The onset of a lot of diseases is light and heavy, and the current drug delivery dose remains unchanged, and it is likely to be unable to achieve the optimal dosage, and it is easy to cause illness or excessive treatment.

So Geoffrey Karp, a researcher at Brigham and women's Hospital in theUnited Statesand

Colleagues developed a hydrogel that can load different small molecules and release corresponding doses according to the severity of the disease.They were experimentation in inflammatory arthritis cells and mouse models. When the gel is exposed to arthritis related enzymes, it breaks down. A corticosteroid is released to treat arthritis and a decrease in arthritis activity can be observed.

The etiology of arthritis is complex, although it is not fatal, but severe cases can lead to joint disability and affect the quality of life of patients. Moreover, the condition of patients with inflammatory arthritis is usually delayed for a while. The team said that responsive hydrogel is a potential effective treatment for inflammatory arthritis.

Researchers also suggest that more research is needed to optimize the composition of the gel and to test human clinical trials in large animals with human size joints.