Safety and efficacy of allogenic placental mesenchymal stem cells for treating knee osteoarthritis: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common skeletal impairment that can cause many limitations in normal life activities. Stem cell therapy has been studied for decades for its regenerative potency in various diseases. We investigated the safety and efficacy of intra-articular injection of placental mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in knee OA healing. METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 20 patients with symptomatic knee OA were randomly divided into two groups to receive intra-articular injection of either 0.5-0.6 × 108 allogenic placenta-derived MSCs or normal saline. The visual analogue scale, Knee OA Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaire, knee flexion range of motion (ROM) and magnetic resonance arthrography were evaluated for 24 weeks post-treatment. Blood laboratory tests were performed before and 2 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: Four patients in the MSC group showed mild effusion and increased local pain, which resolved safely within 48-72 h. In 2 weeks post-injection there was no serious adverse effect and all of the laboratory test results were unchanged. Early after treatment, there was a significant knee ROM improvement and pain reduction (effect size, 1.4). Significant improvements were seen in quality of life, activity of daily living, sport/recreational activity and decreased OA symptoms in the MSC-injected group until 8 weeks (P < 0.05). These clinical improvements were also noted in 24 weeks post-treatment but were not statistically significant. Chondral thickness was improved in about 10% of the total knee joint area in the intervention group in 24 weeks (effect size, 0.3). There was no significant healing in the medial/lateral meniscus or anterior cruciate ligament. There was no internal organ impairment at 24 weeks follow-up. CONCLUSION: Single intra-articular allogenic placental MSC injection in knee OA is safe and can result in clinical improvements in 24 weeks follow-up. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: IRCT2015101823298N.

Appropriateness of physicians' lumbosacral MRI requests in private and public centers in Tehran, Iran.

Background: Back pain is a common patients' complaint, and its etiology is important because of different potential treatment approaches (based on causes). For a better diagnosis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used in clinical settings that may result in inappropriate requests. This study aims to evaluate the appropriateness of the lumbosacral MRI requests in patients with back pain in two public/referral and private imaging centers in Tehran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 279 patients from both centers were recruited in 2014. A checklist was developed based on the internationally recognized clinical guidelines (NICE, and AHRQ) for determining the indications. An expert panel of related specialties finalized them. Patients' demographic and some anthropometric measures, as well as MRI reports, were collected. Results: The mean±SD age of patients was 47.9±14.78 years with a dominance of females (M/F=38.4/61.6). About 77% (n=214) of lumbosacral MRIs were requested in accordance with the guidelines. Indicated MRI requests were significantly higher in the private imaging center (p=0.019, OR=2.087, CI 95%: 1.13-3.85). In the private center, 80.6% and in the public center, 70.4% of the MRI requests were in accordance with the guidelines. Conclusion: The proportion of non-indicated MRI requests based on the valid guidelines is about » of all requests that is compatible with some other studies mostly from developed countries.

Predictive value of diffusion-weighted MRI for tumor consistency and resection rate of nonfunctional pituitary macroadenomas.

BACKGROUNDS: Firm tumor consistency is one of the most important factors that impede sufficient removal of pituitary macroademoas via a transsphenoidal approach. The utility of diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in predicting the tumor consistency and successfulness of transsphenoidal resection was evaluated in this study. METHODS: Thirty consecutive primary cases of nonfunctional pituitary macroadenomas were prospectively enrolled. Conventional and DW MRI were done for all the patients and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and the signal intensity of the solid tumor were determined. Intraoperative report of tumor consistency, the degree of fibrosis and percentage of collagen content were documented. The 8 weeks postoperative MRI was used for calculation of the tumor resection rate. RESULTS: The tumor consistency was soft in 10 patients (33.3 %), intermediate in 14 patients (46.7 %) and hard in 6 patients (20 %). The mean collagen content percentage was 10, 23.5 and 66 % (p = 0.009) and the average resection rate was 75, 43 39 % in the three groups respectively (p = 0.001). The mean ADC value was not significantly correlated with the tumor consistency and resection rate. Tumors with isointense to hyperintense signal on DW MRI were more commonly removable by suction and had higher resection rates than those with hypointense signals (p = 0.019). For ADC values within the range of 600-740 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s, a residual volume larger than 20 % of the tumor was more likely. CONCLUSIONS: DW MRI was useful to predict the tumor consistency, collagen content and the chance of removal of pituitary macroadenomas through endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery, and is recommended in the preoperative patient evaluation.