In patients with knee osteoarthritis, a single intra-articular knee injection of five million cells of autologous bone marrow-derived chondrocytes effectively alleviated pain, minimized the symptoms, improved the functional scores and enhanced the quality of life.

An open-label, prospective, randomized controlled trial was carried out to compare the tolerability, safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow-derived chondrocytes (ABMDCs) with the standard treatment/pharmacological management of osteoarthritis of knee.

The study recruited people suffering from knee osteoarthritis (grades II and III of Kellgren-Lawrence grading) and divided them into (i) Group I: Had five million cells of intra-articular ABMDC in the impacted joint, and (ii) Group II: Remained on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and physical therapy as required.

Prior to the therapy, an examination of participants was done. Entry of data was done for Modified Knee Society Score-Short Form (MKSSSF), quality of life, age, gender, body mass index, and visual analogue scale (VAS). Participants were followed up for three, twelve, and twenty-four months. With the aid of follow-up magnetic resonance imaging, the regeneration of damaged cartilage was examined.

Overall, 60 participants were followed up. Notably, 3 participants in Group II were eliminated from the assessment as they underwent knee arthroplasty. The ABMDC group exhibited remarkable improvements on all scores of VAS, MKSSSF, and quality of life. No early or late noxious events were reported in the ABMDC group. The control group reported dissatisfaction with the therapy.

Compared to the standard treatment group, the ABMDC group demonstrated substantial improvements in terms of pain relief, functional improvement, and quality of life.