Recently, a study published in Stem Cell Translational Medicine revealed the role of stem cells in treating knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. Through 5 years of follow-up, the safety and efficacy of autologous mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) transplantation in the treatment of chronic knee pain were verified.
The study recruited 10 patients to transplant their own mesenchymal stem cells into the injured knee joint for an MRI follow-up over the next five years. The images showed that after three years of transplantation, the injuries on the meniscus of the patient's knee healed and the pain was significantly relieved.
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Stem cells promote the repair and regeneration of articular cartilage
Articular cartilage is an important part of the synovial joint, and its main functional feature is to buffer the pressure of the human body, provide anti-stress for cartilage tissue and reduce friction resistance during joint movement, which is of great significance for maintaining joint movement.
The weak regenerative potential of articular cartilage has been recognized as the biggest obstacle to surgical repair treatment, mainly due to the lack of direct blood supply to joint cartilage, no innervation and lymphoid tissue, and the joint cavity is an ischemic and hypoxic environment, which can only rely on joint fluid nutrition.
Therefore, once injured, joint cartilage is difficult to repair on its own, and even serious dysfunction occurs, leading to the occurrence of osteoarthritis, which seriously affects the quality of life.
In recent years, regenerative medicine with stem cell technology as the core has brought about changes in human medicine, including osteoarthritis, stem cell therapy has made breakthroughs in the treatment of a variety of chronic diseases and difficult diseases.
Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis is a topical injection of mesenchymal stem cells that block the progression of the disease and restore the patient to a healthy state.
Injection of autologous stem cells into the "joint cavity"
Many international research institutions have long proved that stem cells have a strong ability to promote cartilage regeneration, which can allow a patient who has no cartilage at all to re-grow cartilage and restore the normal function of the joint.
Anthony, editor-in-chief of Stem Cell Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, commented on the study: "This study highlights the ability of patients' own stem cells to heal knee cartilage injuries and pain. These results suggest that a potential approach may reverse lesions in osteoarthritis patients and significantly reduce pain. We look forward to the continuation of this study to further demonstrate clinical efficacy." ”
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Cases of stem cell therapy
Currently, joint cartilage injuries due to trauma or inflammation are common in clinical orthopedic trauma departments. Some scholars have reported that ordinary people will have cartilage injuries from the age of 40, and in people aged 60-70, the degree of joint cartilage injury will reach about 80%, especially in athletes, and the incidence can be as high as 22%-50%.
01 Athlete group
To minimize recovery time spent after injury, stem cell therapy has been used in top athletes around the world.
According to the Sun, stem cell therapy is widely used to treat injuries such as tendon inflammation, muscle strain, degenerative disc diseases, and even fractures. According to statistics, athletes who use stem cell therapy have a much faster recovery time.
The following well-known athletes have received stem cell therapy:
1. Kobe Bryant, who even posted about it on Instagram.
2. Peyton Manning
Traditional surgical methods could not help him improve his neck condition, and after trying stem cell therapy, his career was extended, winning the Super Bowl under the Denver Broncos.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
In 2016, Ronaldo tore his rope muscles while playing for Real Madrid and resumed his movements less than three weeks after receiving stem cell therapy.
4. Rafael Nadal
Forced to quit tennis for seven months in 2013 due to knee problems, he has won six Grand Slam titles in the past seven years after undergoing stem cell treatment.
5. Tiger Woods
Woods had tried a comeback, and regenerative medicine helped him get to the best of his career physically.
02 Star group
1. Wu Jing
Well-known actor Wu Jing once suffered from knee arthritis. In order to recover early, Wu Jing went to Japan in 2017 to receive stem cell therapy.
It is reported that the total cell volume injected by Wu Jing's stem cell therapy is 500 million, including joint injection and intravenous injection. Joint injection plays a role in repairing damage, and intravenous injection plays a role in health conditioning.
2. Rene Liu
In 2007, Rene Liu was examined and found to have "knee patella valgus" In order to treat injured knees, she had tried various methods.
In 2012, she tried autologous stem cell infusion. She wrote on Weibo: "For my knees, I have tried the methods of the whole world. Recently there was a way to draw blood from my own arteries, then grow autologous cells and hit them back to the knee, and I started the treatment."
03 Ordinary people
In December 2017, 70-year-old Uncle Liu, who has a history of osteoarthritis for nearly 10 years, received treatment with mesenchymal stem cells in the superior patellar capsule of the knee joint, and felt that the pain disappeared significantly, the leg activity function improved significantly, and the sleep quality and mental state were significantly improved. "Pengcheng Evening News" reported this case under the title of "Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Technology Creates a Miracle of Life".
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About the future outlook of stem cells
In recent years, a growing number of studies have confirmed the safety and efficacy of autologous mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for chronic knee injury and pain.
Stem cells are a type of multifunctional cells with the ability to self-renew, and after being reincarnated into the human body, they can migrate to the damaged part in a targeted manner to replace or repair the damaged cells to achieve the effect of improving symptoms.
Stem cells can also effectively regulate the inflammatory environment by secreting cytokines, mobilize the body's immune repair mechanism, and play a role in balancing the immune system.
It is believed that in the future, stem cells will be more and more valued by clinical research because of their unique advantages, and play a role in more refractory diseases.