teddy_sheringham_125
Well-Known Member
- Jul 15, 2008
- 1,381
- 837
Not sure if that has been posted before, but a recent article in the Metro seems to think that some scientists have been successful in growing new knee cartilage that can be put back into the knee:
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/829190-german-scientists-grow-new-knee
Medics took cells from a patient’s knee and cultivated them into layer of cartilage, which was stitched back into the joint. The operation revitalises the knee when cartilage – the tissue that protects bones – has worn away. It is thought to be of special benefit to arthritics and sports men and women whose cartilage has been reduced or even lost completely.
Young people with knee problems can also be helped by the procedure. The surgery could replace complex knee-replacement operations, of which 70,000 are conducted annually in England and Wales. ‘It is an amazing breakthrough and something that may become the norm,’ said surgeon Ashvin Pimpalnerkar. ‘It is quite an expensive procedure and so is aimed at younger patients or traumatic sports injuries at the moment.’ In the procedure, healthy cartilage cells were scraped off a patient’s knee at Good Hope hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, and sent to a laboratory in Germany. Growth enhancers were added to the cells in a petri dish and a thin sheet of cartilage grew. The knee was then cut open and the new cartilage attached to the bones using absorbable stitches. This part of the
operation took less than an hour.
Helen James, 33, had the surgery after a fall in her garden left her without cartilage inside her knee. It cased huge discomfort when the bones in the joint rubbed together. ‘I was living in agony,’ said Ms James, of Rugeley, Staffordshire. ‘It’s mind-blowing to think cartilage was taken out of my knee and regrown. It’s very odd but amazing too.
I wonder whether King could get this as it seems pretty much ready to go? Sorry about the quality of info, I've tried to find the original research article but with no success!
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/829190-german-scientists-grow-new-knee
Medics took cells from a patient’s knee and cultivated them into layer of cartilage, which was stitched back into the joint. The operation revitalises the knee when cartilage – the tissue that protects bones – has worn away. It is thought to be of special benefit to arthritics and sports men and women whose cartilage has been reduced or even lost completely.
Young people with knee problems can also be helped by the procedure. The surgery could replace complex knee-replacement operations, of which 70,000 are conducted annually in England and Wales. ‘It is an amazing breakthrough and something that may become the norm,’ said surgeon Ashvin Pimpalnerkar. ‘It is quite an expensive procedure and so is aimed at younger patients or traumatic sports injuries at the moment.’ In the procedure, healthy cartilage cells were scraped off a patient’s knee at Good Hope hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, and sent to a laboratory in Germany. Growth enhancers were added to the cells in a petri dish and a thin sheet of cartilage grew. The knee was then cut open and the new cartilage attached to the bones using absorbable stitches. This part of the
operation took less than an hour.
Helen James, 33, had the surgery after a fall in her garden left her without cartilage inside her knee. It cased huge discomfort when the bones in the joint rubbed together. ‘I was living in agony,’ said Ms James, of Rugeley, Staffordshire. ‘It’s mind-blowing to think cartilage was taken out of my knee and regrown. It’s very odd but amazing too.
I wonder whether King could get this as it seems pretty much ready to go? Sorry about the quality of info, I've tried to find the original research article but with no success!
