Dissolving Glass For Bone Replacement

June 13, 2008

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Aging takes a toll on our bones. Eventually, there are many people who need some form of bone replacement such as in a knee or hip. Dissolving glass may be the new answer. Further, after accidents or some diseases new bone is required for people of all ages.

Researchers at the Universities of Kent and Warwick have developed a new form of glass that will after a period of time in the body dissolve. The glass provides a structure for bone cells to attach too, so new bone can grow.

The glass can be made to contain calcium and other substances that will promote new bone growth. This new glass has been demonstrated to activate bone cells causing them to migrate, grow and increase in number to make new bone.

As the new bone grows the glass will dissolve away, leaving the new bone. The glass does not contain any toxic chemicals and effectively just disappears.

A report of this ongoing research is in Science Daily and has a picture of the bone cells grown on the glass.

The researchers are working on making new stronger versions that would be strong enough for joint replacement. They say that clinical trials could be expected to start with 5 years.

I think this is really exciting and may overcome many of the problems associated with bone replacement particularly in joints. Your own new bone has to be better, in many cases, than the metal or other foreign substances used for bone replacement.

photo credit: lavandarfields