International Symposium on Bone Regeneration

Bone is one of the few tissues in the body that has the general capability of scar less, endogenous regeneration resulting in complete functional and structural reconstitution. Thus, bone is an ideal model system to evaluate the effect of stress factors or constraints of healing on a cellular and tissue level. However, apparently a shift occurs with aging in our endogenous regenerative capacity and the number of patients with metabolic and musculoskeletal diseases increase together with the aging population in industrialized countries. Regenerative medicine aims at completely restoring tissue structure and function by supporting endogenous regeneration.

Basic knowledge about molecules of the extracellular matrix, the immune response and the function of stem and progenitor cells during regeneration has cumulated over the last decade. Nevertheless, the interconnectivity of different aspects of the healing cascade is often underestimated in research studies. A prerequisite for the successful implementation of regenerative medicine is an understanding of the complex mechanisms interacting during regeneration.