Fracture healing and drug therapies in osteoporosis

Fracture repair has not been fully optimised and there is opportunity to increase the healing rate and reduce the number of complications using pharmacological means. While most anti-osteoporosis drugs have been widely tested for their ability to decrease the risk of osteoporotic fractures, fragility fractures still occur in patients under medical intervention. The primary purpose of this systematic review is to understand these underlying mechanisms between bone and drug therapies in osteoporosis and the overall promotion of fracture healing and callus formation. Databases such as MEDLINE, Google Scholar, EMBASE and CINAHL were searched and nine articles met all inclusion criteria. We report that there is still large controversy and a need for clinical trials to address the deficiencies found in animal models. There is no clear evidence yet as to whether complications during the course of healing are attributable to implant anchorage problems in osteoporotic bone or to possibly delayed healing in the aged.