Stem Cells for Liver Disease in India

Safe, Affordable, Legal Treatment 

Are you suffering from liver disease? Stem cell therapy for Liver Disease in India can help you with liver cirrhosis, liver pain, and even delay your liver transplantation.

We work with pioneers of stem cell science who have bought this cutting edge technology to India and that too at affordable rates. We serve in state-of-the-art hospitals in Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, and New Delhi.

Cost of Stem Cells for Liver Cirrhosis

The cost of stem cell therapy for liver disease in India is at least 50% less than the USA which is around $25,000-$30,000. The prices vary from one patient to another. The deciding factors for the price are:

• Severity of disease
• Associated comorbidities
• Age
• Ability to comply with an active lifestyle

What is Liver Disease?

Liver disease or liver cirrhosis occurs when liver function is compromised due to potential liver damage. The liver suffers excessive scarring which eventually causes liver failure.

According to NIDDKD, ^[1]National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases Liver Disease “…There are many kinds of liver diseases and conditions. Some, like hepatitis,…” View in Article there are various reasons for liver disease:

1. Viral Infection: Eg, Hepatitis A, B, C
2. Alcohol abuse, Poisoning: Eg, Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD)
3. Dietary reasons: Eg, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
4. Cancer: Eg, hepatic carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, etc.

Types of Liver Disease?

Liver disease can be divided into three main types depending on the cause of liver disease.

Alcohol-related Liver Disease

ARLD is excessive lesions and tissue injury in the liver due to excessive alcohol consumption. It happens because the liver is the leading site for ethanol metabolism.

The following stages are involved before reaching advanced stage liver disease due to problem drinking.

• Steatosis: Earliest response to heavy drinking with deposition of fat in hepatocytes (liver cells).
• Steatohepatitis: More severe, inflammatory liver disease.
• Fibrosis: Excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins.
• Liver Cirrhosis: Excessive liver scarring, vascular alterations, and eventual liver failure.^[2]The Lancet HHS Public Access Liver Cirrhosis “…Cirrhosis is the development of regenerative nodules surrounded by fibrous bands in response to chronic liver injury, that leads to portal hypertension and end-stage liver disease…” View in Article
• End-stage: Total liver failure, demands liver transplantation
• Liver cancer: Cancerous developments in the liver.

Stem Cell Therapy for Alcohol-related Liver Disease

• Immunomodulatory properties
• Anti-inflammatory property helps with pain management^[4]Journal of Digestive and Liver Disease Molecular mechanisms of stem cell therapy in alcoholic liver disease “…Stem cells clearly show…anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties target multiple cascades in the mechanisms of ALDs,…exert hepatic protection…” View in Article
• Low immunogenicity, therefore, these do not generate an immune response.^[5]Journal of inflammation and Regeneration Mesenchymal stem cell therapies for liver cirrhosis: MSCs as “conducting cells” for improvement of liver fibrosis and regeneration “…MSCs express low or modest levels of major histocompatibility complex … and co-stimulatory molecules… leading to low immunogenicity…” View in Article

Please Note: Alcohol can inhibit or diminish the efficacy of stem cell treatment. Therefore, we recommend you to refrain from alcohol consumption during and after therapy.

Viral Liver Disease

Hepatitis A

• Causes: Hepatitis A Virus infection
• Spread: Highly contagious disease. Spreads through contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infected person.
• Symptoms: Usually mild, Jaundice, sudden nausea, intense itching, fatigue, low-grade fever
• Treatment: Usually subsides on its own, bed rest suggested.

Hepatitis B

• Causes: Hepatitis B virus
• Spread: Contact with body fluids of infected patients like sexual contact, blood diffusion, mother to baby, etc.
• Symptoms: Mild or chronic (especially children), abdominal pain, dark urine, jaundice. In some cases, liver scarring, liver failure, or cancer may occur.
• Treatment: Mild disease usually clears on its own, chronic disease may need medication or liver transplant, Vaccines.

Hepatitis C

• Causes: Hepatitis C virus
• Spread: Contact with contaminated blood, usually due to sharing needles or from unsterile tattoo equipment.
• Symptoms: Jaundice, fatigue, loss of appetite
• Treatment: Antiviral medication

Stem cell treatment for Viral Liver Disease

Usually, viral liver diseases subside on their own. However, sometimes, the residual disease is left and takes time to heal. Stem cell therapy can help to treat residual liver disease.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Usually observed in obese people, NAFLD occurs when fat deposits in the liver and cause scarring and cirrhosis. The stages of fatty liver disease are as follows:

• Fatty Liver (Steatosis): Fat build-up on the liver, usually harmless.
• Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: Inflammed liver due to extreme fat build-up
• Fibrosis: Scar formation due to persistent inflammation, though liver functions normally
• Cirrhosis: Liver shrinking due to years of inflammation, scarring is permanent.
• End-stage -Advanced stage marked with liver failure.

Stem Cell Therapy for Fatty Liver Disease

Currently, there is no standard treatment for NAFLD except for conventional therapy. Stem cells, however, can help ease the symptoms of non-fatty liver disease due to their ability to regenerate new liver cells.

Ideal Candidate for Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells do not have any side effects, therefore anybody, irrespective of age, gender, and severity can be considered for stem cell therapy. However, certain candidates have a better prognosis with stem cell therapy:

Young Patients

Usually, younger patients suffer from an alcoholic type of liver disease. Stem cell therapy can help young patients who have frequent ascitic tap.

This is also helpful in early-stage patients as stem cells can stop the progression of the liver nonalcoholic steatohepatitis stage to fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Old Patients

Old patients are at greater risk of fatal events in the case of liver disease. Stem cell therapy can help liver disease in old and debilitating patients. The therapy inhibits disease progression and alleviates pain due to its immunomodulatory properties.

Ultimately, the QoL of the old patient improves, which also prevents liver failure.

Liver Transplant Candidates

In the case of advanced-stage liver disease or complete liver failure, liver transplantation may be the only solution. However, it is not always feasible to have liver transplants. Some reasons “why liver transplant is not a good option” are discussed below:

• Liver transplant is costly– As compared to the cost of stem cell therapy for liver disease in India, a liver transplant may cost 70-80% more. This is sometimes, not feasible for a candidate.
• Non-availability of healthy donor– A healthy liver donor is usually not available. It may even take months to arrange the liver and the patient may not have that much time left with them. ^[6]Directorate General of Health Services National Organ Transplant Programme “…Issues and Challenges…High Burden (Demand Versus Supply gap)” View in Article
  The organ-donor discrepancy is just 0.6% for a liver transplant.
• High risk of graft rejection– Even after a transplant, a high risk of graft rejection is always there. Usually, to avoid risk, the patient is given excessive immunosuppressants.^[7]Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology Acute and Chronic Rejection After Liver Transplantation: What A Clinician Needs to Know “…Acute cellular rejection (ACR) occurs in 15–25% of liver transplant recipients on Tacrolimus based immunosuppression regimens and generally improves with steroids in the majority. ACR does not affect long term graft or patient survival in most cases….” View in Article
• Old debilitated patients– A high risk and old patient is not an ideal candidate for a liver transplant because of an increased risk of on-table death.

Stem Cell Hospital in India

MTC has partnered with the pioneers of stem cell therapy. Our partner hospital is headquartered in San Diego, USA. The latest branch has been opened in Chandigarh in January 2020.

Chandigarh Branch Features:

Procedure for Stem Cells for LC

Autologous stem cells for liver disease are given through IV administration. Your treatment procedure in India will be covered in the following manner:

Session 1: Stem cell extraction

We use autologous stem cells for the procedure. Your stem cells will be extracted from the abdominal area via liposuction.

