Novel Treatment Approach to Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
As part of a joint study between the University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of California, Davis and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry, researchers have announced a novel treatment for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders using a tissue-implant approach.
As part of a joint study between the University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of California, Davis and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry, researchers have announced a novel treatment for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders using a tissue-implant approach. Findings from the study, “Tissue Engineering Toward Temporomandibular Joint Disc Regeneration,” were published in Science Transitional Medicine.
Using an animal model, investigators removed rib tissue from a donor subject and isolated its cartilage cells. The cells were utilized to tissue-engineer jaw disc cartilage via a self-assembling process developed by the team. The new cartilage was surgically implanted into the damaged jaw hinge point of other subjects. The researchers report the TMJ defects were completely gone after two months. By comparison, UCI Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering Kyriacos Athanasiou, PhD, PhM, MS, senior author, notes the subjects that did not receive the cartilage implants experienced a 300% increase in osteoarthritis. Although further research is warranted, this tissue-engineered approach shows promise for future TMJ therapy in humans.
From Decisions in Dentistry. August 2018;4(8):10.
