Stem cell help to relieve back pain

A SINGLE injection of six million stem cells into a degenerative spinal disc can reduce back pain, opioid reliance and the need for invasive spinal surgery for at least two years, early trial results show.

The Australian-developed treatment, an off-the-shelf stem cell product that can treat 20,000 patients from cells grown from one healthy young person, is being tested as part of an international clinical trial.

Back pain is the most common cause of disability worldwide, with a quarter of cases caused by degenerative spinal disc disease.

This can occur when the cushions between vertebrae are injured, but spinal discs also dehydrate — just like the skin wrinkles — as we age.

The treatment from regenerative medicine company Mesoblast, is the result of 10 years of research at Monash University and Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

The 100-patient, doubleblinded phase II trial found a greater proportion of those treated halved their pain level compared with the placebo a year after treatment. It also reduced the need for pain relief and surgery.

But orthopedic surgeons not connected to the study say the proof lies in phase III, as the current study did not show meaningful real-world benefit.

Principle investigator of the Australian trial site, neurosurgeon Tony Goldschlager, who is on Mesoblast’s scientific board, said the stem cells worked in two ways.

“The stem cells themselves are important anti-inflammatory agents,” he said.

“They also trigger the body’s own cells, which are asleep in a dehydrated disc, to start working”.

Already 300 people have been enrolled in the phase III trial, due to finish this year.