Degenerative Joint Essay

different types of stem cells that can all heal certain damaged tissues but by far the most

The recovery period after large scale injuries could be shortened. The effects are analyzed in an article that states, “True healing could occur thanks to the cloning of their own cells to help the recovery process” (“Pros and Cons” 5). Basically, the process of cloning healthy cells could be used as an aid in replenishing damage of unhealthy cells. This process, if it were to be actualized, could help recovery progress in anything from pulled muscles to the paralysis of an entire limb. In theory, the same research can be applied in other areas. If this technology is paired with stem cell research, it could result in a method of repairing physical damage. An article that focused on advances in biotechnology stated that “Another use of cloned stem cells could be the growth of replacement tissues in the laboratory” (LaPensee 15). Necrosis, apoptosis, and lymphocyte diapedesis all cause tissue damage or death. These tissues could be replaced by cloned cells of healthy tissues. This shortens recovery periods and leads to healthier tissue growth.

Discoveries from stem cells have been substantial within the last 20 years, with breakthrough treatments for diseases and conditions previously thought to be incurable. For instance, the case of Portuguese patient Silvio, who, due to an accident, suffered Grade A spinal cord injury, and “was left with no movement of his legs and minimal

In Brazil 2009, there was an 18 year old boy that had half of his jaw and teeth removed because of a tumor. Scientists took some of his bone marrow and extracted the adult stem cells from it and formed an osteoblast, which is a bone forming cell. Six months after the osteoblast was injected, it started forming new bone material which filled the gaps (NIH Stem Cells). Stem cells could be a genius way to treat many diseases and disorders and it should be supported by everyone.

Questions still stand about how effective stem cell injections truly are. Is it any safer to use for spinal injuries than physical therapy, and other rehabilitative practices. A clinical trial was done that compared the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries recovery. The patients were

“Through the isolation and manipulation of cells, scientists are finding ways to identify young, regenerating ones that can be used to replace damaged of dead cells in diseased organs. This therapy is similar to the process of organ transplant, only the treatment consists of the transplantation of cells rather than organs. The cells that have shown by far the most promise of supplying diseased organs with healthy cells are called stem cells.” (Chapter Preface)

In a study done by Emadedin et al. in 2012, they injected MSC from each respective patients bone marrow, into six female volunteers with evidence of knee OA that was severe enough to require joint replacement surgery. The authors described a detailed, meticulous procedure in how they obtained the MSC from the patient’s bone marrow, and made it into the cells they needed for the procedure. They injected the patient’s affected knee joints with the stem cells and followed up with them in one year. At the one year mark, Emadedin et al. (2012) found that overall, the study was successful in decreasing pain and increasing the patients walking distance for the first 6 months. However, they discovered that 3 of the

As people in the world live longer as a result of advances in medicine and technology, more and more people are suffering from osteoarthritis, especially in the knee. Osteoarthritis in the degeneration of cartilage, which causes chronic pain and disability. Today, around 10-15% of people over the age of 60 suffer from osteoarthritis, and by 2050, it is estimated that greater than 20 percent of the total world population will experience OA (Kong et al). Today’s there are a number of treatments, many of which have serious complications or do not fix the problem. Typically for severe cases of osteoarthritis, total knee replacement surgery is the accepted treatment, however as many as 20 percent of patients still experience pain or other complications post-surgery (Freitag et al). The use of regenerative methods such as the use of mesenchymal stem cells could provide an better alternative to this procedure. Mesenchymal stem cells are found in bone marrow as well as other sources such as umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue, and muscle, and are multipotent, meaning they can differentiate into multiple tissues including cartilage, bone, and fat. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy is the future in treating osteoarthritis in the knee because it produces real cartilage, effectively reduces pain and is safe.

