Guo J, Dardik A, Fang K, Huang R, Gu Y, et al.
Stem cell research & therapy. Date of publication 2017 Oct 16;volume 8(1):228.
1. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2017 Oct 16;8(1):228. doi: 10.1186/s13287-017-0683-2.
Meta-analysis on the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers with autologous stem
cells.
Guo J(1)(2), Dardik A(3), Fang K(4), Huang R(5), Gu Y(6)(7).
Author information:
(1)Department of Vascular Surgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University,
Beijing, China.
(2)Institute of Vascular Surgery, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
(3)Section of Vascular Surgery, Vascular Biology and Therapeutics, Yale
University, New Haven, CT, USA.
(4)Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
(5)Occupational and Environmental Health, Xiangya School of Public Health,
Central South University, Hunan, China. huangruixue@csu.edu.cn.
(6)Department of Vascular Surgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University,
Beijing, China. gu15901598209@gmail.com.
(7)Institute of Vascular Surgery, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
gu15901598209@gmail.com.
Over the last decade, many studies have indicated a therapeutic potential for
treating diabetic lower extremity ulcers with autologous stem cells. The aim of
the current study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the
treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) with autologous stem cells. The search
strategy included the Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane's Library
databases. The endpoint measured was the healing of DFUs.Six eligible randomized
controlled trial (RCT) studies were screened from related published studies and
reviewed for meta-analysis. The overall meta-analysis showed that stem cell
administration was significantly favorable for healing diabetic ulcers (mean
difference (MD) 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-0.65; p < 0.00001).
Subgroup analyses indicated that stem cells seemed to exert similar beneficial
effects on patients with ulcer size ≥ 5 cm2 (MD 0.76, 95% CI 0.55-0.97;
p < 0.00001) and < 5 cm2 (MD 0.43, 95% CI 0.31-0.54; p < 0.00001). Furthermore,
stem cells had similar effects on patients aged ≥ 70 years (MD 0.61, 95% CI
0.14-1.08; p = 0.01) and < 70 years (MD 0.47, 95% CI 0.35-0.58; p < 0.00001).
This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests a promising role for stem cells
in DFU treatment. This review will pave the way to further study on the long-term
effects of stem cell-based therapy and large-scale RCTs.
DOI: 10.1186/s13287-017-0683-2
PMCID: PMC5644171
PMID: 29037219 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
