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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2015; 7(1): 96-105
Published online Jan 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.96
Stem cells for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain
Luminita Labusca, Florin Zugun-Eloae, Kaveh Mashayekhi
Luminita Labusca, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University Hospital Saint Spiridon, 700111 Iasi, Romania
Luminita Labusca, Kaveh Mashayekhi, Department of Clinical Veterinary and Animal Science, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Florin Zugun-Eloae, Department of Molecular Genetics and Immunology, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700000 Iasi, Romania
Florin Zugun-Eloae, Kaveh Mashayekhi, BioTalentum, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Author contributions: Labusca L drafted the manuscript and outlined the section on stem cell treatment; Zugun-Eloae F wrote the section on molecular mechanisms of pain and revised the text; Mashayekhi K performed the graphic analysis of pain demographics and revised the text.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Luminita Labusca, MD, PhD, Department of Clinical Veterinary and Animal Science, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Gronnegardsvej 7, Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, Denmark. luminita.labusca@sund.ku.dk
Telephone: +45-2-6793067 Fax: +45-3-5327070
Received: July 24, 2014
Peer-review started: July 25, 2014
First decision: August 14, 2014
Revised: September 17, 2014
Accepted: September 18, 2014
Article in press: December 16, 2014
Published online: January 26, 2015
Abstract

Musculoskeletal-related pain is one of the most disabling health conditions affecting more than one third of the adult population worldwide. Pain from various mechanisms and origins is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated. The complexity of molecular mechanisms correlating pain and the progression of musculoskeletal diseases is not yet fully understood. Molecular biomarkers for objective evaluation and treatment follow-up are needed as a step towards targeted treatment of pain as a symptom or as a disease. Stem cell therapy is already under investigation for the treatment of different types of musculoskeletal-related pain. Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies are already being tested in various clinical trials that use musculoskeletal system-related pain as the primary or secondary endpoint. Genetically engineered stem cells, as well as induced pluripotent stem cells, offer promising novel perspectives for pain treatment. It is possible that a more focused approach and reassessment of therapeutic goals will contribute to the overall efficacy, as well as to the clinical acceptance of regenerative medicine therapies. This article briefly describes the principal types of musculoskeletal-related pain and reviews the stem cell-based therapies that have been specifically designed for its treatment.

Keywords: Molecular biomarkers, Musculoskeletal pain, Stem cells

Core tip: This minireview discusses how biomarker discovery and stem cell therapies for musculoskeletal pain can advance knowledge and contribute to improvement of quality of life of individuals suffering from this condition.