Mayo Clinic researchers find causal link between senescent cells and osteoarthritis: 3 insights

Orthopedic

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found evidence of a causal link between senescent cells and osteoarthritis. The study, titled "Transplanted Senescent Cells Induce an Osteoarthritis-Like Condition in Mice," was recently published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A.

Here are three insights:

 

1. Osteoarthritis is the elderly population's most common form of arthritis. While senescent cells have previously been associated with osteoarthritis, this is one of the first studies to find a causal link.

 

2. For this study, researchers injected senescent and non-senescent cells from ear cartilage into the knee joint area of mice. Researchers tracked the mice for more than 10 days, and found that injecting senescent cells caused the mice to experience symptoms of osteoarthritis, like leg pain and impaired mobility.

 

3. Current treatments for osteoarthritis include pain control, joint replacement surgery or mobility aides. However, this study's findings suggest that physicians might be able to target senescent cells to alleviate – or even prevent – osteoarthritis in elderly patients.

 

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