Gene therapy that stimulates cartilage shows potential for knee osteoarthritis

An injectable gene therapy could be the future for people with knee osteoarthritis, in the light of a trial published in Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development.
The therapy uses genetically engineered cells to deliver growth factors to damaged cartilage. Experts showcased how well the technique works along with its safety profile in a trial involving 27 people with late-stage knee osteoarthritis over a 24-week period.
People who received the therapy experienced significantly improved outcomes, with scores improved at 12 and 24 weeks after the start of the trial in terms of pain, functionality and physical ability. There were no serious adverse events and no significant difference in side effects between groups receiving different doses of the therapy.
“Both groups expressed a mean improvement in pain, function and physical ability following treatment injection,” the research team says. “This modality appears to be a promising treatment for cartilage degeneration.
“However, further larger, multi-centre randomised studies are needed to truly evaluate the efficacy of this novel approach.”

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