New Approaches to the Treatment of Osteoporosis

Abstract

Although safe and effective agents are currently available to treat osteoporosis, fragility fractures remain a significant problem worldwide. Recent improvements in the understanding of the cellular, biochemical, and molecular pathways of bone biology have led to the development of newer agents to treat osteoporosis, which may lead to further improvements in outcomes. In this review, we summarize the most recent advances in the field, including new modes of administration of existing drug classes, various approaches to combination therapy, and drugs with novel mechanisms of action to treat osteoporosis.

Initial changes in alveolar bone volume for sham-operated and ovariectomized rats in ligature-induced experimental periodontitis

“…Over 200 million people are now estimated to be suffering from the disease worldwide with the great majority being white or Asian women over the age of 65 [6]. Commonly utilized pharmacological agents for the treatment of osteoporosis include anabolic agents capable of increasing bone formation such as parathyroid hormone and the use of anti-resorbing agents such as bisphosphonates, calcitonin, RANKL inhibitors, raloxifene, and estrogen replacement therapy [7]. Despite these many options, there exist no single option capable of fully restoring lost bone, and the use of bisphosphonate therapy (the leading treatment options for prevention of bone mass in osteoporotic patients) is associated with a number of side effects including halting the bone remodeling cycle.…”

Reciprocal Regulation of Adipocyte and Osteoblast Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells byEupatorium japonicumPrevents Bone Loss and Adiposity Increase in Osteoporotic Rats

“…3 Bisphosphonates are the most commonly prescribed antiresorptive drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis. However, they are associated with unpleasant gastric side effects and other possible adverse outcomes such as esophageal cancer and osteonecrosis of the jaw.…”

“…2 Thus, the prevalence of osteoporosis is forecasted to increase worldwide due to the increase in the aging population and in the incidence of metabolic diseases. 3 Estrogen deficiency, particularly in elderly women, often leads to rapid bone loss. Therefore, estrogen replacement therapy has been used to prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.…”

In vivo experimental study on bone regeneration in critical bone defects using PIB nanogels/boron-containing mesoporous bioactive glass composite scaffold

“…4 Currently the two major pharmacological approaches are anabolic agents such as parathyroid hormone which stimulates bone formation or anti-resorptive agents including bisphosphonates, calcitonin, raloxifene, and estrogen which act by inhibiting bone resorption. 5 Although much research to date focuses on the prevention of bone loss by using the abovementioned agents, less emphasis has been placed on the repair of defects following fracture while more than 1.5 million fractures occur annually in the United States alone. 6 To date the replacement and repair of damaged or diseased tissues is largely driven by the field of tissue engineering which is an interdisciplinary field that draws on a multitude of disciplines including material science, cell biology, biotechnology, and biomaterials.…”