Abstract
Purpose: To assess by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if adult non-cultivated bone marrow stem cells accelerate tendon-to-bone healing in the femoral tunnel, after hamstring anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Methods: Forty-three patients underwent ACL reconstruction and were prospectively randomized into two groups: 20 patients in the experimental group (group A) with adult non-cultivated bone marrow stem cells and 23 patients in the control group (group B) without adult non-cultivated bone marrow stem cells. All patients underwent MRI of the knee at three months after surgery to evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio of the interzone. Results: There was no difference in the signal-to-noise ratio of the interzone on MRI between the experimental and the control group. Conclusions: Adult non-cultivated bone marrow stem cells do not seem to accelerate graft-to-bone healing in ACL reconstruction. The clinical relevance of this finding is that adult non-cultivated bone marrow stem cells apparently have a limited role in ACL reconstruction. Level of evidence: II.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 66-71 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- ACL reconstruction
- Bone marrow adult stem cells
- Graft healing
- Stem cells