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Study To Assess Hip Exercises As Treatment For Osteoarthritis In The Knee Joints
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are testing a novel regimen of hip-muscle exercises to decrease the load on the knee joints in patients with osteoarthritis. The goal is not only to relieve pain but also, possibly, to halt progression of the disease.
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Fresh Meats Often Contain Additives Harmful To Kidney Disease Patients
Uncooked meat products enhanced with food additives may contain high levels of phosphorus and potassium that are not discernable from inspection of food labels, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). This can make it difficult for people to limit dietary phosphorus and potassium that at high levels are harmful to kidney disease patients.
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'Neurologger' Reads Bird Brains In Flight
Using a "neurologger" specially designed to record the brain activity of pigeons in flight, researchers reporting online on June 25th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have gained new insight into what goes through the birds" minds as they fly over familiar terrain. The study is the first to simultaneously record electrical brain activity integrated with large-scale navigational movements of free-flying birds, according to the researchers.
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Non-Wovens As Scaffolds For Artificial Tissue

In future, cartilage, tendon and blood vessel tissue will be produced in the laboratory, with cells being grown on a porous frame, such as non-wovens. A new software program helps to characterize and optimize the non-wovens. When someone"s knee hurts with every step it"s a sign that the cartilage has been so badly damaged that the bones rub together when walking. Medical scientists are developing a technique to produce cartilage tissue artificially so that patients with such knee problems can walk free of pain again. The aim is also to make tendons and blood vessels in the laboratory. The research scientists place cells on a porous scaffold material, for example a non-woven made of polymer fibers. The cells can then grow on this frame and form tissue. Whether the cells will grow properly into tissue, however, depends on many factors. For instance, the cells only form cartilage if they are subjected to loads comparable with those in the body. To form cartilage the tissue needs to experience the pressure applied by every step. By contrast, blood vessel tissue needs the pulsation of the blood. The scientists reproduce these loads in the cell culture. When the artificial cartilage is inserted in the patient"s knee the supporting scaffold is gradually resorbed and only the cartilage tissue remains. While it is quite easy to produce npn-wovens from thin polymer fibers, it is difficult to describe these materials experimentally and theoretically. What forces do the cells experience when the non-woven is pulled or when a liquid passes through the fibre network? How do cells penetrate the non-woven? How do liquids permeate the non-woven? Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg and Halle have developed a simulation model which answers these questions and characterizes the fleeces. "The simulation reproduces the mechanical properties of the fleeces and the transport processes - the software can therefore also calculate how nutrients are transported to the cells and metabolic products are transported away from the cells when a liquid flows by," explains Dr. Raimund Jaeger, group manager at the IWM. "Understanding these processes can be helpful for cell culture." To produce the model, the research scientists initially studied the mechanical properties of the individual polymer fibers and for this purpose developed a special apparatus. On a silicon chip measuring one square centimeter, the scientists in Halle etched approximately 50 "microtesting machines". They then placed and fastened the fibers over the testing machines. Under the microscope the researchers were able to observe how the fibers behave when they are pulled, how far they stretch and when they snap. As fiber-like structures are frequently encountered in nature and technology, suitable experimental techniques and simulation methods have a wide range of applications. Dr. Raimund Jaeger Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft


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