According to WHO, infertility is the inability to conceive a child during at least 12 months of regular unprotected sex. In Ukraine, at least 15% of couples face this problem. Female infertility accounts for about 45% of cases, 25-40% – for male infertility, and in approximately every 5th case, infertility is caused by a violation of the reproductive function of both partners.
Since conservative and surgical methods of infertility treatment do not always allow to achieve the desired efficiency, as well as assisted reproductive technologies or even in vitro fertilization, cell therapy is increasingly being investigated in the treatment of infertility.
In 2013, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells were used in the treatment of premature ovarian failure in mice. Cell therapy made it possible to restore ovarian function, adequate development of follicles, and reduce the number of apoptotic cells (programmed for death). In other experimental studies on rats, it was noted that the intravenous injection of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells improved the morphological parameters of the ovaries, the development of primordial follicles, restored the production of hormones, restored the function of important signaling pathways, and the production of growth factors and cytokines.
Local and international clinical trials on the treatment of infertility of various genesis with mesenchymal stem cells are also being registered, first of all, on premature ovarian failure and insufficient thickness of the endometrium. In particular, the effectiveness of the use of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in patients after surgical interventions on the uterus was noted. In women who were intrauterinely injected with umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, there was a decrease in scarring, an increase in the volume of the uterus and the thickness of the endometrium. Side effects were not registered.
