A single injection of stem cells could one day restore normal bone structure in patients with osteoporosis, say researchers who achieved this reversal in mice. The findings are published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

Share on Pinterest Hip fractures frequently result from osteoporosis.

Globally, over 200 million people are living with either postmenopausal osteoporosis, which is known as type 1 osteoporosis and affects women in particular, or age-related type 2 osteoporosis, which both genders are prone to.

In type 2 osteoporosis, there is a reduction in the inner structure of the bone. The bone becomes thinner and less dense, and it can no longer function properly.

Worldwide, type 2 osteoporosis leads to around 8.9 million fractures annually, with hip fractures among the most common, leading to disability and even death.

Currently, there is only one drug available to treat type 2 osteoporosis, and its effectiveness lasts for only 2 years.

Stem cells are “progenitor” cells, which means they can divide and change to become any different type of cell. It was at the University of Toronto, Canada, that scientists first discovered stem cells in the 1960s.

Researchers from the University of Toronto and The Ottawa Hospital – also in Canada – wanted to find out if stem cell therapy could treat the problem of insufficient or faulty mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in mice.