(1/14) A groundbreaking new therapeutic approach was developed and successfully tested in 7 patients suffering from #COVID_19 pneumonia in Beijing YouAn Hospital. The new technique involves intravenous transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). https://t.co/ZhY9iYSiTK

Check out the latest research on Extracellular Matrix Dynamics as an Emerging yet Understudied Hallmark of Aging and Longevity. Dive into the age-dependent deterioration of ECM and its impact on cellular homeostasis. Read more: https://t.co/HeACk1Gsnf #Aging #Research #Longevity

New COVID-19 treatment has helped dozens in China. Dr. Kunlin Jin, a professor at @UNTHSC who has been working on strokes for decades, has helped develop a treatment with researchers around the world. https://t.co/4DWo0PoYCc via @wfaa #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death." #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation could be an exciting and innovative therapy to treat patients with #COVID19, especially for those individuals that are older." @GMELLISONHUGHES #coronavirus

(14/14) The study was conducted by a team led by Dr. Zhao, with Shanghai University and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, China. Read more about the study:

(13/14) This study may inspire and pave the way for further promising directions to investigate the connection between aging and disease, and to treat both communicable and non-communicable aging-related diseases.

(12/14) This study exemplifies that the general therapeutic improvement of the immune system in the elderly can improve outcome and survival, which may have more general relevance for other aging-related communicable diseases.

(11/14) Notably, COVID-19 is more likely to affect older individuals, especially males with comorbidities, resulting in severe and fatal respiratory diseases such as acute respiratory distress syndrome. In other words, aging appears to be the main risk factor for bad outcomes.

(10/14) MSCs could inhibit the over-activation of the immune system and promote endogenous repair by improving the microenvironment, thus they could represent a safe and effective treatment for patients with COVID-19, especially for patients in critically severe conditions.

(9/14) The evidence suggests that the therapeutic effects are based on the immunomodulatory capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (restoring the balance of the immune system). The coronavirus infection can stimulate a cytokine storm in the lung, disrupting the balance of cytokines.

(8/14) The test for HCoV-19 nucleic acid turned to negative. In the severe patients, the vitally important immune cells, regulatory T cells and dendritic cells increased after the therapy, especially for the critically severe patient, showing a restoration of the immune function.

(7/14) The respiratory rate was decreased to the normal range on the 4th day after the transplantation. Both fever and shortness of breath disappeared on the 4th day after the stem cell transplantation. Chest CT imaging showed that the pneumonia infiltration was largely reduced.

(6/14) All of the primary and secondary outcomes improved: the inflammation status quickly alleviated, the oxygen saturation, without supplementary oxygen, was increased, functional biochemical indicators were restored to normal reference values in 2~4 days after treatment.

(5/14) The oxygen saturations rose to ≥ 95% at rest. In addition, no acute infusion-related or allergic reactions were observed. The improvement was particularly dramatic for an elderly (65 y.o.) male patient in severe critical condition.

(4/14) Before the MSC transplantation, all the patients had pneumonia with symptoms of high fever (38.5℃ ± 0.5℃), weakness, shortness of breath, and low oxygen saturation. However, 2~4 days after transplantation, all the symptoms disappeared in all the patients.

(3/14) The pulmonary function and symptoms of these seven patients were significantly improved after MSC transplantation. Among them, one severe and two common patients recovered and were discharged in 10 days after the treatment.

(2/14) The clinical outcomes, as well as changes of inflammatory and immune function levels and adverse effects of 7 enrolled patients in Beijing YouAn Hospital were assessed for 14 days after MSC injection. #coronavirus