Final Project

Supervisor Name(s): Dr. Stephen Schlecht and Dr. Ben Loflin

Supervisor Department and School/Hospital: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Indiana University

Project Title: Pilot Study: Reducing Knee Inflammation Following an ACL Tear

Knee inflammation following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) failure and/or reconstructive surgery is an ongoing issue. Knee inflammation can result in fibrosis and osteoarthritis, both of which contribute to pain and mobility issues. I have been working during my internship to evaluate a potential orthobiologic aimed at reducing the inflammatory response post-ACL injury. A human placental-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) allograft has previously been developed and is indicated by the manufacturer for reducing tissue inflammation and accelerated repair. To evaluate the efficacy of this product for reducing post-anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury inflammation, we used a novel murine in vivo ACL injury model. This model has previously been shown to induce significant synovitis, infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) fibrosis, and articular cartilage (AC) degradation within 2 weeks following an ACL injury. We hypothesized that intra-articular injections of the allograft would correspond with a decrease in synovitis, fibrosis, and articular cartilage degradation. Thus far all experiments have been completed. Currently I am working on the histological assessment of the inflammatory state of the knee joint 8-weeks after injury. This includes the pathologic scoring of the severity of synovitis, cartilaginous degradation, and fibrosis.