Broken bones and fractures in horses are always serious, and, depending on the condition of the horse, the complexity of the break or fracture, and the resources available for the care of the horse, can lead to disability or euthanasia of the horse.
Generating new bone in fractures or breaks
A solution that speeds up the time it takes to heal broken bones in large animals including horses may be on the horizon.
Now, a research project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense involving scientists and surgeons from the University of Georgia, Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University and the University of Texas, a solution that speeds up the time it takes to heal broken bones in large animals including horses may be on the horizon.
Research being carried out at the University of Georgia Regenerative Bioscience Center has helped create a new gel being referred to as Fracture Putty. It’s major benefit is its ability to heal a broken bone in just a few days, or in the case of severe breaks, cut the healing time to weeks instead of months.
The key to Fracture Putty is the use of mesenchymal stem cells that produce a protein that is key to bone generation. The cells, mixed with a putty that takes the form of a gel, survive long enough after injection into the broken bone or fracture to rapidly generate new bone much faster than the body is capable of doing using current healing techniques.
The time it takes to heal depends on the severity of the fracture, but in all cases it should speed up the process. In cases where complex or multiple bone fractures have a occurred, Fracture Putty could mean the difference between losing a limb and making a full recovery.
The research group is a multidiscipline and multi-institutional group actively working on bone tissue engineering.
This year, the group showed bone can be generated in sheep in less than four weeks. The speed in which bone is formed is one of the truly unique features of this study.
Dr. John Peroni of the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, who is also chairman of the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association, is hopeful this material will be promoted to the veterinary and human medical fields through the educational efforts of NAVRMA and the RBC.
For horse owners, the development of Fracture Putty for use in treating horse injuries would help solve many critical care issues.