The October issue of the journal Experimental Neurology reports on a study showing that MultiStem, a patented adult stem cell therapy product from Cleveland-based biopharmaceutical firm Athersys Inc., mitigated the damage of traumatic brain injuries in lab experiments.

MultiStem uses multipotent adult progenitor cells, or MAPC, which "are obtained from the bone marrow or other tissue sources of healthy, consenting adult donors," according to an Athersys release. In an abstract of the study, the researchers explain, "Traumatic brain injury causes … an increase in circulating immune cells leading to increased blood brain barrier permeability. The intravenous injection of MAPC preserves … the integrity of the blood brain barrier."

As an unrelated 2007 Science Daily article explained, "The cells that make up the blood-brain barrier help the brain and immune system communicate. … Changes to the blood-brain barrier could give important clues about injuries to the central nervous system and the growth of tumors."

MultiStem appears to be an unusually versatile therapy. The same week that the Experimental Neurology report was released,
Athersys presented findings from clinical trials with heart attack patients at Transvascular Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference in Washington, D.C. That ongoing work involves Dr. Marc Penn, Director of Cardiovascular Cell Therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. Athersys CEO Gil Van Bokkelen notes that while the recent trials were designed primarily to test safety, "we also saw clear and compelling signs that patients were experiencing improvement in heart function."

Van Bokkelen says Athersys and its many partners, including Pfizer, are excited about the potential of MultiStem as a "very powerful multifactor delivery system" that can treat a wide variety of patients.

Source: Athersys
Writer: Frank W. Lewis