Test-tube promise for bone repair treatment

LONDON - Scientists have grown human bone tissue in a test tube, in a breakthrough that could revolutionise the treatment of osteoporosis, arthritis and other bone diseases.

The researchers grew the bone cells of an adult patient on a glass-like material that they believe can be used as a "scaffold" to build three-dimensional structures for transplant surgery.

Another possibility is for the bone tissue, and a liquid form of the glass, to be injected directly on to a fractured area of the skeleton, which could then repair itself naturally.

Julia Pollak, professor of pathology at Hammersmith Hospital in London, says the findings show it would be possible to introduce artificially grown bone from the laboratory into patients with serious bone disorders.

"We've shown that with the right sort of man-made material acting as a scaffold we are able to induce the proliferation of bone cells in the test tube."

Once the glass scaffold is put into place, it begins to degrade gradually without any side-effects, leaving the transplanted bone cells to repair any damaged bone. "This discovery is a significant step forward in the fight against osteoporosis and in the development of better treatment for bone injuries," she says.

The glass - a ceramic material known to have biological properties - is already used in medical procedures and so should be accepted for clinical trials, Professor Pollak says.

The material, called Bioglass, not only acts as a template for bone cells to grow, it releases salts that encourage their proliferation and maturity into fully formed bone tissue. After the bone tissue is transplanted into the body, the scientists hope it will be inundated with new blood vessels and nerve cells to become part of the body's living tissues.

- INDEPENDENT