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Published on: May 21, 2013
Subchondral bone as a novel target for regenerative therapy of osteochondritis dissecans: A case report
Sheng-Yang Zhang1, Hui-Hui Xu1, Miao-Miao Xiao2
1Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, The First College of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, Zhejiang Province, China.
Background:
Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a rare disease of unclear cause characterized by subchondral bone damage and overlying cartilage defects. The current report presents the results of subchondral bone as a novel target for implantation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) in the treatment of OCD.
Case Summary:
A 16-year-old patient diagnosed with OCD underwent subchondral bone implantation of PBSCs. Four months later, the patient's visual analog scale scores, Western Ontario and McMaster University osteoarthritis index, and whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging score improved significantly, and regeneration of cartilage and subchondral bone was observed on magnetic resonance imaging.
Conclusion:
This is the first case of OCD treated with subchondral bone as an implantation target of PBSCs, which highlights the importance of subchondral bone for cartilage repair. This treatment could be a potential option for articular cartilage and subchondral bone recovery in OCD.

