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                  Scientists Create Artificial Joint Cartilage

   by Jessica Berman

   For millions of people around the world, arthritis is an unfortunate -
   and painful - part of getting older. As the condition progresses, it
   can require surgery to replace with plastic or metal hardware the worn
   cartilage that no longer cushions the joint. But these artificial
   joints are not ideal, so researchers using innovative technologies are
   working to create an artificial cartilage that's more like the real
   thing.
   Arthritis is a very painful condition. The operation to treat it is not
   much better.  Anybody who has had a knee, shoulder or hip joint
   replaced knows that artificial metal or plastic joints also can be
   painful and limit movement.  But coming up with a better alternative
   for eroded cartilage - a substitute that's both load-bearing and
   cushioning at the same time - has been a challenge.
   Farshid Guilak, professor of mechanical engineering and orthopedic
   surgery at Duke University in North Carolina, is part of a team working
   to create a strong yet softer, more supple replacement for worn away
   cartilage. He foresees that implanting this synthetic cartilage would
   be a much less radical operation than current joint surgery.
   "So, just basically replacing the part that is worn out, not cutting
   out both sides of the joint and putting a lot of metal in there," said
   Guilak.
   At the heart of the synthetic cartilage is an innovative fabric
   scaffold, which Guilak and colleagues at Duke developed in
   collaboration with researchers at Harvard University in Massachusetts.
   The novel material is made of seven layers of miniscule interwoven
   fibers, each about as thick as a human hair. A water-based gel is
   infused into the scaffolding, making it strong, flexible and
   lubricated.
   Then, the patient's stem cells would be injected into the fabric.
   Guilak says they could grow between the layers into a living cartilage
   one millimeter thick that is customized to the patient's diseased
   joints.
   "I think what we will be able to do if this succeeds is just remove the
   worn out cartilage and basically cap it with this material, which would
   just replace the cartilage itself and leave all the native bone in
   place. So it's a much less invasive surgery and hopefully replace it
   with a living cartilage," he said.
   Guilak and colleagues are now planning animal experiments with the
   synthetic cartilage.
   An article on the development is published in the journal Advanced
   Functional Materials.
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   rtilage/1816363.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/scientists-create-artificial-joint-cartilage/1816363.html