Laser irradiation may be promising treatment modality for osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bone loses mass as a result of age or other influences. This weakening is the leading cause of fractures in the elderly, often after trivial injuries, and makes treating these "pathological fractures" a challenge.

Bone health is a dynamic process of continual remodeling controlled by multiple factors. Sclerostin, a glycoprotein coded by the gene SOST, is produced by bone cells and suppresses bone formation. Now, researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have shown that laser irradiation, by inhibiting sclerostin expression without inducing inflammation, shows promise as a new treatment modality for osteoporosis.

Lasers have been used in medical and dental practice for their beneficial photo-biomodulation effects on tissue healing. The benefits of low-level laser therapy are now gaining increased attention in spheres of medicine and dentistry that require enhanced bone regeneration.

The team knew that in periodontal surgery, bone that underwent controlled destruction using a specific type of laser known as an Er:YAG laser healed faster than bone subjected to conventional bur drilling. Thus, they wondered whether Er:YAG laser irradiation modified SOST expression in bone. "We set out to compare comprehensive and sequential gene expression and biological healing responses in laser-ablated, bur-drilled, and untreated bone, as well as investigating the bio-stimulation effect of an Er:YAG laser on osteogenic cells," explains Yujin Ohsugi, lead author.