Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums

You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members, upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, access other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisements in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!

  1. Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
Dismiss Notice
Have you liked us on Facebook to get our updates? Please do. Click here for our Facebook page.
Dismiss Notice
Do you get the weekly newsletter that Podiatry Arena sends out to update everybody? If not, click here to organise this.

'Break a leg' not so lucky when it leads to limb deformities

Discussion in 'Pediatrics' started by NewsBot, Mar 25, 2021.

Tags:
  1. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
    1

    Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    NEWS RELEASE 24-MAR-2021
    'Break a leg' not so lucky when it leads to limb deformities
    Surgery could be eliminated

    Orthopaedic researchers are one step closer to preventing life-long arm and leg deformities from childhood fractures that do not heal properly.

    A new study led by the University of South Australia and published in the journal Bone, sheds light on the role that a protein plays in this process.

    Lead author Dr Michelle Su says that because children's bones are still growing, an injury to the growth plate can lead to a limb in a shortened position, compared to the unaffected side.

    "Cartilage tissue near the ends of long bones is known as the growth plate that is responsible for bone growth in children and, unfortunately, 30 per cent of childhood and teen fractures involve this growth plate which is highly susceptible to injuries," Dr Su says.

    Instead of the rubbery cartilage tissue regenerating, bone tissue lodges in and around the injury site, causing different limb lengths and angulations.

    Researchers from Adelaide, Perth and Shanghai used a rat model to investigate the role of this protein called bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). Dr Su says scientists are aware of the importance of BMP in bone development and normal bone fracture healing, but little is known about its role in growth plate repair.

    The researchers found that levels of BMP were greater at the injured growth plate, and that inhibiting BMP suppressed growth plate bony repair and prevented degeneration of the surrounding uninjured region.

    "This finding could be the first step in creating a biological treatment in place of correcting deformities by surgery, which can be complicated, extremely invasive and often ineffective," Dr Su says.

    Surgery involves inserting pins, plates, wires or screws to correct the damaged limbs, with a long period of recovery, which is not 100 per cent guaranteed.

    "Further studies are needed to pinpoint the exact BMP members and other signalling components that are involved in causing the growth plate dysrepair," she adds.

    Falls account for close to half (46 per cent) or around 30,000 hospitalised injury cases involving children every year in Australia, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

    Overall, boys are 1.5 times more likely to sustain fractures than girls, but this varies with age - from 1.3 times for those aged between 0-4 and 1.8 times for those aged 10-14 years.
     

Share This Page