New treatment shows promise for crippling knee arthritis

For those who suffer debilitating arthritis in their knees, researchers report in a small study that just one injection of stem cells can reduce pain and inflammation.
The idea is experimental: Extract stem cells from a patient's own body fat -- cells known for their ability to differentiate and perform any number of regenerative functions -- and inject them directly into the damaged knee joint.
"While the goal of this small study was to evaluate the safety of using a patient's own stem cells to treat osteoarthritis of the knee, it also showed that one group of patients experienced improvements in pain and function," noted Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was not involved in the study.
"In fact, most of the patients who had previously scheduled total knee replacement surgery decided to cancel the surgery," Atala noted.
"These results are encouraging, and it will be interesting to see if these improvements are seen in larger groups of study participants," he added.
Atala is editor-in-chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, the journal that recently published the results of the 18-patient study.
The French and German researchers point out that osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disease among adults, a so-called "wear-and-tear" chronic condition that often affects the knee joint. Typified by the ongoing breakdown of the cartilage that connect joints and bones, the progressively degenerative disorder ultimately gives rise to severe inflammation, significant pain and often crippling disability.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, osteoarthritis risk is driven by genetics; obesity; injury and joint overuse; other forms of arthritis; and metabolic disorders that can throw a person's iron or growth hormone levels out of whack.
No treatment can halt osteoarthritis' progress, and "no therapy is able to restore [damaged] cartilage tissue," noted study author Dr. Christian Jorgensen, head of the clinical unit for osteoarticular diseases at Lapeyronie University Hospital, in Montpellier, France.
        HealthDay

New treatment shows promise for crippling knee arthritis

For those who suffer debilitating arthritis in their knees, researchers report in a small study that just one injection of stem cells can reduce pain and inflammation. The idea is experimental: Extract stem cells from a patients own body fat -- cells known for their ability to differentiate and perform any number of regenerative functions -- and inject them directly into the damaged knee joint. While the goal of this small study was to evaluate the safety of using a patients own stem cells to treat osteoarthritis of the knee, it also showed that one group of patients experienced improvements in pain and function, noted Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was not involved in the study. In fact, most of the patients who had previously scheduled total knee replacement surgery decided to cancel the surgery, Atala noted. These results are encouraging, and it will be interesting to see if these improvements are seen in larger groups of study participants, he added. Atala is editor-in-chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, the journal that recently published the results of the 18-patient study. The French and German researchers point out that osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disease among adults, a so-called wear-and-tear chronic condition that often affects the knee joint. Typified by the ongoing breakdown of the cartilage that connect joints and bones, the progressively degenerative disorder ultimately gives rise to severe inflammation, significant pain and often crippling disability. According to the Arthritis Foundation, osteoarthritis risk is driven by genetics; obesity; injury and joint overuse; other forms of arthritis; and metabolic disorders that can throw a persons iron or growth hormone levels out of whack. No treatment can halt osteoarthritis progress, and no therapy is able to restore [damaged] cartilage tissue, noted study author Dr. Christian Jorgensen, head of the clinical unit for osteoarticular diseases at Lapeyronie University Hospital, in Montpellier, France. HealthDay