Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33407686›Full record

SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2021

Efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Huazheng Qu, Shui Sun

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  8. Not Just Neurons: Pain Is Orchestrated in Partnership with Many Non-neuronal Cells.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Huazheng QuShandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.
Shui SunDepartment of Joint Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, China. shuisunsdph@126.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are used as an emerging new option for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, their efficacy remains controversial across studies with different doses of MSCs and cell processing methods. We conducted this meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of MSCs in the treatment of knee OA.

methodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SinoMed (Chinese BioMedical Literature Service System, China), and CNKI (National Knowledge Infrastructure, China) databases were systematically reviewed. The pain level and function improvements were evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS), McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC). The pooled estimate was calculated with weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs).

resultsNine RCTs involving 476 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled estimate showed that the treatment of MSCs significantly reduced VAS, WOMAC pain, WOMAC stiffness, and WOMAC function scores at a long-term follow-up (12 or 24 months). However, for the IKDC and WOMAC total scores, MSCs also showed significant improvement in these outcomes, although this was not statistically significant when compared to the control.

conclusionBased on the current studies, our results suggested that MSCs were a promising option for the treatment of patients with knee OA. However, considering the potential limitations, more well-performed, large-scale RCTs are needed to verify our findings.

Indexed as

Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMesenchymal Stem Cell TransplantationMiddle AgedOsteoarthritis, KneeTreatment OutcomeKnee osteoarthritisMesenchymal stromal cellsMeta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID33407686
PMCPMC7789676

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Registered trials

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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.