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| Stem cell therapy will be available within five years |
REVOLUTIONARY stem cell therapy could end the suffering of millions of arthritis patients within as few as five years.
Preliminary findings of a trial of the treatment show that within days patients experienced a dramatic reduction in pain.Sufferers’ own stem cells were injected into their knees resulting in significantly increased joint function.
Study leader Professor Frank Barry said: “It is incredibly exciting. It is our strong belief that stem cell treatment will offer hope for millions of people.”
Professor Barry, a world expert on stem cells at the National University of Ireland in Galway, will publish his results next month.
Osteoarthritis affects 14 per cent of over 25s and a third of all pensioners.
It causes severe and chronic pain, joint stiffness and loss of function.
Currently there is no drug, medical intervention or therapy that alters its progression and many patients have to take painkillers constantly and ultimately need total joint replacement surgery.
The new technique involves removing a small sample of fat from the body from which stem cells are separated out and grown over several weeks until they are injected into the area of joint damage.
The trial involved 18 patients given a single injection of cultured stem cells.
The results were so successful that Professor Barry’s team is to recruit 150 patients from 10 hospitals for a largescale multi-million pound follow-up in Ireland, France, the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Professor Barry, director of the Galway university’s Regenerative Medicine Institute, said: “It is early days but we hope the results of the larger scale trial will back up these findings. We are optimistic and trial results are promising but we need to carry on with the research so there is no room for doubt.”
Professor Christian Jorgensen, of Montpellier University Hospital in France, took part in the first trial and is clinical sponsor of the new tests.
He said: “Ambitious as it sounds, we are aiming to deliver an effective treatment for the debilitating and incurable condition of osteoarthritis within as little as five years.” Simon Moyes, a leading knee surgeon based at the London Bridge Hospital, is working alongside a number of companies to promote the use of stem cell techniques in the UK. He said: “I believe this is the future treatment of osteoarthritis and other degenerative conditions. Sadly today many who suffer have little option but total joint replacement surgery.” In a separate Australian study on a similar stem cell technique, 80 per cent of nearly 400 patients reported a significant reduction in pain and improved sleep and joint function but their treatment lasted for two years. John Martin, chief executive of Regeneus, the company which carried out the Australian-based stem cell research, said: “This is the future of arthritis treatment. We are an ageing population and osteoarthritis is a growing problem.” Professor Barry said stem cells could also be used to treat a range of other diseases including heart disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis. He added: “The whole object of our work is to treat other conditions for which there are no other real options.” A stem cells study carried out in Belgium on 289 patients with the inflammatory gut disorder Crohn’s disease showed dramatic improvement in symptoms and infection in the gut after two years. Professor Barry described the findings, to be published soon, as “highly significant and important”.
Study leader Professor Frank Barry said: “It is incredibly exciting. It is our strong belief that stem cell treatment will offer hope for millions of people.”
Professor Barry, a world expert on stem cells at the National University of Ireland in Galway, will publish his results next month.
Osteoarthritis affects 14 per cent of over 25s and a third of all pensioners.
It causes severe and chronic pain, joint stiffness and loss of function.
Currently there is no drug, medical intervention or therapy that alters its progression and many patients have to take painkillers constantly and ultimately need total joint replacement surgery.
Ambitious as it sounds, we are aiming to deliver an effective treatment for the debilitating and incurable condition of osteoarthritis within as little as five years
The trial involved 18 patients given a single injection of cultured stem cells.
The results were so successful that Professor Barry’s team is to recruit 150 patients from 10 hospitals for a largescale multi-million pound follow-up in Ireland, France, the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Professor Barry, director of the Galway university’s Regenerative Medicine Institute, said: “It is early days but we hope the results of the larger scale trial will back up these findings. We are optimistic and trial results are promising but we need to carry on with the research so there is no room for doubt.”
Professor Christian Jorgensen, of Montpellier University Hospital in France, took part in the first trial and is clinical sponsor of the new tests.
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