Authors:
Christopher J. Centeno, M.D. & Stephen Faulkner, B.A.
Summary:
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show promising clinical potential as multi-potent therapeutic agents in regenerative medicine, including a number of orthopedic applications. A comprehensive review of the medical literature regarding the pre-clinical and early clinical use of MSCs demonstrates that they are likely to be effective cellular repair agents for cartilage and
joint injuries.
Cultured MSCs were injected into the knee joints of 153 patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The study included 24 untreated patient candidates who were
recruited as controls. At a mean follow-up of 11.3 months, knee patients reported mean pain relief as +53.1% (n=133), and -5.0% relief was found in the untreated control (n=25 at 12.0 months post-op) (P<.001 for control vs. knee comparison). Significant decreases were seen in four out of five of the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score metrics and in most functional metrics in the knee group. There were no serious complications reported.
MSCs may reduce the need for joint replacement in knee osteoarthritis. Despite the great potential of the use of autologous MSCs as the practice of medicine, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has attempted to regulate MSCs as a drug. This policy is inconsistent with its policy on other matters including tissue re-implantation and in vitro fertilization, and will
delay the development of this type of therapy.
Source:
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons; Vol. 16, No. 2, 38-44 (2011)