Schwabe News Volume 4 | Issue 6 | June 2013

Stem cell therapy and their side effects

Medical scientists around the world anticipate that the stem cell therapy will be a game-changer in the medical field. The preliminary experiments are encouraging but with attached side-effects. It has a long way to go. Many countries are cautious since it is not fully developed. Stem cell therapy is not approved in the United States. Canadian Cancer Society lists out 24 major problems and syndromes as side-effect of stem cell transplant. It includes infection, bleeding, anaemia, digestive system problems, skin and hair problems, engraftment syndrome, capillary leak syndrome, lung problems, kidney problems, nerve and muscle problems, graft (stem cell) rejection, heart problems, eye problems, thyroid problems, developmental problems, bladder problems, central nervous system problems, fertility problems and second cancers (reference: an article published in the website of Canadian Cancer Society; http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/diagnosis-and-treatment/stem-cell-transplant/side-effects-of-stem-cell-transplant/?region=on). Almost every major system is affected.

There are study reports showing the positive role of homoeopathy in the side-effects attached to stem cell therapy [Oberbaum M et al., Cancer, 2001 Aug 1;92(3):684-90; Abud AP et al., Cell Biology International, 2006 Oct;30(10):808-16; Cesar B et al., Micron 39 (2008) 461–470]. Homoeopathy can be used effectively for the side-effects mentioned above. A generalized repertorisation of the above side-effects was made to understand the drugs covering these side-effects. 20 close rubrics from different repertories have been selected. The result has thrown out 518 drugs. The top 20 drugs are in the following sequence with rubrics covered/sum of degree: Phosphorus (16/32), Natrum muriaticum (14/32), Sulphur (14/30), Lachesis (14/27), Calcarea carbonica (13/27), Belladonna (13/21), Causticum (13/21), Pulsatilla (12/29), Arsenicum album (12/25), Mercurius solubilis (12/25), Sepia (12/25), Silicea (12/25), Conium maculatum (12/24), Lycopodium (11/26), Graphites (11/23), Aurum metallicum (11/22), Baryta carbonica (11/20), Kalium carbonicum (11/19), Apis mellifica (11/18) and Iodium (11/18). Majority from these drugs are polychrests. One has to select a drug based on the case and of the predominant symptoms.

Source: Various press reports and publications on stem cell therapy, research papers on homoeopathy on the side-effects of stem cell therapy and the RADAR repertory program.