Hurt-Knees Rx

摘要

Artificial knee ligaments incorporating live cells led to growth of new ligament tissue in recent experiments in rabbits. The technique could eventually provide an alternative surgery for athletes and others with knee injuries. Each year, more than 200,000 people in the United States experience tears to a knee ligament called the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. Damaged ligaments heal poorly if at all, so in the standard repair for ACL injuries, a surgeon cuts a piece of healthy ligament from another part of the patient's leg and uses it to replace the torn ligament. But harvesting the healthy ligament can cause long-lasting pain and limit leg function.