According to the most recent data published by the World Health Organisation, it is estimated that between 2015 and 2050 the number of individuals aged sixty or over will have almost doubled, rising from 12% to 22%. This statistic hides a very real challenge because a progressively ageing population will have very real and practical consequences for daily life and the organisation of society in general. There was an urgent need to address the problem of an ageing population and to establish whether the health of this population was good or bad. For those individuals who fall into the latter category, there are some who suffer from osteoarthritis. This disease which affects the joints, affects 15% of the World’s population. 18 million Europeans and one in three Belgians suffer from the disease. Today, it is possible to reduce pain or to compensate for the loss of mobility, but there is no real treatment for osteoarthritis. This fact underlines the importance of the thesis completed by Frédéric Oprenyeszk at the Bone and Cartilage Research Unit (UROC – Professor Yves Henrotin) of the University of Liege. The results obtained, which were published in PLOS ONE (1), show that chitosan, a vegetable compound naturally present in the stems of button mushrooms, is the key to regenerating the synovial fluid that is essential for healthy cartilage. In order to demonstrate this, diseased cells from patients who volunteered to take part in the study were used and placed in contact with a chitosan-enriched matrix. This scientific advance is part of a broader fruitful collaboration between the academic world and industry(2).

In order to fully understand the study conducted by Frédéric Oprenyeszk, of the Bone and Cartilage Research Unit (BCRU -Professor Yves Henrotin) it will be useful to take another look at osteoarthritis. Suffering is not the only consequence of this pathology as the pain resulting from the condition is the expression of a progressive degeneration of the joints. This is why, as Professor Yves Henrotin, director of the Bone and Cartilage Research Unit explains, “with regard to degradation, it is estimated that, at 65 years of age and according to radiological criteria, around 70% of individuals show signs of osteoarthritis”. This figure naturally increases with age. The condition has a very important socio-economic impact particularly in rich countries where ageing represents a real challenge for society. A recent study highlighted the fact that, in 2007, the total cost generated by this illness had reached 86.2 billion dollars. At a time when the benefits of an active retirement are constantly being evoked, osteoarthritis makes any such activity very difficult. In addition, research has shown that there is a link between osteoarthritis and the risk of developing other health problems such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. We now also know that inactivity is an added risk factor for fatalities among patients with cardiovascular diseases. It is therefore of paramount importance to ensure that there is a sufficient treatment for the condition. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease at the present time. We can only improve “algofunctional status, that is to say, reduce the pain and the effects of pain on movement. Currently only the symptoms are treated and not the structural and metabolic changes that occur during the course of the illness. Treatment of symptoms is mainly by means of pain killers and anti-inflammatories”. These treatments have a major drawback: they can have fatal secondary effects(3). These medicines have an even greater effect given that osteoarthritis affects mainly elderly people who are already fragile. Due to weakened kidney function associated with ageing, elimination of toxic substances is slowed. The elderly are the biggest consumers of this type of medicine which they tend to use in the long-term to get relief from chronic pain such as that caused by osteoarthritis.

Hence the necessity of finding basic and healthy treatments which protect tissues or “change their metabolism in a positive way to stop them from deteriorating”. Here, the word tissue particularly refers cartilage which covers the joints but also the synovial membrane. It is the latter that undergoes an inflammatory reaction which is the root cause of the pain. The process by which a joint deteriorates can be summarised as follows: the joint and the extremities of the bone are covered by cartilage which in turn is essentially supplied with synovial fluid. This liquid is produced by the synovial membrane. When inflammation occurs, many factors are released into the joint and cause a deterioration in the synovial fluid which leads to degeneration of the cartilage and therefore the joint itself.

(1) Chitosan enriched three-dimensional matrix reduces inflammatory and catabolic mediators production by human chondrocytes, Oprenyeszk Frédéric, Sanchez Christelle, Dubuc Jean-Emile, Maquet Véronique, Henrist Catherine, Compère Philippe, Henrotin Yves, in PLOS ONE, 2015, Ref. ORBI : http://hdl.handle.net/2268/182363
(2) Two patents have been issued for the joint research conducted by the respective teams of Professor Henrotin, and the firm KitoZyme, producers of vegetable-sourced chitosan. Consequently, in 2012, a spin-off, Synolyne, was created by Professor Henrotin to use these patents. Finally, in 2014, KitoZyme and Synolyne merged to create Synolyne Pharma, one of the world leaders in the medical transformation of plant-sourced chitosan.
(3) Paracetamol for example, can cause problems of the blood, gastro-intestinal and/ or kidney complications, hepatic or tubular necroses. Generally speaking, the secondary effects of anti-inflammatories affect the digestive tract, the liver or kidneys.