A new stem cell therapy is being developed for pelvic organ prolapse. 

Pelvic organ prolapse - POP – is a hidden disease. While the injury happens during childbirth, the patient may not know about the damage until many years later, often during menopause.

A new stem cell treatment, which is being developed in the laboratory but is not yet ready for human clinical trials, could potentially be given to women immediately after a traumatic childbirth. It means that invasive surgery could be avoided later in life.

This treatment is based on studies that showed endometrial stem cells have tissue healing properties.

“What is really fascinating about this work is that we can potentially use a woman’s own stem cells from her endometrium, delivered in a natural plant-based product – an aloe vera-based hydrogel – to heal the woman’s own tissue injury,”  says researcher Dr Shayanti Mukherjee.

Her latest studies have found that vaginal childbirth can damage tissue biomechanics, detectable at the nanoscopic level, and that this can be restored following the treatment. 

The study explored the hidden nature of this birth injury in preclinical models, and also validated the protective treatment delivering cells vaginally in the aloe vera-based hydrogel.

“Although birth trauma injuries occur during childbirth, its impact is often seen much later in life when women start developing symptoms such as vaginal bulge or a dragging sensation, and bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction,” Dr Mukherjee said.

The leader of the institute that ran the study, Professor Elizabeth Hartland, says that all too often, women’s health problems have not attracted the attention that they so desperately need. 

“Pelvic organ prolapse is a hidden condition that is rarely talked about, and sometimes women feel embarrassed talking about it,” she said. 

“Women deserve the best treatment possible so they don’t have to continue to suffer from this condition. This cutting-edge research offers a glimmer of hope that people with POP will have better treatment options in future.”