Cell-based therapy in articular cartilage lesions of the knee.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of cell-based therapy for articular cartilage defects of the knee.


METHODS
We performed a literature search in Medline (1994 to 2009) regarding cell-based therapies for chondral lesions.


RESULTS
We identified 10 Level I or II randomized controlled trials and 3 Level II prospective comparative studies. Although many of these studies had substantial flaws, which could introduce bias, we overall found no difference between the cell-based studies and other interventions. In addition, we identified 26 Level III and IV studies of cell-based therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
There is insufficient evidence from the studies included in this review to say whether cell-based therapy is superior to other treatment strategies in articular cartilage lesions of the knee.
Nakamura
Norimasa
N
Department of Orthopaedics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. n-nakamura@ort.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Miyama
Takahide
T
Engebretsen
Lars
L
Yoshikawa
Hideki
H
Shino
Konsei
K
D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000293:injuries*; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000637:transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D010008:Osteochondritis Dissecans / Q000628:therapy; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome