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CTEC focuses on the creation and assessment
of new technologies for the repair and regeneration of bone, cartilage,
tendon, and skin. Target diseases include: osteoarthritis; fracture care;
osteoporosis; traumatic or degenerative tendon rupture; acute and chronic
soft tissue wounds.
Prior to development of tissue engineering technologies, non-healing
bone fractures (due to traumatic injury or to chronic diseases like osteoarthritis, or osteoporosis,)
used to result in long-term infirmity or worse.
Today, researchers are beginning to discover novel ways to utilize the human body’s own cells
(called autologous bone marrow progenitor cells) to help re-build bone,
cartilage and other connective tissues.
Researchers at CTEC’s partner institutions are already putting these cells to work in novel treatments to heal patients and restore their quality of life.
Read one of these “Success Stories” below.
In August 2001, 22-year-old Elisabeth Marra was a soon-to-be
college graduate looking forward to her future and a career in journalism. All this
was put on hold when she was involved in a
tragic motorcycle accident that resulted in compound fractures of her femur and tibia. In spite of
having surgery to correct the fractures, nearly two years later her bones still had not healed properly.
This lingering injury caused her constant pain and little hope that she could return to the active lifestyle she enjoyed prior to the accident.
In 2003, Elisabeth read about the work of CTEC Director Dr. George Muschler, an orthopedic surgeon at
the Cleveland Clinic and a leader in the use of bone marrow cells to heal chronic fractures.
She made an appointment with
Dr. Muschler, to get a second opinion and to explore the use of his novel
technology to help heal her own fractures.
Using a novel bone matrix and a technology he developed to capture and concentrate Elisabeth’s own stem
cells, Dr. Muschler was able to build and implant the bone graft that healed Elisabeth’s leg and allowed
her to get on with her life.
Today Elisabeth is studying physical therapy at Ohio State University, with the hope that she will be able to use her own experiences to help others struggling to rebound from traumatic injuries.
Click here to watch a segment from Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Miracles series to learn more about the groundbreaking technology that restored Elisabeth’s quality of life. (74 meg file)
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