Stem Cell Therapy for Knees – thriveMD Denver & Vail, CO

Articular cartilage damage, especially when it affects the knee joint, remains a major clinical problem due to the poor intrinsic ability for this tissue to repair itself. The major function of joint cartilage is to allow for smooth gliding of joint surfaces and to protect the surrounding bone from stress. This sort of movement is key for individuals who participate in sports such as skiing. In a wider context, though, knee cartilage damage can prevent people from running, exercising, or just moving as freely as theyd like. Articular cartilage allows the knee to absorb shock and loads up to 20 times the body weight.

There are many reasons why someone may experience articular knee cartilage damage. Regular wear and tear on the knee over time, involvement in high-stress activities, or accidents and injuries can all contribute to cartilage damage around the knee joint.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disorder that ultimately leads to a gradual deterioration of knee joint cartilage. Osteoarthritis may also be the result of a prior injury to the knee joint such as a fracture, tendon damage, or ligament tears.

This may lead to joint instability, which can cause long-term damage to the articular cartilage. Arthritis can affect not only the cartilage but may also lead to damage of the bone beneath the cartilage, the synovial lining to the joint, ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

Adult stem cells are incredibly versatile in a medical sense. They have a potential to reliably differentiate into cartilage, bone, fat, or soft tissue. Because of this, the injection of progenitor cells, especially mesenchymal stem cells (special stem cells from adipose tissue or bone marrow), have been shown to be a better strategy to repair degenerative cartilage than implantation of differentiated cells such as articular cartilage.

In other words, when adult stem cells are injected into a knee with damaged cartilage, they can act to repair damaged tissue and build new cartilage.

Adult stem cells also display the ability to specifically address areas of inflammation and degeneration and to modify immune system activity, which can favorably influence the surrounding cartilage in areas of damage.

Encouragingly, results of pre-clinical and clinical trials have provided initial evidence of efficacy and safety in the therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cell therapies for the treatment of knee cartilage damage and osteoarthritis. Cell-based therapy has become a key priority of tissue engineering research focused on functional replacement of cartilage and meniscus regeneration.

A year long animal study has provided research that demonstrates that stem cell treatments provide structural regeneration with mechanical properties comparable with the native cartilage.

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Stem Cell Therapy for Knees - thriveMD Denver & Vail, CO