Stem Cell Therapy  in Orthopaedic and Spine Practice

SadatPictureSadat M Ali

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
College of Medicine and Medical Sciences
King Faisal University

Abstract

Background and Objective:

Stem cell research and Regenerative Medicine has caused much public controversy, sparking debate on ethics, cost, and legislation. Both the facets of research holds  promise of widespread applications, especially in the area of orthopaedics and spinal surgery.  Bone regeneration is crucially important for a large number of skeletal condition including fracture repair and spinal fusion. This review gives the work conducted at College of Medicine, King Faisal University,  Dammam.

Methods: After extensive work a Polypeptide was discovered in 1997 which was patented in 2008 by USPTO. Sadat-Habdan Mesenchymal Stimulating Peptide (SHMSP) a 13-amino acid polypeptide was used in the regenerative medicine in healing of  fractures and segmental defects in the bones.  A comparative study  between embryonic stem cells (ESC) and Adult stem cells (ASC) derived from the sural nerve is proposed in the spinal cord injured rats.

Results: Studies in rodent and non-rodent animals has shown that the SHMSP has potential  in stimulating the regenerating fracture healing and healing of segmental defects. At 8 and 12 weeks  healing of the defects in the study group  was superior than the control group.. Bone mineral content and bone mineral density was higher in group I versus group III (0.01 vs 0.003g/cm and 0.016 versus 0.04 g/ cm2.  Mechanical testing  showed that 8 weeks torque to failure in group I was 293.53 Nmm versus 131.40 in control group , while at 12 weeks it was 541.53 versus 294.06 Nmm. The role of stem cell therapy in spinal injured rats will be discussed.

Conclusion: We believe that regeneration of the tissues can be achieved by non stem cell therapy and stem cells therapy but stem cells have the potential to enhance healing in conditions in which our ability to do anything is limited.