Intraglandular Treatment With Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Patients With Xerostomia Due to Sjögren's Disease

Living with dry mouth significantly impacts daily life, causing constant discomfort. It makes it harder to talk, eat solid food (increasing the risk of malnutrition), swallow, and sleep well. It also raises the risk of tooth decay. One common cause of dry mouth is Sjögren's Syndrome. Sjögren's Syndrome is a common chronic autoimmune disease. In this disease, the immune system attacks the body's own saliva glands, reducing saliva production and leading to severe dry mouth and its associated symptoms. Current treatments for dry mouth are temporary and only last a short time (from a few minutes to a few hours). Therefore, new treatment options are needed. Research has shown that mesenchymal stem cells can be used to treat dry mouth with promising results. These stem cells can be injected into a vein or directly into the saliva glands. Although the exact mechanism is not fully understood, studies suggest that stem cells can positively affect the immune system, reduce inflammation, regenerate tissue, and reverse scarring. This research group has been studying stem cell treatment for dry mouth for over 10 years and is internationally recognized. The group have conducted three studies where we injected stem cells into the saliva glands of patients with dry mouth due to radiation therapy for head or neck cancer. Results showed a 30%-50% increase in saliva production and a significant reduction in dry mouth symptoms. No studies have yet investigated injecting stem cells into the saliva glands of patients with dry mouth due to Sjögren's Syndrome. One study did inject stem cells into tear glands with promising results. Therefore, this study aim to investigate injecting stem cells into the saliva glands of patients with dry mouth due to Sjögren's Syndrome. For this study, mesenchymal stem cells harvested from the fat tissue of healthy adult donors is used. This type of stem cell is better at reversing scarring and forming new blood vessels. The procedure is quick and has f