Nose cartilage repairs injured knees
SURGEONS have revealed a pioneering technique to repair serious knee injuries using cells from the nose.
They created cartilage transplants from cells harvested from the noses of 10 patients with knee injuries.
After two years most of the patients reported less pain, better knee movement and improved mobility.
Doctors believe the technique now offers hope to millions of arthritis sufferers.
Articular cartilage – tissue on the end of a bone that cushions the surface of the joint – provides a low-friction gliding surface that artificial implants have not been able to replicate.
The tissue has a limited capacity to repair itself, leading to degenerative joint conditions such as osteoarthritis.
However, the team from University Hospital Basel in Switzerland found that cartilage cells from the nasal septum have a unique capacity to grow and form new cartilage tissue.
Professor Ivan Martin said: “Our findings have confirmed the safety and feasibility of cartilage grafts, engineered from nasal cells, to repair damaged knee cartilage. However, use of this procedure in everyday clinical practice is still a long way off as it requires rigorous assessment of efficacy in larger groups of patients and the development of manufacturing strategies to ensure cost effectiveness.”
If left untreated, cartilage injuries in the knee can lead to early arthritis.
Every year about two million people across Europe and the US are diagnosed with damage to articular cartilage because of injuries or accidents.
The research findings were published in The Lancet.