HIP DISORDER CURED USING STEM CELLS

A multi-specialty hospital  has successfully used stem cells 

to cure a hip joint disorder, relieving affected patients from 

expensive surgery and conservative treatment.

They have so far treated seven patients, including two non-

resident Indians (NRIs) suffering from hip joint disorder using 

their stem cells and helped them to resume normal life within 

months," Live 100 Hospital( Bangalore, India) chairman has said.

Known medically as avascular necrosis, the uncommon 

disease leads to temporary or permanent loss of blood supply 

to hip joint bone and causes disorder. If not treated early, the 

dislocation of the hip bone with joint surface can result in 

disability. Any serious injury, medications such as steroids, 

blood coagulation or excessive alcohol can cause blood loss.

Stem cell therapy has been used for the first time in the world to 

treat the hip bone disorder by rejuvenating its tissues with the 

bone marrow of the patient. Stem cells in the marrow of the 

affected bone are separated from red blood cells and blood 

plasma through a clinical process and injected into the hip joint 

of the patient said.

The private hospital  has tied up with a  laboratory to harvest 

the stem cells and transplant them through four injections over 

four weeks to restore the hip joint function lost due to damage 

to its cartilage. The stem cells also repair bone cells as they 

can differentiate between bone and cartilage cells.

The novel treatment has no bleeding or scar formation as the 

process does not involve surgery. The patient has to visit our 

hospital for a day in a week for each of the four injections the 

doctor said.

Though the treatment costs a patient Rs.350,000 currently, the 

hospital hopes to bring it down over time when awareness of 

the stem cell therapy spreads and more patients opt for the 

treatment.