36. Preventing Bone Loss
Marjolein van der Meulen
Marjolein C. H. van der Meulen, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Mathias P. G. Bostrom, Orthopaedic Surgery, WCMC, and research colleagues found that forces produced during daily activities and exercise (mechanical loading) increased bone mass and prevented bone loss caused by hormone deficiency. They discovered that forces applied to the skeleton are anabolic stimuli in cancellous bone, independent of estrogen status. In earlier studies, the researchers developed a method for applying forces to the skeleton to simulate exercise and found that mechanical forces stimulated bone growth similarly in healthy male and female mice and enhanced bone mass and trabecular architecture. When sex hormones were removed in male mice, the adaptation to mechanical loading was not affected: the stimulated exercise actually counteracted bone loss induced by hormone deficiency. The mechanism of the anabolic effect is not yet completely understood. The research has implication for better integration of joint replacements and for osteoporosis, which increases the risk of skeletal fractures particularly at cancellous sites.