Because joint prosthetics have limited durability, and eventually need to be replaced, it’s far from an ideal solution, especially in younger patients.

Now, Swiss researchers believe they’ve found a possible alternative.

In experiments in animals and two humans, scientists from the University Hospital of Basel, cultivated cartilage cells taken from the patient’s nasal septum and used them to grow a cartilage layer that was then surgically implanted into the knee joint.

The researchers found that these grafts didn’t simply repair cartilage injuries in the knee, they also withstood the chronic inflammatory tissue environment in osteoarthritis and even counteracted the inflammation.

https://www.inkl.com/newsletters/morning-edition/news/is-this-the-end-for-knee-replacements-medical-researchers-develop-a-surprising-alternative?