Spinal fractures have always been seriously damaging and very difficult to treat for doctors. However, that might all change with this magnetised surgical cement that scientists have developed to heal spinal fractures. Patients with spinal fractures caused by tumours or osteoporosis usually undergo a procedure called kyphoplasty wherein the fracture is filled with surgical cement.
However, while kyphoplasty can help stabilise the bones, cancer patients are still often left with spinal column tumours that are hard to reach with chemotherapy. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the US found that by adding magnetic particles to surgical cement that is being used to heal surgical fractures, they were able to guide magnetic nanoparticles directly to lesions near the fractures.
Nanoparticles bound to various drugs have been used over the years to target specific locations or types of cells in the body. "By modifying the kyphoplasty bone cement, we can both stabilise the spinal column and provide a targeted drug delivery system. This is a very promising technology as it has the potential to become a surgical option for patients with primary spinal column tumours or tumours that metastasise to the spinal column," said Steven Denyer, co-lead author of the study published in the journal Plos One.
Using a pig model to study the magnetically-guided drug delivery system, the researchers were successfully able to steer magnetic nanoparticles to the magnetic cement in the animal's spinal vertebrae. "Our study provides an in vivo proof-of-concept that this novel drug delivery system can help treat underlying causes of spinal fractures in addition to providing structural support," said Abhiraj Bhimani, a student at UIC.
