Many
leading orthopedic companies are researching bone cell therapies and are trying
to open up possibilities of incorporating stem cells in this regard. According
to the study ‘Osteonecrosis
Global Clinical Trials Review, H1, 2018’,
Bone Therapeutics is a leading cell therapy company addressing high unmet needs
in orthopedics and bone diseases. The Belgium based company operates a
diversified portfolio of bone cell therapy products in clinical development
across a number of disease areas targeting markets with large unmet medical
needs and limited innovation.
Avascular
necrosis also called osteonecrosis or bone infarction is the death of bone
tissue caused by interruption of blood supply. It is a focal infarct of bone
that may be caused by specific etiologic factors or may even be of idiopathic
nature, meaning it can arise out of unknown reasons spontaneously. It may lead
to pain, limitation in motion, joint collapse and osteoarthritis. Diagnosis is
done by X-ray and MRI with the latter being more sensitive and specific. In
early stages, surgical procedures may slow or prevent progression. In later
stages, joint replacement may be required for relief of pain and maintenance of
function. It is often suspected in patients with unexplained non-traumatic pain
in the hip, knee or shoulder.
Osteonecrosis
is most often a complication of displaced hip fracture but factors that
compromise bone blood flow such as chronic corticosteroid use and excessive
alcohol consumption tend to increase risk of non-traumatic osteonecrosis. The
hip (femoral head) is most commonly affected followed by the knee and shoulder.
The wrist and ankle are less often involved. Since osteonecrosis affects mostly
the joints and bones, the most widely used treatment is via surgery carried out
by orthopedic surgeons. Core decompression and bone grafting are popular in
this respect. Various surgical procedures are helpful to relieve pain and
improve function of the affected femoral head in the early stages; however, the
secondary trauma caused by surgical intervention remains an inevitable clinical
problem where surgical procedures are unable to prevent deformity and collapse
in deteriorating cases of osteonecrosis of femoral head.
Currently
the attention of researchers is focused on three key points that will help
maximize the efficiency of existing resources. The first, enhancing the
sensibility and accuracy of diagnosis to raise the rate of early diagnosis, the
second, improving surgical operation technology or developing minimally
invasive surgery to avoid the secondary trauma caused by surgical intervention
and the third, exploring drugs or grafting products to promote reparative bone
remodeling thereby obtaining a good prognosis. Following advances in basic
science, many new insights focus on bone tissue engineering to optimize
therapies and facilitate prognosis of osteonecrosis.
Research
is also attempting to answer the question on how to reverse the early stage of
osteonecrosis and promote reparative bone remodeling as the key for maintaining
the undestroyed joint adjacent to lesion areas and making available therapies
to facilitate a good prognosis. In this review, disease classifications,
current treatment options, potential therapies and the relevant translational
barriers are being reviewed in the context of clinical application and
preclinical exploration, which would provide guidance for preferable treatment
options and translation into novel therapies.
To know more, click on the link below:
Related Reports:
Contact Us:
Ken
Research
Ankur
Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
+91-9015378249
