A NEW drug is being developed to help bones heal faster and better to help older people recover more quickly after suffering a fracture.
Using bone samples from people undergoing hip replacement surgery, researchers from the University of Southampton were able to show that the drug - a protein that activates a molecular pathway called the 'Wnt' pathway - causes stem cells found within bones to divide and to turn into more bone cells.
A university spokesman explained: "The Wnt pathway is found throughout the animal kingdom - from sponges to humans - and it plays a fundamental role in animal development and disease. It is involved in controlling the growth of stem cells, which are 'master cells' that help restore tissues after injury. One example of this is in amphibians like salamanders. If these animals lose a leg, they can just regrow a new one."
Dr Nick Evans, associate professor in bioengineering, said: "Bone fractures are a big problem in society, especially in older people. It is getting worse as more people get older and their risk of fracture increases. Most fractures heal completely by themselves, but a surprising number, around 10%, take over six months to heal, or never heal at all. In the worst cases this can lead to several surgical operations, or even amputation.
"Through our research, we are trying to find ways to chemically stimulate Wnt signalling using drugs. To achieve this, we selectively deliver proteins and other molecules that change Wnt signalling specifically to stem cells, particularly in the bone. This may help us find cures for many diseases, including bone disease, and speed up bone healing after fracture."
However the researchers found that if the Wnt pathway was switched on too long, the regenerative effect was lost, or even reversed.
Dr Evans said: "This is why it is particularly important to develop technologies for timed and targeted delivery, which is what we have done in this research."
The research is published in the journal Stem Cells.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here