An injectable cell therapy may offer hope to people with osteoarthritis (OA), the joint disease that affects about 32.5 million U.S. adults.

Someday, an injectable cell therapy could become the standard of care to reverse painful, debilitating osteoarthritis (OA), the joint disease that affects about 32.5 million U.S. adults.

As those who have it know, osteoarthritis is a painful condition that affects quality of life and movement. It’s more common with age, and ethnicity plays a role. According to the CDC, doctor-diagnosed OA affects more than 26% of American Indians/Alaska Natives, 23% of Caucasians, 21% of African-Americans, 16% of Hispanics and 12% of Asians. But the severity of OA varies among people, regardless of their ethnicity.

One bright spot: Researchers at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, have already shown the injected cell therapy works in a small pilot study with 9 patients. Anthony Atala, MD, the institute’s director, explains: Inflammation in the joints of someone with OA leads to the cartilage lining the joint bones breaking down, which causes swelling, pain and limitation of movement.

The cell therapy his team developed can overcome that inflammatory environment and regenerate the cartilage. Bottom line: “By using special stem cells that you can turn into cartilage, you can achieve regeneration.” While numerous for-profit clinics offer stem cell treatment for arthritis, it is not considered standard of care, Dr. Atala says. And the FDA has not yet approved any stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis. Many clinical trials, listed at clinical trials.gov, are underway, however.

Meanwhile, other researchers have looked at an existing drug, methotrexate, used to treat cancers and some other forms of arthritis, and found it reduces pain and stiffness in those with OA of the hand. In an ongoing study, other researchers are looking at another drug, talarozole, to see if can reduce hand OA pain in some.

Reduce the Pain

For now, there are no ways to reverse OA, but there are ways to reduce the pain. “I think the best is still exercise and weight loss,” says Richard Loeser, MD, director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who has researched how well these approaches work.

Diet and exercise together are the winning combination in those who have OA and are overweight, he has found.  When Loeser and his co-researchers assigned 823 people, all with knee OA, age 50 or above and overweight, to a diet and exercise intervention or a control group not given the diet and exercise protocol, those in the diet and exercise group had less knee pain at the 18-month mark. The pain difference was small but statistically significant, he says. The diet and exercise group shed an average of 17 pounds; the control group, under 4 pounds.

Exercise doesn’t have to be high-intensity to help. Researchers compared a high-dose exercise program, with 11 exercises over 70 to 90 minutes, to low-dose regimens of 5 exercises for 20 to 30 minutes. Both groups worked out three times a week for 12 weeks; researchers found both groups had similar improvement in pain, with a small benefit found for high-intensity exercise for those who did sports.

Loeser recommends a combination of aerobic exercise (walking, swimming) and strength training.

Senior Planet offers a special “Experts and Insights” talk on Rethinking Exercise on February 16. Experts will reveal how to get the exercise habit. Learn more here. Or try a Strength and Stability class offered on Tuesdays. 

You can also visit the CDC for many more suggestions—check out its Lifestyle Management Programs.

YOUR TURN

How do you handle OA pain and maintain a good quality of life? Share your tips!

Kathleen Doheny is a Los Angeles-based independent journalist, specializing in health, behavior, fitness and lifestyle stories. Besides writing for Senior Planet, she reports for WebMD, Medscape, MedCentral and other sites.  She is a mom, mother-in-law and proud and happy Mimi who likes to hike, jog and shop.
Doheny photo: Shaun Newton

This article offered by Senior Planet and Older Adults Technology Services is for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition. If you think you may have a medical emergency call 911 immediately.