Patient with muscle disease treated with own stem cells for first time

For the first time, a hospital has treated a patient with a rare muscle disease with its own stem cells. And it works: the muscles got stronger and the patient feels a lot better. The therapy offers prospects for several diseases.

Breaking research

Maastricht UMC+ is starting pioneering stem cell research thanks to a €4.5 million grant. Led by Professor Bert Smeets, healthy endogenous stem cells will be used to restore muscle strength in hereditary muscle diseases. The first patient responded positively, and follow-up research should show whether this therapy can also help elderly and cancer patients with muscle loss. The goal: more independence and a better quality of life.

This causes patients to experience extreme fatigue in daily life. The cause is a genetic defect in the cells: simply put, the power plants of these patients' cells, the mitochondria, are disrupted.

This breakthrough forms the basis for Milocron Therapeutics, a startup at Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus, to bring this stem cell therapy for muscle diseases to market. The company is working on scale-up and clinical application.

Read the article from Algemeen Dagblad here.