Stanford Researchers Uncover Enzyme That Reverses Arthritis in People

Buzzline

A groundbreaking study by researchers at Stanford Medicine, published in Science on June 12, 2026, has found that inhibiting the aging enzyme 15-PGDH can entirely reverse cartilage degeneration in older mice, stop arthritis from developing after injuries, and — importantly — regenerate human knee tissue derived from joint replacement procedures. This finding is viewed by scientists as a potential game changer in the treatment of osteoarthritis, impacting over 32 million adults in the U.S. and costing the healthcare system more than $300 billion each year. Researchers indicate that a targeted therapy to inhibit 15-PGDH might enter human clinical trials within the next three years.

Transcript

00:00Stanford scientists just published a discovery that could change life for 32 million American

00:05arthritis sufferers. Publishing in the journal Science, researchers identified a single aging

00:11enzyme called 15-PGDH. And when they blocked it completely, something remarkable happened.

00:18Cartilage that had worn away in old mice grew back. Knee joints that should have developed

00:24post-injury arthritis didn't. Then, researchers tested the enzyme on actual human knee tissue

00:30from joint replacement surgeries. And the same regeneration occurred in human cells.

00:36Osteoarthritis costs American health care more than $300 billion every year. It's also the number

00:41one cause of disability in adults over 65. Stanford researchers say a targeted drug-blocking

00:4715-PGDH could enter human clinical trials within three years. The research is still in its early

00:54stages. But scientists are already calling it a potential paradigm shift in arthritis treatment.

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