Biology of anterior cruciate ligament injury and repair: Kappa delta ann doner vaughn award paper 2013
Abstract
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are currently treated by removing the injured ligament and replacing it with a tendon graft. Recent studies have examined alternative treatment methods, including repair and regeneration of the injured ligament. In order to make such an approach feasible, a basic understanding of ACL biology and its response to injury is needed. Identification of obstacles to native ACL healing can then be identified and potentially resolved using tissue engineering strategies—first, with in vitro screening assays, and then with in vivo models of efficacy and safety. This Perspectives paper outlines this path of discovery for optimizing ACL healing using a bio‐enhanced repair technique. This journey required constructing indices of the functional tissue response, pioneering physiologically based methods of biomechanical testing, developing, and validating clinically relevant animal models, and creating and optimizing translationally feasible scaffolds, surgical techniques, and biologic additives. Using this systematic translational approach, “bio‐enhanced” ACL repair has been advanced to the point where it may become an option for future treatment of acute ACL injuries and the prevention of subsequent post‐traumatic osteoarthritis associated with this injury. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31:1501–1506, 2013
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2013
- Source ID
- 10.1002/jor.22420
Entities
People
- Braden C Fleming
- Martha Meaney Murray
Organizations
- Brown University
- Harvard Medical School
- National Institutes of Health
- Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation
- United States Department of Defense