JRPMS Vol 5, No 3, September 2021, p.105-109
doi: 10.22540/JRPMS-05-105
PDF  
Review Article
Mesenchymal stem cells for articular cartilage repair treatment of the knee. A review of clinical studies
Christos P. Margiannis1, Stylianos S. Pernientakis2, Ioannis F. Mamais3, Efstathios G. Ballas1
- Paediatric Orthopedics Department, “Mitera” General Private Hospital, Athens, Greece
- Orthopaedic Department, “Korgialeneio Mpenakeio Hellenic Red Cross” Athens General Hospital, Greece
- Orthopaedic Department, “Iatriko Palaiou Falirou” Private Hospital, Greece
Keywords: Articular cartilage, Knee, Mesenchymal stem cells
Abstract
Knee cartilage lesions are a common source of pain and progressive debilitation affecting individuals in all age groups. Treatment of these lesions remains a challenge due to the poor healing capacity of the articular cartilage. Numerous techniques with various improvements in terms of pain and function have been published and only few of them have been proven to be valuable. Mesenchymal stem cells provide a new option for treatment due to their differentiation properties into several connective tissues. They can be isolated from several human tissues such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, synovial tissue, peripheral blood and periosteum. When applied in combination with proper biomaterials used as scaffolds as well as growth and other stimuli factors, they represent a promising treatment strategy. Aim of our study is to review the clinical trials which evaluate the current status of MSCs application for the management of knee cartilage lesions.