Bioceramics as a novel treatment of the Charcot foot – in vitro study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can novel bioceramics provide an effective bone forming scaffold and lead to bone regeneration in Charcot osteoarthropathy?
IRAS ID
225697
Contact name
Nina Petrova
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
People with diabetes and nerve damage can develop severe bone and joint destruction known as the “Charcot foot”. The bones of the foot easily fracture and do not heal and because many of these fractures are near the joints of the foot, these joints dislocate and the foot collapses. The underlying reason for these non-healing
fractures is the reduced activity of bone-forming cells (called osteoblasts) and increased activity of bone breaking cells (called osteoclasts). The only therapy for the Charcot foot is prolonged treatment with a plaster cast to immobilise the foot and allow it to heal itself. Despite this treatment, which may last more than a year,
many fractures do not heal, leading to disruption of joints, foot deformity and ulceration, infection and loss of limb.
The aim is to culture osteoblasts and osteoclasts from patients with Charcot osteoarthropathy and identify a suitable biomaterial which can stimulate the activity of osteoblasts and reduce the activity of osteoclasts. We plan to identify such material from a group of substances known as bioceramics. Such a suitable bioceramic material could then be injected into the fractured Charcot bones and act as scaffold to promote fracture healing and prevent foot deformity.REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1082
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion