Can menstrual blood cure Alzheimer’s?
The endometrium, which is the lining of the womb that falls out during a period, “is the only part of the adult human body that can heal itself without scarring every month”.
When you think about it, it is impressive ― the lining of a womb usually detaches from its host every 28 days or so, and not only has to repair itself for the next menstrual cycle, but provide another lining in time for a potential implantation in the middle of that process.
Dr Rajan says that this power is thanks to “the amazing regenerative abilities of menstrual blood-derived stem cells ― basically, the biological version of Play-Doh”.
These cells can transform themselves into bone, brain, liver, blood, and heart cells (among many others).
A 2018 study pointed out that a type of stem cell called Mesenchymal stem cells (the kind that are usually drawn from bone marrow and other sources) have delivered promising results among those with dementia. The same study also found that mice with Alzheimer’s seemed to show decreased memory loss and increased cognition after a transplant of stem cells derived from menstrual blood.
What’s the bad news?
It’s still very, very early days for the research.
We’re not even sure yet what the best way to collect menstrual blood is.But in the future, this knowledge may be revolutionary,” he continued. “Not just to achieve medical breakthroughs ― but to destigmatise periods once and for all.”
❤️❤️❤️❤️✨️✨️the beginning