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Bioengineered Tissue Repairs Damaged Knee Cartilages
A new study by scientists at the University of Bristol, UK has found that knee
cartilage injuries can be effectively repaired by tissue engineering, and that
osteoarthritis does not stop the regeneration process.
Tissue engineering uses a mixture of biology, chemistry and materials science to
grow tissues in the lab just like those in the body. The new study is the first
to look in detail at what happens to tissues after they have been implanted in
patients.
The tissue engineering method used in this study involved isolating cells from
healthy cartilage removed during surgery from 23 patients with an average of 36
years. Cartilage cells donated by patients were grown in culture for 14 days.
After that, the researchers seeded them onto scaffolds made of esterified
hyaluronic acid-a compound that occurs naturally in cartilage and grew them for
another 14 days on the scaffolds.
The cells and scaffold were then inserted to fix tears of up to 11 square
centimeters in the knee cartilage of the patients. More than a year later
analysis showed the cartilage had matured successfully, even in patients with
osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, or degenerative arthritis, is a condition most
common in the elderly, where cartilage slowly disappears from joints. "In these
patients it seems to mature even better, suggesting it might be possible to
treat patients with that condition, not just accident patients," said Anthony
Hollander, ARC professor of rheumatology and tissue engineering at Bristol
University who led the study.
An average of 16 months later the researchers examined the health of the
engineered tissue. Hollander's team used two methods to study the maturation of
the cartilage. The first involved injecting antibodies attached to a fluorescent
dye into the cartilage. An imaging device was then used to count the number of
proteins in the cartilage to which the antibodies bound.
The researchers also used an "amino acid analysis" technique to extract the
joined amino acids that link cartilage proteins. These were separated to
determine if they were the type found in mature or immature cartilage.
In both tests, in just under half the patients, the team found all the hallmarks
of natural mature cartilage, showing the engineered tissue was thriving in these
patients. "We're the first to formally show cartilage implanted into damaged
patients matures," says Hollander.
(Ref : Times of India dated July 10, 2006)
Cordis'
Third-Generation Coronary Stent Approved For Use In Europe
Cordis Corporation, the world leader in the drug eluting stent market, announced
that the company's Cypher Selectt Plus has become the first third-generation
drug-eluting stent to receive CE (Communite European) Mark approval. The company
will begin launching the product in Europe in September with full market launch
by the end of the year.
Featuring an enhanced stent delivery system, 'Cypher Selectt Plus' offers
exceptional deliverability and good long term clinical performance.
"A broad range of clinical studies has demonstrated that the Cypher Stent is an
effective and safe treatment for coronary artery disease," said Philip Urban,
M.D., F.E.S.C., Director of Invasive Cardiology, La Tour Hospital in Geneva,
Switzerland. He is also the coordinating investigator of e-Select Registry, a
global registry designed to assess the performance of the Cypher Selectt family
of stents in daily clinical practice.
In addition to its flexible stent design and short tip, 'Cypher Selectt Plus'
features the CYPH2ONICô hydrophilic coating technology, an innovative coating
technology that is more lubricious than previous 'Cypher Selectt Plus' showcases
Cordis' commitment to the treatment of vascular disease," said Dennis Donohoe,
M.D., vice president, Worldwide Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, Cordis
Corporation. "The new stent allows ease in delivery and long-term safety profile
for the treatment of coronary artery disease."
With CE mark now secured, the company is aggressively building its manufacturing
capacity for the 'Cypher Selectt Plus' launch. The company is committed to
ensure that physicians have ready access to the product as it becomes available
in various countries outside the U.S.
In 2004, Cordis introduced the first second-generation drug-eluting stent -'Cypher
Selectt' outside the United States. The Cypher Stent has been chosen by
cardiologists worldwide to treat more than two million patients with coronary
artery disease. The safety and efficacy of the device is supported by a clinical
trial programme constituting 40 studies.
Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, is a worldwide leader in
developing and manufacturing interventional vascular technology. Through the
company's innovation, research and development, physicians worldwide are better
able to treat the millions of patients who suffer from vascular disease.
(Ref : Chronicle Pharmabiz dated June 26, 2006)
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