The first COVID-19 patient in Texas has been enrolled in a stem cell therapy clinical trial designed to combat acute respiratory distress syndrome. (Courtesy Pexels)

The patient received the stem cell procedure April 16 at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, according to a news release from UTHealth. The patient joins 120 total patients as part of the study, in which participants are randomized to receive either allogeneic, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells or a placebo.

Patients with ARDS from COVID-19 have a mortality rate up to 60%, said Dr. Bela Patel, co-principal investigator and director of the Division of Critical Care at McGovern Medical School. Since stem cell therapy may modulate the hyperinflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, this important study represents a promising potential therapy to improving outcomes in ARDS patients including those with COVID-19 ARDS.

ARDS occurs when the lungs cannot supply the oxygen needed for organs throughout the body, caused by fluid building up in the lungs, according to the news release. Patients with COVID-19 who have developed ARDS need to be placed on a ventilator.

Preclinical trials have shown that hMSCs can help regulate the immune response, which lowers inflammation and reduces the severity of organ injury.

For the UTHealth arm of the study, the hMSCs are being processed at the Evelyn H. Griffin Stem Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory at McGovern Medical School.

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First COVID-19 patient in Texas enrolled in UTHealth stem cell therapy study at Memorial Hermann - Community Impact Newspaper