BOSTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Boston scientists are creating an injectable gel to help fix torn cartilage, a common sports injury, so injured athletes can resume competing sooner.
The technique uses the patient's own cartilage-producing cells and has the potential to be more effective and less invasive than conventional cartilage repair techniques, which may include extensive surgery, a spokesman for the scientists said Thursday.
When the liquid mixture is injected into areas where cartilage is torn, such as a knee joint, the material hardens into a gel upon exposure to ultraviolet light, leaving the transplanted cells in place so they can grow new cartilage where it is needed.
Torn cartilage is an extremely painful, hard-to-heal injury, particularly since cartilage does not regenerate on its own. It most often occurs as a result of traumatic injuries, such as during sports, and is most common in the knee joint, but the condition also can occur as a result of normal daily activity. Conventional treatment methods include rest, pain medication and, sometimes, invasive repair surgery. Patients undergoing surgery can face a slow, painful recovery.
The researchers are from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
