It seems as if every day, I am asked about stem cells. Common questions are:
- Can I get stem cells injected into my knee?
- Would stem cells help my problem?
- Could stem cells heal my knee faster?
Usually, my answer is one of these three possibilities:
- We don’t have them available in the US market
- Maybe, but there isn’t a lot of data, or
- I don’t know
I have now participated in three different trials at HSS for a cryopreserved amniotic suspension allograft (ASA) containing amniotic fluid cells and a micronized amniotic membrane.
I have used bone marrow aspirate for years in the operating room to hopefully increase healing or decrease symptoms related to arthritis. Several years ago, I trialed lipograms, a fat-derived stem cell, but I didn’t see significant improvement in patients, and it was a lot of effort to obtain the fat from patients.
We hope to participate in an FDA trial on umbilical stem cells next year. There is a lot of research looking into ways to halt or reverse arthritis or cartilage disease, but so far, we don’t have the answer.
Lately, there is a lot of interest in exosomes, tiny sac-like structures that are formed inside a cell and contain some of the cell’s proteins, DNA, and RNA. Certain exosomes have the potential to alter how cells respond to inflammation and potentially improve a cartilage cell’s ability to heal, which could drastically improve treatment for arthritis.
Read this study in Frontiers: Exosomes in cartilage microenvironment regulation and cartilage repair.
The photo is by Priss Enri on Unsplash. It is not a picture of exosomes.