Torn Meniscus? There's Hope. Thank a Sheep.
This is going to make my husband very happy. The news today that meniscus -- that pesky knee tissue that rips so easily -- can now be regrown using a 3D printed imprint. Say what? I fail to see how a piece of paper produced in a computer printer can do anything more than, well, rip itself. But researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have devised a way to replace the knee’s protective lining, called the meniscus, using a personalized 3D-printed implant, or scaffold, infused with human growth factors that prompt the body to regenerate the lining on its own, according to newswise.com. The therapy, successfully tested in sheep, could provide the first effective and long-lasting repair of damaged menisci, which occur in millions of Americans each year and can lead to debilitating arthritis. My husband, a star athlete in his youth, tore his meniscus about 15 years (and 5,000,000 complaints) ago, forcing him to give up his beloved tennis (where he was an et...