Bone Abstracts

In 1999 Mundy et al. showed that simvastatin, a drug administered for high cholesterol levels, had a profound stimulatory effect on osteoblasts. Since then other studies have also confirmed that simvastatin enhances bone formation; however, the lack of a local delivery system have restricted its clinical use. We have used premixed acidic calcium phosphate cement as a local delivery system for simvastatin. To confirm that the simvastatin released retained its activity,...

Non-unions and critical size defects (CSD) are major orthopedic challenges. The gold standard for CSD treatment, bone grafting, is associated with several morbidities. Growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have been utilized in clinic. Nevertheless, huge doses are required for therapeutic effects. Endogenous BMP antagonists, such as Noggin, could be inhibited using small interfering RNA (siRNA) to increase the bioavailability of BMPs and accelerate bone hea...