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Updates in biological therapies for knee injuries: menisci

  • Knee: Stem Cells (M Ferretti, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The preservation of meniscal tissue is paramount for long-term joint function, especially in younger patients who are athletically active. Many studies have reported encouraging results following the repair of meniscus tears, including both simple longitudinal tears located in the periphery and complex multiplanar tears that extend into the central third avascular region. However, most types of meniscal lesions are managed with a partial meniscectomy. Options to restore the meniscus range from an allograft transplantation to the use of synthetic and biological technologies. Recent studies have demonstrated good long-term outcomes with meniscal allograft transplantation, although the indications and techniques continue to evolve, and the long-term chondroprotective potential of this approach has yet to be determined. Several synthetic implants, most of which are approved in the European market, have shown some promise for replacing part of or the entire meniscus, including collagen meniscal implants, hydrogels, and polymer scaffolds. Currently, there is no ideal implant generated by means of tissue engineering. However, meniscus tissue engineering is a fast developing field that promises to develop an implant that mimics the histologic and biomechanical properties of a native meniscus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank M. Ferretti for his support and contribution to this paper.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

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Conflict of Interest

Camila Cohen Kaleka, Pedro Debieux, Diego da Costa Astur, Gustavo Gonçalves Arliani, and Moisés Cohen declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics, Knee Surgery Division of the Santa Casa School of Medicine and Hospitals of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Camila Cohen Kaleka

  2. Cohen’s Institute of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Avenida Lineu de Paula Machado, 660, Jardim Everest, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Camila Cohen Kaleka, Pedro Debieux, Diego da Costa Astur, Gustavo Gonçalves Arliani & Moisés Cohen

  3. Orthopedics Department, Knee Arthroscopy Division of the Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Pedro Debieux

  4. Department of Orthopedics–Knee Surgery Division, Traumatology and Sports Division of the Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Diego da Costa Astur & Gustavo Gonçalves Arliani

  5. Department of Orthopedics of the Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Moisés Cohen

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  1. Camila Cohen Kaleka
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  2. Pedro Debieux
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Correspondence to Camila Cohen Kaleka.

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Kaleka, C.C., Debieux, P., da Costa Astur, D. et al. Updates in biological therapies for knee injuries: menisci. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 7, 247–255 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-014-9227-x

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