alt Hacker NewsAnti-aging injection regrows knee cartilage and prevents arthritis
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I have had fairly serious arthritis in my hips for close to a decade now. Cortizone shots directly into the joint have helped the worst of the flare-ups (limping on my way into the shot, having 0 pain walking out of it, lasting a year).
5+ years ago when I was looking for another injection, my PCP said "Well, time for a hip replacement." Now, for reasons I don't understand I think he was being way premature on that (everyone I'd talked to prior to that had said I should wait as long as I can, and it'd been 2+ years since my last shot).
But I'd pretty much accepted that hip pain was just a part of my life, (especially in the morning) picking something off the floor was painful, just walking and in particular walking stairs was just a little painful.
A few weeks ago I tried some stretches I saw on Youtube shorts. Like a minute a day. It's like I've got new hips.
I've never been a very "compliant patient" when it comes to stretching, but that was mostly because I saw no benefits from it. But this one stretch was like a miracle!
Something similar was done in a sheep model:
"A bioactive supramolecular and covalent polymer scaffold for cartilage repair in a sheep model" - https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2405454121
"Abstract: Regeneration of hyaline cartilage in human-sized joints remains a clinical challenge, and it is a critical unmet need that would contribute to longer healthspans. Injectable scaffolds for cartilage repair that integrate both bioactivity and sufficiently robust physical properties to withstand joint stresses offer a promising strategy. We report here on a hybrid biomaterial that combines a bioactive peptide amphiphile supramolecular polymer that specifically binds the chondrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) and crosslinked hyaluronic acid microgels that drive formation of filament bundles, a hierarchical motif common in natural musculoskeletal tissues. The scaffold is an injectable slurry that generates a porous rubbery material when exposed to calcium ions once placed in cartilage defects. The hybrid material was found to support in vitro chondrogenic differentiation of encapsulated stem cells in response to sustained delivery of TGFβ-1. Using a sheep model, we implanted the scaffold in shallow osteochondral defects and found it can remain localized in mechanically active joints. Evaluation of resected joints showed significantly improved repair of hyaline cartilage in osteochondral defects injected with the scaffold relative to defects injected with the growth factor alone, including implantation in the load-bearing femoral condyle. These results demonstrate the potential of the hybrid biomimetic scaffold as a niche to favor cartilage repair in mechanically active joints using a clinically relevant large-animal model."
> Osteoarthritis occurs when a joint is stressed by aging, injury or obesity. The chondrocytes begin to release pro-inflammatory molecules and to break down collagen, which is the primary structural protein of cartilage. When collagen is lost, the cartilage thins and softens; the accompanying inflammation causes the joint swelling and pain that are hallmarks of the disease.
Collagen synthesis in the human body can be aided by hydrolyzed collagen, Vitamin C, zinc and copper.
As I've gotten older, my knees have been the main signal letting me know. I tore my meniscus years ago. This is exciting news for people like me.
Better than mesenchymal stem cells?
Turns out the pain in my knee was a latent infection with staph aureus, forming small nubs under the skin. Debrided the skin, removing the nubs, applied 3% doyiciclin creme and pain is gone. This for a knee with 2 operations before and teo doctors saying I need a replacement. Doctors are mostly unhelpful idiots imho.
I wonder if this would apply to backs/back injuries. This is super exciting, if it pans out. I can't wait for the follow up research. A pill that 'just works' is an amazing thing. Loosing mobility later in life leads to a lot of problems so directly attacking the cause of (a lot) of mobility loss is really great to see.
In some contexts (e.g., pancreas), 15-PGDH inhibition can promote tumor growth by increasing specific signaling.
Cartilage is really the final frontier of health. If it wasn’t for joints going bad, people could stay very active and fit pretty much all their life, with consistent exercise and healthy weight.
I run regularly. Some years back I switched from a heel strike stride to a ball-of-foot strike. It greatly reduced the shock load on my knees and hips. It's the same gait you'd naturally do if you took off your shoe and ran barefoot.
They don't say what is injected, calling it only a "gerozyme inhibitor". Original article appears to be:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx6649
Inhibition of 15-hydroxy prostaglandin dehydrogenase promotes cartilage regeneration Mamta Singla https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6408-1167, Yu Xin Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8440-9388, Elena Monti https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3767-0855, Yudhishtar Bedi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1213-4116, [...] , and Nidhi Bhutani https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7494-5870
FTFA: "Both systemic and local inhibition of 15-PGDH with a small molecule inhibitor (PGDHi) led to regeneration of articular cartilage and reduction in OA-associated pain."
"PGDHi" is a name for both the process "15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase inhibition" and any inhibitor.
This link(a PDF file) shows PGDHi's are powerful stuff:
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2025/04/17/202...
"PGDHi" could be prostaglandin-E2 (dinoprostone):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostaglandin_E2
which was used in:
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/06/muscle-aging....
Curious, does anyone know if this might also apply to tendons? I've had patella tendonitis for years (jumpers knee) and have tried everything (isometrics, shockwave, PRP injections, etc...).
ATG exercises have helped me with my knee pain. Their exercises help to strengthen the cartilage and ligaments around the knee.
I've been having good results with recovering my knee's cartilage with Flexofytol, which is based on Boswellia Serrata and curcuma.
I would love this for some of my finger joints beat up from decades of typing.
What is the relation between 15-PGDH and NAD+ [1]?
Does anyone have any idea if you have arthritis what you can do to manage the symptoms? I figure there are some people here that researched it relatively well.
My body is a mess! Where do I sign up :)
Knee replacement surgeons should be worried. Both my father and FIL had their knees replaced.
Hey, if they can commercialize this into a real therapy, that would be amazing.
JAK-STAT inhibitors also downregulate 15PGDH, and in humans
they are just insanely expensive in the USA because of drug patents
Anecdote for any runners reading this: I'm a 75 year old runner. (Some young runners might say I run at a jogger's pace, I just tell them to keep off my lawn.)
A couple decades ago, I stopped running on concrete or asphalt, and took up trail running, i.e. running on (mostly) dirt. It feels way easier than running on asphalt, much less on concrete. If you're skeptical that running on concrete or asphalt feels harder, give it a try. YMMV, but I'd bet you notice a difference.
And yes, I do fall sometimes, tripping over roots or rocks. But I recover quickly.