Clinical trials and management of osteochondral lesions

Osteochondral lesions are frequent and important causes of pain and disability. These lesions are induced by traumatic injuries or by diseases that affect both the cartilage surface and the subchondral bone. Due to the limited cartilage ability to regenerate and self-repair, these lesions tend to gradually worsen and progress towards osteoarthritis. The clinical, social, and economic impact of the osteochondral lesions is impressive and although therapeutic alternatives are under discussion, a consensus is not yet been achieved. Over the previous decade, new strategies based on innovative tissue engineering approaches have been developed with promising results. However, in order those products reach the market and help the actual patient in an effective manner, there is still a lot of work to be done. The current state of the implications, clinical aspects, and available treatments for this pathology, as well as the ongoing preclinical and clinical trials are presented in this chapter.A. da Silva Morais acknowledges ERC-2012-ADG 20120216–321266 (ComplexiTE) for his Postdoc scholarship. Thanks to the project FROnTHERA (NORTE-01- 0145-FEDER-000023), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the M-ERA-NET/0001/2014 “HierarchiTech” project and for the funds provided under the program Investigador FCT 2012, 2014, and 2015 (IF/00423/2012, IF/01214/2014, and IF/01285/2015) is also greatly acknowledged.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio