Stem Cells in Osteoarthritis

Excerpt

Articular cartilage has significant limitations for repair or regeneration. It does not respond to an injury or disease with the normal inflammatory sequence of events that results in repair of most other tissues. The issues that preclude a functional repair in articular cartilage include its avascularity, the presence of cells (chondrocytes) that have a limited capacity to respond, and a complex structure that is difficult to reproduce. A plethora of approaches has been applied in an attempt to repair articular cartilage. Although short-term functional repair has been reported, a long-term biological regeneration has yet to be accomplished. …