ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2021
Autologous protein solution as selective treatment for advanced patellofemoral osteoarthritis in the middle-aged female patient: 54% response rate at 1 year follow-up.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Are orthobiologics a plausible therapeutic option for patello-femoral pathology? A systematic review of clinical and radiological outcomes.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Pooled it
- Autologous protein solution and 3D-Printed technologies as potential adjuncts to arthroscopic elbow release: a narrative review and conceptual framework.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Imaging-based measures of synovitis in knee osteoarthritis: A scoping review and narrative synthesis.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Review
- Autologous Protein Solution (APS) and Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Scoping Review of Current Clinical Evidence.Cureus · 2024Article
- Intraarticular injection of microfragmented adipose tissue plus arthroscopy in isolated primary patellofemoral osteoarthritis is clinically effective and not affected by age, BMI, or stage of osteoarthritis.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2022Article
- Potential Mechanism of Action of Current Point-of-Care Autologous Therapy Treatments for Osteoarthritis of the Knee-A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe study wanted to investigate the benefit, durability and safety of autologous protein solution (APS) injection(s) in a middle-aged female-only cohort suffering predominantly from patellofemoral osteoarthritis.
methodsFifty females (aged 50.4 ± 6.5) with mainly moderate-severe (86%) patellofemoral cartilage wear (PFCW) were treated with a unilateral intra-articular APS injection. The KOOS, NRS, Kujala, UCLA and EQ-5D were assessed at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-injection. Therapeutic response rate (TRR) was based on KOOS pain improvement > 10 points. Absolute improvement for, respectively, therapy responders and non-responders was determined. Second APS injection was administered if improvement was deemed insufficient by the patient after 3 months.
resultsThe TRR remained stable averaging to 53.7% at final follow-up with subjects improving overall from 40.3 ± 18.7 to 57.3 ± 24.8 points on KOOS pain (p = 0.0002) and from 48.4 ± 13.0 to 56.3 ± 18.1 points on Kujala (p = 0.0203) at 12 months. Significant improvement was observed for the other KOOS subscales and NRS at each follow-up. In absolute values, APS responders improved with 30.5 ± 11.4 points on KOOS pain at 12 months. In contrast, non-responders deteriorated with 5.9 ± 8.9 points relative to baseline. A second APS injection was administered in 28 subjects. Patients with definite synovitis improved more on KOOS symptoms (p = 0.017) and KOOS ADL (p = 0.037) at 12 months compared to non-synovitis subjects. Mild-moderate arthralgia (46%) and effusion (29%) were commonly observed during the first month post-injection.
conclusionThis study evidenced a 54% response rate at 12 months to a single or second APS injection in a middle-aged female population with advanced patellofemoral cartilage wear. Moderate temporary flares can be expected without affecting clinical outcomes. Second APS injection has low efficacy in initially poor responding patients after 3 months. Major synovitis on baseline MRI appeared to be a beneficial prognosticator for pain relief and functional improvement after APS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.
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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.