Treatment Can Reverse Osteoarthritis With One Injection

You almost certainly know: A person who quit football because of a hip problem. A grandmother who can’t lift her arm to comb her hair because of shoulder pain. A co-worker who had a knee in place. In most cases, the cause is arthritis, the wear and tear of bones that affects one in six people under the age of 30. Osteoarthritis has no cure, and the only treatment is a bone prosthesis or other pain medication.

However, there is reason to be optimistic because the United States Department of Health and Human Services has donated millions of dollars to various research projects for the treatment of this disease. That agency is the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), and the project that aims to end osteoarthritis is called NITRO, or Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis. The most advanced work in this area is being done by a group of people at the University of Colorado Boulder, which has received 33.5 million dollars from NITRO to develop an experimental treatment that can reverse joint damage in a few weeks through a simple injection.

Osteoarthritis is characterized by the destruction of cartilage, the tissue that prevents the joints between bones. Over time, this damage not only causes pain and swelling but also deformity of the joints and loss of movement. It is the most common form of arthritis in the US affect about 240 million people worldwide.

“Currently, the options for most patients are major, expensive surgery or none at all. There is not much in between,” said Evalina Burger, professor and chair of the Department of Orthopedics at CU Anschutz. words. “That’s why ARPA-H is so important.”

Taking this into account, the Colorado group led by medical expert Stephanie Bryant offers a very different approach: “Our goal is not only to cure pain and stop it from spreading, but to eliminate the disease.”

Bones That Heal On Their Own

Success is based on harnessing the body’s natural ability to regenerate itself. Instead of creating artificial muscles, Colorado scientists have developed a method that “captures” the body’s own cells to repair the damage.

One of these methods involves a single injection that releases the approved drug in a controlled manner, thanks to the particles that act as a vehicle. This system allows for small doses to be given for months directly to the affected group, which encourages rehabilitation.

The second method is designed for the most advanced cases. It includes biomaterials and proteins that can be used for minimally invasive procedures. When it enters the body, this substance hardens and acts as a scaffold, attracting native cells that fill and repair damaged areas of cartilage or bone.

Something important that both methods have in common is that they aim to transform the diseased environment into a place for natural recovery.

Moving Forward Faster and Better

In animal studies, the results have been encouraging. The treated groups returned to health within four to eight weeks. Also, in severe injuries, the researchers observed complete regeneration of the damaged tissue.

“In two years, we were able to go from a lunar concept to developing this treatment and showing that it reverses rheumatoid arthritis,” Bryant said. Further experiments with human cells obtained from patients undergoing joint replacement also showed clear results, which suggests that the method can be translated to humans.

It is important to emphasize, however, that these results have not been confirmed in clinical trials. The researchers plan to publish their findings in an academic journal later this year. He has also launched a startup, Renovare Therapeutics, to take it to market.

Back in the lab, the next step would be to expand animal studies and analyze key factors such as toxicity and safety. If all goes according to plan, human clinical trials could begin in about 18 months.

This article appeared first WIRED in Spanish and translated from Spanish.