Recovery can be a painful and lengthy process for an individual who has injured an elbow or knee. These parts of the body are composed of the slow-healing tissue, cartilage. Tissue that is damaged or missing is often lost forever. However, this may no longer be the case. Stem cells could possibly facilitate the needed tissue replacements as researchers at the University of Guelph are hoping.
Improving cartilage healing after joint injuries with the assistance of stem cells is the hope for biomedical sciences professor Dean and doctoral candidate Thomas. Joint injuries are frequent and expensive in horses, so the duo has made the decision to begin their research with an equine focus. In regards to human joint injuries, encouraging results from their research could serve as a model for future human treatment.