One year ago, a question was posted on the Internet; do stem cell interventions have to approach the success of total joint replacements to become a viable option in the treatment of arthritis? My presentation in Los Angeles, June 7, was based on my first year results comparing the outcomes of Stem Cell interventions at the hip and the knee to those of Total Hip and Total Knee Replacements one year after surgery. What I found was that as of one year, stem cell recipients in general are more active, enjoy a better quality of life, and have a greater involvement in sports when contrasted to patients who had undergone Total Joint replacements. No similar study has ever been conducted and my presentation was very well received. I already received a request for permission to use my data in an upcoming scientific review article. There in though is the problem in Regenerative Medicine; insufficient objective clinical research. While there was an abundance of “show and tell “papers, anecdote and “this is the way I do it”; there were few prospective or even retrospective studies available to help direct the future of stem cell treatment for arthritis. To sum it up, while there are still many questions to be answered in Cellular Orthopedics, my clinical data will have a major impact on how stem cell intervention in arthritis is viewed around the world.
Continued studies to measure outcomes of stem cell treatments for arthritis
I already started planning a second year outcomes review of the same patient cohort as well as a one-year outcome study of a much larger number of patients. Equally important to the goal of pain relief and return to or maintenance of a full athletic profile is postponement or even avoidance of a total joint replacement. In the interim, as many readers of this Blog are aware, we count the number of nucleated cells recovered from a bone marrow aspiration once concentrated and prior to injection into the joint. As background, the average number of stem cells per cc of Bone Marrow Concentrate is approximately 3,000; that’s 30/million-nucleated cells. What can be done to increase numbers? Will thyroid, testosterone, estrogen/progesterone, nutritional supplementation or products available over the counter make a difference? When I attend the August Regenexx Network conference in Colorado, the meeting will dedicate a large portion of time to adjunctive treatments to improve numbers and I may have answers. I have also been asked to present my scientific study data contrasting stem cell intervention outcomes to those of a total joint replacement
So there you have it, a self-serving Blog? I don’t believe so; I believe documentation that we are in the forefront of Cellular Orthopedics