Heterotopic Ossification - Complication or Chance?

Abstract

So far, there has been no clear explanation of the pathophysiological relationships in the development of HO. There is little experimental data dealing with the post-traumatic inflammatory response in terms of a balance between the repair of damaged muscle cells and the opposite response in its development. There are numerous indications regarding possible predisposing factors, such as existence of surrounding tissue hypoxia or the function of pro-angiogenic (VEGF e.g.) and osteoinductive (BMP e.g.) factors. These different scientific approaches offer the opportunity to clinically intervene. In our opinion, early intervention seems to make the most sense in terms of effectiveness and recurrence of HO. An important pathomechanism seems to be chronic inflammation. Currently, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the most commonly prescribed prophylaxis drugs. The effectiveness and efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is limited by the time-limited release and the side effect potential. Therefore, it is interesting to focus future research towards the cross-talks between immunosuppressive downregulation of the inflammatory response and its effect on the balance between muscle regeneration and the development of HO.