Hi-tech hope for hip op patients

SCOTTISH scientists believe a special new coating for hip implants could speed up recovery for thousands of patients.

Experts from Glasgow University have developed a polymer that can stimulate molecules known as “growth factors” to help bone re-grow.

Tests showed bone grafts fused more quickly when they were coated with a thin layer of the polymer.

It can also be applied in much lower doses than a molecule currently used – known as BMP-2 – cutting the risk of side-effects.

Professor Manuel SalmeronSanchez, the university’s chair of biomedical engineering, said the revolutionary treatment would save the NHS money.

He said: “This technique opens up the possibility of making growth factor treatments much more effective and much more affordable.

“By coating materials such as hip implants, bone grafts or spinal cages in a thin layer of this polymer, we can encourage bone regeneration targeted on the areas where they’re required.”

More than 170,000 NHS patients are expected to undergo hip and knee replacement surgery in the next 12 months, because of diseases such as osteoarthritis.

Patients often have to spend days or even weeks in hospital – piling pressure on the already stretched health service.

A day in a hospital bed costs the NHS £400 on average and increases the chance of a patient developing heart problems and becoming infected with superbugs such as MRSA.

The new procedure may cut the recovery time needed and, because it is used in tiny doses, will also cut the number of nasty side-effects caused by BMP-2.

Professor Salmeron-Sanchez said there were also “many potential applications” other than for hip or knee replacements.

He said: “For example, people who have suffered injuries in car accidents, or lost significant areas of bone during cancer treatments, could well be treated more effectively using these techniques.

“We’re in the process of securing additional funding to further explore our findings, and we hope that the first human trial could be in the next five years.”

Matthew Dalby, professor of cell engineering at Glasgow University, said the new polymer had “enormous potential for clinical applications.”

The discovery comes just months after US researchers found a new alloy which they said could result in hip replacements that never wear out.

Physicists in Houston, Texas, discovered the alloy, which is a mix of titanium and gold, is four times harder than pure titanium and could be used to make implants that last a lifetime.