By Daily Press staff
If you live with back pain, a cure might be on its way. The Spine Institute at St. John’s Health Center will be the site of a major research study to test the use of a new synthetic biomaterial to treat vertebral compression fractures (VCF), a common condition that causes severe back pain for thousands of people every year. In the new study, surgeons will assess the ability of CORTOSS® Synthetic Cortical Bone Void Filler to provide both pain relief and improvement in function to VCF patients by restoring strength and stability to fractured vertebra.
The Spine Institute is seeking patients with pain caused by vertebral compression fractures to participate in the study.
Patients enrolled in the study will be randomized to have low volumes of COR- TOSS or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA, the material used for vertebroplasty, today) injected percutaneously through the skin and directly into the fractured vertebra to stabilize and restore load-bearing capability. CORTOSS is a high-strength, biocompatible self-setting composite specifically engineered to mimic the characteristics of the human body’s weight-bearing structural bone.
To be eligible for this study, patients must be over 18 and have been living with localized pain caused by a compression fracture for a period of time between six and 52 weeks. To find out more about the study, call 1-866-876-9871.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 29, 2005. Read the original PDF.