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Stem Cells to the Rescue
Many therapies for degenerative disks treat only the symptoms, not the cause of the back pain. But at England's University of Manchester, Stephen Richardson, MD, has proposed a radical and promising approach: using the patient's own stem cells to create a healthy back. Developed in conjunction with German biotechnology company Arthro Kinetics and an English medical charity called the Spinal Foundation, Dr. Richardson's therapy uses bone marrow cells to regenerate damaged intervertebral disks. Doctors would extract and mix the cells with a special gel that's based on a type of human collagen and then implant the substance during minimally invasive surgery. The stem cells should then produce new disk tissue with the same properties as the original, but without the damage."It's completely safe because we're using the patient's own stem cells," says Dr. Richardson, who is a researcher in the University of Manchester School of Medicine's division of regenerative medicine. "The patient could go home the same day of the procedure."
Researchers hope to start clinical trials after two years and bring a product to market within five years (though others think it will take longer). Dr. Richardson believes the stem cell technique "will revolutionize the treatment of lower back pain" by addressing both cause and symptoms with one therapy, rather than consigning sufferers to a lifetime of pain-killers and physiotherapy.
"What we envision is a one-stop shop for treatment," he says. "You'd come in, get these cells implanted into your spine, and end up with regenerated new tissue. And that would be it, for life."
Many elderly people experience back pain from osteoporosis and serious bone fractures. But what if frail bones could grow stronger -- as strong as new bone? That's the idea behind site-directed bone growth (SDBG). A patient with diseased or damaged vertebrae undergoes a minimally invasive outpatient procedure and receives an anabolic drug to accelerate natural bone growth at precise locations. The strengthened bone, in turn, lessens the back pain. <br><br> "The novel idea is to target new bone to specific sites," says Agnès Vignery, PhD, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Yale University Medical School who developed SDBG with clinicians at Unigene Laboratories in Fairfield, New Jersey. "Most drugs affect the whole body. But our treatment increases bone mass just where it's needed." <br><br> Already, investigators have demonstrated success with SDBG in experiments involving mice and rats. In 2005 the Unigene team filed for patents, with plans to start clinical trials involving humans in the next two years. And though Vignery refuses to speculate how soon the therapy may be ready for people, she's excited about SDBG's potential to remedy a wide array of ailments.
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