A single injection of stem cells could help restore normal bone structure in osteoporosis patients, according to a new study that tested the technique in mice.
Researchers from the University of Toronto and Ottawa Hospital suggested the possibility may no longer be too remote, establishing a causal link between mice developing age-related osteoporosis and their defective or low levels of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the body.
“We reasoned that if defective MSCs are responsible for osteoporosis, transplantation of healthy MSCs should be able to prevent or treat osteoporosis,” reports senior study author and professor William Stanford.
Around the world, osteoporosis affects more than 200 million individuals, including both men and women, unlike in post-menopausal osteoporosis (type I). Type II or age-related osteoporosis is characterized by diminishing inner bone structure, which leaves the bone thinner and less dense and functional.
The disease is the culprit behind about 8.9 million fractures worldwide every year, with hip fractures — one of the most common types among sufferers — leading to substantial lack of mobility and even causing death.
The team injected osteoporotic mice with stem cells from healthy mice. MSCs can transform into bone cells and can be transplanted from a subject to another without the need for a match, and therefore sans the risk of rejection.
Results showed that six months after injection (one-fourth of the animals’ life span), the osteoporosis-stricken bone became healthy and functional.
According to co-author and professor John E. Davies, they merely hoped for increased bone health, but instead saw the “inner coral-like [bone] architecture” in the mice return to normal.
This new discovery on single-dose stem cells offers hope for osteoporosis treatment, where there is currently only one commercial therapy available, a medication deemed effective only for two years. Researchers have moved forward with early human trials that could eventually pave the way for larger clinical trials in the next five years.
Stem cells first emerged in the early 1960s through the research of professors James Till and Ernest McCulloch of the University Toronto.
The findings were discussed in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
A recently published study warned that men with infertility issues could be at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis and metabolic diseases such as diabetes.
Swedish researchers found that infertile male subjects carried high risks of hypogonadism or insufficient testosterone production, along with low bone density — a particularly common finding among those with low testosterone levels. This makes them a likely target of osteoporosis and fractures.
