Scientists treated alcoholic mice with injections of stem cells

researchers have found that intravenous 3D cultured human-filled stem cells (MSC balls) may be an effective treatment for alcohol-using disorders, according to a study published in scientific reports
. Yedy Israel and colleagues from the University of Chile used a mouse model of long-term and relapsed alcoholism to test the effects of intravenous MSC balls on inflammatory responses to these behaviors and long-term alcohol intake.
MSC balls cultured in three-dimensional environments (e.g. bioreactive devices) are 75% smaller than MSC cells cultured in two-dimensional environments (e.g. petri dishes). MSC balls can be injected intravenously because they can cross the blood-brain barrier, while two-dimensional cultured cells are large and most are collected in other organs, such as the lungs, which can only be injected into the cerebrospinal fluid using invasive surgery.
the authors injected mice who drank alcohol for 17 weeks under free-to-choose conditions (while providing tap water) with a dose of MSC balls. Within 24 hours of injection, the mice drank 88-93 percent less alcohol than the control group, and the amount of water they drank increased significantly. This effect can still be observed after three weeks, indicating that MSC cells have therapeutic effects.
another experiment, the authors injected mice who drank alcohol for 14 weeks with a dose of MSC balls and then restricted their consumption for 14 days to have a deprivation effect. The mice were then given 60 minutes of random exposure to alcohol, during which time alcohol consumption similar to alcohol consumption decreased by 75-80%.
also found that injecting MSC balls reverses increased levels of inflammatory markers due to long-term alcohol intake. These findings suggest that non-invasive intravenous MSC-steroids may be a new treatment for alcohol-related disorders and associated inflammation. (Source: Science.com)