Low-dose mesenchymal stem cell therapy for discogenic pain: safety and efficacy results from a 1-year feasibility study

Dan Bates; David Vivian; Julien Freitag; James Wickham; Bruce Mitchell; Paul Verrills; Kiran Shah; Richard Boyd; Dean Federman; Adele Barnard; Lera O'Connor; Jacqui F Young

doi:10.2144/fsoa-2021-0155

Low-dose mesenchymal stem cell therapy for discogenic pain: safety and efficacy results from a 1-year feasibility study

Future Sci OA. 2022 Apr 21;8(5):FSO794. doi: 10.2144/fsoa-2021-0155. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Authors

Dan Bates^{1

2

3

4}, David Vivian^{1

2

3

4}, Julien Freitag^{1

2

5}, James Wickham⁵, Bruce Mitchell^{1

2

3

4}, Paul Verrills^{1

2

3

4}, Kiran Shah², Richard Boyd⁶, Dean Federman⁷, Adele Barnard⁴, Lera O'Connor⁴, Jacqui F Young⁴

Affiliations

¹ Melbourne Stem Cell Centre, Box Hill, Victoria, 3128, Australia.
² Magellan Stem Cells, Victoria, Australia.
³ Metro Pain Group, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.
⁴ Monash Clinical Research, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.
⁵ School of Dentistry & Medical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia.
⁶ The Hudson Institute, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.
⁷ Capital Radiology, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate safety and efficacy of low dose autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) for treatment of disc degeneration resulting in low back pain (LBP).

Methods: Nine participants with chronic LBP originating from single-level lumbar disc disease underwent intradiscal injection of 10 million ADMSCs with optional repetition after 6 months.

Results: No unexpected or serious adverse events were recorded. Seven (78%) of participants reported reductions in pain 12 months after treatment. Five (56%) reported increased work capacity. Three (33%) reduced analgesic medication. Improvements in EQ-5D and Oswestry disability index results were observed. MRI demonstrated no further disc degeneration and improvements to annular fissures and disc protrusions.

Conclusion: This study provides initial evidence of safety and efficacy of ADMSCs for discogenic LBP.

Keywords: chronic pain; disc degeneration; discogenic low back pain; feasibility study; mesenchymal stem cells.