Promising results of the bone biomaterial test

Czech-Finnish cooperation of the research team Cardiovascular Systems – Mechanobiology (CSM) of The International Clinical Research Center of St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno (FNUSA-ICRC) and the Department of Biomaterials Science at the University of Turku has its first results. An article entitled “Biomaterial and implant induced ossification: in vitro and in vivo findings” was published in the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, which discusses the suitability of using glass-ceramic biomaterial as a substitute for human bones.

“Specifically, it was Fiber-reinforced composite-bioactive glasses (FRC-BG) and its use in cranial bone defects,” said Stefania Pagliari, Ph.D. from the CSM research team. This can be the result of traumatic brain injury, infection, congenital anomaly or tumor. The aim of cranioplasty surgery is to reconstruct the bone defect to physically protect the brain tissues, to retain a physiologic cerebral perfusion and pressure conditions, and to achieve an optimal cosmetic outcome post- surgery. Autologous bone transplantation (directly from the patient) is a standard method for treating bone defects, however, the amount and quality of bone that can be obtained is very limited, which limits its use in large defects. As an alternative, several biomaterials for bone-repair have been developed so far, and are currently under investigation in a number of clinical studies.

The aim of this work was to validate the use of FRC-BG as a bone substitute in both in vivo (in the patient) and in vitro (in the laboratory) experiments. The in vivo results showed that FRC-BG, which was placed for five months in a 53-year-old patient, was able to promote new bone formation along with capillaries and large blood vessels in proximity of the implant (Figure 1). In vitro studies have revealed in parallel the ability of this bioactive glasses to support the growth and differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in bone cells (Figure 2).

Both clinical and in vitro results demonstrate the suitability of FRC-BG in facilitating bone repair and encourage their use to evoke the osteogenic potential of autologous mesenchymal stem cells in order to favor the healing process of bone defects while minimizing the risk of rejection and infections for the patient.

Article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1002/term.3056