Stem cell generation breakthrough for older people

A new technique has been developed for harvesting stem cells from older people with arthritis undergoing hip replacement surgery, says research published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

The team from the University of New South Wales in Australia has found that that certain tissue usually discarded during routine hip replacements (periosteum-derived stem cells) may be a rich source of adult stem cells, which could then be used in various regenerative medicine applications. “Remarkable similarities” were found between them and commercial bone marrow stem cells.

Although still in its early stages, the work give scientists hope that they could one day use the cells to help heal or repair failing organs and treating serious diseases.

“Use of stem cells from periosteum may open up unprecedented opportunities for the treatment of disease and tissue/organ failure in a population of osteoarthritic patients born around four decades too early to bank their own cord tissue or blood,” says Dr Ulf Knothe who is working on the project.