ReviewCureus2025
Autologous Versus Allogeneic Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review, Pairwise and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Intra-Articular Adipose-Derived, Bone Marrow-Derived, and Peripheral Blood-Derived Stem Cell Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- 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 · 2025Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disorder with limited non-surgical treatment options. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (AD-MSC) therapy has emerged as a promising regenerative approach; however, the comparative efficacy and safety of autologous versus allogeneic AD-MSCs remain unclear. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) evaluated the effectiveness and safety of intra-articular AD-MSCs in adults with Kellgren-Lawrence Grade II-IV knee OA. A comprehensive search identified eight randomized controlled trials that compared high-dose autologous, high-dose allogeneic, and low-dose allogeneic AD-MSCs to placebo or standard care interventions, such as hyaluronic acid, corticosteroids, or physical therapy. The primary outcomes were pain relief, assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and functional improvement, measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), at three, six, and 12 months. Treatment rankings were determined using Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking (SUCRA) probabilities. High-dose autologous AD-MSCs ranked highest for pain relief at three, six, and 12 months (VAS SUCRA: 75.99%, 82.27%, 81.65%), while high-dose allogeneic AD-MSCs ranked highest for functional improvement at six and 12 months (WOMAC SUCRA: 74.6%, 71.71%). Low-dose allogeneic AD-MSCs consistently ranked lowest for both outcomes. Adverse event analysis indicated that low-dose allogeneic AD-MSCs had the highest risk of adverse effects (SUCRA: 22.24%), followed by high-dose allogeneic AD-MSCs (26.52%). In contrast, high-dose autologous AD-MSCs ranked safer (SUCRA: 54.08%). Serious adverse events were rare and unrelated to treatment, and consistency testing confirmed no significant inconsistencies in the NMA framework. Overall, high-dose autologous AD-MSCs provided sustained pain relief over 12 months, while high-dose allogeneic AD-MSCs demonstrated superior long-term functional improvement. These findings support a two-phase treatment model in which autologous AD-MSCs offer early and prolonged symptom relief, and allogeneic AD-MSCs assist in long-term joint recovery. Overall, AD-MSC therapy was well tolerated and may represent a viable, personalized, non-surgical knee OA management strategy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.