Diabetes impairs activity of bone stem cells in mice, inhibits fracture repair

Stanford: Stanford researchers found that activating bone stem cells helps repair fractures in diabetic mice. Applying a protein to the fracture site increased the expression of key signaling proteins and enhanced healing in the animals. one fractures in diabetic mice heal better in the presence of a protein that stimulates the activity of skeletal stem cells, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The protein counteracts a decrease in stem cell activity that the researchers observed both in mouse models of diabetes and in bone samples from diabetic patients who had undergone joint replacements. The researchers hope the discovery will lead to ways to help people with diabetes heal more efficiently from broken bones.

TV and gaming means trouble for teen boys' bones

Scimex: An international study has found that teenage boys who spend two to four, or more than six, hours in front of a screen during the weekend have poorer bone health. Teenage girls, however, seem to buck this trend, with the researchers reporting that girls who spent four to six hours watching a screen over the weekend actually had higher bone mineral density. Body fat distribution may help protect girls’ bones at this age, suggest researchers. Weekend screen time is linked to poorer teen bone health—but only in boys, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. The apparent lack of impact of leisure screen time on teen girls’ bone health may be explained by their different body fat distribution, suggest the researchers.

Old Bones Can Regain Youthful Healing Power

Durham: Broken bones in older people are notoriously slow to heal, but researchers at Duke Medicine have identified a potential way to speed the process.In studies using mice, the researchers not only traced what signals go wrong when aged bones heal improperly, they also successfully manipulated the process by both circulating blood and transplanting bone marrow from a young mouse into an older mouse, prompting the bones to heal faster and better. The findings, reported online May 19, 2015, in the journal Nature Communications, address one of the largest problems draining health care resources. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fractures are the most common and costly nonfatal injuries to adults over age 65. They account for more than one-third of that population’s nonfatal injuries, and 61 percent of total nonfatal care costs.