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A young researcher from the Hebrew University has developed a method to encourage the creation of bone tissue

A new and improved method for accelerating the creation of bone tissue in cases such as orthopedic injuries, fractures and osteoporosis was developed by research student Nadav Kimelman from the Faculty of Dentistry

Nadav Kimelman
Nadav Kimelman

A new and improved method to accelerate the creation of bone tissue in cases such as orthopedic injuries, fractures and osteoporosis was developed by research student Nadav Kimelman from the Faculty of Dentistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the guidance of Prof. Dan Gazit.

The term "tissue engineering" describes the development of a biological substitute for damaged tissues or organs, which may provide an answer to the growing shortage of organ donations for transplantation, as well as take the place of the artificial implants that are in use today. In bone tissue engineering, for example, cells, genes and polymeric scaffolds are used to heal complicated fractures that do not heal otherwise. However, one of the main problems hindering the application of tissue engineering in patients is the supply of oxygen to the developing tissue. This is because a lack of oxygen causes cell death and a decrease in tissue production efficiency.

To overcome this major obstacle, Kimmelman decided to use synthetic oxygen carriers and thus increase the availability of oxygen to the transplanted cells. To test the effectiveness of the idea, he combined adult stem cells programmed to create bone tissue with an injected scaffold - "hydrogel" - containing synthetic oxygen carriers.

Kimmelman found a significant increase in bone formation and cell survival that were implanted in the hydrogel enriched with synthetic oxygen carriers, compared to the control groups. He was surprised to discover that the enrichment of the hydrogel with oxygen carriers also caused an acceleration in the speed of bone formation.

These results demonstrate for the first time that enriching the scaffold on which the cells are seeded with synthetic oxygen carriers causes an increase in the amount of bone formed. They imply that there was also an increase in the rate of bone formation, by an increase in the survival of the transplanted cells. According to Kimelman, "these results may pave the way for innovative healing strategies, in orthopedics as well as in other medical fields, such as cardiology and neurosurgery."

Nadav Kimelman's invention was registered as a patent by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's research development company, and it has the potential for diverse developments in various fields of medicine that require tissue engineering.

For the development, Kimelman was recently awarded the Kay Award for Innovation as part of the 71st session of the Board of Trustees of the Hebrew University.

2 תגובות

  1. The article is very beautiful. All stories that could be written in fairy tales. Are there legends these days? I do not think so . So that everything that is written has its place only in writing. In life, the municipal councils and all the social workers in Israel do not bother at all to help so that it is written beautifully. In practice, everything is bullshit. You are helping the elderly or helping yourselves. Everything that interests you to do the daily no more. You say that you help the elderly. Really, where is it, in which city?
    Well, I live in Bnei Brak, the dirtiest city and the city that beeps at its citizens, takes money and goes on strike. So when she has the opportunity to help the needy, they hardly send the property tax to the houses. I am looking for a club for my non-religious but secular husband. And no, there is a possibility to get help.

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