Embargoed for A.M. Release, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000
For more information, contact: Paula Poda, (847) 384-4034, [email protected]Joanne Swanson, (847) 384-4035, [email protected]
Future medical advancesmay help broken bones heal faster
NEW YORK-- Imagine a world where broken bones heal significantly faster with the assistance of a paste or injection. Or a time when a mild antibiotic taken in the form of a pill could "turn on" a gene to fight the effects of osteoporosis.
"Medical advances, such as these, are potential realities in the next generation of treatments to repair and fight some conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system," said Thomas Einhorn, MD, chairman of the department of orthopaedic surgery and professor of orthopaedic surgery and biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine.
Speaking at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 10th annual Orthopaedics Update, Dr. Einhorn said research today is being conducted that may lead to the use of a morphogenetic protein to help broken bones heal 25 percent to 33 percent faster than bones heal now.
"Use of the bone morphogenetic protein may start as a paste that would be implanted as a substitute for a bone graft," Dr. Einhorn said. "However, it is possible that with future research, physicians someday would be able to inject the protein to the fracture site to help bones heal in less time for some patients. Another potential use for the bone morphogenetic protein is in spinal fusion procedures.
"If it becomes possible to use this protein with minimally invasive surgery, the potential for complicated surgeries to be performed on an outpatient basis in the future would become a reality," Dr. Einhorn said.
The future also may hold the potential for regulated gene therapy to fight the effects of osteoporosis, Dr. Einhorn said.
Advanced science may provide genetic coding to fight the decreased bone mass and poor bone quality that occurs with osteoporosis, he said. For example, Dr. Einhorn said, in the future, a "gene cassette" carrying the coding to fight the disease could be activated by a mild antibiotic in the form of a pill.
An orthopaedic surgeon is a medical doctor with extensive training in the diagnosis and nonsurgical as well as surgical treatment of the musculoskeletal system, including bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves.
The 24,500-member American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons www.aaos.org is a not-for-profit organization that provides education programs for orthopaedic surgeons, allied health professionals and the public and is an advocate for improved patient care.
The Academy is participating in the Bone and Joint Decade (www.bonejointdecade.org), the global initiative in the years 2000-2010 to raise awareness of people's musculoskeletal health care needs.
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