There’s still no definite cure for Covid-19 yet, but recent research has turned up a very promising contender, reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Chinese researchers have just published a paper on the recovery of an elderly Covid-19 patient, and the results were practically miraculous.
The jaw-dropping results are all thanks to stem cell therapy, which was used as a last resort.
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While the move was contentious, the positive results offer a possible recovery route for critically ill patients.
According to SCMP, the 65-year-old patient was admitted to Baoshan Hospital in Kunming on 28 Jan, a week after she returned from Wuhan and showed respiratory symptoms.
Initially, doctors gave her antivirals and antibiotics, which saw positive results before her condition worsened rapidly, landing her in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on 1 Feb.
The ICU in a Chinese hospital
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Unfortunately, her organs began to fail, and things seemed bleak.
After discussing with her family, doctors decided to start her on stem cell therapy on 9 Feb.
According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) database, she is 1 of 14 clinical trials in China exploring how stem cells can treat Covid-19.
The patient was reportedly given her first 3 shots of stem cells on 9 Feb. She didn’t show any negative effects, so doctors gave her a second round of treatment on 12 Feb.
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Just a day later on 13 Feb, the patient was able to take a short walk.
On 15 Feb, she received her final shot of stem cells, and she returned to a regular ward just 2 days later on 17 Feb.
SCMP reports that she also tested negative and her vitals had returned to normal by then.
A Chinese doctor who is involved in stem cell clinical trials at another hospital told SCMP that stem cell therapy can deliver remarkable results in a short span of 3 days.
He told Hunan Daily, a Chinese newspaper, last week,
We cannot stick to the rules, we must be bold and innovative.
Stem cell therapy is still rather controversial as some scientists have suggested using human embryos to harvest the cells.
Chinese stem cell research, however, now involves early-stage cells harvested from discarded fertilised human eggs. Using cells from healthy human embryos is strictly forbidden.
The patient who recovered received stem cells obtained from a laboratory culture of babies’ umbilical cords.
An unnamed doctor told SCMP,
The stem cell industry may have some vested interest to promote their technology in this crisis, but if it really works, it should be made available to more patients.
Given the astounding results it produced with the elderly patient, we couldn’t agree more.
As the clinical trials for the other 13 patients continue, we wish them successful results and hope they make speedy recoveries.
Featured image adapted from Xinhua.
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