The future of osteoarthritis treatment
This innovative approach is particularly beneficial for patients with large or complex cartilage injuries, especially those who have had unsuccessful treatments in the past.
While the study didn’t directly compare this method to traditional treatments, standard questionnaires showed that patients who received nasal cartilage implants experienced much higher long-term scores in joint functionality and overall quality of life. Encouraged by these findings, researchers are now expanding their work to test the method for treating osteoarthritis, a chronic condition where joint cartilage breaks down over time.
Two large-scale clinical studies, backed by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the EU’s Horizon Europe research program, will investigate the effectiveness of this technique for treating a specific type of osteoarthritis affecting the kneecap.