Growing New Cartilage?

Cartilage is vastly important to our mobility and comfort as it is the substance in between our joints that cushions the connecting surfaces of our bones. With it, we are able to move smoothly and without pain. Without it, our bones grind together with no protection causing pain and decrease range of motion. Eventually, as the joint surfaces become more and more damage, the arthritis and injury exacerbates. In short, cartilage is one of the core foundations of proper and pain-free motion.

Unfortunately, it has poor regenerative abilities. Once damaged, it is unlikely for it to heal back to its full potential. When it does heal, it forms scar tissue which is less elastic and functional as actual cartilage itself. This leaves us in a pickle since we're pretty much living off of a limited amount of cartilage in adulthood. That is until Stanford University's new research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The natural progression of making new bone is starts with skeletal stems cells that turn into cartilage which will "harden" into bone. Researchers found a way to manipulate the skeletal stem cell to stop at the cartilage stage without continuing on to bone. In this way, new cartilage is regenerated! The application of this new research is promising. The next stage of this research is to investigate its effect in larger animals and then humans.

Our family at Hero Medical Center wishes you and your loved ones good health. If you are interested in learning more about stem cells and how they can help you or a family member, sign up for a seminar and browse other articles on our website!