British Stem Cell Treatment for Hips

[yorkere]

This treatment is apparently being done in the U.K.; where's the U.S. in this kind of thing?

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6118220/New-stem-cell-treatment-being-used-by-patients-to-avoid-hip-replacements.html

New stem cell treatment 'being used by patients to avoid hip replacements'
British scientists have developed a stem cell technique, which is being used by patients to avoid hip replacements, in a major medical breakthrough.

By Andrew Hough
Published: 7:00AM BST 01 Sep 2009

A patient's stem cells was used to rejuvenate his dead hip bone, using purified cells from bone marrow extracted from the back of his pelvis.
Doctors in Southampton are using the pioneering technique, where a patient?s damaged bones are repaired using their own stem cells.

Patients hailed the treatment, after many found they could walk normally again without any pain and without the need for hip replacement surgery.

So far six patients have had the treatment with only one failure, doctors said.

Under the treatment, surgeons at Spire hospital used purified cells from bone marrow extracted from the pelvis.

The stem cells, which are immature cells that can develop into different kinds of tissue, were then mixed with ?cleaned, ground-up? bone from another patient, after they had a hip replacement operation.

They then finished with dead tissue being removed before surgeons filled the cavity with the mixture of stem cells and donated bone.

Carl Millard, who had the stem cell procedure, said he could walk normally and without any pain. "I feel great," he said. "If this can prevent people having to have a hip replacement, I think it is wonderful."

Doug Dunlop, a surgeon at the hospital, said his bone would have collapsed without the stem cell treatment, leading to him having an artificial hip joint.

Prof Richard Oreffo, of Southampton University, said he hoped to improve the technique even further by replacing donated bone with an artificial material which used chemicals that helped stem cells grow.

Prof Oreffo, who is currently leading a team researching how stem cell technology can be used to repair human skeletal tissue, told Sky News that stem cells used chemical signals to attract blood vessels. "Bone is a living vibrant tissue. These stem cells generate new tissue and drive new blood vessel formation to bring in nutrients," he said. "Just as people need cornflakes and sugar in the morning, so cells need nutrients to grow and survive - and that is what is so important here."

Stem cells have been hailed as possible cures for a range of diseases because of their ability to change into other types of cells. They have however, also attracted controversy because some are extracted from embryos.

Bone marrow stem cells have already been used to re-grow bone in animals.
About 30,000 knee replacements and 50,000 hip replacement operations are estimated to be carried out each year in England and Wales.


Interesting, is it not?

Robert

 

[barbara]

Robert - This is interesting. I also ask myself the question everyday -

Where is the U.S. when it comes to treatments that are far safer and easier on a patient than invasive surgery such as this one?

Where is the U.S. when it comes to getting the FDA out of the way so that the terminally ill in this country can have access to safe adult stem cell therapy?

Where is the U.S. that could benefit economically by stem cell treatment instead of letting the money flow to offshore clinics?

Where is the U.S. when it comes to cracking down on corruption within the government, including the FDA? Why are we pandering to special interest groups when millions are dying?

Why is some research no more than a jobs program for scientists?

Where are the millions of people who should be up in arms about the lack of treatment options in this country? Within one week, a group of moms got 47000 members together to form a group that is worried about what their kids are learning in school. Why isn't the same thing doable with a group like ICMS? If we don't band together, you and I and everyone else will still be reading about the great achievements being made in other countries. With millions of people in this country who are ill, we should be able to do as well as the moms, but for some reason, many people seem apathetic and resigned to their fate or willing to sit back and hope that someone else does all the work.