Tel Aviv University Researchers Have Found a way to Boost Bone Healing

According to Israeli scientists, they have managed to find a way to give a boost to the ability of bones of healing themselves.

This means that if there are any tiny gaps, or big defects, the bones will be able to self-repair. When there are small fractures in human bones, around five millimeters or less, they will be able to heal on their own.

However, when there are bigger defects, a range of solutions are typically used by doctors, such as using implants, or grafting bones from another part of the body.

New research

Now, Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers have said that they have discovered how bones can fix themselves in case of bigger issues, thereby overcoming their natural limit.

A peer-reviewed research reported a successful trial that was conducted with mice and it involved the use of a water-based gel, which was especially developed for this purpose.

Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich, the lead researcher, said that the purpose of the gel is to instruct the body, or more specially instruct the immune system, that the bone can heal itself because the defect is not a big one.

She said that the research was quite exciting due to the fact that it was ensuring bone regeneration on a scale and in a matter that has not been seen before.

The solution

According to Adler-Abramovich, small bone defects like fractures tend to heal spontaneously, but the same does not apply in the case of substantial bone loss.

This usually happens in cases of physical trauma, tumor removal, inflammation around dental implants, gum disease, or tooth extraction because of which the bone is not able to renew on its own.

This is where the water-based gel comes in because it is designed to mimic the bone’s natural matrix, which prompts the immune system to believe that it has to fix a damaged bone instead of filling a big void.

It is considered manageable by the immune system and it signals the bone to grow over the area where the gel is.

The details

Adler Abramovich said that the mice that were part of the study saw long-lasting benefits of the said treatment.

She said that they used different methods for monitoring them for about two months. She disclosed that regeneration had helped them in fully correcting the bone defects.

The bones had been able to generate new blood vessels and regain their original thickness. The lead researcher also stated that they hoped to develop the gel further and conduct more trials, in both dentistry and orthopedics.

She said that dental implants are usually the standard treatment when people lose teeth due to bacterial infections or extensive damage.

However, she said that a sufficient amount of bone is required for anchoring the implants and if the bone loss is a lot, then dentists have to take bone from a different body part, which is a complex procedure.

She said that the gel they have created could help in safer, simple and faster bone restoration.