January 26, 1995: Vol26n14: Cow bone grafts may be used to treat bone loss
By LOIS BAKER
News Bureau Staff
Results of a study conducted by researchers in the UB School of Dental
Medicine have brought dental surgeons one step closer to using bovine
bone implants in humans to help regenerate bone lost through
periodontal disease.
	The study showed that a new bone-grafting material made from
cow bones -- an improvement over similar materials tested for nearly
two decades because it contains no bovine proteins -- caused no
adverse immune responses in laboratory animals.
	The results were reported in the November issue of Journal of
Periodontology. 
	Periodontal disease is the major cause of tooth loss in
adults. Bacteria infect the gums surrounding and supporting the teeth
and eventually erode the bone that holds them. The ultimate goal of
periodontal therapy is to rejuvenate the tissue attachment and
regenerate lost bone.
	Clinical studies have shown that, in some cases, bone
regenerates better with the help of grafts, but currently available
grafting materials all have limitations, said Robert E. Cohen,
associate professor of periodontology and oral biology at UB and lead
researcher on the study.
	The patient's own bone is the most successful grafting
material, he said, but obtaining it requires additional invasive
surgery. Patients frequently refuse materials from human bone banks
because of the chance, albeit exceedingly small, of disease
transmission, Cohen noted. Grafts of synthetic or natural
hydroxyapatite, an inorganic compound that forms the basis of bones
and teeth, are biocompatible, but have little capacity to regenerate
bone.
he purpose of this study was to
 	determine if an improved form of an experimental material made
from cow bones is safe for use in human bone grafts, using the rat as
a model. Results showed no immune response associated with the bovine
material, Cohen said.
	Grafting materials made from cow bones have been tried
experimentally for nearly 20 years, Cohen said, but early grafts
failed because patients developed antibodies to proteins remaining in
the bovine material. New processing techniques now make it possible to
remove all traces of bovine proteins.
	Cohen said that if bovine bone-grafting materials are found to
be safe and effective in humans, they will provide a readily
available, low-cost therapy for treating certain types of periodontal
disease.
	The study was funded in part by Edward Geistlich & Sons, Ltd.,
Wolhusen, Switzerland. Members of the research team, in addition to
Cohen, were Richard H. Mullarky of Biomedical Composites, Ltd.,
Carpenterina, Calif.; Ber-nice Noble, UB professor of microbiology;
Robin L. Comeau, dental hygienist in the UB Department of
Periodontology, and Mirdza. E. Neiders, UB professor of oral
diagnostic sciences.