University of Georgia Regenerative Bioscience Center researchers have used stem cells to shorten the healing time for bone fractures in animals from months to a few weeks.

They found that adult mesenchymal stem cells produce a protein involved in bone healing and generation. They incorporated the stem cells into a gel they called “fracture putty.”

The research was funded by $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Complex fractures are a major cause of amputation of limbs for U.S. military men and women,” said Steve Stice, a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, animal and dairy scientist in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and director of the UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center.

“For many young soldiers, their mental health becomes a real issue when they are confined to a bed for three to six months after an injury,” he said. “This discovery may allow them to be up and moving as fast as days afterward.”