Background: This review article outlines the recent advances, uses, and adverse effects of
cell-based therapy for chronic pain management. Cell based therapies are gaining increasing
ground as novel treatment modalities for a variety of pain pathologies that include, but
are not limited to, neuropathic pain and degenerative disc disease. As these treatment
modalities become more common practice, we have focused our review to provide pain
practitioners and other practicing physicians an understanding of the technology and to
summarize key clinical data and existing clinical trials that are being pursued by clinical
investigators worldwide.
Objective: Review of stem cell technology and applications in pain management.
Study Design: Narrative review.
Methods: The Pubmed NCBI and EMBASE databases was utilized to review published
reports of clinical studies reported from 2000 to 2015, and ClinicalTrials.gov (www.
clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/search) search function was used to document ongoing clinical trials
[keywords: “chronic pain,” “disc pain,” “cell therapy,” “osteoarthritis,” “neuropathic,”
“stem cell”] currently active and recruiting patients.
Results: Articles were screened by title, abstract, and full article review. They were then
analyzed by specific clinical indications and appropriate data were presented based on
critical analysis of those articles.
Limitations: More studies looking at the systematic use of stem cells in pain management
will be required to draw conclusions about the benefits of the technology.
Conclusion: Though the data from existing studies look promising for the use of stem
cells as a novel therapeutic strategy for discogenic pain, neuropathic pain, and osteoarthritis,
additional clinical studies will be needed to validate the benefit of the technology for clinical
use. However, we hope that this narrative review will help guide pain physicians in making
informed decisions for their patients about the potential of cell-based therapy for treating
chronic pain conditions.
Key words: Stem cell therapy, chronic pain, clinical trials, disc pain, neuropathic pain,
mesenchymal stem cells, osteoarthritis, pain management
Special considerations in conducting clinical trials of chronic pain management interventions in children and adolescents and their families