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.
© The Author(s) 2022.