stem cells

Stem cell therapy for childhood trauma ?

Firstly , can I apologise for the picture above , you wouldn’t believe how much it costs for a picture that is licensed of a stem cell . Its not that I don’t think your worth it , I just know you would have preferred me to have bought a coffee instead …so I did and you got this above free picture to look at …

Thanks for the coffee ……

As you know from previous posts I am a childhood trauma survivor and I like to have a good nose about in interesting places to find answers for myself , I bring you along for the ride and because its a bit weird talking to myself…….( not the first time).

Now I don’t think I have seen many suggesting that stem cells might be used in treating childhood trauma , in fact I have not seen one article on it . We have looked into Epigenetic’s, Telomeres , so why not stem cells ? Im not suggesting that trauma uses up our stem cells more quickly , although now Ive mentioned it it doesn’t feel that crazy . What Im suggesting is the treatment of childhood trauma with the use of stem cells .

Oh, sometimes I wish I was clever enough to be a scientist , I find it mind blowing and fascinating , but with a math grade equivalent to a five year old who hasn’t slept for two days , that was never going to be my future.

Now I realise we can all pull ideas out of our heads , so I better back this up I suppose . In 2021 , Gala et al ( citation at the end) released a paper that looked into a novel therapeutic approach to treating PTSD , and they are suggesting the use of stem cells.

So what are stem cells ?

Well , they are the building blocks , the lego pieces that are used to create all the specialised cells with their different functions all around your body. These can divide and create a new kind of stem cell often referred to as a daughter stem cell , it’s thought that there are two different kinds of daughter stem cell. One larger than the other and is more likely to divide several more times than the smaller cell. Now as ever, it’s far more complicated than that , there are many types of stem cell . Pluripotent (or embryonic. converted from somatic cells), Nonembryonic or sometimes known as somatic ( adult) are the two main categories as mentioned above. Pluripotent stem cells can be used all around the body and can produce all the specialised cells that we will need throughout our bodies. We don’t need to know more than this for this post , also thats the extent of my limited knowledge , so let’s move on quietly, pretending we know more …..I won’t mention it if you don’t ……..

What do stem cells do?

Stem cells are clever little critters , they can replicate many times , we mentioned daughter cells , when a stem cell divides those daughter cells might be different . The daughter cells might both be more stem cells , they might be two completely different cells that the body requires , or they might be a mixture of both. So to summarise , these are cells unlike another , they can renew themselves in order to make the specialised cells that are needed in our bodies.

When I was much younger , I was a sci-fi buff , still am , I watched a programme called Blakes 7 , a crew found a ship , a futuristic ship that when damaged could replicate parts of itself and if the damage wasn’t too bad it could renew parts itself . Little did I realise that we too live in a ship like that , our bodies and stem cells.

What use are stem cells to trauma survivors ?

My idea about treatment for trauma survivors with stem cells has a basis in current research. (Gala et al 2021 , citation below) . The paper starts off talking about recent promising studies surrounding Epilepsy , this disease involves repeated seizures following damage to inter neuron’s connections, stem cells seem well placed to treat this area.

PTSD , very much like childhood trauma occurs when there had been exposure to an overwhelming trauma or prolonged trauma . We have seen in previous posts that the effects of trauma can be life long and involves an abnormal connection in the HPA axis and the temporal lobe . Going back to epilepsy , this causes damage during seizures to the neuronal cells .especially to the hippocampus. Causing similar symptoms as found in trauma response such as anxiety or depression. In Epilepsy , treatment to the amygdala and hippocampus areas in the brain is thought to help with these outcomes. As these are similar problematic areas to trauma symptoms the paper suggests that treatment with stem cells might also be helpful.

We know, again we covered this in another post that trauma in some stress hyper-activates the amygdala ( two almond shaped clusters involved in memory, emotional response and decision making)creating a state of over sensitivity to fear. The hippocampus is also involved in this , identifying non fearful stimulus as threatening. This is traditionally treated by therapy, such as CBT or exposure therapy with differing results.

