Cleveland researchers use natural and artificial sheaths to mend
traumatic bone loss Inside, the body's own stem cells switched
on to close gap A husband and wife research team has found a way
to use the sleeve-like cover on bone to heal serious bone
injuries faster and more simply than current methods. And
they've developed an artificial sleeve that spurs fast healing
when a car wreck, bomb blast or disease leaves too little cover.
Melissa Knothe Tate, a joint professor of biomedical engineering
and mechanical & aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve
University, and Ulf Knothe, an orthopedic surgeon at the
Cleveland Clinic, announce their work at the annual meeting of
the Orthopedic Research Society in New Orleans this week. Knothe
used the technique on a wheelchair-bound patient who suffered
from cerebral palsy, hip dysplasia and a curved spine
exacerbated by legs of differing length. To lengthen her shorter
leg while correcting her hip dysplasia, he replaced the hip
joint with a long-stemmed prosthe