(PRWEB) January 30, 2017 -- Dr. Kenneth Pettine is proud to introduce the use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the treatment of inflammation of osteoarthritic knees. It is estimated that osteoarthritis (“OA”) affects about 50 million Americans. Osteoarthritis is a process that can occur in any joint where the articular cartilage diminishes in thickness as one ages. This process continues throughout one’s life until all the articular cartilage is gone.
Thereafter, in the case of osteoarthritic knee joints, weight applied on the knee results in bone on bone wear. In most cases this process is associated with gradual, increasing pain, to the point that any walking can be unbearable. Osteoarthritis of the knee may also be associated with night pain that can severely inhibit a normal sleep pattern.
Osteoarthritis of the knee is an almost ubiquitous condition in humans over the age of 60. Osteoarthritis of the knee does typically affect the medial tibiofemoral joint. Many people develop gradual degradation of the articular cartilage on the medial aspect of their knee, which results in their knees becoming progressively bowlegged or genu varum. Often the pain of the arthritis is felt along the medial side of the knee and specifically the proximal tibial plateau. MRI scanning often shows a hyperemic area just beneath the medial part of the knee joint in the metaphysis of the tibia. The knee joint consists of the medial and lateral femoral tibial compartments and the patella-femoral joint. Osteoarthritis can primarily impact any one of these areas or all three. It is known that the most common type is osteoarthritis of the medial tibial femoral joint.
Currently, The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (“AAOS”) recommended treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee include the following: weight loss, gentle exercise, anti-inflammatory medications followed by total knee replacement. The AAOS does not recommend arthroscopic debridement or any hyaluronic acid products such as SYNVISC®, EUFLEXXA™, ORTHOVISC®, SUPARTZ™, or HYALGAN® for treating knee osteoarthritis.
Last year in the United States over one and a half million total hip and knee replacements were performed with a direct cost of over $40 billion. These numbers are expected to double in the next three years. Additionally, it has been reported that every day 10,000 people in the United States turn 65 years of age, and that this will continue for the next 14 years. Imagine every week there is a football stadium full of brand new 65 year olds!
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), after their initial discovery in bone marrow, have been isolated and characterized from several adult and fetal tissues, including adipose (fat), dermis (skin), synovial fluid, periosteum, umbilical cord blood, placenta and amniotic fluid. MSCs are partially defined by their ability to differentiate into tissues including osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), myocytes (muscle cells), and adipocytes (fat cells). It is believed that it is their trophic, paracrine and immunomodulatory functions that may have the greatest therapeutic impact in vivo. Unlike pharmaceutical treatments that deliver a single agent at a specific dose, MSCs are site regulated and secrete bioactive factors and signals at variable concentrations in response to local microenvironmental cues.
Treating inflammation associated with osteoarthritis of the knee joint by using MSCs is done by injecting the cells into the symptomatic knee. In one aspect, the mesenchymal stem cells may be obtained autogenously. In another aspect, the osteoarthritis may be located in the medial tibial femoral joint of the knee. In yet another aspect, the mesenchymal stem cells are injected below the medial tibial plateau of the knee joint, resulting in alleviation of the symptoms of the osteoarthritis.MC
For more information about Dr. Kenneth Pettine, MSC therapy for the treatment of inflammation due to osteoarthritis, and other MCC therapy treatment options, visit http://kennethpettine.com/
Farra Larimore for Dr. Kenneth Pettine, Dr. Kenneth Pettine, http://kennethpettine.com, +1 (970) 541-3284 Ext: 3284, [email protected]
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