|  | Conditions Treatments | Diseases

Arachnoiditis Stem Cell Treatment

As illustrated by the photograph, the brain has three protective layers referred to as meninges. The mid layer, referred to as the arachnoid matter, is a net-like membrane and when this membrane becomes inflamed by injury or other cause, adhesive arachnoiditis (ARC) is the result. Stem cell research is underway in attempts to cure this devastating disease. Most research is done at the National Institutes of Health.

  1. Causes of Arachnoiditis

    • When inflammation of the arachnoid matter occurs, the condition, arachnoiditis is present but has no consistent pattern of symptoms. Inflammation can occur by way of direct injury to the spine or head. Some chemicals such as certain contrast dyes used in radiology can cause arachnoiditis; however these chemicals are no longer in use. Other causes include bacterial and/or viral infections, pinching of spinal nerves, and complications from spinal surgery. With no cures and few viable treatment options, other than expensive stopgap measures, persons with this ailment suffer greatly.

    Arachnoiditis Deep Down

    • Arachnoiditis cannot be cured by surgery or medications. In most cases these strategies cannot even relieve the agony that accompanies the disease. Arachnoiditis has a profoundly negative impact on a person's ability to live a normal life. Zana Alex Gentle, an arachnoiditis patient, advocate and committee member of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, DC, stated that, "ARC has crippled me for life...decimated my personal and professional lives, eradicated my hobbies, killed my love life...made me a prisoner to my house, and my bed, driven my friends and family away.. It has set me and many thousands like me up for ridicule and derision... WHY? Because no one can see or quantify the severe electrical neuropathy that ARC dishes out without mercy. Many of our doctors, who do not know of, or not know how to spot ARC, look at our films for disc anomalies, or bone problems, and see absolutely nothing."

    Stem Cell Treatment

    • There seems to be less resistance to stem cell research and the promise and hopes of millions of people worldwide are increasing exponentially. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has authorized the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to conduct research on finding a cure for arachnoiditis. The institute's website is loaded with information but it openly warns that the condition remains extremely difficult to treat and that long-term outcomes at this point remain unpredictable. The outlook for persons with arachnoiditis is complicated because the disorder has no predictable pattern or severity of symptoms. The NINDS states that even with primary focus on pain relief, the remaining methods of treatment consist of exercise, psychotherapy and physiotherapy.

Diseases - Related Articles