The Skeletal Regeneration and Stem Cell Therapy Imaging Research program isolates adult stem cells from bone marrow or adipose tissue and then matures these cells into the desired cell type for injection into an injured area. This stem cell technology has already proved effective in repairing complex fractures in the vertebrae, skull, jaws and long bones, as well as torn tendons and injured intervertebral discs.
Osteoporosis-related vertebral compression fractures account for approximately 700,000 injuries and billions of healthcare dollars in the United States each year. Patients with an osteoporosis-related vertebral compression fracture have a deceased number of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), dysfunctional MSCs, or both.
Most recently, the Skeletal Regeneration and Stem Cell Therapy Imaging Research program theorized that injection of MSCs, combined with parathyroid hormone (PTH, which is already approved by the FDA for the treatment of osteoporosis), could be an effective therapy for treating multiple fractures.
This research has shown that in animals with osteoporosis and vertebral fractures treated with intravenous injections of MSCs and PTH, we could detect enhanced MSC homing to the fracture sites, leading to rapid bone repair.
Our next step in this research is to conduct clinical trials that utilize MSCs for rapid fracture repair and disc regeneration. Should this treatment protocol prove successful, it could significantly shorten hospitalization time and offer a minimally invasive solution for osteoporosis and its related fragility fractures.