Effect of administration of mesenchymal stem cells on cartilage recovery and knee function in patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by degenerative changes of articular cartilage and secondary bone hyperplasia. Because articular cartilage has a specific structure, such as the absence of blood vessels and the low rate of chondrocyte transformation in the cartilage matrix, treatment presents several clinical challenges. So, the aim of study was to evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cell administration on cartilage repair and knee function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Materials & Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 20 patients with knee osteoarthritis in Imam Hussein Hospital in 2017 were selected and randomly divided to the experimental and control groups. Functional improvement (According to WOMAC), pain relief (according to VAS), and meniscus degeneration (according to MRI) were determined and compared between the studied groups. Results: Functional improvement (According to WOMAC) (P= 0.034), pain relief (according to VAS) (P= 0.049), and meniscus degeneration (P= 0.02) were significantly better in the experimental group than the control. Conclusions: According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that administration of mesenchyme stem cells has an acceptable effectiveness on cartilage recovery, knee function, and pain relief in patient with knee osteoarthritis.