Rats!

Studies in rats show that Trauma affects the brain at a cellular level , ( this involves GRAP and BDNF , I have no idea what they are so I won’t make out I do !). But that aside BDNF was seen to be significantly decreased after trauma ( ok , now I think we might need this for the paragraph below, so BDNF is important for neuronal survival and growth and plasticity).

Will stem cells help then?

The paper from D.Gala et al places its hopes on the Epilepsy studies , we saw above they share some same areas of involvement as are involved in Trauma ( PTSD) outcomes . Studies in Rats have shown that the theory seems sturdy and replacing of damaged neuronal tissue , secretion of the BDNF and promote regeneration of the neuron’s.

NYSCF

A recent talk at www.nyscf.org/events/first-stem-cell-model-of-ptsd/ , The New Your Stem Cell Foundation , talked about ongoing and exciting research . The talk between K.Bernard Ph.D ,( Yale ), D Paul Ph.D ( NYSCF), R Yehuda Ph.D ( Mount Sinai ), R A Aiyar Ph.D ( NYSCF ) and D Rossi Ph.S ( NYSCF and Host). The talk is really Coal face research reporting and I really advise you to watch, it’s very good.

This work rather than looking at a direct treatment using stem cells are creating stem cells and then neutrons to find out how trauma works and therefore indicate a possible drug treatment.

They are looking into trauma using robotic lab machines that can work 24 hours a day , they have turned on a few genes in skin cells to re form them as stem cells and then changed them to neutrons. One specific type of neuron’s is being used , both because its was easy for the robots to reproduce and also as its very responsive to simulated stress hormones , in a way they are trying to simulate a trauma response in a lab .

They found that some people are more pre disposed to a reaction to trauma, but to activate this , a trauma must have been present . Women are twice as likely to develop PTSD .They noted that is stressor applied to a neuron early in its life will have long lasting effects on growth and how individuals react to future stress, in effect people are changed.

Now their research will continue with other types of neurons, they are currently using glutamateric , but are adding g GABergic neurone as well .

This is an exciting study , firstly in its use of robots , this will speed things up and in its emphasis on personalised medicine .

We have therefore seen the the theory in animals has begun to show promise in directly applying stem cells , we need to commence further clinical trials to see if this is possible in humans . We have also seen that stem cells are being created and manipulated to find the process of trauma in the cells and indicate the possible drug therapies that can be developed in the future ,

But just imagine the future , perhaps PTSD , and all types of trauma such as the field we are involved in , childhood trauma , image they can be reversed with the targeted use of stem cells or in drugs personalised to treat trauma victims , it is a very possible in the near future ……….

Thank You …..

As ever , thank you for spending time on this site , I know there is a lot of content out there and I means a lot that you came here. Im just a childhood trauma survivor looking for answers to pass on , not a medical expert , so if you need help , please remember to seek it with a qualified medical expert , Im here to find answers for myself , but Id love for you to join me on my journey .

I hope I find you in a good place , remember you are never alone , there is plenty of us out there …on the trauma spectrum.

Citations

NYSCF Research Institute

Working across disease areas and disciplines, the integrated NYSCF laboratory enables scientists to quickly and easily share results and strategies, leading to new thinking and breakthroughs within and across therapeutic and technical areas. By creating an environment in which scientists from the NYSCF Research Institute and a range of institutions can collaborate, NYSCF capitalizes on outstanding talent to accelerate work in the this critical field.

Stem Cell Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Novel Therapeutic Approach

Dhir Gala ¹, Vikram Gurusamy ¹, Krishna Patel ¹, Sreedevi Damodar ¹, Girish Swaminath ¹, Gautam Ullal ¹

Affiliations expand

• PMID: 34842629
• PMCID: PMC8628773
• DOI: 10.3390/diseases9040077

Free PMC article