RA and stem cell therapy
Hi everyone 😊
Has anyone tried stem cell injections to treat their condition?
I have had RA for the last 13 years, been on almost all biologics.
Currently my body is resistant to the medicines and I’ve been thinking about this innovative therapy. Anyone with relevant experience or thoughts?
Thanks so much 🙏🏽
I have not tried it for me, but I do have a buddy who has tries it for his knees to help regrow cartilage. He just got it so we are still waiting to see how well it worked, but the general reviews have been pretty good. Hopefully it staves off his knee replacements for a while, in the meantime let us know what you decide! Keep on keepin' on, DPM
Hi,
!
You know, I've been a moderator for this community for seven years and this question comes up every so often. And the weird part is that there really hasn't been any new news to report on this since 2018. I wish that weren't the case, but it just hasn't seemed to have caught on with RA patients.
That's not to say it isn't worth looking into. I just don't have any new information to offer up. Here is a link from a study done a few years back that you may find interesting -- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4801796/. If you decide to pursue this treatment, I would love to hear how it goes.
And who knows? Maybe some of our members have tried it and they can share with you!
Best, Erin, RheumatoidArthritis.net Team Member.
Thanks so much for your reply.
Yes I agree, there is still not enough evidence that it works. But sometimes personal experience of patients can shed light on new options, even though the science is still not clear.
By the way - check out this interesting paper. Maybe these genius scientists will find a way….https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0142961222001132?via%3Dihub, thanks for sharing that info! I am open to any treatment options that may truly work, so here's hoping!
Best, Erin, RheumatoidArthritis.net Team Member.
I agree that new cartilage will probably be attacked. What interests me however is the claim that stem cells have anti inflammatory properties. That can be helpful. But knowledge about it is still very vague.
thanks so much. The clinical trial is interesting. Here are their conclusions, for interested readers: “The results indicated that a single, intravenous administration of autologous adMSCs is safe and efficacious for improvement in joint function in patients with active RA. Data from the current study supports the exploration of ad-MSCs as a therapeutic intervention for RA.”
It’s not fabulous news but it’s good news in the good direction.@RA Sam that is a very knowledgeable and depressing 😀 explanation… so what can be taken on a daily basis instead of prednisone?
