Autologous-cell-derived, tissue-engineered cartilage for repairing articular cartilage lesions in the knee: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background Spontaneous recovery from articular cartilage injury is difficult, and the ongoing progression of disease can eventually lead to osteoarthritis. Currently, there is no effective non-surgical treatment for articular cartilage injury. Arthroscopic debridement and microfracture surgery are performed for fibrocartilage repair. But fibrocartilage is different from normal articular cartilage, and functional recovery is not satisfactory. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more effective techniques for articular cartilage repair. Progress in material science, cell biology, biomechanics, and bioreactor technology has allowed the development of biomimetic, tissue-engineered osteochondral composites that have shown potential for the repair of damaged cartilage. We prepared biomimetic, tissue-engineered cartilage scaffolds optimized for biochemical composition and structural characteristics. Based on the experience of our pre-clinical studies on animals, a human articular cartilage acellular matrix scaffold was prepared and is in clinical use. The combination of autologous chondrocytes and scaffolds has shown satisfactory results in repairing cartilage defects in preliminary experiments. Methods This is a prospective randomized controlled trial. One hundred patients with full-thickness cartilage injury of the knee will be randomly divided into two groups to receive treatment

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.