Bone composition: relationship to bone fragility and antiosteoporotic drug effects

The composition of a bone can be described in terms of the mineral phase, hydroxyapatite, the organic phase, which consists of collagen type I, noncollagenous proteins, other components and water. The relative proportions of these various components vary with age, site, gender, disease and treatment. Any drug therapy could change the composition of a bone. This review, however, will only address those pharmaceuticals used to treat or prevent diseases of bone: fragility fractures in particular, and the way they can alter the composition. As bone is a heterogeneous tissue, its composition must be discussed in terms of the chemical makeup, properties of its chemical constituents and their distributions in the ever-changing bone matrix. Emphasis, in this review, is placed on changes in composition as a function of age and various diseases of bone, particularly osteoporosis. It is suggested that while some of the antiosteoporotic drugs can and do modify composition, their positive effects on bone strength may be balanced by negative ones.