Bone stems cells may help treat damaged hip joint

If the treatment is proved successful, it can revolutionize the hip replacement procedure and significantly help in effective hip re-growth and repair better than the traditional treatment, the scientists said.

Currently, bone grafting is used to treat a broken hip joint. In this technique, the surgeons introduce a donor bone, taken out from the thigh bone, to the damaged area and provide support to the hip system, according to express buzz.

Working of the new technique
The new technique will use patient’s own bone stem cells instead of donor bone to be introduced to the damaged area.

The treatment will use adult stem cells from the bone marrow in combination with polymer scaffolds -- support structures designed to protect the hip joints.

A research team from the Universities of Southampton and Nottingham, UK, will carry out a two-year collaborative study to check out the efficacy of the procedure.

Professor Richard Oreffo, an expert in musculoskeletal science at the University of Southampton, who is leading the project, will introduce the bone stem cells to the damaged hip joints. And the polymer scaffolds or support structures will be developed by Professors Steve Howdle and Kevin Shakesheff, experts in chemistry and tissue engineering at the University of Nottingham.

Professor Howdle explained, “Building upon strong collaborations with tissue engineering experts, this new grant will allow researchers at Nottingham to take their materials nearer to the clinic.

“This could have great benefits for patients, and also offer a significant cost saving for healthcare authorities; but first we need to verify and build upon our preliminary data.”

Polymers to aid bone formation
The researchers explained that the polymers will enhance the creation of a living cell material in the damaged area, which in turn, will help in the attachment of the hip implant.

"Surgeons currently use bone from donors during bone grafting, so introducing a patient’s own stem cells to create a living cell or material composite would be a totally new approach," said Professor Oreffo.

"This is very much the beginning of a project to investigate the potential for this new technique, but our preliminary work suggests this may have significant therapeutic implications.”

The two-year collaborative study will be funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK.