Bone marrow aspirate concentrate - A novel approach to alter the course of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (a clinical study)

Introduction: TMJ OA is characterized by severe osteocartilaginous degradation of the joint structure resulting in severe deterioration of both joint function as well as joint structure. bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) gained wide acceptance as an auspicious addition for regenerative medicine as it is confirmed to be a rich source of pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells and growth factors that produce promising relief of clinical symptoms with significant repair of the joint structure. Thus, the study aims at assessing the efficacy of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) as a treatment modality for TMJ osteoarthritis and compare its efficacy with that of hyaluronic acid (HA).

Methods: 24 patients were included in the present study and divided into 12 patients in each group. Joint arthrocentesis was performed to all patients followed by intra-articular BMAC injection in Group I. While Group II received HA acid injection RESULTS: A trend towards long term joint repair at 12 and 18 months follow up period was observed in the bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) group as a therapeutic modality for TMJ OA by providing necessary growth factors and anti-inflammatories that impedes the progression of the osteoarthritic degeneration. On the contrary to the viscosupplementary action of hyaluronic acid (HA) that showed relapse of patients conditions.

Conclusion: Bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) is able to reverse the degenerative effects of TMJ OA however,further studies are mandatory with larger population and longer follow-up time.