Osteoporosis is a condition in which bone resorption exceeds bone formation, gradually weakening its structure over time and increasing the risk of fractures. Without effective preventive measures, approximately 40% of women over the age of 50 will experience at least one major osteoporotic fracture, while the percentage in men is around 20%. After an osteoporosis diagnosis, treatment typically involves systemic drugs that either reduce the rate of bone resorption (anti-catabolic) or stimulate new bone production (anabolic). However, both treatments can take up to a year to show results, leaving patients susceptible to fractures during that time. Now, researchers have combined injections of a novel hydrogel with systemic osteoporosis medications in rats, resulting in rapid localized increases in bone density. These findings offer promise for future therapies aimed at preventing fractures in osteoporosis patients.

At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), researchers have developed an injectable hydrogel designed to quickly increase bone density at a localized site. The team introduced a groundbreaking therapy that combines these hydrogel injections with conventional systemic treatments. Their findings, published in the journal Bone, demonstrate a four- to five-fold increase in bone density in the legs of rats with bone loss. The study results revealed that hydrogel injections alone caused a two- to three-fold increase in local bone density, independent of systemic treatment. The most significant effect, however, was observed in rats that received both a systemic anabolic treatment (parathyroid hormone) and the hydrogel combined with the anti-catabolic drug Zoledronate. At the injection site, their bone density increased up to 4.8-fold within just 2-4 weeks. The research team is now awaiting regulatory approval to proceed with a clinical trial involving human patients.

“Our findings suggest that injectable hydrogels with localized anti-catabolic drug delivery can complement systemic anti-catabolic treatment, or bone-boosting systemic anabolic treatment, by rapidly increasing local bone density,” said Dominique Pioletti, head of the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics in EPFL’s School of Engineering. “We hope that such a study will allow us to demonstrate the benefit of our hydrogel in cases where patients require rapid bone densification, for example to support an implant where the bone is weak. Then, we want to build on this evidence, ultimately to develop therapies to prevent fractures due to osteoporosis.”

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