Orthobiologics for knee osteoarthritis: A review of current practice and future directions

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) represents a significant challenge in modern orthopedics due to its prevalence and debilitating impact on patients’ quality of life. Traditional treatment options such as analgesics, physical therapy, and corticosteroid injections have shown varying degrees of efficacy in managing symptoms and controlling disease progression. Of late, there has been a growing interest in orthobiologics as a potential therapeutic approach for knee OA. The existing literature on orthobiologics was searched using the keywords “Orthobiologics,” “Knee,” and “Osteoarthritis”. The term orthobiologics encompasses a wide range of biological substances, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP), Bone Marrow aspiration concentrate (BMAC), Autologous conditioned serum (ACS), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and gene therapeutics which are believed to promote tissue repair and regeneration. This review aims to discuss and compare the existing orthobiologics (for knee OA) and the scope of research to develop better formulations possessing enhanced disease modifying effects in the future. Despite the growing enthusiasm, challenges such as standardization of preparation protocols, optimal dosage, and patient selection criteria remain. Moreover, the long-term effects of orthobiologics on joint structure and function require further investigation.