Umbilical Cord Blood Mononuclear Cell Therapy for Patellofemoral Osteoarthritis: A Clinical Investigation

Objective Exploring the Clinical Efficacy and Mechanisms of Action of Intra-Articular Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mononuclear Cell (UCB-MNC) Injection in Patellofemoral Osteoarthritis (PFOA) Methods A total of 60 patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (receiving UCB-MNCs injection) or the control group (receiving sodium hyaluronate injection). Follow-up assessments were conducted at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the initial treatment. Efficacy indicators, including the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, the patellofemoral Kujala score, cytokine expression in synovial fluid, and the Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS), as well as safety indicators, were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 25.0. Results A total of 56 patients were ultimately included, with 51 completing the full follow-up. Baseline characteristics showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups before treatment. After treatment, the experimental group demonstrated superior analgesic effects compared to the control group at 3, 6, and 12 months. The Kujala scores improved gradually in the experimental group, while scores in the control group began to decline after 3 months. Significant reductions in the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and IFN-γ in synovial fluid were observed in the experimental group, with statistically significant differences compared to the control group. At 6 months post-treatment, the WORMS bone marrow edema score decreased markedly in the experimental group, also showing a statistically significant difference from the control group. The overall clinical effectiveness rate was higher in the experimental group than in the control group at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. Adverse reactions in both groups were mild and self-limiting throughout the study. Conclusions Intra-articular injection of UCB-MNCs demonstrates high clinical efficacy and sustained therapeutic effects in the treatment of PFOA, effectively alleviating pain symptoms, improving knee joint function, reducing the expression of inflammatory factors in synovial fluid, and mitigating bone marrow edema. However, further investigation is warranted to validate long-term efficacy and safety due to the current limitations in sample size and duration of follow-up.