What Are the Latest Research Finding About Stem Cell Therapy Benefits For Knee Arthritis?

16 Dec What Are the Latest Research Finding About Stem Cell Therapy Benefits For Knee Arthritis?

Stem cell therapy has emerged as the most promising treatment to stop and reverse the effects of degenerative disorders, such as knee arthritis. Research publications worldwide attest its effectiveness in fast becoming a non-invasive substitute to surgical method and an alternative source of knee cartilage cell regeneration.

Scientific studies show that stem cell therapy has higher success rate in improving pain and disability associated with knee arthritis compared to any other treatment. The bio-restorative procedure with its unique natural healing ability also stimulates the regeneration of the damaged knee cartilage reversing the effects of arthritis.

How does stem cell therapy treat knee arthritis?

Knee arthritis causes permanent damage to the articular cartilage. As a result, bones in the knee joint rub with each other as we walk or bend the knee. This leads to pain and disability.

Stem cells have the unique ability to self-renew themselves and replicate other cells. When these cells are harvested and injected into the knee affected by arthritis, it triggers redevelopment of the damaged cartilage. Stem cells increase in numbers by self-renewing and differentiating themselves into cartilage cells. These new cells gradually replace the damaged and dead cells and heal the injury. This allows redevelopment of the cartilage and reversal of the damage caused by knee arthritis.

Is stem cell therapy for knee arthritis an alternative to surgery?

Stem cell therapy is fast emerging an alternative to surgical treatment of knee arthritis. Non-invasive, it assures better and permanent healing, pain management, greater freedom from disability, and faster recovery. The procedure completely reverses the damage to the cartilage by helping it to regenerate and thus heals the degeneration associated with knee arthritis.

As stem cells are harvested from the body of the patient, these do not pose any risk of rejection. Once the healing is complete, you regain knee strength equal to the pre-arthritis level and lead a pain-free life for a significantly longer period. The degree and duration of relief is far superior to the outcome of any other treatment or pain management method.

What Does The Latest Research Show?

The latest research on stem cell therapy highlights its wider application to treat and reverse the damage caused by degenerative disorders. According to research findings published in the Expert Opinion in Biological Therapies, stem cells are able to renew the damaged knee cartilage and undo the effects of arthritis. In a wider study reported in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers discovered that almost a third of patients studied had their cartilage degradation completely reversed within 12 months of having the procedure.

The results of a pilot study published in 2013 termed stem cell therapy a breakthrough treatment for patients suffering from knee arthritis. It provides significant improvement relieving pain and disability without any hospitalization or invasive surgery. The Stem Cells journal claims accelerated healing and recovery from knee arthritis is possible when a patient is treated with stem cell therapy.

The outcome of an 18-patient study published in the Stem Cells Translational Medicine journal that asserts that “a single injection of stem cells reduces pain and inflammation” and “improves mobility.” All were French and German patients aged 50 to 75 and had debilitating arthritis symptoms in their knees, such as severe inflammation, considerable pain, and crippling disability, for more than 12 months. Divided in to three groups – low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose stem – each had a single injection of stem cells. A review after six months revealed that all patients had improvements as far as the severity of pain, functional disability, and mobility are concerned. Researchers observed “statistically significant” recovery even in the group with the lowest dose.

An analysis of current research on pharmacologic and regenerative therapies for osteoarthritis published in the Bone Research journal (Mar, 2016) acknowledges stem cell procedure as a “long-term solution to repair and regenerate cartilage, alleviate symptoms and finally delay progression of osteoarthritis.”

Meanwhile scientists at the Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Institute in Johns Hopkins have successfully generated precursor cartilage cells from stem cells. Sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation, the project showcases the promise of creating new bone or cartilage that could replace or repair the damage to the knee caused by osteoarthritis.

Encouraged by the “bio-restorative” qualities of stem cell therapy, the Rush University Medical Center ran the first ever nationwide clinical study of Cartistem – a first of its kind cartilage regeneration stem cell drug – between 2013 and 2015. Injected in to the knee area, it is touted to repair knee cartilage damaged by osteoarthritis. The trial that ended in May 2015 was promising and a detailed outcome report is expected next year.

Researchers at the St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine have also developed a new stem cell technique that can resurface an arthritic knee joint. As reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, stem cells are programmed to develop a new cartilage that has anti-inflammatory molecules, which prevents reoccurrence of arthritis.

Mesoblast, a leader in stem cell medicines, made a presentation at 2016 Amsterdam World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International about its MPC-75-IA drug made to turn around effects of knee arthritis. The manufacturer claimed that a single shot of its product, an intra-articular stem cell injection, was capable of significantly improving “pain, disability, cartilage thickness, and joint structure within 24 months.”

R3 Stem Cell offers stem cell therapy for knee arthritis at clinics nationwide. Treatment is offered with amniotic stem cell therapy for knees, bone marrow and adipose derived stem cells. Call (844) GET-STEM today!

References

Yves-Marie Persa, Lars Rackwitzc, Rosanna Ferreiraa, et al. Adipose Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Based Therapy for Severe Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Phase I Dose-Escalation Trial. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine; May 23, 2016, sctm.2015-0245

Wei Zhang, Hongwei Ouyang, Crispin R Dass. Current research on pharmacologic and regenerative therapies for osteoarthritis. Bone Research 4, Article number: 15040; 01 March 2016

Franklin Moutosa, Katherine Glass, Sarah Compton. Anatomically shaped tissue-engineered cartilage with tunable and inducible anticytokine delivery for biological joint resurfacing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; August 2, 2016; vol. 113 no. 31