Microindentation for in vivo measurement of bone tissue mechanical properties in humans.

Bone tissue mechanical properties are deemed a key component of bone strength, but their assessment requires invasive procedures. Here we validate a new instrument, a reference point indentation (RPI) instrument, for measuring these tissue properties in vivo. The RPI instrument performs bone microindentation testing (BMT) by inserting a probe assembly through the skin covering the tibia and, after displacing periosteum, applying 20 indentation cycles at 2 Hz each with a maximum force of 11 N.

The effect of aging on crack-growth resistance and toughening mechanisms in human dentin.

Crack-growth experiments in human dentin have been performed in situ in an environmental scanning electron microscope to measure, for the first time, the crack-growth resistance curve (R-curve) for clinically relevant (<250 microm) crack extensions and to simultaneously identify the salient toughening mechanisms. "Young" dentin from donors 19-30 years in age and "aged" dentin from donors 40-70 years in age were evaluated. The "young" group had 0-4% of its tubules filled with apatite; the "aged" group was subdivided into "opaque" with 12-32% filled tubules and "transparent" with 65-100% filled tubules.

The degree of bone mineralization is maintained with single intravenous bisphosphonates in aged estrogen-deficient rats and is a strong predictor of bone strength.

The treatment of osteoporotic women with bisphosphonates significantly reduces the incidence of bone fractures to a degree greater than can be explained by an increase in bone mineral density. In this study, 18-month Fischer 344 rats were ovariectomized and treated with a single dose of risedronate (intravenous, iv, 500 microg), zoledronic acid (iv, 100 microg) or continuous raloxifene (2 mg/kg, po, 3x/week). High resolution microCT was used to measure lumbar vertebral bone microarchitecture, the degree of bone mineralization (DBM) and the distribution of mineral.