Osteoporosis is a chronic disease where the bone becomes weak and brittle, which increases the risk of a bone fracture. The burden of osteoporosis to patients is immense, with life-altering changes to living environments often required and quality of life drastically changed. The burden is also great for the healthcare system, with an estimated €402 million spent annually on treating falls and fractures. Current treatment options have many downsides including difficulty with taking the medication due to side-effects including stomach irritation. Consequently, it is reported that less than 50% of patients take their medication properly (NMIC, St. James’s Hospital). Additionally, some medications don’t work very well to prevent some bone fractures. Two current medications, Denosumab and SERMs only reduce the risk of wrist and hip fractures by 20%.
Clearly, there is urgent need to improve therapy options in osteoporosis patients as there is increasingly aging population as people live longer. Our project will centre on a drug called FTY720. This drug has been shown to control some of the important cells in the bone called osteoclasts. Osteoclasts play an important role in bone formation, but when there is an imbalance, these cells cause too much bone breakdown and can lead to osteoporosis
In my project, I will design a dressing-like bandage made up of polymer materials that have already been shown to be safe to the patient in order to present the drug to bone tissue with the aim of restoring the osteoblast cell imbalance and to minimise bone breakdown.
