Talk about a bloody genius treatment.
A study published in Scientific Reports has identified a promising, unconventional source for treating the more than 600 million people living with osteoarthritis.
While plenty of women deal with the downsides of menstrual blood ruining underwear, there could be a benefit to the monthly cycle.
A research team in Lithuania used extracellular vesicles — messenger-like particles released by cells that promote regeneration or reduce inflammation — derived from menstrual blood to stimulate cartilage repair.
The researchers used menstrual blood samples to observe how the particles affected post-surgical tissue samples from ten female donors with osteoarthritis.
But the extracellular vesicles need additional support in order to prolong their effects and improve treatment outcomes as a new possibility for cartilage repair.
This prompted the team to additionally use biological scaffolds, or structures that protect the extracellular vesicles from the period blood cells and release them gradually when the joint is under pressure or in motion.
The menstrual blood cells not only improved cartilage cell function and slowed tissue degradation, but also increased progesterone receptor expression in older cartilage cells.
Current treatments for osteoarthritis often focus on managing pain and inflammation, not stopping or even reversing cartilage degeneration.
This unusual method could not only offer a way to rebuild cartilage, but also provides a non-invasive procedure as opposed to collecting bone marrow cells.
With the degenerative condition more likely to happen as we age, and cases rising due to rising obesity and more injuries, regenerative medicine that can repair is becoming a more promising effort.
While other experimental treatments like radiation offered pain relief, they don’t address the underlying cause of cartilage being worn down over time.
However, the researchers still face challenges when building an essential part of this potential new treatment.
“While building biomimetic scaffolds, the biggest challenge is that a biomedical material must excel in all areas simultaneously,” said Edvinas Krugly, a senior researcher at KTU Faculty of Chemical Technology, in a press release. “It must be chemically stable, mechanically robust, biologically compatible and practically manufacturable.”
“This is particularly complex in the case of cartilage, as both the natural architecture and resistance to mechanical stress must be replicated,” he added.