You will also receive a priming dose which is unactivated stem cells. This will help in kick-starting your metabolism and will prepare your body for the actual treatment.

It will take some weeks to form the required dose, which will depend on the severity of your disease, your age, your lab reports, etc.

Session 2: Dose 1

Your doctor will inform you of the start date of your stem cell treatment. You will receive your first dose in this session through IV medium.

Session 3: Dose 2

After around 3-30 days time span, you will receive your second dose of stem cells.

Session 4: Dose 3

After 7-30 days, you will receive your next dose. Usually, this is the final session of dosing.

However, after considering your lab reports and disease severity, the doctor may suggest another session. In such a case, the doctor will discuss all the possibilities with you.

Please note: Number and amount of dose varies from patient to patient. Therefore, it cannot be standardized for a particular population.

Please talk to your doctor about your dosing procedure.

Pre-requisites for Stem Cell Liver Disease Therapy

To be eligible for the stem cell liver therapy procedure, you may need the following things:

• COVID-19 negative report for you and your care-taker
• Doctor’s summary about your diagnosis and pre-or current medications
• In-patient record, if any, in the past 3 months
• LFT, renal function test and other blood reports (not more than 3 months old)
• Reports for coagulation profile, viral marker test
• Latest ultrasound of the abdomen along with cholangiography reports (if any)

Precautions

Stem cells do not induce any immuno-response or any other side effects. However, with stem cell therapy for liver disease in India, some precautions may be needed. These will improve the effectiveness of the treatment and provide quick and steady results.

Some precautions with stem cell therapy are:

• Avoid alcohol consumption, especially in the case of alcohol-related liver disease.
• Do not smoke during and after the stem cell procedure.
• Consult a dietitian for a healthy and nutritious diet
• Avoid red meat, especially in the case of non-alcohol-related liver disease.

FAQs

How stem cell therapy can help patients up for liver transplant?

Stem cells can help a liver transplant in a number of ways:

• Stabilizing the progress of liver fibrosis to cirrhosis which may remove the need for a liver transplant
• For patients who have limited survival time, stem cells can help in elongating the time until the patient finds a healthy matching liver donor due to their regeneration property.^[8]World Journal of Hepatology Stem cell transplantation for the treatment of end-stage liver disease “…In a multicenter, randomized…safely improved liver function…Another open-label, paired, controlled study from China…MSCs (UC-MSCs) also improved liver function and reduced ascites” View in Article
• Stem cell lowers the risk of graft rejection
• Due to continuous immunosuppressants, the patient becomes prone to other infections in the body. Stem cells increase immunity and avoid infection.^[9]Frontiers in Immunology Journal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Transplant Tolerance “…MSC reduces the host-vs.-graft response in part through contact-dependent regulation…by secreting soluble factors with paracrine immunomodulatory effects…” View in Article

Patient Review

Mr. Vizar Ali from Maharashtra, India, came to know about stem cell therapy for liver cirrhosis from his relatives.

He found the facility and the doctors all up to the mark. After 10 months after the beginning of the stem cell therapy, his labs had improved tremendously with platelet counts upgrading to 45,000 from 21,000 before the treatment. He is very satisfied with the treatment as his quality of life has also improved.

Reference:

1. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases: Liver Disease
2. The Lancet HHS Public Access: Liver Cirrhosis
3. Journal of Alcohol Research: Alcoholic Liver Disease: Pathogenesis and Current Management
4. Journal of Digestive and Liver Disease: Molecular mechanisms of stem cell therapy in alcoholic liver disease
5. Journal of Inflammation and Regeneration: Mesenchymal stem cell therapies for liver cirrhosis: MSCs as “conducting cells” for improvement of liver fibrosis and regeneration
6. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology: Acute and Chronic Rejection After Liver Transplantation: What A Clinician Needs to Know
7. World Journal of Hepatology: Stem cell transplantation for the treatment of end-stage liver disease
8. Frontiers in Immunology Journal: Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Transplant Tolerance