Spinal pain sufferers have long been unable to receive treatment for the pains caused by back problems. However, a new treatment that seeks to permanently reverse the situation could be their solution to the problem.
Ostoporosis is a condition that causes multiple bone fractures across the body, though the spinal bone fractures are the most severe, and painful. The condition affects approximately 1.4 million people worldwide, half of whom are residents of the United States. In Britain, one in every three women over the age of 50 has the condition with 40,000 patients being treated a year.
For these patients, when the pain gets unbearably tough, the only remedies they had were two. One was to retire to bed with the help of a protective brace and plenty of painkillers. The second option was a controversial procedure known as vertebroplasty.
The vertebroplasty procedure is a medical surgery that involves inserting a cement like substance (PMMA)into the spinal cord using a needle, to hold the fragmenting pieces together. The surgeon in this case uses a hollow pointed needle to inject the substance into the back bone of the patient. The patient in this case will be fast asleep after injecting them with sedatives.
The hour long procedure serves to solidify the bones which were made hollower and more fragile by osteoporosis.
Patients of the condition may now have a new cure thanks to the diligence and hard work of scientists. A new substance that was approved by U.S Food and Drug Administration in June may be the answer. The substance is a Cortoss bone augmentation composite that was developed by Malvern, Pa. Over the past 14 years, the substance was being manufactured and tested. The white paste strengthens bones by helping them to build up on more calcium phosphate.
The paste was used to perform vertebroplasties on six patients since July and scientists are in agreement that it is much safer than PMMA, the cement like substance, which can be toxic if large quantities are used.
The only drawback to the white paste is that it is way more expensive to administer than PMMA.
