Special Announcement - Now Screening for FDA Approved Stem Cell Study
Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop has completed training and is credentialed for an FDA-approved stem cell clinical trial for knee arthritis. Our clinic is now screening patients for this trial. Contact us at 312-475-1893 for details. Click here to learn more.
Might Cellular Therapies Postpone or Prevent Osteoarthritis After Knee Surgery or Injury

Might Cellular Therapies Postpone or Prevent Osteoarthritis After Knee Surgery or Injury

Dec 12, 2020

Following injury to the articular surface of the knee, measurable changes in the joint microenvironment can occur, including altered expression of proinflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), aggrecanases, growth factors, and apoptotic factors. A study assessing the impact of 10 synovial fluid biomarkers at the time of knee injury found that three specific biomarkers can predict with moderate accuracy functional outcomes and level of pain postoperative at five years.

The development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) affects a large percentage of patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, meniscus tears, and other knee injuries. Even when an injury is surgically treated, the joint is at a significantly increased risk of PTOA five to 10 or more years following the initial insult. It is believed that the accelerated cartilage degradation associated with PTOA is the result of inflammatory chemokines released into the joint space at the time of injury. In other words, the initial seed of post-traumatic osteoarthritis is planted at the time of the injury, and there may be a specific pattern of molecular biomarkers in the synovial fluid (i.e., an inflammatory phenotype) that is able to predict which patients are at the highest risk of diminished function and development of OA as a result of their knee trauma.

Cellular Therapy to Prevent Osteoarthritis After Knee Surgery

The study prospectively enrolled 39 patients (mean age at time of surgery, 41.56 years) undergoing primary knee arthroscopy for ACL injury, meniscus injury, and/or focal chondral lesion beginning in October 2011. Patients were excluded if they had any additional associated ligament injury, systemic inflammatory disease, autoimmune disease, intra-articular corticosteroid injection in the three months before surgery, prior knee surgery, immunomodulatory drug use, chemotherapy within the past year, insufficient synovial fluid aspiration, or cartilage/meniscal transplantation in addition to arthroscopy. Those aged 18 years or younger also were excluded.

Immediately prior to surgical incision, synovial fluid was aspirated from the operative knee and transferred to sterile tubes containing a protease inhibitor cocktail solution. Researchers assessed the concentration of 10 cytokines and chemokines that have previously been suggested to play a role in cartilage degradation and inflammation in the joint space.

Among 28 patients who did not undergo further surgery since the time of synovial fluid sampling, the biomarkers MMP-3 (a proinflammatory enzyme), TIMP-2 (an anti-inflammatory inhibitor of MMPs), and vascular endothelial growth factor (an angiogenesis-inducing growth factor) most accurately predicted functional outcomes at five years postoperative or injury.  These findings support my recommendations for use of Bone Marrow Concentrate, Proprietary Platelet Rich Plasma, Stem Cells or Growth Factors following knee injury or arthroscopic knee surgery to postpone, perhaps avoid a Total Joint Replacement

To learn more, visit my web site and watch my webinar at www.sheinkopmd.com

For a consultation call (312) 475-1893

Tags: , , , ,

An exclusive interview with Interventional Orthopedic Surgical pioneer Mitchell Sheinkop, MD, (continued)

An exclusive interview with Interventional Orthopedic Surgical pioneer Mitchell Sheinkop, MD, (continued)

Mar 6, 2017

Blog: Dr. Sheinkop , let’s pick up where we ended at the last interview. You were going to tell us about the hip labrum?

Sheinkop: Recently, there has been an increased frequency of diagnosis pertaining to an acetabular labral tear when a patient presents to a physician with groin pain. The cause may be attributed to trauma or it may be spontaneous in nature. While only an orthopedic surgeon really understands how to properly examine the hip joint, I am observing the next step in every and all patients with “hip” or “groin” pain is an MRI prescription. While a torn acetabular labrum is best diagnosed on the MRI after arthrogram, even that exercise may not result in a proper diagnosis. There are anatomic variants that are frequently mistakenly diagnosed as a tear and there are positive findings for a labral tear that when surgically addressed do not result in clinical improvement. In general, unless there are mechanical signs such as snapping, clunking or giving way, pain alone is not justification for arthroscopic hip surgery. In the presence of arthritis, arthroscopy is almost never indicated in the new world of evidence based medicine.

Blog: If I am not mistaken, the way you responded to the labral question is how you have responded in the past to a “positive” MRI of the knee and a diagnosis of a torn meniscus (cartilage).

Sheinkop: You are correct. The scientific evidence clearly identifies the fact that a pain generator must be identified before a surgical procedure. Even if the MRI is compatible with a torn labrum or meniscus, in the presence of arthritis, arthroscopic surgery will make things worse over six months. Surgery in said circumstances should be reserved for mechanical symptoms and not pain.

Blog: Then what is a patient with pain in the groin or knee to do?

Sheinkop: First and foremost, my job is to identify the cause of the pain and treat the patient, not the image. In the absence of clunking, snapping and giving way (joint instability), Interventional Orthopedics based on Platelet Rich Plasma and Bone Marrow Aspirate derived stem cells and growth factors provide the surgical alternative-remember the needle and not the knife.

Blog: I learned this week that you have been invited to St. Petersburg, Russia, this September to present non surgical alternatives for arthritis, at an international orthopedic meeting focused on joint replacement.

Sheinkop: Your information is correct. The role for Interventional and Cellular orthopedics, basically regenerative medicine, is in grades two and three osteoarthritis; while a patient is quite functional and not yet sufficiently impaired to justify the risks inherent in a joint replacement. On the other hand, there is a large patient population with advanced osteoarthritis of a major joint wherein the joint replacement option is to great a medical challenge and may risk survival. The evidence I have gathered over almost five years is not only of interest in the United States but has global potential impact.

To learn more call (312) 475-1893 to schedule a consultation
View my web site at www.sheinkopmd.com
Watch my webinar at www.ilcellulartherapy.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pin It on Pinterest