More than a million Americans undergo knee and hip replacements each year. It’s a last resort treatment for pain and mobility issues associated with osteoarthritis, a progressive disease caused by degeneration of the protective layer of cartilage that stops our bones grinding together when we sit, stand, write, or move around.

But what if doctors could intervene and repair damaged cartilage before surgery is needed?

For the first time, researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have used a stem cell-based bio-implant to repair cartilage and delay joint degeneration in a large animal model. The work will now advance into humans with support from a $6 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

The research, recently published in npj Regenerative Medicine, was led by two researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC: Denis Evseenko, MD, PhD, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, director of the skeletal regeneration program, and vice chair for research of orthopaedic surgery; and Frank Petrigliano, MD, associate professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery and chief of the USC Epstein Family Center for Sports Medicine.

To read more, visit https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/stopping-arthritis/.