Injectable 'Bone Spackling' Could Heal Complex Fractures

University of Michigan  researchers are targeting large, complex bone wounds, where a lot of bone has been lost and the tissue around the bone has been damaged. These types of injuries often require grafts and multiple surgeries. The researchers are reprogramming adult cells from bone marrow so that they can be injected directly into a wound and grow into bone. The marrow-derived cells are known as progenitor cells, a type of adult stem cell that maintains the ability to differentiate into several different cell types. Testing in mice has shown that a cell-based therapy can drastically accelerate the bone regeneration process after injury.


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