London [UK], July 2 (ANI): Hirschsprung disease patients may benefit from stem cell therapy, according to a recent study conducted by scientists at the Universities of Sheffield and UCL. In the case of Hirschsprung disease, a small number of nerve cells in the large intestine are absent. Due to the intestine’s inability to contract and transport stool, blockages may occur.
This may result in constipation and, in rare cases, a dangerous intestinal infection known as enterocolitis. Around 1 in 5000 babies are born with Hirschsprung disease. The condition is usually picked up soon after birth and treated with surgery as soon as possible however patients frequently suffer debilitating, lifelong symptoms, with multiple surgical procedures often required.
Alternative treatment options are therefore crucial. One option that has been explored by researchers involves using stem cell therapy to generate nerve cell precursors, which then produce the missing nerves in the intestine of those with Hirschsprung disease after transplantation. This in turn should improve the intestine’s functionality.
However, this procedure has not been carried out on human tissue from people with Hirschsprung disease until now. The research, published in Gut and funded by the Medical Research Council, is a collaborative effort between researchers at UCL and the University of Sheffield which began in 2017. Researchers at the University of Sheffield focused on the production and analysis of nerve precurso.
