Trial reportStem cell research & therapy2025
Long-term outcomes of mesenchymal stem cell therapy in severe COVID-19 patients: 3-year follow-up of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Stem cell research & therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04288102 (A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Human Umbilical Cord-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Severe COVID-19 Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Human Umbilical Cord-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Severe COVID-19 Patients
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Safety of intravascular administration of umbilical-cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Stem cells translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stromal cells in COVID-19: a meta-analysis of clinical trials conducted since the pandemic onset.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Pooled it
- Designing studies for post-treatment Lyme disease and other infection-associated chronic illnesses.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Targeting immunosenescence in lung diseases: mechanistic insights and clinical interventions.BMC medicine · 2026Review
- Mesenchymal stromal cell therapy for post-COVID-19 syndrome: associated impact and mechanism.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Stem cells in organogenesis and regeneration.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Review
- Recent advances in CAR-MSCs: the new engine of cellular immunotherapy evolution.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2025Review
- Gulf War Illness, Fibromyalgia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Long COVID Overlap in Common Symptoms and Underlying Biological Mechanisms: Implications for Future Therapeutic Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Therapeutic challenges in central nervous system viral infections: advancing mesenchymal stem cell-based strategies for treating neuroinflammation and promoting tissue repair.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
27 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe long-term effects and outcomes of human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the extended safety and efficacy of MSC treatment in severe patients with COVID-19 who participated in our earlier randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, with follow-up conducted over 3 years.
methodsOne hundred patients with severe COVID-19 were randomized to receive either an MSC infusion (n = 65, 4 × 10
resultsThree years post-treatment, 46.94% (23/49) of patients in the MSC group and 34.48% (10/29) in the placebo group showed normal findings on computed tomography (CT) images (odds ratio [OR] = 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65-4.34). The general health (GH) score from the SF-36 was higher in the MSC group (67.0) compared to the placebo group (50.0), with a difference of 12.86 (95% CI: 1.44-24.28). Both groups showed similar results for total lung severity scores (TSS), 6-MWD, pulmonary function tests, and Long COVID symptoms. No significant differences between groups were observed in new-onset complications (including tumorigenesis) or tumor marker levels. After adjusting for China's dynamic zero-COVID-19 strategy, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reinfection rates were 53.06% (26/49) in the MSC group and 67.86% (19/28) in the placebo group (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.20-1.41).
conclusionsThese findings support the long-term safety of MSC therapy in patients with severe COVID-19 over 3 years. MSC treatment may offer potential benefits for lung recovery and improved quality of life in patients experiencing Long COVID symptoms.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04288102. Registered 28 February 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04288102 .
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.