Microfragmented Adipose Tissue and Its Initial Application in Articular Disease

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease of articular closed cylindrical system that filled with 0.9% NaCl cartilage whose main clinical manifestation is joint pain. solution and is free of air. The adipose tissue is placed into The database from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study showed that the morbidity of symptomatic OA (knee Kellgren and Lawrence score ≥2, with knee pain) was 8.1% in China. With the development of aging in China, the incidence of OA is rising. As there are no blood vessels, nerves, or lymph in articular cartilage, its self-healing ability is poor. There are many types of nonsurgical treatments, such as medications including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoid, or opioids, as well as physiotherapy treatments including injecting hyaluronic acid (HA) or platelet-rich plasma (PRP), to prevent pain and improve joint function. All of these methods can prevent pain temporarily but are unable to interrupt the degeneration of articular cartilage. After extracting fat from the human body using a liposuction device, microfragmented adipose tissue (MAT) can be obtained via an isolation and washing device without digestive enzymes. It supports threedimensional scaffolds, growing factors, and cellular colonies such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MAT injection can reduce pain in patients with OA, improve joint function, and does not cause adverse events.