Millions around the world suffer from arthritis, which occurs due to the gradual wear and tear of joints, some of which can result from injuries to the cartilage that covers the ends of bones. In this regard, a team of scientists from New York University has successfully developed an injectable gel that can prevent this type of osteoarthritis by allowing continuous drug delivery to damaged joints to prevent inflammation, according to New Atlas, citing the journal Biomaterials.
The new study focuses on a form of arthritis called post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), which results from joint damage and accounts for 10% of all osteoarthritis cases. While medications are available to relieve pain from these conditions, there are no treatments to slow their deterioration. The lack of treatments is due to the inherent difficulties in delivering medications to the affected joints and keeping them there long enough to treat inflammation and promote cartilage regeneration. Researchers believe they have now succeeded in developing both the optimal therapeutic payload and the compound needed to deliver it, as a means to overcome this hurdle in treating PTOA.
At the heart of the solution is a compound made of peptides, proteins, and an anti-inflammatory growth factor called Atsttrin, which has been formulated into an injectable polymer gel. The composition of the gel is based on proteins rather than synthetic materials, allowing the body to tolerate it well and to biodegrade within weeks.
Principal investigator of the study, Jin Kim Montclaire, stated, "Future exploration of delivering a larger amount of the drug or administering the drug repeatedly in larger batches and evaluating the joints in vivo will allow for improved benefits of the Atsttrin-loaded construct for treating and preventing the deterioration of osteoarthritis joint injury conditions." He pointed out that the study "provides additional evidence supporting the preventive use of Atsttrin in treating PTOA, as well as illustrating how to develop a new minimally invasive and reliable drug delivery system to prevent and treat other joint diseases."
