U.S. scientists report progress of a hormone therapy that can improve the outcome of bone grafts to treat bone loss from disease, birth defects or trauma.
Zulma Gazit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Edward Schwarz of Rochester University and colleagues said surgeons perform nearly 100,000 head and facial bone-grafting procedures every year to treat bone loss from disease, birth defects or traumatic injuries.
Although this kind of reconstructive surgery dates back to ancient times, the options for implant materials remained limited. Doctors can remove bone from another part of a patient's body or use lab-made materials, but these methods can lead to serious complications.
Currently, one of the preferred alternatives is to use bone grafts received from tissue banks, but they often don't join with the bone they're supposed to fix.
Preliminary studies showed parathyroid hormone, a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat osteoporosis, helps repair fractures in long bones.
The researchers tested daily short-term parathyroid hormone in mice with skull defects that they implanted with donor grafts.
The study, published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, reported treatment improved bone formation around the grafts and prevented scar tissue, which can interfere with graft integration, from forming. Topics: Food and Drug Administration