If you care for a loved one suffering with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD), you may worry about the progression of the disease once it gets to its final stages. Caring for a COPD patient can be heartbreaking as that person struggles to breathe, depending on a tank of oxygen wherever they may go. Treatments are available that may help your loved one breathe easier. Learn more about how stem cells are being used to slow down the progression of COPD.

Stem Cells Are The Body's Building Blocks

Stems can replicate and create every type of tissue in the human body. This is the reason they are described as the building blocks of life. Stems cells are an amazing type of cell. For example, if stem cells are taken from one organ in the body and moved to another one, they can begin growing as the tissue in the new organ, a process called plasticity. Because of stem cells' ability to regenerate, they have become the focus of research for treatments in chronic disease. When autologous stem cells are taken from your loved one's body, usually from his or her blood or bone marrow, they can be returned for improving breathing. However, how stem cells do this in COPD patients is because of an anomaly called the pulmonary trap.

What Is The Pulmonary Trap?

After stem cells are taken from a patient's body, they are returned so they begin healing and rebuilding. When returned, stem cells travel to the heart, into its right chamber and into the lungs, the same pathway as your blood normally follows as it makes it throughout your system. However, when stem cells are returned, they become trapped once they reach the lungs, the reason the term pulmonary trap was created. Once stem cells are trapped, they start working to create healthy lung tissue. For patient's that need healing in their lungs, the pulmonary trap provides the perfect way. Stem cells can generate new lung tissue once they are in the pulmonary trap.

Not A Cure, But A Definite Treatment Option

Traditional treatments like oxygen and daily nebulizer treatments do not provide greater ability to function more normally while breathing easier. When stem cells were introduced into patients with COPD, they reported being able to do small tasks that were impossible before the stem cell treatment. For someone that is unable to walk to their mailbox or across their living room floor without struggling to breath, this treatment can mean a lot.

You may have watched the COPD patient you care for struggle to breathe or that person may have spells of coughing that appear painful and strangling. Discuss with your loved one's physician about the option for stem cell treatment. Stem cell research is making advancements, so you may find it is your best bet to help your loved with COPD to breathe easier. To find out more, visit a website like http://www.homemedix.com.