Washington: Scientists at the University of Toronto have developed a biodegradable scaffold with polymers, similar to those found in dissolving sutures, which significantly increases the rate of bone healing.

The scaffold, which eventually dissolves, offers a potential new treatment for bone loss in cases such as trauma or spinal fusions. In this method, the bone automatically replaces itself, allowing healing of injuries such as fractures. But in some traumatic cases, where there is too much damage for the bone to heal on its own, bone grafting or moving bone from one body part to another, is a common solution.

"We have been successful in stimulating cell and tissue growth in the laboratory and animal models and in replacing bone with bone – the underlying principle of bone tissue engineering," says Molly Shoichet, professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME).

The team now plans to study the scaffolds in larger animals, with the ultimate goal of creating a human treatment that could speed the early healing of bone trauma. "It's not only better for the patient, but it gets the patient out of their bed and out of the hospital soon, so there's less cost to the health care system," says professor John Davies of the IBBME.

ANI