![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Physical-therapy-knee-exercise-work-out-by-Getty-Images-For-Unsplash-hHHZRwHcq0M.jpeg\")
Credit: Getty Images for Unsplash+<\/p>\n Credit: Getty Images for Unsplash+<\/p>\n
A research team in Colorado has developed a suite of new therapies that prompt aging or damaged joints to repair themselves within weeks, according to animal studies.<\/p>\n
The new osteo-arthritis treatments include a single, regenerative injection to a joint and a biomaterial repair kit that recruits the body\u2019s own cells to patch holes in damaged cartilage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn two years, we were able to go from a moonshot idea to developing these therapies to demonstrating that they reverse osteo-arthritis in animals,\u201d said lead principal investigator Stephanie Bryant<\/a>, professor of chemical and biological engineering at CU Boulder.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is not just to treat pain and halt progression, but to end this disease,\u201d said Bryant.<\/p>\n Bryant joined orthopedic researchers from Colorado State University and CU Anschutz, and now the team will advance to the next phase of a $30 million project, under Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis (the NITRO program) led by ARPA-H.<\/p>\n Osteo-arthritis is the third most common disease in the U.S., impacting roughly one in six people over age 30 worldwide. It causes cartilage, the buffering tissue that keeps bones from grinding together, to decay. Over time, it can damage bone too, reshaping the joint and making movement excruciating.<\/p>\n With no known cure, patients are generally limited to two options: Treat the pain or replace the joint.<\/p>\n The Colorado team is taking two approaches\u2014first, repurposing an existing drug already approved by the Food and Drug Administration and applying it to treat osteo-arthritis.<\/p>\n Bryant, a materials scientist, and her colleagues developed a patented particle delivery system that can be injected into the joint and provide intermittent bursts of the drug for months.<\/p>\n Secondly, for those with significant lesions in cartilage or bone, the team developed a cocktail of engineered proteins that can be injected arthroscopically and cured into place, where it recruits the body\u2019s own progenitor cells to patch the gap.<\/p>\n When the team used the injection to treat animals with arthritic joints and injuries, the joints returned to a healthy state within four to eight weeks.<\/p>\n When they patched holes in bone or cartilage, they saw \u201cfull regeneration and repair of the defect,\u201d said Bryant.<\/p>\n In human cells derived from patients undergoing joint replacements, the therapies had a clear regenerative effect. With phase one successfully complete, the team is now advancing to phase two.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s super exciting,\u201d said Bryant.<\/p>\n