Stem cell jab could spell the end for joint replacement surgeries

The day is not far when painful hip and knee replacement surgeries would be history, as British scientists are developing a treatment wherein damaged joints could be rejuvenated by injections of stem cells.

The technique, which is being developed at Manchester University, is likely to be cheaper for the National Health Service (NHS), The Daily Mail reported.

Replacement surgery is a complicated and lengthy process and is not successful in every case, and in some cases, the artificial joints usually last for only 10 to 15 years, meaning some patients have to be operated upon again.

Scientists from Manchester University and Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust are using the power of embryonic stem cells to turn into other cell types.

They have found the 'recipe' to coax stem cells into quickly transforming chondrocytes, the cells that go on to produce cartilage.

Up to 97% of the cells generated in experiments were chondrocytes, making the technique much more successful than methods tried elsewhere, reported the journal Nature.

"The beauty is that it takes just two weeks in a dish to culture high efficiency of cells which have the characteristics of immature chondrocytes," researcher Sue Kimber said.

"But embryonic stem cell therapy is controversial because [the cells] are plucked from an embryo in its first days of life."

Though much more research is necessary, a stem cell jab for human joints could be available in just a decade.

The treatment may also be suitable for injured sportsmen and women who are judged young enough to undergo the trauma of joint replacement surgery and could be beneficial for arthritis sufferers too.