Researchers from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and the Hebrew University are developing a method which could prevent surgery and ease the pain of those suffering from osteoarthritis. The new method decreases friction and degeneration of human cartilage by injecting nano-particles (liposomes) from phoso-lipids inside the osteoarthritis affected joint (a disease characterized by cartilage degeneration).  These findings will be presented next week at a joint workshop at the Technion for Israeli and Chinese researchers on the topic of tribology while the experimental results were published in the scientific journal “Wear - Elsevier”.

Professor Izhak Etsion, from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion has been working with Professor Chezi Bernholz of the Hebrew University.  Professor Etsion explained “Cartilage degeneration can create direct contact between bones, resulting in tremendous pain and limited movement.  Surgery can replace the damaged joint with an artificial one, and we are trying to develop a method for delaying or preventing surgery by reducing cartilage wear.”

Professor Etsion added “Today, doctors inject hyaluronic acid into the damaged joint to improve cartilage lubrication. However, there is no guarantee that the injection really helps patients. Prof. Bernholz is developing liposomes which can be injected into the joint instead of hyaluronic acid, while I am testing their influence on reducing cartilage friction and degeneration in my lab.”  

To test this method, a special experimental system was set up in Prof. Etsion’s lab.  A plug of cartilage on bone with a small diameter was submerged in a physiological fluid containing nano-particles (nano-liposomes) opposite another plug of cartilage on bone with a larger diameter.  The researchers exerted stress on the cartilages and slid them one on top of the other in a manner which best simulated the actual sliding in a real human joint over a long time period.

The Technion researchers have succeeded in identifying and quantitatively measuring the weight of the worn cartilage particles found in the synovial fluid. This has made it possible to measure and compare the effectiveness of various kinds of liposomes to identify the best ones for preventing degeneration of joint cartilage. A patent has been registered and a start-up company, Moavius Medical, established.