Early onset of knee osteoarthritis can be treated with stem cell therapy

CHENNAI: For advanced osteoarthritis, knee replacement remains an established and effective treatment. However, for patients with mild to moderate disease, the priority can be to preserve the natural knee and delay or avoid surgery wherever clinically appropriate.

At Kamakshi Memorial Hospitals, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Deepak Kumar KS, also a knee replacement and Mako Stryker expert, follows a knee-preservation-first approach. “We should not look at replacement as the first and only solution. I believe in exploring every possible avenue to preserve the patient’s natural knee,” said Dr Deepak.

In a first-of-its-kind procedure in Tamil Nadu, he collaborated with Dr Sathish Kumar Thangamani, a fellow in stem cell and regenerative medicine, a senior assistant professor at Stanley Medical College, and consultant at Dr. Kamakshi Memorial Hospitals, to administer an innovative allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy for carefully selected patients with knee osteoarthritis.

With approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), this therapy is an important development in regenerative medicine and expands treatment possibilities between conservative care and surgical intervention.

The therapy, manufactured by Stempeutics Research and made available by Cipla, is designed to leverage the anti-inflammatory, immuno-modulatory and cartilage-protective potential of mesenchymal stem cells.

For patients with Grade II and III knee osteoarthritis, the availability of an approved regenerative therapy provides another potential option within the continuum of care. Individual treatment decisions, however, need to be based on the patient’s condition, disease severity and clinical assessment.