Posted on 08/21/2006 6:53:19 PM PDT by markomalley
WASHINGTON -- Doctors are testing new ways to spur cartilage to regrow in damaged knees, from implanted "cartilage plugs" to injections of bone-marrow stem cells.
The need is huge. Knees are the joint most likely to go bad, and the cartilage that cushions them has only a limited natural ability to repair itself.
The question is how to unlock that ability and give it a boost.
The potential new options are being tried first in people who injured their knees and thus need small amounts of cartilage to regrow. But if they truly work, the techniques one day might offer hope for arthritis sufferers, too, whose cartilage over time completely erodes.
Most eagerly anticipated: the first clinical trial using stem cells from donated bone marrow to try to regenerate the knee's shock absorber, a cartilage pad called the meniscus.
Meniscus injuries are common, and not just among young athletes. Because the pad weakens with age, a simple wrong step can leave an older person with the painful tear. About 800,000 Americans a year have part of the meniscus surgically removed, to relieve pain when jagged edges won't heal.
Stem cells are building blocks for tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells are a type of adult stem cell that live in the bone marrow and can transform into cartilage-forming cells called chondrocytes. Mixing these stem cells with a knee-lubricating fluid helped the meniscus regrow in goats. Will it work in people?
Researchers enrolled 55 patients who had about half their meniscus removed. About a week after that surgery, each participant received a single injection - either a dummy shot or one containing millions of mesenchymal stem cells.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
I'm 62 years old and early this year I developed some problems with my right knee (MCL) that prevented me from walking any distance. I've never had problem with my knees before and I used to walk five miles a day. Don't know how I injured it but it really was a walk up call. Somehow and through inactivity it seems to have repaired itself but it was touch and go. This is a very important discovery if true because I wasn't too fond of using cadaver cartilage to repair my knee.
FROM FRANCE..!
My wife has arthritis in both knees and both hips, but not a lot of pain yet (age 68). But her orthopedic Dr. has told her that it probably will come soon, as she has almost no cartilage left.
Unfortunately, this probably will not be generally available in time to save her from the replacement surgery. Too bad. If the money, time, and energy WASTED on the embryonic stem cell boondoggle had been directed here instead she might be spared.
Oooh ... double whammy.
Glucosamine Chondroitin. $10 for 60 tablets at any vitamin store. Pumps fluid into your kneecaps.
Can't wait to hear the results of the blind test.
bump & a ping
I've also had a knee problem for months. Steps are a big problem.
At 36 and 10 years away from replacements, I certainly hope that's the case.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.