Hi Kim - I asked Dr. Young, PhD what he thought since he too suffers from lupus. I will send you his response by private message. The following article pertains to treating kidney disease with stem cells. This is not what you have I realize, but I have included it because it shows that stem cells are a viable treatment for kidney failure as well as for transplant patients. I have read that for Kidney transplants, stem cells from the donor are given to the recipient, thus causing the recipient to have two immune systems for a short period of time. This in turn has eliminated the need for the recipient to be on anti rejection medicine for a lifetime. The institute is in India that is discussed in the article.
Kidney institute uses stem cells to cure nephritis
AHMEDABAD: The Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC) claims to have pioneered stem cell therapy for the first time on patients
suffering from acute and chronic nephritis which may end in kidney failure.
"Nephritis is an early kidney disease which in many cases is chronic and becomes resistant to drugs. The disease may lead to kidney failure. Since we are doing stem cell therapy for kidney transplant patients, we decided we should also try using it to prevent kidney failure as well," said IKDRC director, Dr HL Trivedi.
"The stem cells were manufactured in the advanced stem cell laboratory set up in IKDRC using cells from the bone marrow and fat of the patients," said head of pathology at IKDRC, DR Aruna Vaniker.
IKDRC has already done 685 kidney transplants using combination of stem cells from bone marrow and fat. "We have been able to considerably reduce the use of anti-rejection drugs due to stem cell therapy," said Dr Aruna.
The stem cell therapy for nephritis has been done in two patients. One is Rajesh Soni, 21, who was suffering from nephritis since past 15 years. His was a chronic disease which was resistant to treatment. His urine sample showed strains of protein which caused heavy swelling on his face and limbs, sure signs of kidney failure in the future.
"The bone marrow and mesenchymal stem cells were delivered directly into the kidneys through a canulated artery so as to help the organ repair the damage. The protein in his urine has reduced by 90 per cent," said Dr Trivedi.
Another patient Thakoresinh Chavda, a police official, suffered drug-resistant nephritis as well. "He has been almost cured as he has reported 99 per cent drop in the protein strains in his urine," said Dr Trivedi.
Doctors however caution that the stem cell treatment is still in the experimental stages and should be offered to only patients with chronic disease who may end up with kidney failure.
"There are many cases of nephritis which respond well to drugs. Only patients who do not respond to drugs over a long time may qualify for stem cell treatment," doctors said.
Meanwhile, doctors at IKDRC said that they are hopeful of preventing many patients from kidney failure with this treatment. "This treatment is at experimental stage as we are still working out the dose of stem cells per kg that a patient may need for best results", said Dr Trivedi.
WHAT IS NEPHRITIS
Main symptoms
Acute nephritis manifests as pain in the kidneys, extending down to the ureters, fever, dull pain the back and scanty and highly coloured urine. Often the urine, may contain blood, albumin and casts consisting of clumps of red and white cells which come from the damaged kidneys. The patient suffers from puffiness in the face and swelling of the feet and ankles.
In the chronic stage of nephritis, which may drag on for many years, the patient passes large amounts of albumin in the urine. Later, there may be a rise in the blood pressure and the patient may develop uremia. There may be frequent urination, especially during night.
Causes of Nephritis:
Nephritis usually follows some streptococcus infection of the throat or an attack of scarlet fever or rheumatic fever. The underlying causes of nephritis are the same as for diseases of the kidneys in general, namely wrong food habits, excessive drinking, suppressive medical treatment of some former diseases, the habitual use of chemical agents of all kinds for the treatment of indigestion and other stomach disorders and frequent use of aspirin and other painkillers. Nutritional deficiencies can also lead to nephritis.
