How growing new tendon cells can fix your joints too

RESEARCHERS have made the first step to developing better treatments for tendinosis — pain and strain in the tendons.

Doctors at Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University, both in the U.S., examined samples from patients who were undergoing surgery for tendinosis and compared tendons from elderly versus young patients.

When tendon cells were grown in low-oxygen environments — similar to those in the bodies of older people — levels of a molecule called Rac1 were reduced, causing the cells to change shape, becoming tough like cartilage.

The researchers said this understanding could pave the way to manipulating cells to retain tendon qualities; or, when needed, turn them into cartilage for joint replacement.