A Biphasic Aragonite off the Shelf Implant for Articular Cartilage Restoration in Early OA

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) refers to a group of mechanically induced joint disorders characterized by an epigenetic nature. It has been defined as a disease of the entire joint. Articular chondrocytes and subchondral osteocytes are constantly subject to stress, strain and load and, if homeostatic and reparative processes are unable to compensate for the destructive processes, the joint environment will suffer and present with structural damage and clinical symptoms. The lack of drugs able to cure patients from OA has resulted in the use of intra-articular infiltrations and surgical procedures among which the implantation of biomimetic scaffolds. Biomimetic scaffolds are innovative materials created with the aim of encouraging bone and cartilage regeneration. The latest generation of scaffolds has been developed with the aim of increasing the healing abilities of the human body's own cells and signaling factors to achieve a superior tissue quality and better clinical outcomes. The present paper presents the in vivo performance of biphasic aragonite scaffolds on knees affected by early OA. The implantation of bioscaffolds has been been evaluated with MRIs, KOOS scores at follow up and histologically. The Agili-C scaffold's analysis has revealed it to be a viable option in the use of patients with mild to moderate OA.