Technologies

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Office of Technology Management and Industry Relations Non-Confidential Abstract of Invention UM Disclosure Numbers 15UMC005 & 16UMC014 Protective Injectable Biological Matrix to Treat Joint and Spinal Cord Injuries and Treat/Prevent and Osteoarthritis
INNOVATION:
This invention is a treatment designed to mitigate cartilage degeneration after joint or spinal cord injury to prevent and/or treat osteoarthritis. The key to this technology is the combination and formulation of anti-inflammatory agents and free-radical scavengers in an injectable biological matrix that provides durability and lubricity, while reducing chondrocyte apoptosis and cartilage degeneration; thereby relieving pain and mitigating the progression of osteoarthritis. Injection can occur intra-articularly, similarly to current methods of injection, or directly into the damaged cartilage.
BACKGROUND:
Joint or spinal cord trauma can result in acute posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), characterized by swelling, synovial effusion, inflammatory cell infiltration, and chronic pain. Cartilage degeneration is a result of PTOA that can lead to osteoarthritis (OA) in the majority of patients with joint or spinal cord injury. PTOA treatment is a challenging clinical problem in orthopedic and trauma surgery. Currently, therapies available address the symptoms of PTOA, but not the underlying cause. MU’s protective injectable biological matrix treats the underlying causes of OA.