Growing joint with stem cells possible, study says

 For Stem Cell Treatment:

Scientists have regenerated the limbs of rabbits using stem cells, which provides hope to arthritis patients worldwide who need their joints replaced.
In a study published in the Lancet, researchers from the University of Missouri, Clemson University and Columbia University Medical Center, showed they had successfully regenerated rabbit limb joints using stem cells from the animals themselves.
To do so, researchers removed the end of the rabbit’s forelimb joint. With the help of laser scanning, they reconstructed a 3-D image of the joint. Based upon that image, they created a scaffold in the same shape of the joint, with the help of a machine somewhat like a computer printer. The scaffold was then placed where the joint had been. They then inserted a special peptide into the tunnels of the scaffold which recruits stem cells to regenerate the missing joint. According to the study, after the joint had grown in, the rabbits were able to move normally.
Though limbs have been regenerated in the past from cells that were harvested elsewhere, this is the first time using an animal's own stem cells. Additionally, this is the first time an animal had the ability to function normally after growing a new limb joint.
This has, of course, not been yet been attempted in humans. In rabbits, growing the new joint took approximately three weeks. It could take longer in human being.
It is difficult to predict how many years away joint replacement technology is for humans. This depends in large part on the regulatory process of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The next research step would be to test the process on a larger animal.