In 2006, R Vidyalakshmi, a 68-year-old diabetic woman, was taken to the Vijaya Health Centre in Chennai with a large ulcer on her left foot.
MUMBAI: In 2006, R Vidyalakshmi (name changed), a 68-year-old diabetic woman, was taken to the Vijaya Health Centre in Chennai with a large ulcer on her left foot. She was diagnosed with critical limb ischemia and doctors felt amputation was the only solution.
However, doctors at Vijaya Centre not only saved her leg from amputation but also healed it to a major extent. As part of clinical trials, a team led by chief vascular surgeon S R Subrammaniyan tried stem cell therapy on Vidyalakshmi, extracting 100 ml of bone marrow from her, isolating the stem cells, and injecting them into the her calf. The therapy worked, healing her ulcer and forming new blood vessels that increased circulation in the affected area.
Today, Vidyalakshmi can walk and use her lower left limb just like her right one. Her case is just one among several in India where clinical trials on stem cell therapy have helped saved people’s limbs from amputation.
Research on stem cell therapy for treating limb ischemia is evolving fast in the $40-billion domestic healthcare market.
Samuel J K Abraham, director, Nichi-in Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), Chennai, explains that limb ischemia is a deficiency of blood supply to the leg, especially lower leg. “Diabetics are more vulnerable to limb ischemia due to the high sugar levels in their bodies. It results in inflammation and clotting of blood vessels, with patients experiencing pain and difficulty in walking.” Eventually gangrene sets in and the leg has to be amputated.
Karan Goel, founder and chairman of Stem Cell Voice of India (SCVI), a society to promote stem cell technology, says, “At present, several clinical trials are on to evaluate the effectiveness of autologous stem cell therapy for limb ischemia and the response is positive.” He adds that the market potential for this technology is huge and global revenues could exceed $10 billion by 2013.
According to K S Vijayaraghavan, who heads the department of vascular surgery at Sri Ramchandra Medical Centre in Chennai, limb ischemia also occurs in high blood pressure patients. Also at risk are smokers as nicotine affects blood vessels, especially those below the knee joint.
Ramchandra Medical Centre, along with stem cell banking company LifeCell International, has provided this treatment to 32 patients under clinical trials. The results have been “quite encouraging”, says Vijayaraghavan.
The standard treatment for limb ischemia is bypass surgery on arteries or balloon angioplasty. But bypass is ruled out if the blood vessel in the limb is narrow. “Here, stem cell treatment proves beneficial, as bone marrow stem cells can form new blood vessels and offer a cure,” says Abraham.
g_priyanka@dnaindia.net
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