RESEARCH ARTICLE
Growth Factors and Stem Cells for the Management of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears
Giacomo Rizzello 1, 2, Umile Giuseppe Longo*, 1, 2, Stefano Petrillo 1, 2, Alfredo Lamberti 1, 2, Wasim Sardar Khan 3, Nicola Maffulli 4, Vincenzo Denaro 1, 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2012Volume: 6
Issue: Suppl 3
First Page: 525
Last Page: 530
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-6-525
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001206010525
Article History:
Received Date: 14/7/2012Revision Received Date: 14/9/2012
Acceptance Date: 22/9/2012
Electronic publication date: 30/11/2012
Collection year: 2012

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is fundamental for the knee joint stability. ACL tears are frequent, especially during sport activities, occurring mainly in young and active patients. Nowadays, the gold standard for the management of ACL tears remains the surgical reconstruction with autografts or allografts. New strategies are being developed to resolve the problems of ligament grafting and promote a physiological healing process of ligamentous tissue without requiring surgical reconstruction. Moreover, these strategies can be applicable in association surgical reconstruction and may be useful to promote and accelerate the healing process. The use of growth factors and stem cells seems to offer a new and fascinating solution for the management of ACL tears. The injection of stem cell and/or growth factors in the site of ligamentous injury can potentially enhance the repair process of the physiological tissue. These procedures are still at their infancy, and more in vivo and in vitro studies are required to clarify the molecular pathways and effectiveness of growth factors and stem cells therapy for the management of ACL tears. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge in the field of growth factors and stem cells for the management of ACL tears.