Comparison of Treatment With Stem Cells of Wharton's Jelly and the Classical Combined Method in Osteoarthritis of the Knee Joint

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of chronic pain and disability in people worldwide.The trend towards an increase in middle age among the population in most European countries leads to an increase in the number of people who are faced with this disease.Thus, the aim of our study was to compare the results of the treatment with the stem cells of Warton's cartilage and the classical combined method in people with osteoarthritis of the knee joint.In order to achieve the set goal, 30 people with primary diagnoses of osteoarthritis of the knee joint II-III stage were treated.with damage to one or both joints.Patients of the main group were injected with multipotent stem cells of Wharton's jelly obtained by the explant method.Patients of the control group received classical treatment, which included the injection of hyaluronic acid and physiotherapeutic procedures.MRI studies were performed on the patients and the clinical results of the treatment were evaluated according to the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) scale.Statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out in the license package "Statistica 6.0".A comparison of the obtained results regarding clinical symptoms and MRI data when using Wharton's jelly stem cells and the classical combined method in people with osteoarthritis of the knee joint during a year of observation showed that both at 3, 6 and 12 months in patients who received intra-articular stem cells from the source of which there were Wharton's jelly, significantly different (p=0.05-0.00002)values were observed regarding indicators of pain, symptoms,885 function and daily activities, sports and active recreation, as well as quality of life compared to the control group that received classical treatment.In addition, patients who received intra-articular stem cells, the source of which was Wharton's jelly, had significantly different (p=0.021)values regarding the cartilage surface index of the medial femoral condyle and greater values of cartilage thickness in all observation periods except 7 months.All these data suggest that the use of mesenchymal stem cells, the source of which is Wharton's jelly, has significant advantages compared to the classical approach to the treatment of osteoarthritis.