Clinical efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for osteoarthritis treatment: A meta-analysis.

PURPOSE:The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). MATERIALS:We performed a meta-analysis of relevant published clinical studies. An electronic search was conducted for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of MSC-based therapy in knee OA. The visual analogue scale (VAS), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) form, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Lequesne algofunctional indices (Lequesne), Lysholm knee scale (Lysholm), Tegner activity scale (Tegner) and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated. RESULTS:Eleven eligible trials with 582 knee OA patients were included in the present meta-analysis. We demonstrated that MSC treatment could significantly decrease VAS and increase IKDC scoresafter a 24-month follow-up compared with controls (P