title: The relevance of biomaterials to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
abstract: Osteoporosis is a worldwide disease with a very high prevalence in humans older than 50. The main clinical consequences are bone fractures, which often lead to patient disability or even death. A number of commercial biomaterials are currently used to treat osteoporotic bone fractures, but most of these have not been specifically designed for that purpose. Many drug- or cell-loaded biomaterials have been proposed in research laboratories, but very few have received approval for commercial use. In order to analyze this scenario and propose alternatives to overcome it, the Spanish and European Network of Excellence for the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporotic Fractures, "Ageing", was created. This network integrates three communities, e.g. clinicians, materials scientists and industrial advisors, tackling the same problem from three different points of view. Keeping in mind the premise "living longer, living better", this commentary is the result of the thoughts, proposals and conclusions obtained after one year working in the framework of this network.
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain; Dpto. Química Inorgánica y Bioinorgánica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital, 12 de Octubre i+12, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arcos
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute of Biomaterials, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Boccaccini
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; RMS Fundation, CH-2544 Bettlach, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bohner
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; Hospital del Mar-IMIM, Department Internal Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díez-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; University of Duisburg-Essen, Inorganic Chemistry and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CeNIDE), D-45117 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epple
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; Servicio Cirugia Ortopedica & Traumatologia, Hospital La Paz, IdiPAZ, Universidad Autonoma Madrid, Madrid 28046, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez-Barrena
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; University of Zaragoza, Department of Surgery, E-50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Miguel Servet University Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology, Zaragoza 50009, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain; Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia IBEC, BaldiriReixac 15-20, Barcelona 08028, Spain.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Planell
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; University Hospital Getafe, Division Geriatric Medicine, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Mañas
authors.affiliation: Envejecimiento: red de excelencia española y europea para la prevención y tratamiento local de fracturas osteoporóticas, MINECO, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain; Dpto. Química Inorgánica y Bioinorgánica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital, 12 de Octubre i+12, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: vallet@farm.ucm.es.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vallet-Regí
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: Ageing; Biomaterials; Bone; Osteoporosis