Abdelwahed Barkaoui

By Rabeb Ben Kahla, Abdelwahed Barkaoui, Fatma Zohra Ben Salah and Moez Chafra

According to the structural and metabolic demands of the body, proportionate and accurate bone quantities are resorbed and formed, establishing what is known as bone remodeling process. This physiological process requires a highly coordinated regulation through a complex interconnected network involving several cells from diverse origins, in addition to various hormones, cytokines, growth factors and signaling pathways. One of the main factors initiating the remodeling process is the mechanotransduction mechanism, through which osteocytes translate the mechanical stimuli subjected to the bone into biochemical signals, generating thereby the activation of osteoclasts and osteoblasts that govern bone resorption and formation. This mechanically-induced behavior of bone tissue has been the target of computational modeling and numerical simulations, to address biomechanical questions and provide information that is not amenable to direct measurements. In this context, the current chapter aims to review the coupling and mechanotransduction mechanisms spearheading the remodeling process, in addition to the main mathematical models developed over recent years and their use in bone numerical simulations based on the finite element method.

Part of the book: Biomechanics and Functional Tissue Engineering

By Imane Ait Oumghar, Abdelwahed Barkaoui and Patrick Chabrand

Bone density and bone microarchitecture are two principle parameters needed for the evaluation of mechanical bone performance and consequently the detection of bone diseases. The mechanobiological behavior of the skeletal tissue has been described through several mathematical models. Generally, these models fingerboard different length scale processes, such as the mechanical, the biological, and the chemical ones. By means of the mechanical stimulus and the biological factors involved in tissue regeneration, bone cells’ behavior and bone volume changes are determined. The emergence of bone diseases leads to disrupt the bone remodeling process and thus, induces bone mechanical properties’ alteration. In the present chapter, an overview of bone diseases and their relationship with bone density alteration will be presented. Besides, several studies treating bone diseases’ effect on bone remodeling will be discussed. Finally, the mechanobiological models proposed to treat bone healing and drugs’ effect on bone, are going to be reviewed. For this sake, the chapter is subdivided into three main sequences: (i) Bone remodeling, (ii) Bone deterioration causes, (iii) Mathematical models of a pathological bone, and (iv) Mechanobiological models treating bone healing and drugs effect.

Part of the book: Biomechanics and Functional Tissue Engineering

By Imane Ait Oumghar, Abdelwahed Barkaoui and Patrick Chabrand

Several diseases and medical treatments have been found to affect bone quality over decades. Bone mass characteristics summarized in bone mineral density (BMD), geometry, microarchitecture, and mechanical properties are the main parameters permitting to assess the quality of bone. Clinically, the diagnosis of bone diseases and the prediction of bone fracture are largely based on the BMD values. Thus, the investigation of how diseases and treatments alter the BMD value is primordial to anticipate additional treatment for the patient. In this chapter, we summarize the main research studies investigating diseases and treatments’ effects on bone quality and more specifically on BMD.

Part of the book: Biomechanical Insights into Osteoporosis