Table 4.

Recent clinical trials on ADSC-based therapies for musculoskeletal regeneration

Application	Participants	Methods	Follow-up time	Results	References
Bone regeneration	13 patients with craniomaxillofacial hard-tissue defects	Autologous ADSCs were seeded onto either bioactive glass or β-tricalcium phosphate scaffolds and transplanted into the bone defect area	12–52 months	In 10 of 13 cases, the construct was successfully integrated into the surrounding skeleton	Sándor et al. [101]
	5 cranial defect patients	Patients received cranioplasties using autologous ADSCs, beta-tricalcium phosphate granules, and supporting meshes	6 years	Long-term clinical results were not satisfactory, partially owing to graft resorption, tumor recurrence, or late infection	Thesleff et al. [103]
Cartilage regeneration	12 patients with knee osteoarthritis	Autologous ADSCs were intra-articularly administered	6 months	ADSC injection provided significant functional improvement and pain relief	Lee et al. [127]
	53 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis	Autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells (haMPCs) expanded in vitro were intra-articularly injected	12 months	Significant improvements in joint function, pain, quality of life, and cartilage regeneration with good tolerance	Lu et al. [128]
	30 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis	Intra-articular ADSC therapy	12 months	Autologous ADSC therapy is safe and effective and can prevent disease progression	Freitag et al. [129]
	18 patients with knee osteoarthritis	Autologous ADSCs were intra-articularly injected	96 weeks	Autologous ADSCs improved the pain, function, and cartilage volume of the knee joint	Song et al. [131]
Tendon regeneration	70 patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tear	35 patients underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with autologous ADSC injections, whereas 35 patients underwent only repair surgery	At least 12 months	ADSC injection during rotator cuff repair significantly decreased the retear rate; furthermore, the function of the repaired tissue was similarly ameliorated in both groups	Kim et al. [158]
	18 patients with partial-thickness rotator cuff tear	Intratendinous injection of autologous ADSCs	2 years	Autologous ADSC injection improved shoulder function, relieved pain, and exhibited continued safety and efficacy	Jo et al. [160]
	11 patients with partial-thickness rotator cuff tears	Autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells were injected into the shoulder with a single injection	12 months	Autologous adipose-derived regenerative cell injection improved shoulder function without adverse effects	Hurd et al. [161]
	44 patients with degenerative posterosuperior rotator cuff tear	22 patients underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair augmentation with autologous microfragmented lipoaspirate tissue, whereas 22 patients underwent only repair surgery	24 months	Injection of autologous microfragmented adipose tissue effectively promoted functional rotator cuff repair	Randelli et al. [162]