A natural replacement for worn-out joint
PARIS: Scientists have shown for the
first time that it may be possible to replace a human hip or knee with a joint
grown naturally inside the body using the patient's stem cells.
In
experiments on rabbits, the researchers coaxed the animals' stem cells to
rebuild the bone and cartilage of a missing leg joint, according to a study
published on Thursday. "This is the first time an entire joint surface was
regenerated with return of functions including weight-bearing and locomotion,"
lead researcher Jeremy Mao, a professor at Columbia University Medical Center,
said.
In the
experiments, Mao and colleagues removed the forelimb thigh joint of 10 rabbits,
and then implanted a kind of scaffolding made of biologically compatible
materials.
The
fact that the regenerated limb joint was created from the stem cells in the host
animal — rather than being harvested and then cultivated outside the body
— is also unprecedented, they said.
