Posted on 08/16/2009 2:13:33 PM PDT by neverdem
ONE way for surgeons to repair injured knees is to take cartilage and bone from another part of the knee and transplant it in the damaged area.
Now companies are developing potentially simpler knee patches: small, off-the-shelf plugs engineered to mimic the composition of human bone and cartilage.
These ready-made cylinders can be inserted in an arthroscopic procedure; they are often used after a sports injury. They are known as osteochondral scaffolds, because they support new bone and cartilage as it grows.
Orthomimetics, a company in Cambridge, England, has developed a scaffold approved for use in Europe that resulted from a collaboration between faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge.
The scaffold provides a temporary, engineered matrix when inserted into a drilled hole, said Lorna Gibson, a professor of materials science and engineering at M.I.T. and one of the inventors of the device. Stem cells from the bone marrow that can form bone or cartilage impregnate the pores of the cylinder.
“The scaffold guides the tissue formation of bone on one side and cartilage on the other,” Dr. Gibson said.
The scaffold disappears in about six months. “Over time the cells that attach to the scaffold produce enzymes that dissolve it,” Dr. Gibson said. At the same time, the cells are putting down their own matrix.
Dr. Constance R. Chu, director of the Cartilage Restoration Center at the University of Pittsburgh and the Albert Ferguson associate professor of orthopedic surgery and bioengineering, said that there were potential benefits to using the cylinders to help repair cartilage that protects bones in the knee joint from rubbing against one another.
“Surgeons can do effective repairs by borrowing bone and cartilage from another part of the knee” that is less weight-bearing, Dr. Chu said. “But people don’t...”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
thanks for the info
Technology I ain’t got ping.
inneresting
Interesting. I had hip replacement surgery two years ago at a fairly young age — for that kind of surgery — and my grown children are showing some of the same signs I did at their age. I’m hoping medicine will advance enough that the fix will be more simple than what I went through.
looks like perhaps the natural progression of the “mesh” that was a breakthrough for the pelvic side of hip replacements not so long ago....15 yrs or so ago, IIRC....
By silencing a specific gene in breast cancer cells, the researchers coaxed them to convert from epithelial cells, which make up most of the human body, into mesenchymal cells, which have many stem-cell-like characteristics. They then used these cells — which have the same molecular signatures as cancer stem cells and are equally drug resistant — to screen around 16,000 chemicals. They found 32 contenders, then whittled the list down to one drug: salinomycin, an antibiotic often found in animal feed.
I get the impression that they are preparing 16,000 mesenchymal cell cultures, one for each drug.
Pharmboy, correct me if I'm wrong.
Both knees are cheering as I write this. It’s a little embarrassing...I still gotta make my run times for 6 more years.
Colonel, USAFR
I have torn the cartilage in my left knee, this sounds better than what they have recommended so far.
Yep. They grew 1,600 separate cultures. That’s about 16 standard 96-well titer plates’ worth. Not even enough to fill a microwave oven.
They probably tested each chemical on scores of different cell lines.
Skilled human eyeballs had to look at each result.
Only 1 or 2% look promising at that stage, maybe 10% of those will pass enough of the following tests to even be considered for drug trials.
Most drugs fail the trials.
That, sir, is why the new wonder drugs are expensive.
Without the big payoff, no for profit company would risk all the time and money involved...
Thanks for sharing, FRiend!
The 16,000 number sounds daunting, but remember this process is highly automated and can be accomplished fairly quickly.
Discovered by real scientists.
I need some of this!
“Every cartilage repair technique works better in the young.”
I’ve had both knees scoped and cartilage removed, AND an ACL replacement many moons ago. Anything that promises to make them ache less is a good thing. Good luck with yours.
Colonel, USAFR
Thanks, hope you get relief for your knees too.
"Eli Lilly and Co. said it will not submit its osteoporosis medicine arzoxifene for FDA review after the drug failed to meet certain clinical goals in a Phase III clinical trial. The Indianapolis drug firm will take an after-tax charge of $35 million to $45 million for discontinuing arzoxifene's development."
That $35-45,000,000 has to come from somewhere...
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