Scientists at UCLA believe they have found a way to create bone from fat cells. The process could help patients who are in need of bone grafts, like those involved in a severe car accident or fall.
From fat to bone
Researchers were able to use a high-tech piece of equipment to spin fat cells down to their base. Using these stripped cells, researchers were able to inject these cells in animal models and grow bone. This news come on the heels of other research that shows heart problems could be helped by stem cells.
“People have shown that culture-derived cells could grow bone, but these are a fresh cell population and we didn’t have to go through the culture process, which can take weeks,” Dr. Chia Soo, vice chair for research at UCLA Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and coauthor of the study said. “The best bone graft is still your own bone, but that is in limited supply and sometimes not of good quality. What we show here is a faster and better way to create bone that could have clinical applications.”
Little fat needed
The fat cells needed for this procedure are easy to come by, researchers say. “These cells are plentiful enough that patients with not much excess body fat can donate their own fat tissue,” Soo said.
Soo said if everything goes well, “Patients may one day have rapid access to high quality bone graft material by which doctors get their fat tissue, purify it and replace their own stem cells back into the area where bone is required.”
The bone can grow inside the patient, eliminating the need for painful bone graft harvestings. Further studies are needed to understand the best method for humans. Clinical trials should test the limits and success of this new procedure, but Soo and other researchers believe it could change patient treatment in the future.
