Emerging autologous cellular therapies, utilizing platelet-rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cell applications, have the potential to play an adjunctive role in a standardized wound care treatment plan in patients suffering from chronic and recalcitrant wounds. The use of platelet-rich plasma growth is based on the fact that platelet growth factors can support the three phases of wound healing and then ultimately contribute to full wound closure. Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies are also an attractive approach for the treatment of these difficult-to-heal wounds. This field of regenerative medicine focuses primarily on stem cells, which are specialized cells with the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell types. Mesenchymal stem cells can be isolated from bone marrow and adipose tissue via minimally manipulative and cell-processing techniques, at point of care. Both platelet-rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cell applications have the potential to become an effective and ideal autologous biological cell-based therapy, which can be applied to chronic wounds to effectively change the wound bed microenvironment to enable and accelerate wound closure.
Part of the book: Wound Healing
Autologously prepared bone marrow aspirate concentrates, have the potential to play an adjunctive role in various patient pathologies that have not been able to heal with conventional treatment modalities. The use of bone marrow aspirate (BMA) and concentrates in regenerative medicine treatment plans and clinical applications is based on the fact that bone marrow cells, including progenitor and nucleated cells, platelets, and other cytokines, support in tissue healing and tissue regenerative processes. The use of concentrated BMA cells focuses primarily on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), with the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell types. Concentrated bone marrow cells can be retrieved from harvested BMA and ensuing minimal manipulative cell processing techniques, executed at point of care (POC). The application of bone marrow biological therapies may offer solutions in musculoskeletal pathologies, spinal disorders, chronic wound care, and critical limb ischemia (CLI), to effectively change the local microenvironment to support in tissue healing and facilitate tissue regeneration. This chapter will address the cellular content of bone marrow tissue, harvesting and preparation techniques, and discuss the biological characteristics of individual marrow cells, their inter-connectivity, and deliberate on the effects of BMA concentration.
Part of the book: Regenerative Medicine