title: The effect of autologous conditioned plasma on the treatment of focal chondral defects of the knee. An experimental study.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of local application of Autologous Conditioned Plasma (ACP) on the treatment of full-thickness cartilage injuries of the knee. The hypothesis of the study was that ACP can enhance healing response of injured cartilage. A full-thickness chondral lesion on the weight-bearing area of the medial femoral condyle was performed in 30 sheep. Animals were divided into 2 groups, according to postoperative treatment: in group 1, weekly injections of ACP for five times were performed; in group 2, lesions were left untreated. Animals were sacrificed at 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment. A histological evaluation was performed according to a modified O'Driscoll histological score. Comparison between groups for each time interval was performed with the Student's t-test. Significance was set at P<0.05. A post-hoc power analysis was performed according to the hypothesis of the study. Histological evaluation at 3 and 6 months showed that group 1 had significantly greater total score than group 2. At 12 months, no significant difference was observed between groups. In conclusion, local injections of ACP for treatment of full-thickness cartilage injuries did not produce hyaline cartilage. However, it promoted reparative response of the cartilage defect until 6 months after treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. giuseppe.milano.unicatt.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Milano
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deriu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanna Passino
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masala
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Saccomanno
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Postacchini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fabbriciani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D023381:Endpoint Determination; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007596:Joints / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D053657:Platelet-Rich Plasma; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012756:Sheep; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins