CAN ARTICULAR CARTILAGE REGENERATE?
Most of the joints in the body are synovial joints, movable, highly versatile, lubricated joints. They provide pain free movement because of the unique poperties of their articular cartilage. In synovial joints, such as a knee, the articular cartilage covers and protects the bone ends, preventing friction between the bones, and acts a “shock absorber,” distributing the loads of weight over a larger contact area. Articular cartilage has no blood vessels or nerves. It is composed of a few cells (chondrocytes) that are embedded in a sea of collagen, water and a specialized protein structures called Proteoglycans. It is the condrocytes, that are reponsible for the synthesis of both the collagen and proteoglycans that make up the cartilage. The ability of the chondrocytes (see research paper) to replicate is really the key question when considering the potential of cartilage to proliferate or to repair itself. It has been shown in studies on adult human cartilage that there is no decrease i
