Table 3.
A summary table of the key, take-home points for each of the interventions reviewed
| Alternative therapy | Key points |
|---|---|
| Autologous chondrocyte implantation |
• Treatment for cartilage defects and not osteoarthritis • Includes ACI and MACI • Trial evidence to support symptomatic benefit • Supported by NICE in the UK for specific patient group (including no previous knee surgery, limited evidence of knee osteoarthritis, large chondral defect) |
| Mesenchymal stem cell injection |
• There are multiple sources of MSCs with differing profiles of usage and limitations • Multiple sources of MSCs lead to difficulties in directly comparing clinical trials • Trial evidence to support symptomatic benefit • Limited evidence to support structural benefit (MRI cartilage thickness) |
| Platelet-rich plasma |
• Trial evidence to support symptomatic benefit • Multiple methods of preparation lead to difficulties in directly comparing clinical trials |
| Vitamin D |
• Evidence of efficacy in clinical trials is equivocal • Recommendation to provide supplementation to those patients with evidence of depleted levels of 25OH-vitamin D |
| Other alternative therapies |
• Very limited clinical trial data to suggest the efficacy of oral collagens, MSM, SAMe, curcuma and ginger • Adverse events: largely rare, though ginger appears to be associated with an increased risk of mild gastro-intestinal adverse events |