Bio-effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on osteoporosis

This paper reviewed the research progress in the effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on osteoporosis by our team since 1997. To establish the interaction between osteoporosis and pulsed electromagnetic fields, precise cellular response to the electromagnetic fields in vitro was measured. In a cellular level, the experimental results indicate that DNA synthesis of UMR-106 osteoblast-like cells is increased, the proliferation level is raised using MTT test and differentiation is affected by specific electromagnetic fields stimulation, In the research of the differentiation effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on osteoblast cell-line (SaOS-2), the alkaline phosphatase activity is improved by 156% compared with baseline and by 53% with control group by 15Hz, 0.5-0.8 mT pulsed electromagnetic fields. The "window effects" of frequency, magnetic induction intensity and exposure time were observed. To verify the results in the cellular level, animal model was conducted to qualify and optimize the therapeutic regimen. The preventive experiments demonstrate that the corrected bone mineral density is higher than that of OVX group (P < 0.05). In the further studies, the serum bone marker and biomechanics properties will be tested. Based on the efficacy of cellular level and animal model, the effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields were investigated, the bone mineral density was improved and the pain level was alleviated significantly after treatment. Consequently, it is concluded that the pulsed electromagnetic fields are beneficial to the osteoporosis treatment and can be applied in the near future.

Duke Scholars

Author Xiaowei Yang Computer Science