Stem Cells Against Liver Cirrhosis: A systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trial Studies

Stem Cells Against Liver Cirrhosis: A systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trial Studies
AmirAli Moodi Ghalibaf,^1,* Mohsen Asadi,² Mehdi Atayee Karizmeh,³ Mohammad Naseri,⁴ Saeed Farkhondeh,⁵ Alireza Hadipour,⁶
1. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
3. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
4. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
5. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
6. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Introduction: Introduction, Liver cirrhosis is an end-stage of liver damage condition which is a common cause of death in the world. Today liver transplantation is only a therapeutic option for the patients, but the lack of donor and transplantation rejection are several obstacles for cirrhotic patients. Stem cells are non-specialized cells that can differentiate into specialized cells. The embryonic, adult, induced pluripotent, cord blood and amniotic fluid are types of stem cells that can use for different therapeutic goals. In this study, we investigated the role of SCs in liver cirrhosis treatment.
Methods: Materials & Methods, A comprehensive search was conducted in electronic databases Embase, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and Clinical Key with the keywords “stem cell” and “liver cirrhosis” since 2012. Randomized controlled trial studies were included. Review of RCT studies were excluded.
Results: Results, Of 148 studies, 15 articles were selected according to the including and excluding criteria. Several types of stem cells like mesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, liver progenitor cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and bone marrow mononuclear cells have been investigated as a possible source of liver regeneration. According to studies, the therapeutic effects of stem cells on cirrhotic liver recovery depend on the type of stem cells, the source of stem cells and the cause of liver cirrhosis. These variations have been caused by different effects, whether therapeutic or non-therapeutic, on patients received stem cells. What is more likely is that autologous stem cell transplantation might have more effective effects on liver regeneration. Although stem cell transplantation has various therapeutic effects, on the other hand, this method of regenerative medicine has fewer complications in comparison with liver transplantation.
Conclusion: Conclusion, due to the mentioned studies, stem cells for the treatment of hepatic cirrhosis are not currently applicable and safe at present. Although stem cell transplantation doesn't have current complications of liver transplantation, instead the clinical efficacy of this therapeutic method did not prove yet. So more studies are needed in this field to clarify ambiguous subjects.
Keywords: Keywords: Liver cirrhosis, Liver transplantation, Stem cell