A stem cell treatment that could cure arthritis is coming in about five years. But do patients really have to wait that long?
Pain experienced from having the cartilage of your joints twisted, as if being tied in a knot, extending to body parts including thighs and groin and affecting your posture, is the kind of hurt caused by Osteoarthritis. It is a degenerative condition that results from the breaking down of cartilage in joints, for which there is currently no permanent medicine or therapy.
Anti-inflammatory drugs, topical treatments (creams, sprays, rubs), pain relievers, and surgery are some of the options for reducing pain and improving joint movement, while certain exercises and various forms of physical activities such as walking and swimming are also recommended to improve joint condition. These therapies, however, only offer brief respite and do not eradicate the disease.
In five years, this condition afflicting mostly adults over 40, might finally bring a lot of sufferers significant and long-term relief.
A Promising Cure
In the clinical trial led by Professor Frank Barry from the National University in Galway, Ireland, the treatment was done by taking the patient’s own Stem Cell (read: autologous), obtained from a small amount of the person’s own fat. These Stem Cells will then be injected into the affected area (ie, the knees). The result? Vastly reduced pain and better joint movements for the patients who were given a dose of their own Stem Cell’s regenerative capabilities.
Due to the trial’s success, a larger number of patients from various European hospitals were approached in order to advance the trial’s apparent promise. In the UK, noted knee surgeon Simon Moyes of London Bridge Hospital favours the advancement of efforts in making Stem Cell Therapy a viable way of treating otherwise incurable conditions such as arthritis. In India, a group of scientists is making similar efforts in creating a sustainable, long-term and low-cost treatment for arthritis through Stem Cell Therapy. The project is the first grant authorized by the country’s Department of Biotechnology.
The disease affects the hands, knees, hips, back, and feet, and a lasting cure would bring a wave of relief to those who have had to endure pain from damaged joints. Stiffness, loss of flexibility, and fatigue resulting from prolonged pain are its other symptoms. While these can be associated with a different disease, Osteoarthritis is known to occur through determinable causes: old age, obesity, joint injury, heredity, and injury.
How Does Stem Cells Help?
Other diseases treated by Stem Cell Therapy include spinal cord injury, sports injury, and other orthopaedic conditions, among others. Stem Cells have self-renewing and differentiating capabilities and they help in the treatment of a disease such as Osteoarthritis by seeking out inflamed and/or injured cell tissues, and regenerating and healing these pain-causing cells.
Although the trial showed great promise in the preliminary stages, the treatment requires at least five years to be developed as an effective cure. For now, patients’ and doctors’ best solution for pain management is joint replacement surgery which is targeted towards ‘cleaning out’ the affected joint.
Given various experts’ (mainly doctors, scientists) support on the development of Stem Cell-Based Therapies, particularly for a debilitating condition such as Osteoarthritis, five years would be worth the wait. Still, five years is a long time to be waiting for a sustainable treatment for arthritis.
Global Stem Cells, comprised of health professionals who are experts in providing access to the safest and effective Stem Cell treatments, currently offers a treatment for Osteoarthritis using Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) with the addition of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).
With over a thousand orthopaedic cases treated, Osteoarthritis improvements evident in patients’ cartilage growth, reduced pain and swelling, and better mobility. Most notable in the treatment is significant reduction of night pain and overall pain relief. In some cases, patients do not need to undergo surgery.
If you need more information on how Global Stem Cells can help with Osteoarthritis,
send us an enquiry today.
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