It’s been a busy few years for dementia researchers.
Not only has medical journal The Lancet added two new risk factors for the condition (high LDL cholesterol and vision loss), but dementia-slowing drugs donanemab and lecanemab were approved for use in the UK (though they’re not available in the NHS).
Some scientists have even started to look into whether period blood (which contains stem cells – very adaptable cells which are considered the building blocks of the body, and which can self-renew) can help those with neurodegenerative illnesses too.
In a recent TikTok about the topic, surgeon, author, and lecturer Dr Karan Rajan began his video by saying: “Can menstrual blood cure Alzheimer’s? Let me give you the bad news and the good news.”
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.
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.
The NHS Health Research Authority has paired with Nottingham Trent University to work out whether stem cells can be extracted from pads and tampons (rather than the easier, but lesser-used menstrual cups) at all.
Additionally, animal studies (which are all we have so far) are not as good as human trials at telling us what will actually work in our bodies – but even if they were, Dr Karan says “most of the data we have is from cells in a petris dish.”
“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.”
@dr.karanr The power of waste? The amazing potential of stem cells that we’ve ignored for years but could transform human health and potentially even contribute to Alzheimer’s management and more! OC: @Alice | Doctoral Researcher
♬ original sound - Dr Karan Raj
