Efficacy of Micro-fragmented Adipose Tissue Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis.
NCT ID: NCT03379168
Last Updated: 2025-02-13
Study Results
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View full resultsBasic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
75 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2018-04-01
2023-10-01
Brief Summary
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The investigators hypothesize that patients who receive an injection of Lipogems will experience a decrease in pain of the affected knee and an increase in joint functionality in comparison to placebo. The investigators also hypothesize that patients who receive an intra-articular corticosteroid will experience decreased pain or improved functionality in the affected joint compared to placebo.
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Detailed Description
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1. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the possible benefits of reduced joint pain and increased joint functionality in patients with knee osteoarthritis after the injection of Lipogems. Based on limitations of prior research, intra-articular corticosteroids are included as a study group to be evaluated for impact on pain relief and joint functionality in comparison to placebo.
2. The investigators hypothesize that patients who receive an injection of Lipogems will experience a decrease in pain of the affected knee and an increase in joint functionality in comparison to placebo. The investigators also hypothesize that patients who receive an intra-articular corticosteroid will experience decreased pain or improved functionality in the affected joint.
Background:
Osteoarthritis (OA) causes patients considerable joint pain and leads to instability, reduced range of motion, and functional limitations. Pathologic findings of OA include decreased articular cartilage, joint space narrowing, osteophytes, subchondral sclerosis and bone cysts. Currently, treatment options are confined to symptom management only. Options for treatment include: topical preparations, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), intra-articular injections, and, in severe cases, total knee arthroplasty. Review of recent recommendations shows limitations to all available treatments. Oral NSAIDs have shown relief, but is limited to patients without risk factors or contraindications. Topical NSAIDs are recommended in elderly patients or those with GI risk factors, rather than oral NSAIDs. However, pain improvement took 12 weeks and was not long-lived, potentially due to compliance issues in application. A recent systematic review of intra-articular corticosteroids reported that, due to low-quality evidence, it is inconclusive whether intra-articular corticosteroids provided any short or long-term pain relief. Taylor's review of hyaluronic acid treatment is hampered by the variability of preparations currently on the market and shortage of double-blind placebo controlled studies, but conflicting data is reported. Osteoarthritis Research Society International currently recommends corticosteroid injections for short-term pain relief only, and is inconclusive in recommending hyaluronic acid.
The aforementioned treatment limitations have generated interest in alternative options to restore function and alleviate joint pain, some with the aim of healing damaged articular cartilage. It is well known that articular cartilage is avascular and lacks innervation, which limits its intrinsic healing and repair capabilities. Chondrocytes, derived from MSCs, have limited potential to replicate, which also limits the intrinsic healing and repair capabilities of articular cartilage. The stromal vascular fraction, containing adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), has historically been isolated successfully via enzymatic processes. There has been preliminary support in the literature for reduced pain and improved functional performance in patients who received MSCs as part of treatment. However, approaches to isolate MSCs are costly, time consuming, require extensive lab equipment, and are currently limited by complex regulatory issues.
Thus, interest in an alternative isolation method lead to the development of Lipogems. Lipogems is a technique to harvest, process, and inject minimally manipulated adipose tissue. This procedure is enzyme free and requires no clonal expansion or manipulation. Lipoaspirate is harvested and washed in saline solution, then processed through a closed-system device that micro-fragments the adipose tissue. This mechanical process retains the vascular architecture, mature pericytes, and MSCs for autologous injection.
As new technologies are becoming available for the treatment of OA, it is important that investigators gather high-quality data on their efficacy and outcomes. The goal of this study is to evaluate the possible benefits of reduced joint pain and increased joint functionality in patients with knee osteoarthritis after the injection of Lipogems. In addition, given the limitations of prior research on the efficacy of intra-articular corticosteroids, the investigators will also include this as an additional study group to compare to placebo. Although Lipogems is relatively new to the United States, it has been used for a variety of orthopaedic arthroscopic applications overseas including the treatment of knee OA and is being used more frequently now in the United States. As of now, there are no published studies reporting the outcomes of patients who receive Lipogems for knee OA. There have been case reports published showing favorable outcomes. Thus, this would be the first study reporting data on the efficacy of Lipogems for pain relief in knee OA in a randomized, controlled clinical trial with a larger sample of patients. It would also be the only study to date comparing Lipogems to intra-articular corticosteroids and placebo injections. The investigators feel this study design will provide new insight into the efficacy of Lipogems for pain relief of symptomatic knee OA as well as offer new data on the efficacy of intra-articular corticosteroids in this application.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
SINGLE
Study Groups
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Placebo Injection
Patients who are randomized to the placebo group will receive an injection of 7cc of sterile saline in the affected knee.
Saline
Sterile saline injection will act as a placebo group.
Corticosteroid Injection
Patients who are randomized to the corticosteroid group will receive an injection of 2cc (80mg) of triamcinalone acetonide injectable suspension mixed with 5 cc of 1% plain lidocaine for a total of 7cc of fluid injected in the affected knee.
Corticosteroid injection
Cortisone is a standard of care injection to reduce joint inflammation.
