Avoiding a “Tissue Repair Process Gone Awry”

During the healing process, heterotopic ossification (HO), where bone grows abnormally in soft tissue, may occur. In fact, this abnormal bone growth happens to about a fifth of those who’ve had hip replacement; if the hip needs to be replaced again, HO rises as high as 80%! But why? Do pain-sensing nerves play a role? Researcher findings were published in the journal of Nature Communications. Treatment options are few but, “The potential role of nerve growth factor-p75 signaling in traumatic HO is an interesting avenue for future study.”

Benjamin Levi, MD, study leader and Associate Professor of Surgery and in the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at University of Texas Southwestern, commented, “Heterotopic ossification is an incredibly debilitating condition for which we have no truly effective therapies. To be able to prevent HO from occurring after an injury while also decreasing pain would be a substantial step forward.” The study states that “The role of peripheral nerves as a direct cellular contributor to HO requires further use of specific transgenic animal models.”

 

Read the journal article.

Read the press release.

Other Categories:

• joint dysfunction

• joint replacement

• orthopedics

• pain management

• Surgery