Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by degenerative changes of articular cartilage and secondary
bone hyperplasia. Because articular cartilage has a specific structure, such as the absence of blood vessels and the low rate of
chondrocyte transformation in the cartilage matrix, treatment presents several clinical challenges. So, the aim of study was to
evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cell administration on cartilage repair and knee function in patients with knee
osteoarthritis. Materials & Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 20 patients with knee osteoarthritis in Imam Hussein Hospital in
2017 were selected and randomly divided to the experimental and control groups. Functional improvement (According to WOMAC),
pain relief (according to VAS), and meniscus degeneration (according to MRI) were determined and compared between the studied
groups. Results: Functional improvement (According to WOMAC) (P= 0.034), pain relief (according to VAS) (P= 0.049), and meniscus
degeneration (P= 0.02) were significantly better in the experimental group than the control. Conclusions: According to the obtained
results, it can be concluded that administration of mesenchyme stem cells has an acceptable effectiveness on cartilage recovery,
knee function, and pain relief in patient with knee osteoarthritis.
Keywords: Stem cells; Knee; Osteoarthritis, MSCs, cartilage, meniscus