Hope in stem cell therapy for perianal fistulas in patients with Crohn's disease

A dissolvable plug delivered stem cell therapy with few side effects in patients with single tract perianal fistulas, Mayo Clinic researchers discovered. Perianal fistulas are painful tunnels between the intestine and the skin that often do not go away with standard medical or surgical care. People with Crohn's disease or other inflammatory bowel conditions are most at risk for this condition. In a prospective, phase 1 clinical trial, researchers loaded stem cells from a patient's own fat tissue onto a bioabsorbable plug that was then surgically implanted to close the anal fistula tract.

The research team extracted mesenchymal stem cells from adipose (fat) tissue of 20 patients with perianal fistulas who had not responded to standard medical or surgical treatment. After multiplying the stem cells in the lab, the team combined the cells with a plug created from a dissolvable material. They surgically implanted the plug to close the anal fistula tract then monitored the patients seven times within 12 months, with a focus on investigating safety. They also studied whether the treatment intervention led to clinical healing that could be confirmed through deep tissue imaging.