Grant: Project Grant

Fracture healing is a complex biological process that fails in up to 10% of cases despite appropriate care and/or surgery. Fracture management results in significant financial expenditures by the Canadian healthcare system while also adversely affecting the patient's functionality and productivity during the lengthy healing period. An inexpensive, non-invasive strategy to increase bone healing would not only aim to reduce this burden but also improve quality of life for patients through earlier restoration of mobility and independence. Lithium is a safe and cost-effective drug that has been the standard treatment for bipolar disorder for over 60 years. Although reports in the past demonstrated a positive link between lithium and enhanced bone repair, the actual dose, duration and timing of lithium treatment was unknown. Our previous published work in animals assessing these precise parameters showed a 46% increase in strength of the healing bone compared to the untreated group. To translate this knowledge into clinical practice, we propose to conduct a double-blind, randomized control phase II trial to evaluate the effect of an equivalent lithium treatment regimen in healthy patients presenting with fractures in the mid section of the long bones in the thigh (femur), leg (tibia) and arm (humerus). The proposed low dose lithium intervention treatment represents an easily translatable pharmacological approach for managing long-bone fractures in healthy patients that could ultimately reduce the tremendous burden of such fractures on the individual as well as the healthcare system to accelerate and/or predictably heal fractures.