Lipogems Injection
Patients who are randomized to the Lipogems treatment group will undergo a lipoaspiration from their abdomen and autologous injection of the harvested adipocytes into their knee. It is standard to harvest three to four times more adipose tissue than is planned to be injected to account for tissue processing by the Lipogems device. The investigators plan to inject 7cc of autologous adipose tissue. Thus, the investigators will harvest between 25 and 30 cc of adipose tissue from each patient. The tissue will be processed immediately and 7cc will be injected. Any remaining adipose tissue will be disposed of immediately in biohazardous waste.
Microfragmented Adipose Tissue (Lipogems)
Lipogems is a technique to harvest, process, and inject minimally manipulated adipose tissue. This procedure is enzyme free and requires no clonal expansion or manipulation. Lipoaspirate is harvested most commonly from the abdomen and washed in saline solution, then processed through a closed-system device that micro-fragments the adipose tissue. This mechanical process retains the vascular architecture, mature pericytes, and MSCs for autologous injection. Lipogems is currently FDA-approved for orthopedic and arthroscopic procedures; thus, this would be an on-label use for knee injections.
Interventions
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Microfragmented Adipose Tissue (Lipogems)
Lipogems is a technique to harvest, process, and inject minimally manipulated adipose tissue. This procedure is enzyme free and requires no clonal expansion or manipulation. Lipoaspirate is harvested most commonly from the abdomen and washed in saline solution, then processed through a closed-system device that micro-fragments the adipose tissue. This mechanical process retains the vascular architecture, mature pericytes, and MSCs for autologous injection. Lipogems is currently FDA-approved for orthopedic and arthroscopic procedures; thus, this would be an on-label use for knee injections.
Corticosteroid injection
Cortisone is a standard of care injection to reduce joint inflammation.
Saline
Sterile saline injection will act as a placebo group.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Diagnosis of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis
* Radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis. Note: For the purposes of this study, radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis is defined as any one or more of the following: osteophytes, joint space narrowing, loss of articular cartilage thickness, subchondral sclerosis or cysts.
Exclusion Criteria
* Current ligament instability as demonstrated by a positive Lachman Test, Anterior or Posterior Drawer Test, or positive Valgus or Varus Stress Test.
* Known allergy to lidocaine
* Under 18 years of age
* Pregnant women
* Prisoners
18 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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Dustin L. Richter, MD
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Dustin L. Richter, MD
Assistant Professor, Department Orthopaedic Surgery
Principal Investigators
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Dustin Richter, MD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
UNM Health Sciences Center, Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery
Locations
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UNM Hospital
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Countries
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References
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Goldring MB, Goldring SR. Articular cartilage and subchondral bone in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 Mar;1192:230-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05240.x.
Richmond J, Hunter D, Irrgang J, Jones MH, Snyder-Mackler L, Van Durme D, Rubin C, Matzkin EG, Marx RG, Levy BA, Watters WC 3rd, Goldberg MJ, Keith M, Haralson RH 3rd, Turkelson CM, Wies JL, Anderson S, Boyer K, Sluka P, St Andre J, McGowan R; American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons clinical practice guideline on the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010 Apr;92(4):990-3. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.I.00982. No abstract available.
Taylor N. Nonsurgical Management of Osteoarthritis Knee Pain in the Older Adult. Clin Geriatr Med. 2017 Feb;33(1):41-51. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2016.08.004. Epub 2016 Oct 13.
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Anz AW, Hackel JG, Nilssen EC, Andrews JR. Application of biologics in the treatment of the rotator cuff, meniscus, cartilage, and osteoarthritis. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2014 Feb;22(2):68-79. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-22-02-68.
Bianchi F, Maioli M, Leonardi E, Olivi E, Pasquinelli G, Valente S, Mendez AJ, Ricordi C, Raffaini M, Tremolada C, Ventura C. A new nonenzymatic method and device to obtain a fat tissue derivative highly enriched in pericyte-like elements by mild mechanical forces from human lipoaspirates. Cell Transplant. 2013;22(11):2063-77. doi: 10.3727/096368912X657855. Epub 2012 Oct 8.
Tremolada C, Colombo V, Ventura C. Adipose Tissue and Mesenchymal Stem Cells: State of the Art and Lipogems(R) Technology Development. Curr Stem Cell Rep. 2016;2(3):304-312. doi: 10.1007/s40778-016-0053-5. Epub 2016 Jul 13.
Lawrence RC, Felson DT, Helmick CG, Arnold LM, Choi H, Deyo RA, Gabriel S, Hirsch R, Hochberg MC, Hunder GG, Jordan JM, Katz JN, Kremers HM, Wolfe F; National Arthritis Data Workgroup. Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States. Part II. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Jan;58(1):26-35. doi: 10.1002/art.23176.
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Leopold SS, Redd BB, Warme WJ, Wehrle PA, Pettis PD, Shott S. Corticosteroid compared with hyaluronic acid injections for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. A prospective, randomized trial. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2003 Jul;85(7):1197-203. doi: 10.2106/00004623-200307000-00003.
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Provided Documents
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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan
Document Type: Informed Consent Form
Other Identifiers
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17-146
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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