07 April 2025 : Review article
Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies Supporting the Role of Polydeoxyribonucleotide in the Treatment of Tendon Disorders
Shengyu Luo ABC 1*, Shilin Huang AB 1, Sen Li ABCDEFG 1,2DOI: 10.12659/MSM.945743
Med Sci Monit 2025; 31:e945743
Table 1 The effect of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) in tendon disorders based on clinical studies.
| Study | Disease type | Number of treatments | Dosage | Outcomes | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryu et al | Rotator cuff tendinopathy | Once | 3 mL PDRN mixed with 1 mL of 1% lidocaine | Pain ↓Shoulder disability ↓Function ↑ | PDRN contributed to safe improvements in function and pain of patients with refractory rotator cuff disorders for at least 3 months |
| Yoon et al | Rotator cuff tendinopathy | Once | 5.625 mg/3 mL of PDRN mixed with 1% lidocaine 1 mL with a 23-gauge 6-cm needle | Pain ↓Shoulder disability ↓Function ↑ | Three months after treatment, the subjective pain, SPADI, and VAS demonstrated significantly improvements compared to the control group without adverse events |
| Do et al | Rotator cuff tendinopathy | Three times | 5.625 mg/3 mL of PDRN | Pain ↓Shoulder disability ↓Function ↑Shoulder tear volume ↓Range of motion ↑ | PDRN injection into torn area of supraspinatus tendon on US could be candidate for the safe and effective treatment on shoulder pain and limited range of motion in patients with rotator cuff tear |
| Lee and Park | Lateral epicondylitis | Once | 5.625 mg/3 mL PDRN with a 27-gauge, 1.5-inch needle | Pain ↓Symptom relief ↑ | After 2 weeks from PDRN injection, both patients reported significant pain relief. The 2 weeks after the PDRN injection showed that the hypervascularity of the common extensor tendon in both patients had been completely cured |
| Shim et al | Lateral epicondylitis | Once | 5.625 mg/3 mL | Pain ↓Function ↑Tendon tear volume↓ | PDRN injections combined with counterforce braces exhibited a greater improvement in pain and function within the 12-week follow-up |
| Lee et al | Plantar fasciitis | Once | 3 mL PDRN at 1-week intervals | Pain ↓Function ↑Symptom relief ↓ | PDRN injection could be an effective and safe option for plantar fasciitis and was comparable to corticosteroid injection after 6 months follow up |
| Kim and Chung | Plantar fasciitis | Once | / | Pain ↓Function ↑Symptom relief ↑ | The PDRN group achieved a significant improvement in pain and function at 4 weeks after treatment, and this improvement continued until 12 weeks after treatment |
| Mun et al | Pes anserine tendinopathy | Once | 5.625 mg/3 mL | Pain ↓Function ↑Symptom relief ↑ | Follow-up for the patient was more than 8 months. She showed good improvement in pes anserine tendinopathy without any complications |
| PDRN – polydeoxyribonucleotide; ↑ – increase; ↓ – decrease; SPADI – Shoulder Pain and Disability Index; VAS – visual analog scale; US – ultrasonography. | |||||