(Buda et al. 2010)Implantation of BMDCs seeded on an HA Scaffold, supplemented with platelet rich fibrin. 20 patients: 16 MFC and 6 LFC. 18 were traumatic and 2 OCD with 29 month follow-up We found a significant improvement in both IKDC score and the KOOS scores with each follow-up. Histologic: collagen II noted throughout repair tissue and focal proteoglycans content consistent with hyaline-like tissue. Variable signaling intensity that correlated with KOOS and IKDC. In Summary, there is tremendous interest and promise of using mesenchymal stems cells to treat patients with OA symptoms and repair cartilage damage. However, we are still in the infancy stages of understanding how these cells should be applied. There are a number of issues that still need to be addressed:In the literature, there are different methods for how the cells are being harvested, produced and

The focus of regenerative medicine is to the combine effects of a cell source, scaffold support, and anabolic stimulus to enable healing to the damaged tissue. One of the options for a cell source would be tenocytes; however, this would leave a lesion at the donor site from a biopsy, which cannot be done to a horse’s flexor tendon without additional consequences. Also, cells derived from different tendons show different characteristics compromising their effectiveness. Another option for differentiated fibroblasts includes dermal and ligament fibroblasts, but they have different cell characteristics that may not be useful in tendon repair. Therefore, stem cells are being seen as the greatest option for soft tissue repairing and healing (Herthel

Stem cells are found inside different types of tissues in the human body. As the name suggests, these stem from a single stem cell. Cells degenerate and get renewed every day. A lot of research has been conducted using these stem cells that are found in the tissues of the bone marrow, brain, blood vessels, skin and skeletal muscles. Studies have shown that stem cells do not serve any particular function in our body but they have the power to regenerate the damaged tissues of our body.

According to the Mayoclinic (2015), researchers have been exploring to see if they can destroy the immune system and reset it by replacing the cells with transplanted stem cells (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Stemgenex is company that focuses on the treatment of multiple sclerosis through stem cell transplantation. Their research and treatments have found new therapies to help people. Another stem cell therapy is called remyelination. This is a treatment in which adult mesenchymal stem cells are introduced past the blood barrier so they can target the myelin sheath and repair the nerve cells. Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells are capable of repairing the immune system and preventing it from attacking itself. This is called immunomodulation. Adipose derived stem cells come from adipose, or fat, tissues that contain concentrated amounts of mesenchymal stem cells. These stem cells can replicate other cells by becoming different types of cells in the body, including neurons, bone, cartilage, muscles, or tendons. These adipose cells are very easily obtained through a mini-liposuction procedure and they are the richest source of stem cells in the body. Treatments are also autologous, so they come from the patients’ own body. Adult mesenchymal stem cells are not known to cause cancer. Other cells that have been tested, specifically embryonic cells, have

Bone marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) are fibroblast-like cells. They are considered self-renewing, expandable, clonal precursors of nonhematopoietic tissues. BMSCs are present as a rare population of cells in bone marrow, representing 0.001–0.01%(93). They are characterized by combinations of cell surface markers and their ability to differentiate into bone, fat and cartilage, in-vitro(94). BMSCs can be safely expanded in vitro without being susceptible to malignant transformation, thus rendering these cells suitable for cell therapy approaches. These cells possess the ability to engraft at the site of injury and promote tissue regeneration and wound healing through synergistic downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and

Still, research is conducting on the way to use stem cells to treat arthritis patients. The knee and other joint inflammation can repair by adding new cartilage in bone. Many doctors use stem cell therapy to treat arthritis, but some considered it is not a standard practice. I would say patient

The human body is full of many organs, bones, and cells. The human body is not indestructible, so there is always a likelihood that complications will arise in normal body function, like a bone fracture of dysfunctional organ. These problems may not be easy to solve with current medicine, but stem cell represents a change in this outlook. The researchers of New Wales emulated the regenerative process of a salamander, and they created a repair system that could treat a variety of problems including but not limited to “back and neck pain, spinal disc injury, joint and muscle degeneration.” The researchers accomplished this process when they had “taken bone and fat cells, switched off their memory and converted them into stem cells so they can repair different cell types once they are put back inside the body." (ScienceDaily) The stem cells could then be altered into different body cells. Stem cells are flexible, and this flexibility allows doctors to specialize their treatments to the needs of the patients, regardless of the body part in question. It opens up the medical possibilities by adding a greater diversity of tools and techniques to treat