One of the most common and debilitating conditions affecting older adults may soon be far more treatable. Scientists have developed several potentially groundbreaking therapies for knee osteoarthritis.
Research teams at Duke University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Columbia University have each created novel interventions intended to address the root causes of knee osteoarthritis as part of a larger government-led project. In animal studies, the treatments have shown promise in stopping or even reversing the knee’s degeneration, some with a simple injection. All three teams are moving ahead with clinical trials in humans, which should begin as early as next year.
“We are moving from simply managing pain and swapping out worn joints to truly restoring natural movement, supporting longevity, and helping people live the lives they want,” said Alicia Jackson, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the main funders of the project, in a statement from the agency Monday.
Research advances
The ARPA-H is a relatively new agency established under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2022. It’s intended to fund high-risk, high-reward biomedical research that could lead to health-related breakthroughs. One of its first projects has been the Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis, or NITRO, program.
This week, ARPA-H announced that three of the various research teams funded by NITRO have shown sufficiently promising results in animal trials to move ahead into the second phase of the program.
Duke University researchers are working on several experimental treatments designed to help the body naturally regenerate the cartilage and bone that erodes in people with the condition. In studies to date, treated animals have shown restored joint tissue and reduced pain.
University of Colorado at Boulder researchers have devised engineered proteins that might be able to patch gaps in lost cartilage or bone by using the body’s own progenitor cells; in animal tests, the treatment was able to help clear away knee defects within as little as four to eight weeks. They also created a new method of delivering an existing approved drug to damaged knees.
The Columbia team developed living, 3D-printed knee joint implants made of stem cells and biodegradable materials. These implants, meant for the most advanced cases, should be more tolerable and pain-free than the current metal or plastic replacement joints used today and might also help the body regenerate its natural joint and bone tissue.
A potential cure?
Knee osteoarthritis is estimated to affect some 365 million people worldwide, including 14 million Americans. And though these experimental treatments have only been tested out in animals so far, they could very well lead to the first curative treatments for the condition, or at least a better life for the millions of sufferers who have it.
“This milestone brings us closer to a future where we can treat the root cause of osteoarthritis, not just the symptoms,” said Benjamin Alman, an orthopedic surgeon and lead researcher of the Duke team, in a statement from the university. “Our long-term goal is to help people stay active, independent, and mobile for longer.”
The next phase of the NITRO program will involve Phase I clinical trials, slated to begin in 18 months.
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