Description
With the advances accomplished in the majority of medical fields, the life expectancy of the general population is lengthened, with more physically active elderly individuals being candidates for total joint replacements with higher stresses exerted on the bearing surfaces for longer periods of time, that accounts for the continuous increment of the number of total joint arthroplasties and considering orthopedic surgery one of the most prosperous branches.
The survival of arthroplasty is not everlasting due to osteolysis of the bone surrounding the implants; osteolysis get established gradually as wear debris are continuously produced by the mobile articulating bearings, being the end-point the necessity of prosthesis replacement. Although it is recognized that implant failure is the resultant of wear debris production, the responsible mechanism and the risk factors are still ill defined. New metallic materials with solid lubricants with biocompatibility properties together with a diminished wear debris production, are in the focus of our research. A minor wear will contribute to reduce the macrophage inflammatory response as considered the biological basis for osteolysis development.
The accomplishment is to have a better understanding of the interaction osteoblast-macrophage-muscle involved in bone resorption and osteolysis, a great challenge still unsolved by the scientific and clinic community as has been reflected in the last publications and scientific reports by experts from the health area of the European Union.
The achievement of the proposed challenge is of greatest importance for future development of therapeutic treatments that may delay or prevent the implant failure, ameliorating the patient quality of life and with a clear beneficial impact in the social-economic costs.
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