Timely article showed up in my inbox today from a respected Orthopaedic Journal regarding Stem Cell treatment for Knee OA in particular...
“For OA, stem cell therapy is likely to be inefficient, because there are multiple tissues in OA that undergo significant degeneration, including bone, ligament and synovium,” Evseenko said. “It is not only about replacing defects in cartilage, but rather actually treating the entire joint, which is why I think it is
very unlikely that stem cell therapies will help in this disease.”
Key points from the article....
---Stem Cell Centers popping up everywhere, largely unregulated
---Cash business with average cost for single injection around $5,000 cha ching
---No as in "ZERO" large scale studies to show efficacy of these treatments, purported 30-40% improvement no different than placebo injections
---Various methods to harvest "stem cells", independent investigations of the actual "substance" injected varies widely in the amount (if any) of "stem cells" in various preparations...again unregulated
“The consensus in the field is that these therapies are not efficient and not delivering any sustainable effects; however, the main issue is that
these advertised formulations do not involve real stem cells,” Evseenko said. “This a completely misused term, done purely from a marketing perspective. Although different professional societies are trying to inform the community that this is not true stem cell therapy, for patients who are in very progressive disease states and willing to try emerging therapies, there are many private practices that readily offer it.”
"Among patients for whom surgery is not a feasible — or desirable — option, however, the
promise of stem cell clinics advertising “cutting edge” salves for their pain via simple injection continues to find willing believers."
https://www.healio.com/rheumatology/...thritis?page=8
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