Stem cell therapy is rapidly showing itself as a viable treatment option for countless ailments and diseases. No longer bound by the natural or situational degeneration of the body, doctors are discovering that we can tap into the bodys own regenerative systems to create healing where before there was only inevitable decay. One method of stem cell treatment that is becoming increasingly popular is autologous adipose stem cell therapy.

Why Adipose Stem Cells?

Adipose-derived stem cells come from the adipose tissue of the body, otherwise known as fat cells. These fat cells can come from small, non-invasive subcutaneous cuts. They can even be rescued from liposuction procedures, turning what would otherwise be a type of trash into a potential treasure.

Because of their abundance and ease of extraction, adipose stem cells are an excellent choice for regenerative medicine procedures. Most other types of stem cell therapies require invasive surgeries to extract the stem cells from bone marrow, or that the patient receive a donation from embryonic or adult stem cell donors. Donor stem cells come with an increased possibility of rejection and are not usually as abundant and versatile as autologous adipose stem cells.

And in the case of autologous adipose stem cells, drawing the cells that will be used from the person that will be receiving the treatment means that they will be more easily integrated into the body.

According to studies done on adipose stem cell treatments, adipose stem cells express immunosuppressive characteristics. This means that using them keeps the bodys immune system from freaking out and attacking the implanted cells. This potential for immune system rejection is often a challenge when donor cells, or even cells from another part of the recipients body, are used. And even though adipose stem cells are very abundant and stimulate the growth of new cells wherever they are implanted, it has been shown that they do not form tumors at injection sites.

How Adipose Stem Cell Therapy Can Help Joints

Adipose stem cell therapy has been shown to be particularly helpful for restoring mobility and strength and reducing pain in joints. It can inhibit synovial thickening and cartilage degradation. It may even be able to stimulate the regrowth of cartilage, if there is not yet significant sparring or loss of joint space.

Adipose stem cell therapy can provide relief from chronic tendonitis and ligament pain. The immunosuppressive properties of the adipose stem cells help to reduce the inflammation present in most damaged joints inflammation is an immune system response.

Adipose stem cells are usually mixed with platelet-rich plasma and growth factors also derived from the recipients body to ensure optimal proliferation. That medium can either be injected directly into the damaged joints or surgically implanted.

Stem cell injections are most commonly used in larger joints such as hips and knees, but they can also be used to treat ankles, shoulders, thumbs, elbows, and Achilles tendons. Stem cell surgical implantation therapy is usually only used in the knee to treat arthritis or damaged cartilage. Surgical implantation allows for a higher concentration of stem cells to be inserted into a smaller area, with a greater certainty that they will stay right where they are needed, but injections are much less invasive and expensive.

Current research indicates that 80-90 percent of people who receive autologous adipose stem cell therapy for joint pain experience significant relief one to two months after the injection. Often the pain continues to lessen for another few months before stabilizing. As this is still a new procedure, it is uncertain what the long-term results could be, but researchers and doctors are hopeful.

Adipose Stem Cell Treatment for Arthritis

Adipose stem cell therapy is particularly promising for those with mild to moderate osteoarthritis/degenerative arthritis in the knee, hip, shoulder, ankle, or thumb, where the joint space has not completely collapsed. Adipose stem cell therapy has proven very successful in helping animals with arthritis, and there is already some evidence that it can be equally successful for humans.

Adipose stem cell treatment helps heal tissues damaged by arthritis. It also serves the unique function of modulating the immune system responses, so that inflammation and other unsupportive responses are shut off while disease and infection fighting responses remain intact.

Stem cell therapy is opening a whole new world of potential for supporting the regeneration of various systems of the body. With autologous adipose stem cell therapy, doctors are able to use a persons own fat cells to heal diseases and ailments. Adipose stem cell therapy is proving itself to be an effective treatment for degenerative joint ailments including osteoarthritis, cartilage loss, tendonitis, and other conditions. In a few more years, doctors may even be able to use autologous adipose stem cell therapy to end joint pain altogether, ensuring that we remain mobile and healthily active all of our lives.

Resources:

Stem Cell Therapy Institute
National Institutes of Health: Anti-inflammatory Study
Emory Healthcare