Effects of different growth factors on new bone formation: A systematic review

Abstract Background and Aim: Using different osteogenic growth factors, which is still under investigation, is a favorable method for bone regeneration. This systematic review is aimed at evaluating the effects of different growth factors and their carriers on osteo-genesis. Materials and Methods: Electronic databases (Medline, EMBase and Cochrane) were searched by the authors for articles published from 1999 to April 2010. Clinical and animal studies evaluating bone formation by applying a specific growth factor and the related carrier were included in this investigation. Obtained data were organized in a table and evaluated through a qualitative analysis. Results: Sixty-three studies most of which evaluated the effects of BMP-2 osteogene-sis in different models were included in this study. Totally, twenty-five carriers were applied with different growth factors in the experiments. Among these carriers, poly lactic– co glycolic acid (PLGA), hydroxy apatite/tricalcium phosphate/absorbable col-lagen sponge (HA/TCP/ACS) and BioOss were the most frequently used carriers with the growth factors in bone regeneration studies. Conclusion: The current evidence, although not strong enough, confirms that BMP-2 has more favorable results in osteogenesis compared with other factors. The carrier scaffold, methods of measurement (histologic or radiographic), type of animal, defect diameter and the length of follow-up are the variables that should be matched before reaching definite results for the effect of growth factors in bone regeneration. Key Words: Growth factors – Bone regeneration – New bone formation – Carrier – BMP