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Review
. 2022 Jul 14;10(7):23259671221104409.
doi: 10.1177/23259671221104409. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Umbilical Cord-Derived Stem Cells for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review

Jaydeep Dhillon  1 , Matthew J Kraeutler  2 , J Wilson Belk  3 , Anthony J Scillia  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Umbilical Cord-Derived Stem Cells for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review

Jaydeep Dhillon et al. Orthop J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Background: The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) has gained recent interest in the orthopaedics community.

Purpose: To review the literature to evaluate the efficacy of umbilical cord-derived MSCs in the treatment of OA of the knee joint.

Study design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases to identify studies with evidence levels from 1 to 4 that evaluated the clinical efficacy of human umbilical cord-derived MSC (hUC-MSC) injections for knee OA. The search phrase used was "umbilical cord knee osteoarthritis." In the studies reviewed, patients were assessed based on the macroscopic International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (ICRS) score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, and the subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score.

Results: A total of 7 studies met inclusion criteria, including 385 patients undergoing injection of hUC-MSCs (mean age, 59.7 years). The mean follow-up was 23.4 months. Weighted averages of the WOMAC, macroscopic ICRS, subjective IKDC, and VAS scores all showed improvement from before to after treatment. No severe adverse reactions were recorded.

Conclusion: Patients undergoing treatment of knee OA with hUC-MSCs might be expected to experience improvements in clinical outcomes. Additional high-quality randomized studies are needed to better determine the efficacy of hUC-MSC for the treatment of knee OA.

Keywords: knee osteoarthritis; mesenchymal stem cells; umbilical cord.

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Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: A.J.S. has received research support from Isto Biologics; consulting fees from DePuy Synthes and Mitek; hospitality payments from Globus Medical; and stock/stock options from Biomet, ConMed Linvatec, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Smith & Nephew, and Stryker. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram. MSC, mesenchymal stem cell.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Results of ROBINS-I (Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions) assessment. Risk of bias is presented as a percentage across all included studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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