Biomaterials to prevent and combat osteoporosis
The relevance of biomaterials in strategies to prevent and treat osteoporosis is the theme of a review article written by a group of European scientists which is to be published in the journal ACTA BIOMATERIALIA [D. Arcos, A.R. Boccaccini, M. Bohner, A. Díez-Pérez, M. Epple, E. Gómez-Barrena, A. Herrera, J.A. Planell, L. Rodríguez-Mañas, M. Vallet-Regí. THE RELEVANCE OF BIOMATERIALS TO THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF OSTEOPOROSIS. Acta Biomaterialia. DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.01.004. (2014)].
Written by researchers representing the three relevant communities, e.g. clinicians, materials scientists and industrial advisors, the review discusses currently available biomaterials used to treat osteoporotic bone fractures and guides the reader through the expanding field of novel multifunctional and bioactive materials, in particular drug- and cell-loaded biomaterials, which are still at laboratory scale but reveal great promise for clinical applications. The review paper originates in thoughts, proposals and conclusions obtained within the Spanish and European Network of Excellence for the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporotic Fractures, “Ageing”, an effort led by Prof. Maria Vallet -Regi (Uní. Complutense de Madrid, Spain), and as a result of intensive interdisciplinary discussions that followed a one day International Symposium “Ageing and osteoporosis: current situation and future perspectives ” held in Madrid in April 2013.