A small study from the University of Belgrade School of Medicine, assessed nine patients who received stem cell injections for arthritis of the knee.
They followed these patients for eighteen months. The results were the following:
Improvement in the clinical scores of pain and disability, and radiographic studies, were found within the first six months . And the improvement was still seen at the study’s end eighteen months later. To assess the status of the knee they used the following four methods of observation of knee health. 1. X rays , 2. MRIs , 3.Pain scores , and 4. Quality of Life scores.
All of the nine study subjects had osteoarthritis of the Knee, and received a single joint injection of adipose derived autologous mesenchymal stem cells.
The data showed significant improvement in all four clinical scores. The MRI studies were able to show restoration of cartilage by the measurement of a greater volume of cartilage within the treated knee at the end of the study in comparison to what existed before treatment. The authors concluded that their results provides a good basis for more clinical trials to assess the use of Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the knee.
