These newly transformed cells have been seen to successfully replace damaged cartilage in rats for as long as 24 weeks. This is a big boost as this is much longer than previously reported in studies using other methods. This news is coming from a report in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Researchers hope to extend the benefit to 48 weeks and are in the planning stage of further experiments. The goal is naturally human trials. Research is being lead by Johnny Huard, who is the director of the Growth and Development Laboratory at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

"Over the years, a lot of people have tried to use cells to repair cartilage, which doesn't repair by itself," said Huard. "So far, nobody has been able to repair cartilage with those cells. In this study, we found a population of stem cells in skeletal muscle that we give a boost with a protein so they differentiate into cartilage cells. Then we can repair cartilage damage in our animal model."

Read more at Forbes on this .. and lets all hold out hope for my knee .. and others more significantly impared (I just want to jog like a normal person is all).. - Muscle Stem Cells Transformed Into Cartilage