Stem Cell Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis, a Recent Literature Review

Abstract

Cell-based therapy and novel approaches using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) has been explored in recent years as a new regenerative therapy for knee osteoarthritis. MSCs are envisioned as the most extensively explored new therapeutic drugs in the treatment of cell-based osteoarthritis due to their ability to differentiate into chondrocytes and their immunomodulatory properties. Various procedures for cell selection and preparation have been described in studies on MSCs. This article focuses on a review of the available literature on MSC based cell therapy in primary knee osteoarthritis. Promising results have been obtained for cartilage repair in around thirty human studies. These results are like other cartilage repair methods, with good results in approximately 80% of the cases. However, the number of patients in stem cell studies is small and the follow-up period is very short. The new cartilage formed is a repair tissue and does not have the original cartilage structure. Therefore, there is not enough information about the long-term results of this treatment. It has not been shown to be superior to other cartilage repair methods. Orthopedic use of stem cells is still in its infancy. Although the results obtained are promising, they are not yet included in standard treatment protocols. Stem cell research continues all over the world, but the ideal application method is unknown. There is a need for further clinical studies with a larger patient populations and longer follow-up periods. © 2023 Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi. All rights reserved.