INRA-ARTICULA ADMINSTATION WHOLE BONE MARROW IN TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) IN A SHEEP MODEL

To investigate the therapeutic effect of whole bone marrow (WBM) in experimentally induced OA of the knee joint sheep. OA of the knee joint was inducted by removing of the medial meniscus of the joint. The first administration of 5 ml of autologous BM from the iliac crest was performed 12 weeks later; it was injected into the right knee. The second procedure was performed four weeks after the first one. The left knee joint was used as a control; 5 ml of saline solution was injected in it twice. The knee joints of both pelvic limbs were compared macroscopically and histologically; the dimensions of the lesions of the condyles of the femur, the amount and color of the synovial fluid and the degree of articular cartilage recovery were also examined.The lesions in the condyles of the right knee joint were significantly smaller in size than those in the control joint. The amount of synovial fluid in the right knee was slightly more than the one in the left knee.Injection of WBM in sheep with experimentally induced knee joint OA has a therapeutic effect.