(Credit: kurhan/Shutterstock) Instead of filling our cavity-ridden teeth with putties and cements, a new method that kicks stem cells into action could help teeth repair themselves. Researchers from King's College London implanted collagen sponges soaked with three inhibitor,s including a drug which has been tested as a therapeutic for Alzheimer's, in damaged mouse teeth. Once in place, the drug-infused sponges catalyzed stem cells inside of the dentin — the bony material beneath hard enamel — filling cavities with living tissue and restoring that part of the tooth to health.
The researchers drilled holes in the mice's teeth and then filled them in with sponges soaked in one of three types of glycogen synthase kinase inhibitors (GSK-3). One of the three inhibitors, called Tideglusib, has been tested as a treatment for Alzheimer's: GSK-3 inhibitors are thought to reduce the number of beta-amyloid plaques and tau proteins in the brain. When you ...
