Journal article
Long-term effects of bisphosphonate therapy: perforations, microcracks and mechanical properties
- Abstract:
- Osteoporosis is characterised by trabecular bone loss resulting from increased osteoclast activation and unbalanced coupling between resorption and formation, which induces a thinning of trabeculae and trabecular perforations. Bisphosphonates are the frontline therapy for osteoporosis, which act by reducing bone remodelling, and are thought to prevent perforations and maintain microstructure. However, bisphosphonates may oversuppress remodelling resulting in accumulation of microcracks. This paper aims to investigate the effect of bisphosphonate treatment on microstructure and mechanical strength. Assessment of microdamage within the trabecular bone core was performed using synchrotron X-ray micro-CT linked to image analysis software. Bone from bisphosphonate-treated fracture patients exhibited fewer perforations but more numerous and larger microcracks than both fracture and non-fracture controls. Furthermore, bisphosphonate-treated bone demonstrated reduced tensile strength and Young’s Modulus. These findings suggest that bisphosphonate therapy is effective at reducing perforations but may also cause microcrack accumulation, leading to a loss of microstructural integrity and consequently, reduced mechanical strength.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, 1014.6KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1038/srep43399
Authors
- Publisher:
- Nature Research
- Journal:
- Scientific Reports More from this journal
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 1
- Article number:
- 43399
- Place of publication:
- England
- Publication date:
- 2017-03-06
- Acceptance date:
- 2017-01-20
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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2045-2322
- ISSN:
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2045-2322
- Pmid:
-
28262693
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Subjects:
- Pubs id:
-
1102939
- Local pid:
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pubs:1102939
- Deposit date:
-
2020-05-06
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Shaocheng Ma et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2017
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s) 2017. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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