“This is the first time an entire joint surface was regenerated with return of functions including weight bearing and locomotion,” said lead researcher Jeremy Mao, a professor at Columbia University Medical Center.
In experiments on rabbits, researchers used the animals’ stem cells to recreate bone and cartilage of a missing leg joint after removing the forelimb and then implanted a kind of procedure made of biologically compatible materials.
The procedure may “ultimately lead to clinical applications,” said Mr. Mao. “In patients who need the knee, shoulder, hip or finger joints regenerated, the rabbit model provides a proof of principle.”
But the new procedure faces regulatory challenges and other human diseases, such as diabetes, may hinder the same outcome in humans as rabbits.
“The optimum way to grow a biological joint remains a controversy,” Patrick Warnke told the Associated Press.
