Lab Grown Cartilage from Stem Cells for Hip Prosthetics
Joint pain, especially from arthritis, seems to be part of the fate of aging. Artificial prosthetics offer some relief, but orthopedic scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may have a better alternative to joint replacement. They have shown how to grow cartilage on a scaffold that allows joint resurfacing. The process begins with a 3-D image of the patient’s joint. This becomes a scaffold, and the patient’s own stem cells, derived from fat tissue, are seeded and allowed to grow. Gene therapy allows the regenerating cartilage cells to produce and release anti-inflammatory molecules that resist arthritis. This piece doesn’t make it clear whether the entire molded scaffold is implanted or the living matrix is simply implanted over the existing, if damaged, femoral head. MORE
Image Credit: Washington University School of Medicine Research News