Stem Cells Treat Achilles Tendon Injury

In a “first” for stem cell therapy, the Ocala, Florida based Biologic Therapies, Inc. successfully treated a patient’s chronically injured Achilles tendon with an injection of stem cells. Biologic Therapies’ Chief Medical Director R. Wade McKenna, M.D. and Chief Scientific Officer Neil H. Riordan, M.D. founders of the Riordan-McKenna Institute in Southlake, Texas, authored the report titled ‘Minimally Invasive Autologous Bone Marrow Concentrate Stem Cells in the Treatment of the Chronically Injured Achilles Tendon: A Case Report” The journal, CELLR4, the official journal of The Cure Alliance, published the report.

The case involved a 56-year-old patient who complained about a painful “knot” in her left Achilles tendon. She had been an active tennis player and recreational athlete, but had not been able to play tennis or jog for ten years. She experienced severe pain when walking. She had been to multiple physicians and had followed ten years of standard treatment with stretches and anti-inflammatories. She had refused multiple offers of invasive surgery that could not promise a return to tennis.

On physical examination McKenna found that the patient had a large, palpable knot in the Achilles tendon. An MRI scan showed severe hypertrophic changes with marked tendinopathy.

The patient received stem cell therapy in the doctor’s office. McKenna drew bone marrow from the patient’s tibia, processed it in a centrifuge to concentrate the stem cells and growth factors and then injected the mixture around the patient’s injured tendon. McKenna had given the patient an injection of local anesthesia and she reported little or not pain during the procedure.

After six weeks the patient reported no pain at rest and minimal pain while walking. After eight weeks, there was less pain while walking. The knot had shrunk to less than 50% of the pre-treatment size and was relatively non-tender to touch. The patient was playing tennis without significant pain or difficulty. After ten weeks an MRI scan showed even more reduction in the size of the knot, and pain was reduced even further. After 32 weeks an MRI scan showed near complete healing of the treated Achilles tendon.

According to Luke Whalen, Biologic Therapies’ CEO, “This is an extremely important development for Biologic Therapies. The case report shows that stem cell therapy is an effective treatment for chronic Achilles tendon injury, which has not been documented before. The report also shows that stem cell therapy for this type of injury can be administered in a physician’s office as a point-of-care outpatient procedure using Biologic Therapies products. There is no need for hospitalization and surgery as would have been the case previously.”