Brown researchers work toward ending cartilage lossJune 04, 2008PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - Scientists have long wrestled with how to aid those who suffer cartilage damage and loss. One popular way is to inject an artificial gel that can imitate cartilage's natural ability to act as the body's shock absorber. But that solution is temporary, requiring follow-up injections. Now Brown University nanotechnology specialist Thomas Webster has found a way to regenerate cartilage naturally by creating a synthetic surface that attracts cartilage-forming cells. These cells are then coaxed to multiply through electrical pulses. It's the first study that has shown enhanced cartilage regeneration using this method; it appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A. "Cartilage regeneration is a big problem," said Webster, an associate professor in the Division of Engineering and the Department of Orthopaedics at Brown. "You don't feel pain until significant cartilage damage has occurred and it's bone rubbing on bone. That's why research into how to regenerate cartilage is so important." Webster's work involves carbon nanotubes, which are molecular-scale tubes of graphitic carbon that are among the stiffest and strongest fibers known and are great conductors of electrons. They are being studied intensively worldwide for a range of commercial, industrial and medical uses. Webster and his team, including Brown researcher Dongwoo Khang and Grace Park from Purdue University, found that the tubes, due to their unique surface properties, work well for stimulating cartilage-forming cells, known scientifically as chondrocytes. The nanotube's surface is rough; viewed under a microscope, it looks like a bumpy landscape. Yet that uneven surface closely resembles the contours of natural tissue, so cartilage cells see it as a natural environment to colonize. "We're tricking the body, so to speak," Webster said. "It all goes back to the fact that the nanotubes are mimicking the natural roughness of tissues in the first place." Previous research has involved using a micron surface, which is smoother at the nanoscale. Webster said his team's nanosurface works better than micron due to its roughness and because it can be shaped to fit the contours of the degenerated area, much like a Band-Aid. The researchers also learned they could prod the cartilage cells to grow more densely by applying electrical pulses. Scientists don't completely understand why electricity seems to trigger cartilage growth, but they think it helps calcium ions enter a cell, and calcium is known to play an integral role in growing cartilage. The team plans to test the cartilage regeneration method procedure with animals, and if that is successful, to conduct the research on humans. Webster's cartilage regeneration studies parallel research he has done with bone regeneration and implants that was published last year in Nanotechnology. The principles are the same: Bone cells are more apt to adhere to a rough carbon nanotube surface than other surfaces and to colonize that surface. And tests by scientists in Japan and elsewhere have shown that electrical pulses stimulate bone cell growth. The National Science Foundation, under the federal National Nanotechnology Initiative, funded the work. Brown University |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Cartilage Current Events and Cartilage News Articles Penn Study Provides First Clear Idea of How Rare Bone Disease Progresses An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is taking the first step in developing a treatment for a rare genetic disorder called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in which the body's skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue turns to bone, immobilizing patients over a lifetime with a second skeleton. Mending meniscals in children, improving diagnosis and recovery The meniscus is a rubber-like, crescent moon-shaped cartilage cushion that sits between the leg and thigh bone. Each knee has two menisci: one on the inside of the knee joint and one on the outside. UF scientists discover new explanation for controversial old patient-care technique You might not know what it's called, but if you've had general anesthesia before surgery, especially after an accident, it is likely you have received Sellick's maneuver. 'Spaghetti' scaffolding could help grow skin in labs Scientists are developing new scaffolding technology which could be used to grow tissues such as skin, nerves and cartilage using 3D spaghetti-like structures. Chinese and American paleontologists discover a new Mesozoic mammal An international team of paleontologists has discovered a new species of mammal that lived 123 million years ago in what is now the Liaoning Province in northeastern China. Scientists find obesity alone does not cause arthritis in animals The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight. Diabetes weakens your bones Current research suggests that the inflammatory molecule TNF-α may contribute to delayed bone fracture healing in diabetics. New study finds way to stop excessive bone growth following trauma or surgery A recent United States Army study found that excessive bone growth, also known as heterotopic ossificiation (HO), affects up to 70 percent of soldiers who are severely wounded during combat. A much smaller percentage of the civilian population also suffers from HO following trauma or invasive surgery. New species of ghostshark from California and Baja California New species are not just discovered in exotic locales-even places as urban as California still yield discoveries of new plants and animals. Hormone promises to keep joint injuries from causing long-term osteoarthritis An existing osteoporosis drug is the first ever found to prevent cartilage loss from osteoarthritis following injury to a joint, and may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis. More Cartilage Current Events and Cartilage News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||