Stem cell hope for arthritis sufferers

The year-long trial could be the first step towards radical new treatments that avoid the need for joint replacement surgery.

Osteoarthritis affects an estimated eight million people in the UK. The condition is caused by progressive wear damage to the surface of the joints, leading to stiffness and pain.

In severe cases the joints have to be replaced with artificial implants.

Each year around 60,000 hip replacements and about the same number of knee replacements are carried out in the UK.

The condition accounts for most of the estimated 5.7bn a year economic cost to Britain of musculoskeletal conditions.

Stem cell therapy offers the hope of "rebuilding" joints, using an arthritic patient's own immune system-friendly cells.

Plans are now in place for the first patient trial in the UK of such an approach to tackling osteoarthritis. The trial, funded by the charity Arthritis Research UK, will use stem cells extracted from bone marrow to repair worn knee cartilage.

Up to 70 people with established knee osteoarthritis will take part in the study, due to be launched at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, Shropshire, before the end of this year. The trial is part of a 500,000 five-year research programme.

Stem cells are immature undeveloped cells that be turned into different kinds of tissue and grown in the laboratory.

In the trial, stem cells will be removed from the bone marrow and grown for three weeks.

They will then be implanted into the area of damage in the hope of forming new cartilage over a period of several months.