{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T21:47:11Z","timestamp":1792273631882,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JOIO"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are common injuries in young and active individuals and can lead to long-term functional impairment and early onset osteoarthritis. While ACL reconstruction remains the standard of care, recent evidence suggests that spontaneous healing may be possible in selected cases. Regenerative and biologic treatment concepts have therefore gained increasing interest. This study investigates the clinical and radiological outcomes of a stem cell\u2013based regenerative treatment for traumatic ACL ruptures and presents findings as preliminary observational evidence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this single-center retrospective case series, 47 patients with isolated partial and complete traumatic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures were treated using a biologic, non-surgical protocol. Diagnosis of an ACL rupture was confirmed by standardized clinical examination (Lachman test, anterior drawer test, and pivot shift test) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which was additionally used to assess rupture morphology and synovial sheath integrity. All patients underwent an ultrasound-guided injection of autologous biologic products derived from peripheral venous blood, consisting of 8\u00a0mL of an autologous blood-derived stem cell preparation (BSC), comprising approximately 2\u20133\u00a0mL of concentrated mononuclear cells suspended in 6\u00a0mL of autologous platelet-containing plasma, injected directly into the torn ACL. Patients were allowed immediate full weight-bearing without bracing and followed a standardized physiotherapy program. Clinical follow-up was conducted for 12\u00a0months, including assessment of pain (VAS), functional outcomes (IKDC, Lysholm), return-to-sport timelines, and MRI-based evaluation of ligament morphology.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The mean age of the cohort was 28.1\u00a0years (95% CI 26.0\u201330.2). Functional outcomes improved continuously throughout follow-up, with mean IKDC and Lysholm scores of 93.6 (95% CI 92.4\u201394.8) and 94.0 (95% CI 92.7\u201395.3), respectively, at 12\u00a0months. Pain levels decreased markedly, reaching a mean VAS score of 0.36 (95% CI 0.19\u20130.53). Patients returned to running after a mean of 2.19\u00a0weeks (95% CI 1.93\u20132.45), and most resumed their pre-injury activity level by one year. No infections or re-ruptures occurred and only one secondary ACL reconstruction was recorded. Patients with an intact synovial sheath demonstrated faster return to pivoting sports (26.8 vs. 33.2\u00a0weeks) compared with patients with a complete ACL rupture. MRI at 3\u00a0months showed evidence of improved ligament morphology in all but one patient.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This preliminary case series suggests that stem cell\u2013based biologic stimulation may be associated with functional recovery and radiological improvement in selected patients with ACL ruptures. Prospective controlled trials are required to validate these findings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s43465-026-01904-0","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T12:46:06Z","timestamp":1785242766000},"page":"3190-3197","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Autologous Peripheral Blood-Derived Stem Cells Combined with Platelet-Rich Plasma is Associated With Clinical and Radiological Improvement in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Ruptures\u2014Preliminary Clinical and MRI Findings in 47 Consecutive Patients"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"60","author":[{"given":"Patrick","family":"Weninger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreas","family":"Herbst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Veronika","family":"Pfafl-Weninger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Celina","family":"Reitb\u00f6ck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"1904_CR1","volume-title":"StatPearls","author":"J Evans","year":"2025","unstructured":"Evans, J., Mabrouk, A., & Nielson, J. 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The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Conflict of Interest","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was, submitted to the Ethics Committee of Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences on 20 February 2026 (Application Number: 1071\/2026). The Ethics Committee confirmed that, given the retrospective observational design of this study, formal ethical approval was not required. All patients provided written informed consent for treatment and use of anonymized data for scientific purposes.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethical Approval","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"This manuscript was prepared in part with the assistance of an artificial intelligence language model (ChatGPT, OpenAI\n                      \u00ae\n                      ). The AI tool was used to assist with language refinement and structuring of statistical summaries only. The AI tool was not used for data analysis, interpretation of results, or scientific decision-making. All authors have critically reviewed, validated, and take full responsibility for all content of the final, submitted manuscript.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Use of Generative AI","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}]}}