Repairing Bones and Cartilage with Stem Cells

2010 saw a number of cases where scientists and doctors made use of stem cells to treat broken bones that showed little chance of healing using traditional methods.  In Texas an 18yr old man had stem cells harvested from his own hip and reinjected into his arm to mend a broken bone that would have required pinning otherwise.  Dr. Christina Sheely, of the Southwest Orthopedic Group used the stem cells during a 2hr procedure to develop new bone-forming cells and avoid the necessity of foreign implants such as plates and screws to fix the arm (which carry the risk of rejection and infection).  Sheely is optimistic that the procedure will be successful and hopes to use the stem cell therapy for many more patients with similar injuries. On the back of such results, other stem cell researchers are looking at the use of autologous stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis, largely considered an inevitable part of ageing.

Stem Cell Band Aid - Is it the future?

Meanwhile, researchers in the UK have developed a bandage for the knee that can repair torn meniscal cartilage which, until now, could only be temporarily sutured and often led to early osteoarthritis development.  A human clinical trial is currently underway and the researchers are looking at the potential for the treatment to be used for non-union bone fractures, as well as muscle repair and tendon repair.  Dr. Anthony Hollander, a key member of the research team, was also involved in the tracheal transplant that took place last year using an Argentinian woman’s own stem cells to grow a replacement for her tuberculosis-damaged windpipe.

Another group of doctors in Malaysia are using stem cell injections and hyaluronic acid to regenerate hyaline cartilage in the knee and they are optimistic of the potential for the treatment to reduce the need for expensive, and complicated, knee replacement surgeries.  A clinical trial at the Kuala Lumpur Sports Medicine Centre and the University Putra Malaysia tracked the progress of ten patients undergoing the procedure for the next two years and found that the injections appeared to have promoted healing and chrondrogenesis with excellent rates of incorporation of new cartilage with older tissue.  Over 160 patients have received the treatment and the improvements appear to be continuing even after the 2yr mark.

Stem Cells are being used to assist in the repair of broken bones and damaged cartilage