Common gene variants linked to delayed healing of bone fractures

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Oct-2014

Contact: Matt Solovey msolovey@hmc.psu.edu 717-531-8606 Penn State @penn_state

Slow-healing or non-healing bone fractures in otherwise healthy people may be caused by gene variants that are common in the population, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

"We found associations between certain gene polymorphisms and delayed fracture healing in a sample of patients," said J. Spence Reid, professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation. "Our study was preliminary but it demonstrated the feasibility of a larger one, which we're now working to set up."

The identification of gene variants that delay fracture healing could lead to screening tests for patients with broken bones. Those patients deemed likely to experience slow healing could be given more aggressive treatment when they first reach the hospital, potentially avoiding months of debilitation.

The researchers reported their results in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

Of the eight million bone fractures in the U.S. every year, about 10 percent fail to heal normally. Smoking, diabetes, NSAID use, low vitamin D levels and old age are known risk factors, but in a significant subset of cases, unknown factors appear to be involved.

"Some fractures are slow-healing for no obvious reason, and we wondered if there is a genetic basis for those cases," said Reid.

He and his colleagues selected from their records 33 patients diagnosed with "atrophic nonunion" -- the failure of a fracture to knit together on its own within six months. As controls, they selected 29 patients whose fractures had healed normally.

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Common gene variants linked to delayed healing of bone fractures