Osteoarthritis is a common musculoskeletal disorder that occurs in the elderly, both in women and men. The prevalence of OA shows that about 29.5% of individuals aged 25 and older are at risk of developing OA. Meanwhile, about 35% of women and men aged 69 and older have OA in their knees. Osteoarthritis is a rather complex and multifactorial disease that causes structural changes in the articular cartilage. The multifactorial nature of OA is attributed to various factors, including the loss of cartilage, bone hypertrophy, and thickening of the bone capsule (Nguyen, 2014).
Osteoarthritis (OA) can occur due to various triggering factors, including local factors such as joint injury/trauma, obesity, occupation, physical activities/exercise, and systemic factors such as age, gender, hormones, genetics, and dietary patterns (Ashkavand et al., 2013). Clinical manifestations of OA typically include the emergence of pain, stiffness, swelling, and restricted movement around the affected joints. Current treatments for OA have primarily focused on reducing pain symptoms rather than repairing the structural damage to the articular cartilage and surrounding tissues undergoing degeneration (Brown et al., 2019).
The common treatment often involves injections of exogenous Hyaluronic Acid (HA), which can alleviate OA symptoms through several pathways, including inhibiting degradative chondroenzymatic enzymes and inflammatory processes, stimulating chondrocyte metabolism, and synthesizing components of the articular cartilage matrix (Goldberg and Buckwalter, 2005).
However, the treatment of HA also faces several limitations, including its relatively high cost, inconsistency in various clinical trials, and the delayed onset of HA effects (Hochberg, 2012).
Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSCs) are multipotent cells capable of proliferating and differentiating into various cell types. MSCs can regulate inflammatory responses and release biomolecules through paracrine signaling, influencing cell migration and proliferation processes. The growth of MSCs in culture media results in the secretion of various bioactive compounds such as cytokines, growth factors, microRNAs, proteasomes, and exosomes, acting as tissue repair agents through paracrine signaling mechanisms (Maxson et al., 2012).
ProSTEM, a stem cell storage and processing laboratory in Indonesia, collaborates with Dr. Yanuarso, Sp.OT, a specialist in Orthopedics at RSPAD Gatot Soebroto, to conduct clinical trials aimed at assessing the potential of stem cells in treating osteoarthritis.
Refrences :
1 Ashkavand Z., Hassan M., & Bannikuppe S.V. (2013). The pathophysiology of Osteoarthritis. Journal of Pharmacy Research: r13-r14.
2 Brown M., Scholes C., Hafsi H., Marenah M., Li J., & Hassan F. (2019). Efficacy and safety of culture-expanded, mesenchymal stem/ stromal cells for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review protocol.
3 Goldberg V.M. & Buckwalter J.A. (2005). Hyaluronans in the treatment of Osteoarthritis of the knee: evidence for disease-modifying activity. Osteoarthritis Cartilages 13: 216-224.
4 Hochberg M.C. (2012). American college of rheumatology 2012 recommendations foe the use of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies in osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 64(4): 465-474.
5 Maxon S., Lopez E., Yoo A., Danilkovitch-Miagkova A., & LeRoux MA. (2012). Concise review: role of mesenchymal stem cells in wound repair. Stem cells Transl. Med. 1: 142-149.
6 Nguyen T (2014). Osteoarthritis in Southeast Asia. Int. J. Clin. Rheumatol . 9(5): 405-408.
