Radiation enhanced diffusion in cartilages as a physical mechanism underlying radiation treatments of osteoarthritis and related disorders

TL;DR

This paper proposes that radiation enhanced diffusion (RED) improves molecular transport in joint cartilages, potentially explaining the therapeutic effects of low dose radiation treatments for osteoarthritis and suggesting new avenues for clinical application.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of RED as a mechanism for cartilage healing and predicts electric charge buildup effects, offering a new physical explanation for LDRT benefits in OA.

Findings

RED can significantly boost molecular transport in cartilage

Predicted electric charge buildup influences molecular transport dynamics

Suggests new clinical protocols for radiation treatments in OA

Abstract

Degradation of joint cartilages can result in osteoarthritis (OA) affecting about 10\% of the US population and responsible for significant hospitalization costs. While observations show that low dose radiation treatments (LDRT) bring improvements for a majority of OA patients, the underlying mechanism is not sufficiently understood. Here, we show how the radiation enhanced diffusion (RED) can boost the molecular transport in cartilages promoting cartilage self-healing rendering a mechanism for the observed positive LDRT effects on OA. Along with quantitative estimates for RED, we predict a related phenomenon of the electric charge build up that allows LDRT schedules promoting desirable types of molecular transports dominated by either positive or negative molecular species. Our analyses call upon further experimental verifications and clinical trials with curative rather than palliative intent. In addition to OA applications, our developed approaches can be useful for sports medicine dealing with damage or degeneration of the articular cartilages.