Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40898126›Full record

SynthesisBMC musculoskeletal disorders2025

Mesenchymal stem cells injections in traumatology and orthopaedics: common practice or still a promising area with many uncertainties?

Eduard Bezuglov, Ilya Dolgalev, Maria Kuznetsova, Andrey Zholinskiy, Evgeny Savin, Evgeny Goncharov, Elizaveta Kapralova, Matvey Irinin, Georgiy Malyakin

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Eduard BezuglovDepartment of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya street 2 building 9, Moscow, 119435, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3828-0506
Ilya DolgalevDepartment of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya street 2 building 9, Moscow, 119435, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5910-3413
Maria KuznetsovaDepartment of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya street 2 building 9, Moscow, 119435, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9411-9472
Andrey ZholinskiyNational Center of Sports Medicine of Federal Biological Agency, Moscow, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0267-9761
Evgeny SavinHSE University, Moscow, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0964-3224
Evgeny GoncharovPetrovsky Russian Scientific Center of Surgery, Moscow, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9809-7637
Elizaveta KapralovaNational Center of Sports Medicine of Federal Biological Agency, Moscow, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8101-5949
Matvey IrininDepartment of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya street 2 building 9, Moscow, 119435, Russia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-5463-2814
Georgiy MalyakinDepartment of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya street 2 building 9, Moscow, 119435, Russia. manuljke@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1128-2678

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo assess research directions of the Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) injections in traumatology and orthopaedics.

methodsThe study monitored the protocols of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews (SRs) investigating mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) injections for various traumatological and orthopaedic conditions. Relevant RCT protocols were identified through searches of ClinicalTrials.gov, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, EU Clinical Trials Register databases for RCTs and SRs were obtained from PROSPERO. The databases were searched from their inception to December 2023.

resultsA total of 449 clinical trials were identified. At the time of the study, 159 (35.4%) trials had been completed, and only 56 (12.5%) had published results in peer-reviewed journals. Data on clinical trial completion were normally distributed (p = 0.145). The duration for trial completion was 40.6 ± 26.5 months (range: 1 to 153 months). The most commonly investigated indications for MSCs injections were osteoarthritis of the hip and knee (37.6%) and spinal cord injuries (10.5%). The most frequent sources of MSCs were bone marrow (26.5%), adipose-derived (20.5%) and umbilical cord (15.4%). Reported MSCs concentrations varied widely, ranging from 0.5 × 10⁶ to 9.7 × 10⁸ cells. The most frequently used concentrations were 1 × 10⁷ (8.2%), 2 × 10⁷ (8.0%), 5 × 10⁷ (5.8%), and 10 × 10⁷ (5.8%) cells, while 59 other dosing schemes were each used in fewer than 1% of trials. Furthermore, 55.5% of protocols did not specify the cell concentration. A search in PROSPERO identified 114 systematic review protocols. By the time of the study, 32 studies (28.10%) had been completed, with the results of 30 (26.32%) published in peer-reviewed journals.

conclusionMSC injections represent a growing area of research in traumatology and orthopaedics. However, the results of only a small proportion of clinical trials and systematic reviews are published in peer-reviewed journals, which most likely does not allow practitioners to form a full judgement on the efficacy and safety of this treatment.

Indexed as

Mesenchymal Stem Cell TransplantationOrthopedicsTraumatologyHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSystematic Reviews as TopicInjection therapyMedicinal signaling cellsOrthobiologicsRegenerative medicine

Identifiers

PMID40898126
PMCPMC12403583

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.