HMN 2026: How Biological content of blood-derived treatment could affect common arthritis

Injections of platelet-rich plasma made from a patient’s own blood are increasingly used to treat knee osteoarthritis, but their use is not widely accepted, and the treatment does not work for everyone. Investigators from Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have taken the first steps toward predicting which patients will benefit.

With further study, their findings, published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, could improve patient outcomes and guide the development of next-generation treatments for the debilitating condition.

During the procedure, a patient’s blood is processed in a machine that separates plasma and platelets, a blood component essential for clotting. The concentrated platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is then injected into the affected knee to promote repair.

About 60% of patients in the study experienced reduced pain and better knee function after treatment, said Dmitriy Sheyn, Ph.D., associate professor of orthopedics and surgery and corresponding author of the study.

“We found that patients whose pain and inflammation improved after treatment tended to have lower concentrations of specific cellular and protein biomarkers in their PRP, while patients who had poorer responses to treatment had higher concentrations,” said Sheyn, also a research scientist in the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. “This suggests that the biological makeup of platelet-rich plasma varies between individuals and might influence how well the treatment works.”

The study represents the first attempt to understand how PRP works, said Bert Mandelbaum, MD, professor of orthopedics and senior author of the study.

“While this study is small and did not include a placebo group that did not receive PRP, it is a first step toward identifying the active ingredients in the therapy so that we can design a complementary arthritis treatment based on them,” Mandelbaum said. “We are excited to continue this work.”

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