Stem Cells Help Broken Bones Heal
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - Stem Cell Guru
More reports, as if they were needed, of adult stem cells being used to treat patients. This report, from the UK's Daily Telegraph highlights the story of doctors at a London hospital who harvest stem cells for use in repairing fractured bones.
A British hospital has successfully used stem cells to promote healing when fractured bones refuse to mend, saving patients from permanent disability or amputation.
Three patients who had run out of treatment options have handed back their crutches. A total of five out of 10 are making progress but it can take some months for the treatment to begin to work.
Doctors at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital, are harvesting stem cells from the patient's bone marrow, growing them and then applying them to the fracture site where they help broken bone grow again and unite.
Dr. James Richardson, consultant surgeon, said: "Some broken bones just don't heal with conventional treatments and patients can end up on crutches or in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives or be in so much pain that they finally request an amputation.
"With stem cell therapy, we harvest the patient's own bone marrow, purify out the bone producing cells and stimulate them in a special laboratory to make them multiply. Three to four weeks later, the cells are returned to the patient and implanted at the site of the fracture. The stem cells then help to grow new bone and literally 'knit' the fracture site together."
A British hospital has successfully used stem cells to promote healing when fractured bones refuse to mend, saving patients from permanent disability or amputation.
Three patients who had run out of treatment options have handed back their crutches. A total of five out of 10 are making progress but it can take some months for the treatment to begin to work.
Doctors at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital, are harvesting stem cells from the patient's bone marrow, growing them and then applying them to the fracture site where they help broken bone grow again and unite.
Dr. James Richardson, consultant surgeon, said: "Some broken bones just don't heal with conventional treatments and patients can end up on crutches or in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives or be in so much pain that they finally request an amputation.
"With stem cell therapy, we harvest the patient's own bone marrow, purify out the bone producing cells and stimulate them in a special laboratory to make them multiply. Three to four weeks later, the cells are returned to the patient and implanted at the site of the fracture. The stem cells then help to grow new bone and literally 'knit' the fracture site together."
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