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. 2015 Jan;7(1):38-44.
doi: 10.1177/1941738114529727.

Current concepts: the role of mesenchymal stem cells in the management of knee osteoarthritis

Jesse I Wolfstadt  1 , Brian J Cole  2 , Darrell J Ogilvie-Harris  3 , Sowmya Viswanathan  4 , Jaskarndip Chahal  3
Affiliations

Current concepts: the role of mesenchymal stem cells in the management of knee osteoarthritis

Jesse I Wolfstadt et al. Sports Health. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

Context: The number of adults with osteoarthritis in the United States is expected to nearly double from 21.4 million in 2005 to 41.1 million by 2030. As a result, medical costs and associated comorbidity will exponentially increase in the coming decades. In the past decade, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a novel treatment for degenerative joint disease.

Evidence acquisition: PubMed (from 1990 to 2013) was searched to identify relevant studies. Reference lists of included studies were also reviewed.

Study design: Clinical review.

Level of evidence: Level 3.

Results: We identified 9 animal and 7 human studies investigating the use of MSCs in the treatment of osteoarthritis, with varying levels of support for this therapy.

Conclusion: While MSCs have shown potential for improving function and decreasing inflammation in animal studies, translation to patients is still in question. There is a great deal of heterogeneity in treatment methods. Standardizing the manufacturing and characterization of MSCs will allow for better comparisons.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells; osteoarthritis; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The following authors declared potential conflicts of interest: Sowmya Viswanathan, PhD, is a paid consultant for Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine and CEO of Cellulead. Brian J. Cole, MD, MBA, is a paid consultant for DePuy, Arthrex, Regentis, Zimmer, and Carticept; has grants/grant pending from S&N; receives royalties from Arthrex, DePuy, Elsevier, WB Saunders; and hold stock/stock options in Carticept and Regentis.

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