NEW ORLEANS - Tulane's Center for Gene Therapy recently received an award of $1,856,250 for five years to continue research into the genetic causes and possible therapies for osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare congenital genetic disorder that afflicts people with bones so brittle they break with the slightest bump.

Darwin Prockop, director of the Center for Gene Therapy, has been working on a genetic therapy for this disorder with a team of colleagues. According to Prockop's work, the therapy lies in the use of adult stem cells. This grant will fund research to see if stem cells obtained from bone marrow of individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta might be used to treat their disorder. The stem cells will be used to replace cells with the defective gene with colonies of cells with the normal gene.

The research will also test whether the stem cells are effective in overcoming the negative effects of the genetic mutations in collagen production that are associated with the disorder. Collagen is the "glue" which strengthens bone structure. Individuals with brittle bone disease can not produce enough collagen for their body's needs, leaving their bones fragile and easy to break.