Posted on 04/12/2021 12:35:19 PM PDT by Red Badger
When compromised, the cartilage in our joints can't keep the bones from painfully grinding togetherlightsource/Depositphotos VIEW 1 IMAGES
Once it's been injured, the protective cartilage in our knees and other joints heals very slowly – if at all. A new injectable gel, however, could both reinforce the tissue after it's been damaged, and encourage new cartilage to grow over top of it.
Currently being developed by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, the hydrogel contains a modified form of a gooey substance known as hyaluronic acid, which is produced naturally by the body's connective tissue. In recent years, the acid has also been experimentally used to ward off glaucoma, heal damaged cardiac tissue, and refill herniated spinal discs.
In lab tests, the U Pennsylvania hydrogel was injected into degenerated joint cartilage in mice. Such cartilage covers the interfacing ends of the bones within a joint, and when not damaged, it keeps them from painfully grinding against one another as that joint moves.
It was found that after being injected, the hydrogel intertwined with the structural matrix of the cartilage, thus stabilizing and strengthening it. This finding was backed up by other tests, in which the gel restored the regular activity of cartilage-producing/maintaining chondrocyte cells in living cartilage tissue samples.
Additionally, the sticky hyaluronic acid hydrogel was found to provide a good "roosting" surface for mesenchymal stem cells that were subsequently injected into the injured joint. Those cells proceeded to grow into a new external layer of cartilage, further protecting the recently reinforced original tissue beneath.
"We often relate this combined approach to treating a damaged deck in your backyard," says the lead scientist, Asst. Prof. Jay Patel. "To fortify the existing wood structure, you need something like a wood hardener, then you can apply a wood sealer to prevent future wear. In the same way, we applied a substance that seeps into the pores of the tissue and provides reinforcement, then 'sealed' it by guiding the behavior of injected stem cells towards forming a layer that caps the whole structure."
Studies on larger animals are now being planned, followed by clinical trials on humans.
The hydrogel is currently being commercialized by spinoff company Forsagen, and is described in a paper that was recently published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. Scientists at the University of Delaware are also developing an injectable hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel, which in their case releases pain-killing medication into joints as they're moving.
Source: University of Pennsylvania
Won’t it be great when minimal treatments like this are commonplace instead of surgical solutions? I have a replaced knee. It’s doing OK. I also have a knee that was injected with stem cells and it is pain free. The much more costly treatment was covered by insurance. The injection was not. Backwards in my way of thinking.
Won’t it be great when minimal treatments like this are commonplace instead of surgical solutions? I have a replaced knee. It’s doing OK. I also have a knee that was injected with stem cells and it is pain free. The much more costly treatment was covered by insurance. The injection was not. Backwards in my way of thinking.
FWIW, the evidence for surgical repairs of meniscus tears isn’t all that great. In fact, there are a number of recent studies (last 5-years) that indicate pretty clearly that arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) doesn’t give patients any better outcomes than physical therapy and may in fact make things worse.
It’s a slightly different story for younger patients (under 30). But, for people with age-related degeneration - which makes up the great majority of APM surgeries - it may not be a great option.
Give me tube of that and a couple of zero fittings...
Zerk
Stupid spelchekr.
So, you’re saying I’ll be limiting my steps and deciding how badly I need to crawl to the bathroom the rest of my life.
What could possibly go wrong?
Have you been injured with InjectaGel???
Call 1-800-DEWEYCHEATHAM to know your rights!!!”
Thank you! Good information.
I had the injections.. really didnt help that much.. ended up with man made knees
Ping
How is the knee replacement? OK, I hope.
Total knee replacement risk soars after arthroscopic surgery for meniscal tear
I happen to have a bad knee from an IED in Iraq. With the help of my wife, who's a doctor, I've looked at this problem exhaustively over the last couple of years. Meniscus surgery often times creates more problems than it solves.
adult stem cells, I looked it up
I could use some of that, too.
Eat Jell-O
Bttt
Yikes!
Yes, supposed to be formulated from Rooster combs or some kind of synthetic derivative of it maybe.
I’m 66 and heading for knee replacement if I can drop about 80 pounds. Thing is, I may feel a lot better in my knees if I do drop the 80 pounds.
Then there’s this:
https://www.vqorthocare.com/product/bionicare-knee-system/
Nurse at the VA says she’s seen good results with it.
Calm down, they come from the patient’s bone marrow.
I have always had the exact opposite result from those shots. They do nothing for me; and, the last time I had one, the result was my kneecap popping out of the joint. It stopped fairly quickly; but, I didn't like it.
Years ago, the doc was giving me an artificial cartilidge. That would last for a while and my knees functioned very well with it. But, several years ago the doctor decided my BMI was "out of whack". A nicer way of saying I was too fat for the shot and would not qualify for surgery. So, I have been using Instaflex Advanced pills and they have made it tolerable; but, not as good as the artificial cartilidge shot.
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