Relationship of the anabolic and catabolic responses in healing a critical sized defect in rats [ 2005 - 2007 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof David Little (Principal investigator) ,  Prof Christopher Cowell ,  Prof Lynne Bilston

Brief description Delayed bone healing after trauma is a large clinical problem. Figures suggest up to 60,000 fractures result in a delay in healing in Australia per year. Bone healing can also fail to occur in other circumstances, such as after an operation. Research effort into new approaches to solving these problems is clearly justified. We believe that in some situations, bone healing fails due to the body's healing response, the anabolic response, being insufficient. In some other situations, the body's bone resorbing response, the catabolic response, may be too high and prevent healing from occurring. In normal bone healing, there is a balance between the anabolic and catabolic response. In disordered bone healing, these responses are out of balance. Several reasonably new treatments are available which can increase the anabolic response or decrease the catabolic response. We have preliminary results showing that with these agents we can bring these elements into better control, and thus drive bone healing. We have optimised an animal model where both the anabolic and catabolic responses can be controlled. In this project, we explore the optimisation of the timing and magnitude of anabolic and catabolic responses in bone healing.

Funding Amount $AUD 329,750.00

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant