Tobacco gel eases a painful elbow

A gel based on tissue grown in tobacco plants has been developed for tennis elbow, where tiny tears and inflammation develop in muscles and tendons through overuse.

Collagen — a form of protein in the body — is grown in genetically modified tobacco plants, then mixed with a sample of the patient’s own blood that has been processed so it is rich in growth factors needed for healing.

This forms a gel that is then injected into the elbow. The collagen prevents the blood dispersing and forms the basis of a scaffold around which new tissue can grow.

Nearly nine out of ten patients who had not responded to other treatments improved after a single injection, say the researchers at Ben-gurion University in Israel.