New research planned on Stem Cell Therapy for Knee osteoarthritis

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have released their research plan to study the effects of Cartistem, a new stem cell therapy for the potential regeneration of cartilage and pain relief in the knee. Cartistem is made from mesenchymal stem cells, which are cells that can differentiate into bone and cartilage cells. These mesenchymal stem cells come from another individual’s umbilical cord blood and are mixed with hyaluronan,  a substance that has been used to treat osteoarthiritis of the knee. This mixture will then be injected in the patient’s knee arthroscopically during microfracture surgery. The study will be lead by Dr. Brian J. Cole, who plans to study 12 individuals over the age of 18 over a 2 year period.  More trials like this are needed to address the void in younger patients hoping to avoid a knee replacement prematurely.