The scientific rationale to apply plasma rich in growth factors in joint tissue pathologies: Knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a mechanically induced, cytokine and enzyme-mediated disorder with different biochemical, inflammatory, and genetic signatures undergoing distinct phases and phenotypes, and encompassing all joint tissues, with pain and inflammation as the clinical and biochemical hallmarks of the disease. In the daunting task of rebuilding a physiological-homeostatic network at the tissue level in synovial joint organ failure, as in severe KOA, a biologically inspired therapeutic approach consisting in intra-articular infiltrations of PRP has proven to substantially reduce pain in patients with KOA and to improve joint stiffness and physical function. This chapter is an attempt to shed more light on the molecular and cellular data in joint homeostasis, pathophysiology, and to discuss some mechanistic aspects that have been proposed which provide the rationale for using PRP in KOA.