Mesenchymal Stem Cell - Clinical Use

Clinical Use

The mesenchymal stem cells can be activated and mobilized if needed. However, the efficiency is very low. For instance, damage to muscles heals very slowly. However, if there were a method of activating the mesenchymal stem cells, then such wounds would heal much faster.

Many of the early clinical successes using intravenous transplantation have come in systemic diseases like graft versus host disease and sepsis. However, it is becoming more accepted that diseases involving peripheral tissues, such as inflammatory bowel disease, may be better treated with methods that increase the local concentration of cells. Direct injection or placement of cells into a site in need of repair may be the preferred method of treatment, as vascular delivery suffers from a "pulmonary first pass effect" where intravenous injected cells are sequestered in the lungs. Clinical case reports in orthopedic applications have been published, though the number of patients treated is small and these methods still lack rigorous study demonstrating effectiveness. Wakitani has published a small case series of nine defects in five knees involving surgical transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells with coverage of the treated chondral defects.