Expert Forum
Attach importance to the role of bone modeling in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis
Liu Gongwen, Xu Youjia
Published 2022-06-16
Cite as Chin J Orthop, 2022, 42(12): 739-745. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121113-20211218-00719
Abstract
Bone modeling and bone remodeling are two different approaches to the physiological metabolism of the human skeleton; both involve bone formation and bone resorption, but they are very different. Bone modeling includes osteoblasts in formation drifts and osteoclasts in resorption drifts, where osteoblasts and osteoclasts are independent of each other but intrinsically coordinated, contributing to changes in bone morphology and structure ultimately. Bone remodeling is a process in which osteoblasts and osteoclasts are closely coupled, resulting in a dynamic balance or imbalance between bone formation and bone resorption, mostly in the form of normal maintenance or gradual reduction of bone mineral mass. Previous literature has suggested that the osteogenic and osteoclastic activities that cause bone modeling usually cease (or end) when the bone matures, but recent studies have shown that bone modeling can occur throughout life and is not only active during infancy and early childhood. Particularly in the context of osteoporosis, some bone-sparing medication can have a significant effect on the process of bone modeling, suggesting that promoting bone modeling may be another useful way to increase bone mass. Therefore, in the field of osteoporosis prevention and treatment, focuse on the role of bone modeling will be significant for patients with osteoporosis.
Contributor Information
Liu Gongwen
Department of Orthopedics, Suzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215004, China
Xu Youjia
Department of Orthopedics, Osteoporosis Clinical Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
Osteoporosis Institute of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China