Stanford Researchers Discover Breakthrough Method to Regrow Knee Cartilage and Prevent Arthritis
Osteoarthritis affects millions of people worldwide. The joint condition often develops with age or after injuries and happens when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones wears down. This leads to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Present-day treatments focus on easing pain and inflammation rather than repairing the damaged cartilage itself. But, a new study from researchers at Stanford Medicine offers hope for a different approach.
The study, published in Science, found that blocking the aging-related protein 15-PGDH can regenerate cartilage that naturally wears away in the knees of older mice. Researchers injected a small molecule drug that blocks 15-PGDH activity throughout the body and into injured joints. Knee cartilage, which was thinner and less functional in older mice compared to younger mice, thickened across the joint surface.
The injections also prevented osteoarthritis from developing after knee injuries similar to ACL tears. Knee injuries like these often lead to osteoarthritis, with about 50 percent of people who suffer an ACL tear developing the condition 10 to 20 years later.
Researchers found that blocking 15-PGDH reduced the number of unhealthy, overgrown cells and increased the population of healthy cartilage-making cells.
Mice treated with the inhibitor twice a week for four weeks after injury had dramatically lower levels of 15-PGDH compared to untreated animals, and the progression of osteoarthritis was significantly reduced.
"Millions of people suffer from joint pain and swelling as they age," said Nidhi Bhutani, PhD, one of the senior authors of the study. "It is a huge unmet medical need. Until now, there has been no drug that directly treats the cause of cartilage loss. But this inhibitor causes dramatic regeneration of cartilage beyond what has been reported with any other intervention."
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