The Center for Regenerative Medicine is on track towards becoming a center for innovation and stem cell research.
Makati Medical Center's team of doctors and scientists recently received a P16.4 million grant for the study of stem cells as a treatment to wounds caused by diabetes. The grant from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) makes MakatiMed the only hospital to receive such approval for the department. The hospital will use the money to research about umbilical cord-derived stem cells.
The particular proposed study, “Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Intramuscular Transplantation of Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Diabetic Foot Ulceration”, received the funding from DOST’s Research and Development Management Division of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.
The research aims to examine how stem cells from umbilical cord tissues can potentially accelerate the wound healing process of patients suffering from complications of diabetes. The umbilical cord tissues are only discarded during childbirth. More than wound healing, the study likewise projects that using Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC) may reduce the need for invasive and painful cell extraction procedures such as bone marrow aspiration and adipose tissue liposuction. This omission or reduction may cut the high cost associated with generating cell-based treatments.
Jose Maria C. Avila, MD, the study’s principal investigator and co-director of MakatiMed’s Center for Regenerative Medicine said in a statement that “We at MakatiMed always aim to give hope to our patients through our services. Receiving the support of DOST is a great boost to our cause and we hope that this will pave the way for more innovative cellular treatments.”
If you want to know more about Makati Med and its stem cell research, visit www.makatimed.net.ph.
