Mildred Embree, DMD, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, would like to change that. Embree, who leads the Cartilage Biology and Regenerative Medicine Lab at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, has recentlyon StemJEL, a patented osteoarthritis drug developed in her lab, that targets the disease in early-to mid-stages with the goal of protectingIn the new study, Embree and postdoctoral researchers Mo Chen, Ph.D.
Embree and Chen, who co-founded the biotechnology company WNT Scientific, LLC, will present their research to the FDA in October with the goal of conducting"Osteoarthritis is a major problem. As we live longer, our joints age and cartilage wears down," Embree says. Osteoarthritis is the primary cause of disability in aging adults and affects 500 million people.
Embree says that her research interests crystalized early."I love cartilage," she says."It's beautiful under a microscope. But unlike other musculoskeletal tissues like bone, it does not have aCartilage cushions the joints and allows them to move smoothly. Because it cannot regrow or heal, injury or disease that damages this tissue can lead to permanent disability.
. Embree says that the seeds of the StemJel research were sown then. She first published these findings in the journalEmbree says that by the year 2040, approximately 79 million adults in the United States alone will be diagnosed with some form of arthritis. "In response to deterioration either from injury or aging, we designed StemJEL to mimic our own body's natural ability to form and protect cartilage," she says. This could be great news for all of our aching and creaky joints.Angela Ruscitto et al, Lgr5-expressing secretory cells form a Wnt inhibitory niche in cartilage critical for chondrocyte identity,