Autologous conditioned serum applications in the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases: a narrative review

Autologous conditioned serum has been studied as a treatment option in musculoskeletal disorders and resulted in varying outcomes. This study aims to pool the current data on this matter. Materials & methods: Major databases were searched for the topics, and after screening the results, the final 21 papers (level of evidence I or II) were included. Results & conclusion: This study showed a major focus of the literature on the effectiveness of autologous conditioned serum in osteoarthritis, in which there is much high-quality evidence suggesting its safety and efficacy. Also, some of the available experiments are assessing its application in tendinopathies and radiculopathies which, despite positive results, recommend further evaluations on this topic. Lay abstract: Autologous conditioned serum (ACS) is a cell-free blood product rich in anti-inflammatory components; this study aims to provide a review of the available data on its clinical applications in musculoskeletal disorders. The most studied subject was joint diseases and mainly osteoarthritis, for which some high-quality papers suggested ACS to be an effective and safe option. A few papers assessed the effectiveness of ACS in soft tissue injuries like tendinopathies and plantar fasciitis, and also cervical and lumbar radiculopathies in human subjects; despite some positive results, a further high-quality investigation is required on this matter.