Researchers have pioneered a technique way to regenerate muscle that could help encourage muscle growth in damaged rotator cuff muscles and aid in their repair. Their findings are available to read online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Tears of the major tendons in the shoulder joint, commonly called the rotator cuff, are common injuries in adults. Improved rotator cuff repairs are now possible with surgical advances, though failure rates with surgery can still be high. Now, a team of researchers from the UConn School of Medicine led by surgeon, engineer and scientist Dr Cato T. Laurencin reported that a graphene/polymer matrix embedded into shoulder muscle can prevent re-tear injuries.
“Most repairs focus on the tendon,” and how to reattach it to the bone most effectively, Laurencin says. “But the real problem is that the muscle degenerates and accumulates fat. With a tear, the muscle shrinks, and the body grows fat in that area instead. When the tendon and muscle are finally reattached surgically to the shoulder bone, the weakened muscle can’t handle normal stresses and the area can be re-injured again.
The researchers developed a polymer mesh infused with nanoplatelets of graphene. When they used it to repair the shoulders of rats who had chronic rotator cuff tears with muscle atrophy, the muscle grew back. When they tried growing muscle on the mesh in a petri dish in the lab, they found the material seemed to encourage the growth of myotubes, precursors of muscle, and discourage the formation of fat.
“This is really a potential breakthrough treatment for tears of the rotator cuff. It addresses the real problem: muscle degeneration and fat accumulation,” Dr Laurencin said.
The next step in their work is studying the matrix in a large animal. The team looks forward to developing the technology in humans.
Source: University of Connecticut
