Tag: Achilles tendon

Categories : Injury & TraumaTags :

Researchers Test Plasma Energy to Accelerate Healing of Achilles Tendon

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Achilles tendon injury. Credit: Scientific Animations CC0

The Achilles tendon, although considered the toughest in the body, can rupture, with many such injuries involving sports enthusiasts in their 30s or 40s. Surgery might be required, and a prolonged period of rest, immobilisation, and treatment can be difficult to endure. Researchers in Japan have developed an approach using irradiation with plasma to accelerate healing.

A research team led by Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine’s Katsumasa Nakazawa, a graduate student in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Associate Professor Hiromitsu Toyoda, and Professor Hiroaki Nakamura, and Graduate School of Engineering Professor Jun-Seok Oh has focused on non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma (the electrically-charged gas such as found in a neon lamp – not blood plasma!) as a treatment method for tendon repair.

Their study, published in PLOS ONE, is the first to show that such plasma irradiation can accelerate tendon repair.

The team ruptured then sutured the Achilles tendon of lab rats. For one group of rats, the sutured area was irradiated with a helium plasma jet.

The plasma-irradiated group exhibited faster tendon regeneration and increased strength at two, four, and six weeks after surgery compared to the untreated group.

“We have previously discovered that irradiation of non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma has the effect of promoting bone regeneration. In this study, we discovered that the technology also promotes tendon regeneration and healing, showing that it has applications for a wide range of fields,” Professor Toyoda declared. “Combined with current tendon treatments, it is expected to contribute to more reliable tendon regeneration and shorter treatment time.”

Source: Osaka Metropolitan University

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and Conditions Injury & TraumaTags : Leave a comment

A New Treatment for Chronic Tendon Disease

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Nino Liverani on Unsplash

The Achilles tendon can endure a load nearly 8 times body weight during exercise, rendering it vulnerable to injury despite its strength, which can be worsened by a failure to properly heal, forming bone instead of new tendon. A new study found that by inhibiting blood vessel formation, the anomalous bone growth can be prevented.

Due to the unique nature of tendons, failing to consult a doctor soon after an injury can lead to chronic tendon disease, which is characterised by pain, swelling, and movement problems. Tendon heterotopic ossification (HO) is a rare type of chronic tendon disease where new bone grows the tendon, causing even more damage. Famous athletes have had to retire early from sports due to a lack of a radical solution for Achilles tendon injuries.

Using single-cell sequencing technology, a team led by Professor Ouyang Hongwei found that changes in the tissue microenvironment of tendon HO alterations in gene expression and in tendon stem progenitor cells. These findings were published in Bone Research, providing a novel treatment for tendon heterotopic ossification.

The researchers firstly found that the tendon specific transcription factor MKX decreased significantly in heterotopic ossified human tendon, and deletion of MKX led to spontaneous ossification of mouse tendon, suggesting that MKX plays a critical role in tendon HO.

Further studies revealed that MKX knockout mouse tendon cells expressed high levels of genes related to blood vessel formation, resulting in vascular invasion and remodelling of the tendon extracellular matrix. This also resulted in abnormal activation of genes related to bone and cartilage in tendon stem cells. These data indicated that inhibition of blood vessel formation may improve the tendon tissue microenvironment and prevent HO progression.

Armed with this knowledge, Prof Ouyang and his colleagues searched for drugs that can inhibit the angiogenesis process. They found that local injection of a small molecule inhibitor known as BIBF1120 significantly inhibited the neovascularisation of tendon after injury, thus alleviating the progression of tendon HO.

Source: MedicalXpress