Gene Therapy Might Someday Mend Badly Broken Bones

HealthDay—May 17, 2017

HealthDay covered a new, experimental method by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to heal large bone breaks in lab animals, and the researchers hope to apply this approach to people in the future.

According to the article, the method is gene therapy, stem cells and ultrasound. The researchers added bone-promoting protein, or BMP, to the fractured bone for healing.

HSS orthopedic trauma surgeon Joseph M. Lane, MD commented on the research. "There are problems with BMP....A central issue is that very high BMP doses may be needed, and the side effects, including infections and excess bone growth, are common."

"We need to become more sophisticated in how it's delivered," said Dr. Lane.

Read the full article at consumer.healthday.com