Stem Cell Transplant and Healing Fractures

Researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have discovered that they can use adult stem cell transplants effectively for healing fractures. This is good news for those people for whom fractures take longer to heal.

According to researchers, 10 to 20 percent of people who suffer from fractures do not have the ability to achieve complete healing, and this is where the stem cell transplant can be of critical use.

Normally, when a fracture happens, during the healing process, the stem cells migrate to the site of the fracture and generate the bone and cartilage to make the bone whole again. However, in many people, this process fails to take place. In the U.S. alone, doctors treat over 600,000 patients with this problem each year.

During the course of their study on mice, the researchers at the University of North Carolina used the adult stem cells on fractures of the tibia, which is the long bone in the leg, and were able to achieve total healing.

The researchers took the cells, which they obtained from the bone marrow and engineered them such that they released insulindefine-like growth factor-1 or IGF-1. IGF-1 helps in the growth and strengthening of bones. They found that the stem cells moved to the fracture site and enhanced the healing process by helping the bone and cartilage grow back.

On comparing the stem-cell induced healing with the healed fractures on other mice who did not receive the stem cell transplants, the researchers found the former to be three times stronger.

Speaking about the study, senior author Dr. Anna Spagnoli said, “This finding is critical to patients who lack the proper healing process and to individuals prone to broken bones, such as those with osteoporosis and the rare genetic condition known as brittle bone disease.”

Dr. Spagnoli, who is also an associate professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering at the UNC School of Medicine, further added, “Man-made materials do not address the normal bone's function, and recurrent fractures, wear and toxicity are a real problem. There is clearly a need to develop alternative therapies to enhance fracture healing in patients with bone union failure.”