Stem Cell Therapy for Pelvic Floor Disorder: A Literature Review of Basic Science to Latest Advancements and Trial Results

Background and aim: Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is linked to pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, which can cause symptoms and anatomical changes.Conservative treatment is the first approach, but surgery may be required if traditional methods fail.However, surgery often results in complications.Stem cell therapies for PFD have been developed to tackle this problem.Therefore, we wanted to review recent studies on stem cell therapies for PFD.Methods: Comprehensive research was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar using specific search terms that included "Stem Cells" and "Pelvic Floor Dysfunction." Only full-text publications in English or Indonesian were included in this review.Pelvic floor dysfunction refers to the changes and anatomical symptoms that arise from impaired function of the pelvic floor muscles.Review: Stem cells are cells that have unlimited or prolonged self-renewal potential.In recent years, different treatment strategies for PFD using stem cells have been studied in vivo.Since PFD can result from muscle function and integrity loss, rebuilding muscle from the cellular level presents an ideal treatment concept.At first, it was believed that transplanted cells would differentiate and bring about functional regeneration.However, current hypotheses suggest that this could be due to direct stem cell transplantation and muscle regeneration, localized agglomeration impacts, trophic effects brought about by the secretion of stem cell growth factors, or immune modulation leading to improved tissue healing.Summary: Pelvic floor dysfunction refers to the physical symptoms and changes due to a weakened pelvic floor.Scientists have studied various therapeutic techniques involving stem cells to address PFD in living organisms.Stem cells are known for their ability to renew themselves, differentiate into different cell types, secrete growth factors, and modulate the immune system.