Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to have a potential for articular cartilage regeneration. However, most studies focused on focal cartilage defect through surgical implantation. For the treatment of generalized cartilage loss in osteoarthritis, an alternative delivery strategy would be more appropriate. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of intra-articular injection of autologous adipose tissue derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) for knee osteoarthritis. We enrolled 18 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and injected AD MSCs into the knee. The phase I study consists of three dose-escalation cohorts; the low-dose (1.0 3 10 7 cells), mid-dose (5.0 3 10 7 ), and high-dose (1.0 3 10 8 ) group with three patients each. The phase II included nine patients receiving the high-dose. The primary outcomes were the safety and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included clinical, radiological, arthroscopic, and histological evaluations. There was no treatment-related adverse event. The WOMAC score improved at 6 months after injection in the high-dose group. The size of cartilage defect decreased while the volume of cartilage increased in the medial femoral and tibial condyles of the high-dose group. Arthroscopy showed that the size of cartilage defect decreased in the medial femoral and medial tibial condyles of the high-dose group. Histology demonstrated thick, hyaline-like cartilage regeneration. These results showed that intra-articular injection of 1.0 3 10 8 AD MSCs into the osteoarthritic knee improved function and pain of the knee joint without causing adverse events, and reduced cartilage defects by regeneration of hyaline-like articular cartilage.

etabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, 1 and recent research has demonstrated that adipocytokines, especially adiponectin, are associated with metabolic syndrome. 2 In terms of the evaluation and management of hypercholesterolemia (a risk factor of cardiovascular disease and a causative factor of death in more than 40% of heart-related deaths) according to the recommendations of the 2001 Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III Guidelines, the risk factors for the development of metabolic syndrome are visceral obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, a low level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia, and an impaired glucose tolerance. 3 Hyperuricemia is also considered by some investigators to be a component of metabolic syndrome that reflects insulin resistance. 4,5 In several epidemiological studies, a close relationship between hyperuricemia and hypertension, heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases has been reported, [6][7][8][9] and correlations between hyperuricemia and obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes have also been recently reported. [10][11][12] However, studies of Asians, who differ physically from Caucasians, are relatively rare. In Korea, knowledge of the general adult population without type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other diseases is inadequate, and no study has been performed on the association between the newly defined metabolic syndrome and hyperuricemia in the Korean population. Hence, this study investigated Korean adults who had undergone health screening to assess the correlation between increased serum uric acid concentration and hypertension, insulin resistance, and other risk factors of metabolic syndrome. Methods Study PopulationThe study group comprised 53,477 individuals (34,169 males, 19,308 females), who underwent health screening at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2002. Subjects who were taking diuretics, antihypertensive or antidiabetic agents, lipid-lowering agents, hyper-or hypouricemic agents, and those with any clinical suspicion of malignancy, acute infectious disease, acute inflammatory disease or renal disease were excluded. Physical Examination and Blood Pressure (BP)Height, weight, waist -hip circumference and systolic and diastolic BP were measured. According to the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program protocol, 13 BP was measured using a sphygmomanometer after the subjects had rested for more than 5 min. For those with a systolic BP >140 mmHg and a diastolic BP >90 mmHg (defined as hypertension by the 2003 JNC-7 14 ) BP was measured on a further 2 occasions after resting, and average Seung Ho Ryu, MD*; Dong Geuk Keum, MD** Background Associations between hyperuricemia, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have been reported, but few of the studies have been conducted in the Korean population. The present study examined ...

The application of PRP for large to massive rotator cuff repairs significantly improved structural outcomes, as evidenced by a decreased retear rate and increased CSA of the supraspinatus compared with repairs without PRP augmentation. While there was no significant difference in clinical outcomes except the overall shoulder function after 1-year follow-up, better structural outcomes in the PRP group might suggest improved clinical outcomes at longer term follow-up.