Application of Stem Cells in Orthopedics. Stem Cell Intern 2012
Application of Stem Cells in Orthopedics
Andreas Schmitt,1,2 Martijn van Griensven,2 Andreas B. Imhoff,1 and Stefan Buchmann1,31Department of Sports Orthopedics, Technical University, 81675 Munich, Germany
2Department of Trauma Surgery, Technical University, 81675 Munich, Germany
3Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Schulthess Clinic, 8008 Zurich, SwitzerlandReceived 2 November 2011; Accepted 19 December 2011Academic Editor: Umile Longo Copyright © 2012 Andreas Schmitt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.AbstractStem cell research plays an important role in orthopedic regenerative medicine today. Current literature provides us with promising results from animal research in the fields of bone, tendon, and cartilage repair. While early clinical results are already published for bone and cartilage repair, the data about tendon repair is limited to animal studies. The success of these techniques remains inconsistent in all three mentioned areas. This may be due to different application techniques varying from simple mesenchymal stem cell injection up to complex tissue engineering. However, the ideal carrier for the stem cells still remains controversial. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of current basic research and clinical data concerning stem cell research in bone, tendon, and cartilage repair. Furthermore, a focus is set on different stem cell application techniques in tendon reconstruction, cartilage repair, and filling of bone defects.
