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Joint pain


The anti-inflammatory properties of stem cells have become a successful way to return to life in motion.

  1. Main page
  2. Stem cell treatment programs
  3. Joint pain
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Causes of knee pain

Knee pain can be different. Young people are more likely to have knee pain due to injuries. In the elderly, problems associated with physiological degenerative-dystrophic changes occur later. In addition, joints are often affected by autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Whatever the cause, you shouldn't ignore knee pain.
The GOOD CELLS team offers the use of adipose mesenchymal stem cells. Depending on the case, we provide local administration of cell product or a combination of local and intravenous administration.
72% of our patients get a successful result after treatment.

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Treatment of knee pain

Indication:
This treatment is indicated for patients over 18 y.o. with joint pain of various origins.
Contraindications:
oncological diseases or their presence in the anamnesis for the last five years; pregnancy; mental disorders; alcohol and drug addiction.

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Stem cells in action

Mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue have a high ability to differentiate into connective tissue, and therefore, in cases of injured joints or age-related changes contribute to the regeneration of cartilage.

In arthrosis and arthritis, the paracrine effect and anti-inflammatory action of stem cells have a positive effect, which helps to reduce pain, improve regeneration processes and increase range of motion.

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The treatment process

  • 1. Consultation with a manager

    Contact our managers with no obligations on your side. At this step, we gather your medical information and confirm the diagnosis. After that, we'll arrange a free online or offline consultation with a doctor.

  • 2. Consultation with a doctor 

    A personal consultation with a doctor is an opportunity for you to find out all details of the program and get an individual prognosis. All the medical information you provide will be carefully reviewed so that you get the most effective treatment. The procedures take place in our clinical institutions in Kyiv, Ukraine.
    The course of the treatment is developed individually and lasts 4 days or more.

  • 3. Checkup

    During the checkup, the doctor assesses your readiness for cell therapy. If the assessment is positive, biological materials are taken. Depending on your doctor's recommendations, you may be prescribed your own* or donor stem cells.

    * If you are prescribed the treatment with your own cells, you will have an ear punch biopsy performed under anesthesia in an operating room. The procedure lasts for 15 minutes. The punch depth is up to 4 mm, and the diameter is up to 3 mm.

  • 4. Preparation of the stem cell product

    OWN CELLSAfter the biomaterials are collected, our team of biotechnologists will prepare a therapeutic dose of stem cells. In our laboratory, we will select stem cells from your sample, grow the required number of cells, test them, then create a stem cell product for your treatment. Usually, the production takes up to 21 days.
    DONOR CELLSAccording to the doctor's prescription, the biotechnologist will select a ready-made and pre-tested sample of donor cells from our cryobank in the required quantity. In this case, cell injection can happen immediately after diagnosis and drug preparation.

  • 5. Start of treatment

    During your first visit to the clinic, you will consult with a doctor, then have an instrumental (MRI or X-ray), clinical, and laboratory checkup.

  • 6. Injection of the cellular product, the regeneration phase

    As part of treatment, the doctor may prescribe local introduction of a cellular product or a combination of local and systemic cell therapy.

  • 7. Medical report and reducing of the basic treatment

    You will be provided with a medical assessment report that states the diagnosis, the examination results (clinical, laboratory, and instrumental), the treatment process, and further recommendations. he doctor will examine you, select the necessary treatment, or adjust the one prescribed to you at the time of arrival at the clinic.

  • 8. Keeping in touch

    The main results can be observed within 6 months after treatment. You will see the improvement of the regenerative processes in the body.

    Throughout the program, you will have a personal manager who will ensure the best communication between you and the clinic. After treatment, our patients are advised to maintain contact with us. We'll ask you to fill out a questionnaire in 3 and 6 months after the treatment to evaluate the progress and answer all questions.

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Scientific evidence

The biological prerequisites for the use of MSCs in the treatment of degenerative changes in the joints are:
immunomodulatory properties of MSCs — the ability of MSCs to suppress the inflammatory phenotype of immune system cells; MSCs have a privileged status in the immune system due to the low level of MHCI expression and the absence on the surface of MHCII and costimulatory molecules CD80/86; pro-angiogenic properties of MSCs mediated by the secretion of HGF, FGF, and VEGF; anti-fibrous properties are realized by the secretion of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF); anti-apoptotic properties of MSCs through the secretion of SDF-1 and SFRP2; the ability of MSCs to differentiate in the chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic directions, thereby replacing damaged and lost cells.
Clinical trials of MSCs for the treatment of osteoarthritis have shown encouraging results:
disappearance of pain in 8 days after therapy; restoration of functional activity of the knee joint; increased distance with painless walk; signs of cartilage regeneration; increased volume of the cartilage in the knee joint; positive changes after MSC therapy persisted for at least 12 months.
Details in the original publications:
1. Song Y. et al. Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells for osteoarthritis: a pilot study with long-term follow-up and repeated injections // 2018, Regenerative medicine. https://doi.org/10.2217/rme-2017-01522. Matas J et al. Umbilical Cord‐Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) for Knee Osteoarthritis: Repeated MSC Dosing Is Superior to a Single MSC Dose and to Hyaluronic Acid in a Controlled Randomized Phase I/II Trial. Stem cell translation medicine, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/sctm.18-0053 3. Freitag J. et al. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial. Regenerative medicine, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2217/rme-2018-0161
Application of MSCs in rheumatoid arthritis showed:
improvement of the general condition (sleep, digestion, physical activity) in more than 50% of patients; decrease in the number of autoreactive antibodies, C-reactive protein, pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6/TNF-α; increased the proportion of regulatory T-lymphocytes that inhibit the activation of other cells of the immune system; reduction of joint pain; reduction of edema; reducing the use of methotrexate and prednisolone. Details in the original publications:
1. Shadmanfar S. et al. Intra-articular knee implantation of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in rheumatoid arthritis patients with knee involvement: Results of a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1/2 clinical trial. Cytotherapy, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcyt.2017.12.0092. Yang, Y., He, X., Zhao, R. et al. Serum IFN-γ levels predict the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in active rheumatoid arthritis. J Transl Med 16, 165, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-018-1541-43. Liming Wang, Lihua Wang, Xiuli Cong, Guangyang Liu, Jianjun Zhou, Bin Bai, Yang Li, Wen Bai, Ming Li, Haijie Ji, Delin Zhu, Mingyuan Wu, and Yongjun Liu.Stem Cells and Development.Dec 2013, 3192-3202. http://doi.org/10.1089/scd.2013.0023

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FAQ

  • Is this treatment suitable for any age?

    Yes. The use of stem cells for joint disease treatment is suitable for people of all ages.

  • How long will my tissues recover?

    You will feel relief immediately, but the recovery of tissues can take up to 6-8 months. This is followed by stabilization.

  • Can I use my own cells, not donor ones?

    Yes, you can, but it's best to discuss this with your doctor. It's important to understand that it takes 3-4 weeks to cultivate your stem cells, and you will have to visit the clinic twice: for a biopsy and the administration when the dose is ready. Donor stem cells, which we usually use, are entirely safe.

  • Will it be necessary to repeat the course of treatment?

    Usually one course is enough. However, the results depend on your health, the level of joint damage, as well as your age.

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Do you have any questions left?

Please contact us, our managers are always ready to answer your questions. Consultation by phone is completely free and does not oblige you to anything.We will be happy to provide you with comprehensive information so that you could make the right choice!