From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

An estimated 10 to 20% of patients suffering fractures have broken bones that fail to mend themselves properly with traditional treatment. However, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a study that found that adult stem cells can be used to treat difficult fractures. Adult stem cells regenerate damaged tissue, and during the normal healing process of a fracture these cells travel to the site of the broken bone and form the cartilage and bone required for healing the break. A lack of sufficient numbers of these stem cells in some patients leads to an inability to heal properly, which can lead to long periods of immobilization, pain, bone deformities, and in some cases, even death. Currently, treatment options include multiple surgeries involving bone autografts and prosthetic materials, but these surgeries are often unsuccessful. Researchers are now proposing to perform adult stem cell transplants on patients with bone union failure in an effort to stimulate natural healing of the bone. The researchers from UNC successfully performed stem cell transplants on mice with fractures of the tibia, who recovered with bones that were on average 3 time stronger at the fracture site than the bones of untreated mice. The findings are being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.

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