BONES
FIGURE 124: An expanded view of the scaffold. The scaffold material tends to be a porous material
FIGURE 125: Scaffolds at various magnifications
THE HEALING OF THE BONE
necessary skeletal cells, repairing the bone by promoting bone growth. The success of this treatment has the potential to open new door in the field of Stem Cell Bone Regeneration.
The Human Body and its Bones
Although bones are considered by many to be the most robust structures of the human body, they, too, can be afflicted with maladies and require repair and, in severe cases, even regeneration. Bone regeneration may sound unreal, an idea of the future. The stem cells, however, enable it to be available today! Diseases such as osteoporosis, the weakening of the bone edifice, and bone fracture affect millions of Americans diurnally. This calls for new bone growth, allowing stem cells to prove once more their importance and significance in modern medicine and science.
TISSUE ENGINEERING AND SCAFFOLDS
Scaffolds, vital components of in tissue engineering are a material, synthetic or natural, which can be implanted into the human organism, providing a support for a developing tissue. The scaffold is especially important when a stem cell regeneration treatment is applied. The scaffold aids the implanted stem cells to arrive and diffuse into the damaged area, concentrating in large numbers and beginning to differentiate into skeletal cells necessary to heal the bone.
The scaffold, in blue, is implanted and wrapped around the bone, providing support necessary for bone regeneration. In stem cell treatments, the stem cells, in red, are then injected into the damaged area, growing and expanding, healing the bone.
An example of a successful experiment involving stem cells for bone regeneration has been recently provided with help from researchers and scientists of the Harvard Medical School. Through the modification of adult stem cells derived from bone marrow with BMP-2 genes (bone morphogenetic proteins which stimulate bone production) scientist Martina Hauser-Schinhan of the University Department of Orthopaedics at the MedUni Vienna was able to motivate bone fabrication in the defective skeletal region. Clinical trials are soon to follow, carrying a promise of relief to various patients affected by bone fracture, osteoporosis, or orthopedic limb injuries.
UC DAVIS AND BONE REGENERATION
A group of researchers and scientists lead by UC Davis Health System scientists have discovered a new technique to enhance bone growth. A molecule is injected into the blood stream, aiding the stem cells to arrive to their destination - the damaged bone area. Once at the site, the stem cells differentiate into the
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