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New Treatment boosts bone
healing and re-growth
Newswise — A drug originally used to treat
iron poisoning can significantly boost the
body’s own ability to heal and re-grow
injured bones, according to researchers at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
The researchers injected the drug
deferoxamine (DF), which is designed to
reduce iron overload, into injured mouse
bones. They found DF triggered the growth of
new blood vessels, which in turn kicked off
bone re-growth and healing.
In the study, bone density surrounding the
injury more than doubled to 2.6 cubic
millimeters in treated bones compared to 1.2
cubic millimeters in untreated bones, the
researchers said.
The new blood vessel growth and bone healing
was achieved through a cell pathway that
helps the body respond to low oxygen levels,
a common problem when blood supply is
affected by bone fracture and disease.
Findings on this cell pathway have broad
implications for improving treatment of bone
fractures, bone disease and other
musculoskeletal disorders, said Shawn
Gilbert, M.D., an assistant professor of
orthopedic surgery in the UAB School of
Medicine, and Chao Wan, M.D. Ph.D., an
instructor in the UAB Department of
Pathology, both co-authors on the study.
“With DF activating this pathway, we’ve
proven a significant point – it is possible
to explore new, safe and more affordable
ways kick-start bone repair,” Gilbert said.
“Current treatments use complex proteins,
which are expensive to make and cost
thousands of dollars per dose. The type of
agent used in this study is a simple, small
molecule drug that costs hundreds, not
thousands,” Gilbert said.
The UAB findings are published in the online
version of the journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences and will
soon appear in a print edition.
“The results from this study are a milestone
for future studies looking at other
compounds and agents to improve
new-blood-vessel growth in skeletal and
other tissues that need adequate blood
supply to regenerate,” Wan said.
The UAB tests were performed in conjunction
with a bone lengthening procedure commonly
used in children and adults, and has proven
to aid bone healing. The study mice were
anesthetized for surgery, and one leg bone
was cut clean through and a pulling device
attached temporarily to stretch the bone gap
for the next 10 days.
During the stretching, the bone gap was
injected with five DF doses. Two weeks after
the last DF dose, X-rays of the mice legs
were taken to measure bone regeneration.
DF is a drug that binds to excess iron in
the body and helps with excretion through
the bowels and bladder, a process sometimes
called iron chelation. DF is used to treat a
variety of medical conditions, including
iron overload, transfusion-related blood
poisoning and in combination with dialysis.
In the findings on post-treatment increased
bone density, the UAB researchers found
significant increases in the number of new
blood vessels, and excellent connectivity
between those vessels.
The new blood vessels
are required regenerate bone of equal or
better strength than the original bones.
Gilbert said it follows that this cell
pathway is a prime target for future human
studies using DF and other drugs to
strengthen the body’s bone-healing
potential, especially since poor blood
supply is common in fractures and bone
disease.
The research team included UAB investigators
from the departments of Surgery, Pathology,
and Biomedical Engineering and from
Children’s Hospital of Alabama, Birmingham,
the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in
Birmingham and Boston University Medical
Center. Funding for the study came from the
National Institutes of Health.
