Healing response to various forms of human demineralized bone matrix in athymic rat cranial defects.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared the ability of a bone autograft and four distinct forms of human demineralized bone (DBM) to elicit bone repair in a critical size cranial defect in athymic rats.


METHODS
Cranial defects were created in athymic rats and then grafted with either an autograft, rat DBM particles in glycerol (rGel), or one of four forms of human DBM: 1) hGel; 2) Putty (DBM fibers in glycerol); 3) Sheet (sheet of DBM fibers); or 4) Flex (DBM fiber sheet with glycerol). Histology, histomorphometry, and radiographic density of the graft sites were evaluated at 8 weeks.


RESULTS
Of the grafted defects, 29% to 58% were found to be filled with new bone. The rGel and human forms of DBM stimulated similar amounts of new bone growth in comparison with the autograft-filled defects. The fiber-based grafts produced the largest amounts of new bone.


CONCLUSIONS
Human DBM in gel, putty and sheet forms were found to perform as well as an autograft in a critical size cranial defect in the athymic rat.
Chesmel
K D
KD
Department of Research and Development, Osteotech, Inc, Eatontown, NJ 07724, USA.
Branger
J
J
Wertheim
H
H
Scarborough
N
N
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001857:Bone Matrix / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005990:Glycerol; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010012:Osteogenesis; D011859:Radiography; D051381:Rats; D011923:Rats, Nude; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014021:Tissue Preservation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014945:Wound Healing
D005990:Glycerol