Hydrogel could be step forward in therapies to generate bones in head and neck

A team of UCLA School of Dentistry researchers has developed the first adhesive hydrogel specifically to regenerate bone and tissue defects following head and neck surgeries. Their invention was inspired in part by the way that marine mussels can stick to wet surfaces.Their research is published online in the journal Science Translational Medicine.Over the past few years, surgeons and clinicians have begun using hydrogels to administer therapeutic drugs and stem cells to help regenerate lost tissues and bone defects. This approach has advantages over the previous standard treatment, bone grafts, which can lead to inflammation and infection, and which can be costly.Hydrogels, which are made of networks of polymers, have been found to be effective for carrying drugs and stem cells to targeted spots in the body. But when they ’re used during surgeries in the mouth, hydrogels tend to become less effective, because blood and saliva prevent them from properly adhering to a surgical site. As a result, the drugs or stem cells they contain don’t stay in place long enough to deliver their regenerating and therapeutic proper ties.“We knew that we needed a product that had optimal adhesion within the confines of the mouth or else our goal to effectively regenerate bone and tissue in the oral cavity would fail,” said Dr. Alireza Moshaverinia, an assistant professor of prosthodontics at theUCLA School of Dentistry and the study ’s corresponding author.Taking inspiration from mus...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news