Teknon applied cell therapy against chronic back pain

– This is a non invasive technique which preserves the spinal mobility

-Teknon researchers lead clinical trials in cell therapy

Barcelona, 2011-September researchers of the unity of tissue regenerative therapy of Centro Médico Teknon, have found the suitable use of adult stem cells in the treatment of certain degenerative intervertebral disc disorders that cause of chronic low back pain. The results of the study have been published this month in the influential American scientific magazine Transplantation ” with more than 25,000 annual appointments.

Low-back pain is the second leading cause of low labour and responsible for the annual loss of 700,000 hours according to data provided by the Directorate General for research and innovation of the European Commission. It affects 67 million people in the European Union, of which 5 million are Spanish. It is estimated that 75% of the population suffers back pain at some point in his life; exceeds 90% before 3 months but in 5-10% is cronifica.

One of the most common causes of chronic low back pain is the degeneration of the intervertebral disc. In most cases this process is asymptomatic but when refractory pain must resort to various surgical procedures such as the Suppression of the movement of the affected area. Spain carried a 1,000 vertebral fixation or Arthrodesis annually and about 40,000 in the USA.

Against this alternative, the researchers designed a pilot study on 10 patients presenting with back pain chronic, attributable to degeneration of the lumbar disc, which injected a certain dose of stem cells. The cells were obtained from the bone of the pelvis of the same patients and cultivated at the Institute of biology Molecular Genetics, Center of the University of Valladolid and the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.

After three weeks of cultivation the resulting cellular product inoculated percutaneously and radioscopic control in the affected spinal disc. Both the procedure for obtaining cell as application is made under light sedation and local anesthesia and they do not require hospital admission.

Patients were followed and evaluated for a year, proving that they showed a significant improvement in pain and disability in 9 of the 10 treated cases. The effectiveness, comparing it with the current surgical solutions, was similar or even higher, with the

advantage that an intervention is non-invasive, simple and conservative that preserves the Biomechanics of spinal vertebral.

Currently the Spanish Agency of medicines and health products regularly authorizes Centro Médico Teknon researchers to keep practicing this cell therapy in selected cases, and always under his control.

All clinical trials and subsequent compassionate use treatments carried out by the unit has been under the approval and oversight of the Ethics Committee and Teknon clinic research under the current legal regulations, both the Department of health and the Ministry of health, Social Affairs and equality.

Trial took place in accordance with the agreement signed between the unity of tissue regenerative therapy of Centro Médico Teknon and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, agency of the Ministry of science and innovation, was framed in the Plan of advanced therapies, which led to the Ministry of health in 2007 and is the result of the research network which enables the TerCel network of the named Instituto Carlos III, also being a sample of the benefits of scientific collaboration between public and private entities that was attended by researchers from Centro Médico Teknon, the IBGM of Valladolid and Egarsat (mutual of occupational accidents and diseases of social security).

Unit therapy regenerative tissue of Centro Médico Teknon, co-directed by doctors Lluís Orozco Delclós and Robert Rich Soler is a pioneer in research and treatment with adult stem cells. It collaborates with public and private institutions, as well as optional in various medical specialties to determine scientific evidence of the benefit of cell therapy. Seven clinical trials and more than 130 patients treated with aims of bone regeneration in consolidation, regeneration of cartilage defects joint in osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc regeneration, behind this therapeutic potential and open up a broad spectrum of future applications.