Early diagnosis and intervention of osteoporosis using nanovibrational stimulation

骨质疏松症是一种骨骼疾病，在英国影响着300万人，每年与30万例骨折有关，每年花费NHS 19亿英镑（国家骨质疏松症协会提供的数据，2015年）。目前的医学实践是只有在脆性骨折发生后才诊断骨质疏松症并提供药物治疗。该项目旨在通过使用骨传导（类似于骨传导耳机）的精密纳米振动刺激，通过无药物、主动管理来彻底改变治疗方法。在实验室中，纳米振动刺激已被证明可以从间充质干细胞（MSCs——在骨骼和人体其他部位发现的成体干细胞）中产生成骨细胞（成骨细胞）。这是首次在不需要药物和/或复杂工程支架的情况下，在MSCs中观察到成骨（促进骨）。由于骨质疏松症与间充质干细胞成骨不足有关，纳米振动刺激可以提供一种突破性的途径来减少骨质疏松症的发病，甚至可能逆转骨质疏松症的影响。为了及时评估这一点，本项目将研究废用相关性骨质疏松症（由于脊髓损伤），因为这为测试干预措施提供了一个时间加速模型。学术团队将与伊丽莎白女王国家脊髓损伤部门的苏格兰脊髓损伤创新中心（SCISCI）的临床医生一起工作，并在纳米振动刺激积极治疗骨质疏松症方面进行首次试验。

Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone which affects 3M people in the UK, is associated with 300,000 fractures per year, and costs the NHS £1.9B/yr (figures provided by the National Osteoporosis Society, 2015). Current medical practice is to diagnose osteoporosis and provide pharmacological treatment only after a fragility fracture has occurred. This project seeks to revolutionise treatment through a drug-free, proactive management, through use of precision nanovibrational stimulation applied via bone conduction (similar to bone conduction headphones). Nanovibrational stimulation has recently been shown to produce osteoblasts (bone building cells) in the lab from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs - adult stem cells found in the bone and elsewhere in the human body). This was the first time that osteogenesis (promotion of bone) has been observed in MSCs without the requirement for drugs and/or complex engineered scaffolds. Since osteoporosis has been linked to insufficient osteogenesis in MSCs, nanovibrational stimulation could provide a breakthrough route to decrease the onset, or perhaps even reverse the effects, of osteoporosis. In order to evaluate this in a timely manner, this project will study disuse-related osteoporosis (due to spinal injury) since this provides a time-accelerated model for testing interventions. The academic team will work alongside the clinicians within the Scottish Centre for Innovation in Spinal Cord Injury (SCISCI) in the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit and conduct the first trials in nanovibrational stimulation for proactive treatment of osteoporosis.