Zurich researchers want to heal bone fractures with vibration

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• Researchers at ETH Zurich demonstrated three years ago that vibrations help bones to grow.
• Now, in a new study, the researchers have created an atlas of gene activity in healing mouse bones.
• They supported the healing of the bones with vibration therapy.
• This enabled them to show that certain genes were active in the areas of the bone that were subjected to high mechanical stress.

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The study results published in the scientific journal "Science" could form the basis for therapeutic approaches against bone fractures and bone loss, announced the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) on Monday.

Researchers led by Ralph Müller from ETH Zurich had already shown three years ago in a study with mice that vibrations help bones to grow. "Only when we understand these mechanisms will we be able to develop new therapies based on them," said Neashan Mathavan, first author of the new study, in the ETH press release.

Mice with broken bones

For the new study, the researchers therefore created an atlas of gene activity in healing mouse bones. To this end, they broke the femurs of four mice, as detailed in the study. They supported the healing of the bones with vibration therapy. For each point in the bone, they determined which genes were active during healing and which were not.

This enabled them to show that certain genes were specifically active in the areas of the bone that were subjected to high mechanical stress. Conversely, genes that inhibit bone formation were not active in these areas.

The researchers now want to use these findings to find new therapeutic approaches. According to ETH Zurich, in addition to vibration therapy, the targeted use of drugs that activate or inhibit the desired genes would also be conceivable.