Orthobiologic Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis

Launched by UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH NORWAY · Mar 17, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This trial is testing whether treatments taken from the knee itself can help people with knee osteoarthritis. It’s a randomized, double‑blind study (you and the people who assess your results won’t know which treatment you get) that compares four options: platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, adipose tissue stem cell (ADS) injections, a combination PRP + ADS injection, or a saline placebo. Participants will be followed for 2 years to see how they feel and how the knee looks on imaging.

About 160 adults ages 40–70 with knee osteoarthritis (milder to moderate, Kellgren-Lawrence grade I–III) will be eligible. Key clues for eligibility include having at least 3 out of 10 on a pain scale, no NSAIDs or steroids in the last 14 days, no recent knee injections, and a knee deformity of less than 5 degrees. After the injections, people will come back for visits at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years to complete knee questionnaires (KOOS, WOMAC, and a pain score) and to have X‑rays and MRI scans at the start and at 2 years. The study is currently enrolling and aims to finish in late 2027; results aren’t available yet.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Symptomatic osteoarthritis in the knee grade I-III using the Kellgren-Lawrance Grading Scale
• • Age 40-70 years
• • Minimum VAS 3
• • No use of NSAIDs or steroids the last 14 days
• • No injections of hyaluronic acid the last three months
• • Varus/valgus deformity \<5 degrees as evaluated on x-ray imaging
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• • Cancer
• • Other etiologies of knee pain (refered pain, pain from the back, dislocated meniscus on MRI, osteoarthritis grade IV using the Kellgren-Lawrance Grading Scale)
• • Previous knee surgery on the affected knee
• • Secondary osteoarthritis in the knee
• • Previous infection in the knee
• • Other diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, systemic diseases or corticosteroid-demaning disease)
• • Patients with a high risk of deep vein thrombosis
• • Patients who cannot cooperate/are low compliance (psychiatric disease) or has contraindications for MRI