The discovery is encouraging for ten million people suffering fromosteoarthritis in France. Researchers from Inserm and the University of Strasbourg presented, in the review Kind Communication this May 14, a bandage to treat this joint-destroying disease. Applied directly to the epidermis, like a “second skin”, it would indeed regenerate cartilage in the event of significant internal lesions caused by this chronic and degenerative pathology.
Genuine cartilage regeneration
The dressing is composed of two successive layers. The first, which acts as a support, is a “membrane composed of polymer nanofibers and equipped with small vesicles containing growth factors in quantities similar to those that our cells secrete themselves”explain the researchers in a press release. The second is a “hydrogel layer loaded with hyaluronic acid and stem cells from the patient’s own bone marrow”. It is this substance that will be responsible for rebuilding the connective tissue.
Because the“We are no longer just in repair, we are really talking about regeneration of articular cartilage”, the scientists continue. The team has already conducted trials on rodents, as well as sheep and goats, “models very suitable for the comparative study of cartilage with humans”. The objective is now to test the dressing at the latter.
A pathology that is currently incurable
Today, there is currently no treatment that can cure osteoarthritis. In case of pain, the cartilage is temporarily replaced to relieve the patient. The treatments consist of injecting anti-inflammatories and hyaluronic acid in order to improve the viscosity of the joint. Stem cells can also be used, as they partially control inflammation. Only the installation of a prosthesis is a definitive solution. But the intervention can be invasive and painful for the patient, and be the source of side effects. L’osteoarticular implant presented by the researchers can therefore constitute a genuine innovation.
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