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digestnews bone and surgery
Nanowire
coating may
speed healing
Broken bones and joint
replacements may soon be able
to heal quicker thanks to a
“nanowire” coating for medical
implants developed by a team
in Ohio State University.
Bone cells seem to grow and
reproduce nearly twice as
quickly on a textured surface
made from metal oxide wires,
each tens of thousands of
times thinner than a human
hair. The coating could help
people who have knee and hip
replacements, dental implants
or broken bones that need
screws and plates for repair.
“What’s really exciting about
this technique is that we don’t
have to carve the nanowires
from a solid piece of metal or
alloy,” says Prof Sheikh Akbar,
who published the research in
Ceramics International. “We can
grow them from scratch, by
exploiting the physics and
chemistry of the materials.”
New 3D scanner
pinpoints foot
problems
A new 3D scanner will transform
how foot and ankle problems are
diagnosed – and exactly what
high heels do to feet.
High heels transfer body weight
to the ball of the foot, putting
pressure on small bones under
the big toe. Toes are often
squashed into an unnatural
shape, causing severe pain and
long-term damage.
The new device scans both feet
in under 60 seconds while the
person stands in a weight-bearing
ARTHRITIS
position in or out of shoes. And
radiation levels are similar to
those in traditional 2D scanners.
“More than one in five GP
visits relate to musculoskeletal
problems and many of these are
for problems relating to the foot
and ankle,” says Andy Goldberg,
who is involved in the project.
“There is an established link
between high heels and foot pain,
but for the first time we are able
to see the effect of such shoes on
feet in real time. In moderation
high heels are fine. It is when
worn day in day out that
problems could develop.”
The 3D scanner is in place in
London’s Royal National
Orthopedic Hospital where it is
successfully pinpointing
conditions such as arthritis,
fractures and dislocations.
Depression may slow
recovery of hip fracture
The research
People who have hip fracture and
are depressed may have delayed
recovery compared with those
without depression, says a study
published in BMC Geriatrics.
A team from the University of
Birmingham interviewed 101
people with hip fracture six weeks
Benefits of calcium and
vitamin D supplements
Calcium and vitamin D
supplements may co-operate with
hormone therapy to protect the
bones in postmenopausal
women, says a US study
published in Menopause.
Scientists looked at data from
nearly 30,000 postmenopausal
women of whom 8,000 took
calcium and vitamin D every day
and 8,000 took dummy
supplements. Some women used
oestrogen and progestogen
hormone therapy, some only
oestrogen and others took
placebos that looked like hormones.
Women who used hormone
therapy and supplements had
greater protection against hip
fracture than those who used
either on its own.
“Postmenopausal women at
Autumn 2013
and six months after
their injury. They
were compared
with 43 healthy
volunteers.
Before the hip
fract