October 23rd, 2005
More Bone Regeneration
The development of regenerative medicine for bone is proceeding nicely. The Globe and Mail reports on another new technique: "Using a protein that can seduce adult stem cells into becoming bone tissue, Cameron Clokie, head of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Toronto, has pioneered a technique to reset the jaw's skeletal clock - coaxing bones to grow as they do in a newborn baby. ... This is pretty much back to the embryonic state of bone generation. With this patient we've actually regrown a jawbone that is identical [to the one] he lost. ... research has shown [bone morphogenetic protein] can affect the stem cells known to circulate in the body, even in adulthood."