Stemcell Therapy Technology News

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent

A Revolutionary new way to transplant bone-repairing stem cells into humans could help millions suffering from crippling arthritis, scientists believe.

Researchers hope the new technique could allow them to speed the recovery of damaged bones and cartilage.

If successful it could be used to help trauma victims as well as the more than two million Britons who suffer from osteoarthritis.

Caused by deterioration of cartilage, severe osteoarthritis can be treated only with surgery to replace hips and knees with artificial joints.

Reprogrammed stem cells work well in laboratories but struggle in the "adverse" conditions of the human body.

Scientists at Edinburgh University plan to use a "bioactive scaffold" to protect the cells when they are placed in a patient.

This new environment, which consists of a rigid mesh structure, coated or impregnated with drugs to aid the cells, allows them to grow at a faster rate, speeding recovery.

The technique will be particularly useful in the treatment of damaged cartilage, which never repairs fully itself, researchers say.

A significant proportion of those who damage their cartilage while young go on to develop arthritis.

Researchers hope to place bone and cartilage building stem cells, complete with their scaffolds, in up to 30 patients within the next two years and to move on to larger trials if these prove successful.

Dr Brendon Noble, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said: "We hope that this will kick start the body's natural healing processes, enabling cells to grow and carry out repair to the damaged area."

Dr Noble's team will work with surgeons to ensure the treatments they develop are suitable for practical use and will look to use reprogrammed cells derived from blood as well as bone marrow.

The £31.4 million project has been funded by the UK Stem Cell foundation, the Medical Research Council and Scottish Enterprise.

Dr Anna Krassowska, research manager for the UK Stem Cell Foundation, said: "In the UK hip fractures kill 14,000 elderly people every year - more than many cancers.

"This research has the potential not only to impact on a significant number of people's lives but to open up one of the largest stem cell markets in the industry."

More than 30,000 knee replacements and 50,000 hip replacement operations are carried out each year in England and Wales.