diaz, Vincent S. Gallicchio.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term for two chronic conditions. These diseases are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis that are both identified by inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Crohn’s disease can occur anywhere in the digestive tract. In contrast to that, ulcerative colitis is limited to just the colon. Along with that, Crohn’s disease can have gaps of healthy tissue in between inflamed areas while ulcerative colitis has no healthy gaps amongst inflamed areas. Factors such as stress and diet have been proven to aggravate symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases. Symptoms include abdominal pain, fatigue, joint pain, and anemia. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can cause ulcers, bowel obstruction, fistulas, malnutrition, and many other health conditions. There is also increased risk of cancer and blood clots. These factors make efficient treatments crucial for the disease. Researchers have tested stem cells and their efficiency to treat inflammatory bowel diseases. This is because stem cells are cells that have not become specialized. This allows for the cell to produce new cells or replaces specialized damaged or lost cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used in both human and animal research to treat inflammatory bowel disease. This type of stem cell can differentiate into various tissue types. Mesenchymal stem cells also contain anti-inflammatory and anti- fibrotic properties making it ideal to treat inflammation in autoimmune diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells have shown to be capable of treating inflammatory bowel disease due to their regenerative capabilities, immune-suppressive properties, and anti-inflammatory components. This has been seen in animal and human patients by achieving an increase in quality of life through results like reduced inflammation, complete remission, and reduced health complications making it an ideal treatment to continue and research for inflammatory bowel disease.
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