Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for ischemic femoral head necrosis.

BACKGROUND: Avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) is a highly mutilating disease. There is no effective way to treat femoral head ischemia. This study was designed to show the curative effects of peripheral blood stem cell transplantation to induce vascular regeneration and improve ischemic femoral head necrosis in rabbits.

METHODS: Twenty New Zealand white rabbits underwent ischemic femoral head necrosis in both hindlimbs using liquid-nitrogen refrigeration. One cohort of rats was intraperitoneally injected with granulocyte-specific colony-stimulating factor (250 microg/kg/d), and control animals received equivalent saline solution. The right side was used as the transplantation group and the left as the control. After separation of peripheral blood, a stem cell suspension was poured into the right femoral artery and saline solution into the left femoral artery.

RESULTS: At 4 weeks after peripheral stem cell transplantation, standing ability and activity of the the transplanted right hindlimb were remarkably improved, but there were no obvious changes in the control limbs. The experimental rabbits underwent arteriography of bilateral femoral heads, which indicated increased and thickened blood supply to the transplanted right hindlimb compared with the left control.

CONCLUSION: Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation improved ischemic femoral head necrosis.