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Adult stem cells offer new fracture treatment

“Lack of fracture repair often leads to several surgeries, long periods of immobilization, pain, bone deformities, and sometimes death. The precise reason why a patient’s fracture does not heal remains unknown in most cases,” said senior investigator Dr. Anna Spagnoli, of the University of North Carolina.

The researchers are of the opinion that a deficiency in adult stem cells, which normally become reparative cells in response to damage, may be the main reason why broken bones sometimes fail to heal.

Spagnoli say that stem cells in human bone marrow, called mesenchymal stem cells, can become bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessel cells, and directing these stem cells into the repair mode is one of the objectives of a new branch of medicine called regenerative medicine.

She adds that the adult stem cells, which can be obtained from a patient’s bone marrow in a minimally invasive procedure, have been reported to improve fracture healing in a few patients.

She, however, also stresses that need for animal studies before clinical trials can begin.

In a recent study, she and her colleagues took adult stem cells from the bone marrow of mice with leg fractures, and engineered them to express a potent bone regenerator, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

Josh Sandberg

Josh Sandberg is the President and CEO of Ortho Spine Partners and sits on several company and industry related Boards. He also is the Creator and Editor of OrthoSpineNews.

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