Special issue provides comprehensive overview of latest findings in the area of skeletal research

While there is good understanding of how bone mass, and more recently bone architecture, affects fracture risk, far less is known about the material properties of bone, or how these can impart resilience or fragility to the skeleton. This is changing thanks to the development of new state-of-the-art imaging and other technologies which now allow researchers to gain new insights into the different material properties of bone and their role in bone fragility.

Bringing together eight invited contributions by the field's leading experts, a special issue of Calcified Tissue International & Musculoskeletal Research now provides a comprehensive overview of the latest and most exciting findings in this area of skeletal research. The issue is co-edited by Drs. David B. Burr and Matthew R. Allen of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine.

Drs. Burr and Allen, the co-editors, challenged the authors not only to review the current state of knowledge about their specific topic, but to help propel research forward by highlighting key questions that remain to be addressed. "Our hope is that this will stimulate the new wave of work aimed at understanding both the hierarchical structure of bone and its importance to overall bone health."

Bone Material Properties and Skeletal Fragility - Foreword to Special Issue
David B. Burr, Matthew R. Allen
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-0012-7

Fragility of Bone Material Controlled by Internal Interfaces
Wolfgang Wagermaier, Klaus Klaushofer, Peter Fratzl
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9978-4

Bone Material Properties and Skeletal Fragility
David P. Fyhrie, Blaine A. Christiansen
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9997-1

The Role of Collagen Organization on the Properties of Bone
Patrick Garnero
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9996-2

Effects of Collagen Crosslinking on Bone Material Properties in Health and Disease
Mitsuru Saito, Keishi Marumo
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9985-5

Do Noncollagenous Proteins Affect Skeletal Mechanical Properties?
Stacyann Morgan, Atharva A. Poundarik, Deepak Vashishth
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-0016-3

The Mineral-Collagen Interface in Bone
Stuart R. Stock
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9984-6

The Role of Water Compartments in the Material Properties of Cortical Bone
Mathilde Granke, Mark D. Does, Jeffry S. Nyman
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9977-5

Bone's Material Constituents and their Contribution to Bone Strength in Health, Disease, and Treatment
Yohann Bala, Ego Seeman
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00223-015-9971-y

Professor René Rizzoli, journal Co Editor-in-Chief, stated, "We expect that this special issue will help provide a new understanding of the role of bone as a tissue, and how it contributes to skeletal integrity. This is an emerging area of research which is expected to have significant clinical relevance in the future."

Source: International Osteoporosis Foundation