孙大铭　张洪

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a kind of common orthopedic disease, which often results in hip joint dysfunction in young patients. ONFH is a pathological process caused by avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Disruption of blood supply is commonly believed to the main cause of ONFH, and further leads to hip joint destruction. The etiology of the disease is not fully understood. The use of corticosteroids and alcohol abuse are the 2 most common risk factors. In general, various joint-preserving procedures are used for the treatment of early-stage ONFH, including core decompression, various types of osteotomies, and different methods of vascularized or nonvascularized bone grafts. All these methods have their own problems, none of which have been found to be universally successful, and long-term follow-up results are lacking. However, the patients with early-stage ONFH should try to avoid the need for total hip arthroplasty (THA), because they are still young, and the long-term effects of THA are not satisfactory. With the development of stem cell research and regenerative medicine, it is believed that changes in stem cells probably are the onset of ONFH, and the possible therapy for ONFH based on cell therapy has great potential. Recent studies have shed some light on cell therapy for ONFH. In this review, the epidemiology and pathophysiology of ONFH are presented, and meanwhile basic research and clinical applications of cell therapy for ONFH are discussed.