Using stem cells to mend damaged hips

PA 54/10 Scientists at The University of Nottingham are aiming to take their innovative lab-based tissue engineering technology closer to the clinic as part of a research project that could revolutionise hip replacement operations in the future. Researchers in the University's Schools of Chemistry and Pharmacy are working with colleagues at the University of Southampton on the study investigating the use of bone stem cells instead of bone from deceased donors as part of an innovative new treatment. The team believe that introducing a patient's own skeletal stem cells into the hip joint during bone grafting, together with either an appropriate bonding material or donor bone, would encourage regrowth and repair. The grafting technique is used to repair the thigh bone and joint during replacement (known as 'revision') hip replacement therapy, a procedure in which surgeons introduce donor bone to the damaged area to provide support for the new hip stem. In the two-year collaborative study, funded by the Medical Research Council, researchers aim to improve the outcomes of this high impact procedure by using adult stem cells from bone marrow in combination with an innovative impaction process and polymer scaffolds. The polymer scaffolds will be developed by Professors Steve Howdle and Kevin Shakesheff, experts in chemistry and tissue engineering at The University of Nottingham. Professor Howdle said: "Building on strong collaborations with tissue engineering experts, this new grant will allow researchers at Nottingham to take their materials nearer to the clinic.