A new treatment for meniscal tears based on stem cells has just been used for the first time on human subjects, with very promising results. This could help in treating thousands of sportsmen, by easing their recovery and reducing their sufferings.
A Widespread Problem:
Meniscal tears are one of the most common injuries that affect sportsmen, especially in contact sports like football or soccer. Although not very serious per se, they pose a great challenge in treatment options. Most of the time, the damage appears in areas of the meniscus that have very few blood vessels and thus the tissue regenerates very slowly and many times imperfectly. As a result, many patients have the entire damaged area removed surgically. Though they provide very good results initially, in the later stages leads to the development of osteoporosis in such patients who opt for surgical excision.
A new way to heal:
The Cell Bandage promises to be a much better solution for this common problem. Developed by the spin-off company Azellon and tested by scientists at the Bristol and Liverpool universities, the new solution facilitates recovery and reduces the risks associated with the old treatments.
Procedure:
This procedure involves taking stem cells from patient’s spine and growing them in the lab for 2weeks. After this, the cells are placed on a membrane scaffold, which is injected exactly into the torn area. It is an important step for the implanted bandage to be fixed on the meniscus so that no movement occurs, and the recovery can take place.
The Cell Bandage was trialed with the help of 5 human subjects, aged between 18 and 45, diagnosed with a meniscal tear. 12 months later, all of them no longer had the tears. Two years later, 3 of them still had no complaint, while the other 2 chose to have their meniscus removed due to a new tear or the return of the initial symptoms. The results are promising, and the team wants to develop it further, as stated by Anthony Hollander, professor at University of Liverpool and founder of Azellon.
“We are currently developing an enhanced version of the Cell Bandage using donor stem cells, which will reduce the cost of the procedure and remove the need for two operations,” the man noted.
Every year more than 1million people in Europe and United States are affected by meniscal tears. Most of the professional athletes diagnosed with this injury prefer their meniscus removed completely, thus exposing themselves to further health risks.