Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate vs Autologous Conditioned Serum in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of a single Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) with a cycle of 4 Autologous Conditioned Serum (ACS) injections in the treatment of early-stage knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Two groups of 12 patients with degenerative knee OA were treated with a single BMAC injection and with a cycle of 4 ACS injections respectively. Follow-up was set at baseline (t0), one-month (t1) and six-months (t2) evaluating VAS for pain, WOMAC index and range of motion (ROM). RESULTS: We reported a significant improvement in WOMAC after BMAC injection both at t1 (p=0,001) as well as t2 (p< 0,001), plus a reduction of VAS values in BMAC group at six months follow-up (p=0,024). In contrast, no significant differences in ROM between the two groups were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Both the approaches are safe and effective in the treatment of knee OA, with a major efficacy of BMAC. (www.actabiomedica.it)