Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma and Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Chronic Wounds

Emerging autologous cellular therapies, utilizing platelet-rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cell applications, have the potential to play an adjunctive role in a standardized wound care treatment plan in patients suffering from chronic and recalcitrant wounds. The use of platelet-rich plasma growth is based on the fact that platelet growth factors can support the three phases of wound healing and then ultimately contribute to full wound closure. Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies are also an attractive approach for the treatment of these difficult-to-heal wounds. This field of regenerative medicine focuses primarily on stem cells, which are specialized cells with the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell types. Mesenchymal stem cells can be isolated from bone marrow and adipose tissue via minimally manipulative and cell-processing techniques, at point of care. Both platelet-rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cell applications have the potential to become an effective and ideal autologous biological cell-based therapy, which can be applied to chronic wounds to effectively change the wound bed microenvironment to enable and accelerate wound closure