Chronic Back Pain Stem Cell Treatment Could Cut Need for Opioids

There is an opioid epidemic killing the nation.  Back pain affects roughly twenty-eight million people in the United States.  The stem cell treatment discussed in this article could bring relief millions of people and the best part is that it would not require individuals to take opioids.  Unfortunately, opioid overdose has increased about four times since 1999; they account for 33,000 deaths in 2015 alone.  A leading cause to overdose is from getting a serious injury that requires the individual injured to rely on opioids.  Sometimes these individuals become addicted to the opioids.  However, stem cell treatment aims to stop this epidemic. 

In this stem cell treatment, stem cells are injected into the damaged discs between the vertebrae of the spine.  Each dose or stem cell contains about six million cells called mesenchymal precursor cells.  These cells decrease inflammation and secrete factors which help rebuild the damaged tissue in the spine.  The stem cells being used for these injections are being tested for treating degenerative disc diseases.  The discs between vertebrae act as cushions that absorb the shock from the normal wear and tear of every day life.  When these discs wear down and become thinner, they loose their ability to cushion the vertebrae.  This then leads individuals to seek relief from opioids.  Studies done with stem cell treatment show that one injection of stem cells helped individuals become mobile again and did not experience back pain for two years. 

Stem cell treatment is the new pain killer.  Using stem cell injections will lower the opioid epidemic across the nation.  I found this article informative and relatable.  Almost every individual experiences lower back pain at some point in their life, and those who have know it is an unbearable pain.  However, for those individuals who may be affected by addiction stem cell treatment is a perfect replacement for opioids.  Overall, I agree with the ideas presented in this article and I am excited to learn about future stem cell treatments.

KNOWINGLY TAKING PLACEBO PILLS EASES PAIN

A new study is the first to demonstrate that patients who knowingly take placebos or "fake pills" for lower back pain, still resulted in a 30 percent ease in pain and 29 percent decrease in disability when compared to the control group. This study essentially redefines the effects placebo pills has on health and wellness. A paper published in the journal Pain demonstrated how those given open-label placebo pills had improvements which, superseded those of patients who only received the traditional medications for lower back pain. 

                

         

Ted Kaptchuk, director of the Program for Placebo Studies and Therapeutic Encounter at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard medical School states, "These findings completely turn our understanding of the placebo effect on its head. This new research demonstrates that the placebo effect is not necessarily elicited by patients' conscious expectation that they are getting an active medicine, as long thought. Taking a pill in the context of a patient-clinician relationship--even if you know it's a placebo--is a ritual that changes symptoms and probably activates regions of the brain that modulate symptoms." When a patient interacts with their doctors or nurses during treatment, the psychological effect of feeling cared for, of empathy and of trust, can lead to a positive physiological effect, whether the medication is active or not.

While it shouldn't replace medications for tumors or other extreme ailments, the study shows that the placebo effect holds precedent and can to relieve symptoms, such as back pain to a degree without invoking a physiological effect on the body.

References:

    1. Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center. "Knowingly taking placebo pills eases pain, study finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 October 2016. <www.scienccedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161014214919.htm>.

    2. Claudia Carvalho, Joaquim Machado Caetano, Lidia Cunha, Paula Rebouta, Ted J. Kaptchuk, Irving Kirsch. open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain. PAIN, 2016; 1 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000700