Ho Chi Minh City: The idea of creating a drug to support stroke treatment using stem cell secretions won the Stem Cell Innovation Award with a prize of 20 million VND, presented on the morning of December 3.
The research of To Quoc Hoa, Huynh Dao Minh Chau and Vo Truong Dang Huy, students of the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMUS) aims to create an affordable oral drug to support the recovery of nerve cell function in the brain of stroke patients. The group uses a substance secreted from stem cells called exosomes, which have properties similar to stem cells.
Exosomes have been scientifically proven to be effective in treating vascular occlusion and ruptured blood vessels in stroke. Based on this, the team developed a process for cultivating exosomes and adding substances to create oral capsules. When the drug enters the body, it will pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream and travel to the brain. When reaching the brain, exosomes can cross the blood-brain barrier, stimulate damaged cells to regenerate new blood vessels and save nerve cells. This helps promote the formation of new nerves and blood vessels for stroke patients.
A group of students from the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City won the 8th Stem Cell Innovation Award on the morning of December 3. Photo: Ha An
Evaluating the idea, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Van Phuc, Director of the Stem Cell Institute (SCI-HCMUS) said that there are currently many studies using exosomes to support stroke treatment. However, these studies aim at treatment solutions at the hospital according to the doctor's regimen and require a period of time. Meanwhile, the group's research aims to create a drug that supports stroke treatment immediately, which can be used at home to support patients before going to the hospital. "The idea is very good, but the group needs to do it in practice on animals to prove its feasibility. This is a long process and can completely fail, but it will be very potential if successful," said Associate Professor Phuc.
Part of the team's process of making exosome-containing capsules. Photo: NVCC
In addition to the first prize, the Organizing Committee of the competition awarded the second prize of 10 million VND to the idea of a co-culture system between liver parenchyma cells and bile duct epithelium in bear bile production by a group of students from the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.
The third prize-winning idea with a reward of 5 million VND belonged to the project of contact lenses containing exosomes to help prevent blindness complications in patients with night blindness by a group of students from the Gifted High School, Ho Chi Minh City National University and Tran Dai Nghia High School.
The organizers awarded 9 consolation prizes worth 1 million VND to the participating groups and the introduction videos with the highest number of likes.
The Stem Cell Innovation Competition is organized annually by the Stem Cell Institute of the University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City for students with a passion for stem cell research. The 8th competition held this year attracted more than 260 projects from teams from 30 universities and 20 high schools. After the rounds, the organizing committee selected 10 projects for the final round with a total prize value of 150 million VND. In addition, the winning teams are sponsored for incubation, training, and internship courses to nurture their passion and turn ideas into products at the Stem Cell Institute.
Ha An
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