Stem Cells and COPD

Currently, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung diseases that decrease the performance of the lungs and make it hard to breathe, is the third leading cause of death in the United States, yet many people who suffer from it go undiagnosed for a long time. Despite being a prevalent disease, it is tough to detect and even more difficult to gain control of. Dr. Jack Coleman, Medical Director of Lung Health Institute, states that patients with chronic lung diseases have a tendency to not do well after being diagnosed because of the limited treatments available to do them. Along with this, the treatments do not work to cure the disease, but instead are implemented to help control the symptoms.

However, in recent years, the quality of life of COPD patients has increased. Dr. Coleman explains that research has discovered a new approach to treating COPD that direct a patient’s own healing abilities to control the processes damaging the lungs. Since stem cells do not know where the damaged part of the body is, the lungs benefit more from stem cell treatments than other part of the body because they are the first part of the body that the stem cells interact with. Dr. Coleman states that the treatment has been effective in helping patients with COPD; in fact, approximately 85% of the Lung Health Institute’s patients have seen an improvement in their quality of life. The process of using stem cells to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not yet a faultless procedure, but it has given promise to patient’s for a better life in the future.