SynthesisPloS one2017
Clinical efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for osteoarthritis treatment: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 162 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of a single intra-articular injection of mesenchymal stem cells for knee osteoarthritis: a dose-focused meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Stem cell injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Mesenchymal stem cells therapy for the treatment of non-union fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review, umbrella review, and quality assessment on clinical translation of stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis: Are we there yet?Stem cell research & therapy · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for sepsis: a meta-analysis of preclinical studies.Stem cell research & therapy · 2020Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy and safety of stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis: A meta-analysis.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of stem cell therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies.Stem cell research & therapy · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Responders vs. non-responders to mesenchymal stromal cells in knee osteoarthritis: Mechanistic correlates of donor cell and patient features.Stem cell reports · 2026Trial
- The role of adipose-derived stem cells in knee osteoarthritis treatment: insights from a triple-blind clinical study.Stem cell research & therapy · 2025Trial
- Intra-articular injection of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) or adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) for knee osteoarthritis: a prospective comparative clinical trial.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023Trial
- Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Treatment in Patients with Osteoarthritis Results in Overall Improvement in Pain and Symptoms and Reduces Synovial Inflammation.Stem cells translational medicine · 2019Trial
- Safety evaluation of repeated intra-articular injections of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells iniScience · 2026Article
- Sustained functional recovery one year after TFCC debridement with adjuvant umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells and secretome therapy: a case report.International journal of surgery case reports · 2026Article
- Modular hydrogel niche orchestrates microenvironment detoxification and stem cell redirecting toward precision osteoarthritis therapy.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Smart biomaterials for skeletal aging repair and regeneration.Bone research · 2026Review
- Polydactyly bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium can prevent cartilage degeneration and alleviate knee pain in a rat model of osteoarthritis.Regenerative therapy · 2025Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe 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.
resultsEleven 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<0.05). MSC therapy also showed significant decreases in WOMAC and Lequesne scores after the 12-month follow-up (P<0.01). Analysis of Lysholm (24-month) and Tegner (12- and 24-month) scores also demonstrated favorable results for MSC treatment (P<0.05).
conclusionOverall, MSC transplantation treatment was shown to be safe and has great potential as an efficacious clinical therapy for patients with knee OA.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.