Osteoporotic femur fractures are the most common fragility fracture and account for approximately one million injuries per year. Local intervention by intra-marrow injection is potentially a good choice for preventing osteoporotic bone loss when the osteoporotic femoral fracture was treated. Previously, it was shown that trace element co-doped calcium phosphate (teCaP) implants could stimulate osteoporotic bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell activity in vitro and bone regeneration in femoral bone defects in osteoporotic animal models. They hypothesized that local intra-marrow injection of teCaP particles could improve bone function because the teCaP can sustain release of biologically essential inorganic minerals and improve bone remodeling in osteoporosis. The teCaP and CaP particles were synthesized in simulated body fluid with and without adding silicon, zinc and strontium ions. Female rats (8 months) were ovariectomized (OVX) or sham-operated, and then intervened in the femoral marrow space at 12 months old. Groups include: (1) saline water; (2) CaP particles; and (3) teCaP particles. After 2-3 months of intervention, the sham groups showed higher bone mineral density (MBD) in the femur, and teCaP group increased the BMD in the OVX groups. The compressive strength of the OVX-teCaP group was significantly higher than that in the OVX-CaP group. Significant differences between OVX-teCaP and OVX-CaP groups were found for bone mineral microarchitecture, bone mineral density, and trace mineral content, but not for feces composition. These results confirm the teCaP particles could suppress osteoporotic bone loss by local intramarrow injection. Therefore, this biomaterial could be used as a next-generation combination treatment for osteoporotic trauma and osteoporosis itself. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 1422-1432, 2017.
Keywords: antiosteoporosis; calcium phosphate; local intramarrow injection; osteoporotic fracture; trace element.
© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.