Bone injuries and fractures are growing common these days and accidents are the main reason behind these injuries. No country is an exception to it, as thousands of bone surgeries are being done daily and the count is towering high. Sometimes, the bone regeneration becomes almost impossible without a surgery and the pain continues for life even after the surgery due to the incomplete regeneration. These injuries are called Non-union injuries and these accounts for 5% of the injuries in most of the countries.
In the event of non-union injuries, the bone doesn't fuse properly, leaving a gap between the two broken ends. This can be rectified with a surgery, where a graft is brought from the other part of the body and inserted in the gap. But, this kind of surgery can lead to nerve damage which causes pain to the patient where the graft is taken. There is also the risk that graft fails and the surgery needs to be repeated.
The new procedure discovered by the researchers is the safe and minimally invasive alternative to the bone-graft surgery.
New Technique which uses microbubbles helps heal the bones which do not heal with normal surgeries
Procedure:
-First, a Collagen scaffold (Collagen is the protein that supports and give structure to the skin and bones) is inserted between the gap of the bones. Scientists hope that this scaffold can be inserted through an injection at least in the near future.
- Later, Collagen releases the signals to encourage the release of stem cells so that healing starts.
- In a follow-up procedure, a fluid filled with ‘microbubbles’ (gas bubbles coated with fat) is injected. The microbubble contains plasmid (small strand of DNA) that promotes bone growth.
- With a specialized procedure, the microbubble gets penetrated inside the cell and instructs the genetic material to transform the stem cells to become the bone cells.
This study was done in pigs and it took 18 weeks for the pig to completely heal from all the fractures.
Scientists hope that the procedure can mimic the process even in humans and extensive testing needs to be done on this to confirm the tests.
In the event of non-union injuries, the bone doesn't fuse properly, leaving a gap between the two broken ends. This can be rectified with a surgery, where a graft is brought from the other part of the body and inserted in the gap. But, this kind of surgery can lead to nerve damage which causes pain to the patient where the graft is taken. There is also the risk that graft fails and the surgery needs to be repeated.
The new procedure discovered by the researchers is the safe and minimally invasive alternative to the bone-graft surgery.
New Technique which uses microbubbles helps heal the bones which do not heal with normal surgeries
Procedure:
-First, a Collagen scaffold (Collagen is the protein that supports and give structure to the skin and bones) is inserted between the gap of the bones. Scientists hope that this scaffold can be inserted through an injection at least in the near future.
- Later, Collagen releases the signals to encourage the release of stem cells so that healing starts.
- In a follow-up procedure, a fluid filled with ‘microbubbles’ (gas bubbles coated with fat) is injected. The microbubble contains plasmid (small strand of DNA) that promotes bone growth.
- With a specialized procedure, the microbubble gets penetrated inside the cell and instructs the genetic material to transform the stem cells to become the bone cells.
This study was done in pigs and it took 18 weeks for the pig to completely heal from all the fractures.
Scientists hope that the procedure can mimic the process even in humans and extensive testing needs to be done on this to confirm the tests.
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