Background: This study tested the hypothesis that treatment of symptomatic, partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (sPTRCT) with fresh, uncultured, unmodified, autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells (UA-ADRCs) isolated from lipoaspirate at the point of care is safe and more effective than corticosteroid injection. Methods: Subjects aged between 30 and 75 years with sPTRCT who did not respond to physical therapy treatments for at least 6 weeks were randomly assigned to receive a single injection of an average 11.4 × 10 6 UA-ADRCs (in 5 mL liquid; mean cell viability: 88%) (n = 11; modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population) or a single injection of 80 mg of methylprednisolone (40 mg/mL; 2 mL) plus 3 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine (n = 5; mITT population), respectively. Safety and efficacy were assessed using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (ASES), RAND Short Form-36 Health Survey, and pain visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline (BL) as well as 3 weeks (W3), W6, W9, W12, W24, W32, W40, and W52 post treatment. Fat-saturated T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder was performed at BL as well as at W24 and W52 post treatment.

Background: This study tested the hypothesis that treatment of symptomatic, partial-thickness rotator cuff tear (sPTRCT) with fresh, uncultured, unmodified, autologous adipose derived regenerative cells (UA-ADRCs) isolated from lipoaspirate at point of care is safe and more effective than corticosteroid injection. Methods: Subjects aged between 30 and 75 years with sPTRCT who did not respond to traditional nonoperative care for at least six weeks were randomly assigned to receive a single injection of an average 11.4×106 UA-ADRCs (in 5 ml liquid; mean cell viability: 88%) (n=11; modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population) or a single injection of 80 mg of methylprednisolone (40 mg/ml; 2 ml) plus 3 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine (n=5; mITT population), respectively. Safety and efficacy were assessed using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (ASES), RAND Short Form-36 Health Survey and pain visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline (BL) as well as 3 weeks (W3), W6, W9, W12, W24, W32, W40 and W52 post treatment. Fat-saturated T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder was performed at BL as well as at W24 and W52 post treatment. Results: No severe adverse events related to the injection of UA-ADRCs were observed in the twelve months post treatment. The risks connected with treatment of sPTRCT with UA-ADRCs were not greater than those connected with treatment of sPTRCT with corticosteroid injection. Subjects in the UA-ADRCs group showed statistically significantly higher mean ASES total scores at W24 and W52 post treatment than subjects in the corticosteroid group (p < 0.05). Discussion: Injection of fresh, uncultured, unmodified, autologous adipose derived regenerative cells is a safe and effective treatment of sPTRCT. Larger trials are needed to verify this result. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT02918136. Registered September 28, 2016. Level of evidence: Level I; prospective, randomized, controlled trial.

Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of articular cartilage injuries in patients with glenohumeral instability. MRI with or without intra-articular contrast medium in this study were equally reliable as a non-invasive method for assessment of articular cartilage damage of the glenohumeral joint prior to diagnostic arthroscopy.

Development of novel therapeutic approaches to repair fracture non-unions remains a critical clinical necessity. We evaluated the capacity of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) to induce healing in a fracture non-union model in rats. In addition, we placed these findings in the context of parallel studies using human bone marrow MSCs (hBM-MSCs) or a no cell control group (n = 10 to 12 per group). Preliminary studies demonstrated that both for hESC-derived MSCs and hBM-MSCs, optimal induction of fracture healing required in vitro osteogenic differentiation of these cells. Based on biomechanical testing of fractured femurs, maximum torque and stiffness were significantly greater in the hBM-MSC as compared to the control group that received no cells; values for these parameters in the hESC-derived MSC group were intermediate between the hBM-MSC and control groups, and not significantly different from the control group. However, some evidence of fracture healing was evident by X-ray in the hESC-derived MSC group. Our results thus indicate that while hESC-derived MSCs may have potential to induce fracture healing in non-unions, hBM-MSCs function more efficiently in this process. Additional studies are needed to further modify hESCs to achieve optimal fracture healing by these cells.

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