Abstract
BACKGROUND: Numerous reports confirmed the safety and clinical efficacy of autologous adipose-derived stromal vascular fractions (SVF), which have recently been used to treat osteoarthritis (OA). However, there is still no consensus as to whether SVF can promote cartilage regeneration. Herein, the purpose of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of SVF versus hyaluronic acid (HA) in cartilage regeneration by establishing a cartilage model based on the three-dimensional fat-suppressed spoiled gradient recalled echo (3D-FS-SPGR) sequence. METHODS: Patients with symptomatic OA were recruited in our research, who were randomized into two groups. Meanwhile, patients in Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grades 2 and 3 were distinguished in each group. In the test group, patients received SVF injections of the knee, while patients in the control group received the same dose of HA. Each patient underwent the 3D-FS-SPGR sequence to establish a cartilage model at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months, respectively. The cartilage was characterized into six regions, and relevant parameters of the cartilage model were counted. Clinical and radiographic scores were recorded in one-year follow-up. RESULTS: In all regions, the thickness and volume of cartilage defect and the volume of healthy cartilage were improved to some extent in the test group, especially the medial femoral condyle (MF) and medial tibial condyle (MT). In grades 2 and 3, the thickness and volume of cartilage defect decreased by 0.92 ± 0.18 mm and 1.03 ± 0.23 mm and 84.00 ± 32.30 mm(3) and 130.30 ± 49.56 mm(3) in MF and by 0.96 ± 0.22 mm and 0.99 ± 0.14 mm and 64.18 ± 21.40 mm(3) and 95.11 ± 19.93 mm(3) in MT, respectively. No such phenomenon was observed in the control group. Meanwhile, the SVF-treated knees showed significant improvement in clinical and radiographic scores at 12 months. Nevertheless, these scores of the control group became worse at 12-month follow-up visit. CONCLUSION: Taken together, this study shows that intra-articular injection of SVF markedly improved the clinical symptoms without adverse events, thereby repairing the damaged articular cartilage through cartilage regeneration.