Uterine stem cells to treat dry eye syndrome. This is the new challenge that the Jove Hospital Research Unit and the Foundation for Uterine Stem Cell Research (Ficemu) of Asturias are embarking on. Both entities, which yesterday held a protocol meeting with the new Regional Minister of Health, Francisco del Busto, are in the process of obtaining authorisation from the Spanish Medicines Agency to start a clinical trial which, if all goes well, will begin in 2016.
For the time being, the Agency, which depends on the Ministry of Health, has given the first positive guidelines for what would be the first human trial with a product obtained from uterine stem cells. The researchers’ intention is to determine the effectiveness of this material (specifically, a conditioned medium derived from uterine stem cells) in treating dry eye syndrome. The trials, explained the director of the Jove Research Unit, Dr Francisco Vizoso, would fall into what is known as “phase one” and “phase two”. The first is to determine whether the study is safe. The second part of the clinical trial, which can last for years, usually involves the participation of a larger number of patients to test the therapeutic efficacy of the product under investigation.
The Spanish Medicines Agency understands that the material Jove’s researchers are working with is a ‘biological product’ and not an ‘advanced therapy’, which simplifies not only the processing of the trial itself, but also its development. The start of this study in humans was one of the issues that the heads of Ficemu presented yesterday to the Regional Minister of Health, who was pleasantly surprised both by the work carried out so far and by the results of the research with uterine stem cells, which began exclusively in Gijón.
Studies carried out to date could have applications in various clinical fields: from cancer to ophthalmology, as well as infections and inflammatory processes. The experts, who have already demonstrated that the product obtained from uterine stem cells is effective in curbing breast cancer, now want to test the degree of effectiveness of this medium in curing or alleviating the problem of dry eye.
Retina study
Recently, the Jove Hospital Research Unit has signed an agreement with ONCE to initiate research into the use of this therapy in retinal disorders. Last October, the team also announced the promising results of a preclinical study carried out jointly with the Department of Physiology-CIMUS at the University of Santiago de Compostela. In vitro and in mice, they have shown that uterine stem cells (specifically, the conditioned medium) ‘slow down breast cancer and its proliferation’, known as metastasis.
Recently, the Jove Hospital Research Unit has signed an agreement with ONCE to initiate research into the use of this therapy in retinal disorders. Last October, the team also announced the promising results of a preclinical study carried out jointly with the Department of Physiology-CIMUS at the University of Santiago de Compostela. In vitro and in mice, they have shown that uterine stem cells (specifically, the conditioned medium) ‘slow down breast cancer and its proliferation’, known as metastasis.
Source: El Comercio
