According to WHO estimates, almost half a million people in Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa suffer from multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) or extensively-drug resistant (XDR-TB) tuberculosis. Treatment using a combination of antibiotics frequently fails. According to a preliminary study, stem cells may offer a chance of being cured.
For the study conducted by the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm (Sweden), 30 people with MDR- or XDR-TB (aged between 21 and 65) underwent standard treatment with antibiotics and were also given an infusion of around 10 million of their own mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). The cells were taken from the patients' bone marrow and were cultured into large numbers in the laboratory.
The MSC injections were well tolerated and no severe adverse effects were reported for any patient. 18 months after the treatment, 16 of the 30 study participants were deemed cured. However, in the control group that was exclusively treated with antibiotics, this was only the case in five out 30 participants.
The results show that the current difficulties in treatment are not insurmountable, said co-author Alimuddin Zumla from University College London. To confirm safety and efficacy, phase II studies should be undertaken as soon as possible.
