The human articulating joints, particularly those of the lower limbs, are able to last a lifetime, with good care, and good luck. All-too-often, however, either through traumatic injury or a simple over-use, the cartilage surface of the joint starts a slow and steady decay. This decay, often described as abnormal turnover in which the destruction of cartilage exceeds the production, eventually leads to painful joints and a loss of mobility.



There are a wide range of treatments in active use for such cartilage defects, although many of them have questionable or untested benefits which have not seen the light of rigorous scientific investigation. Within this category fall lavage and debridement. Microfracture and abrasion have been shown to produce some form of repair, but it itself is somewhat short-lived.



The current research emphasis is very-much aimed at the use of Tissue Engineering for cartilage. Tissue Engineering is a strategy which combines living cells, bio-materials, and an appropriate range of mechanical and/or biological stimulation to replace or improve tissue functionality with a living biological repair.



Cartilage is particularly suited to the Tissue Engineered approach because it has a poor intrinsic repair potential, the tissue itself being largely avascular.



Next: The methods of Tissue Engineering

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