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.

Relatively higher-quality human studies compared with other topics in this database, e.g. multiple RCTs or systematic reviews. This does not mean it is standard or approved care.

• 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 : Intra-articular (IA) stem cell injection is an emerging treatment for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Three principal cell sources-adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs), bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMMSCs), and peripheral blood-derived stem cells (PBSCs)-have been evaluated independently; however, a systematic review comprehensively comparing all three sources under unified eligibility criteria is absent from the literature. Methods : Systematic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Scopus were conducted from inception to December 2025, supplemented by manual reference screening and ClinicalTrials.gov. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective comparative studies in adult KOA patients. Primary outcomes were pain (VAS/NRS) and function (WOMAC, KOOS) at ≥3 months. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2 and ROBINS-I; evidence certainty was rated using GRADE. Results : Thirty-one studies ( n = 1247; ADMSC: 14 studies, n = 612; BMMSC: 12 studies, n = 487; PBSC: 5 studies, n = 148) met inclusion criteria. Pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) for 6-month pain showed significant reduction versus comparators for ADMSCs (SMD -1.23; 95% CI -1.61 to -0.85; I 2 = 62%) and BMMSCs (SMD -1.09; 95% CI -1.55 to -0.63; I 2 = 70%). PBSCs demonstrated significant within-group improvement but were too few for formal pooling. Beca

Evidence level

Relatively higher-quality human studies compared with other topics in this database, e.g. multiple RCTs or systematic reviews. This does not mean it is standard or approved care.

Browse all related research

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