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Increased Blood Flow by Unilateral Intermittent Compression on Hindlimbs May Prevent Bone Loss

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Abstract

Osteoporosis characterized by bone loss increases the risk of bone fracture and seriously affects people’s health. As a non-invasive regimen, intermittent compression (IC) was used in this study to investigate the efficacy on countering bone loss. We aimed to investigate the unilateral effect of intermittent compression on blood flow as well as bone quality in a rat model of disuse with and without IC mechanosignals. 24 rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 8, each): hindlimb unloading (HU), HU + intermittent compression (HUIC) and cage-control (CON). The experiment last 21 days. IC was applied on the left hindlimb in HUIC group with a 1 Hz frequency, 30 mmHg pressure for 20 min/day. The blood flow was recorded by a continuous-wave Doppler flowmeter. Bone mineral density (BMD) and structural parameters of trabecular and cortical bone and muscle cross section area was determined using microcomputer tomography (μCT). IC could increase the blood flow and counter bone loss in hindlimbs. Furthermore, it had a cross-over positive effects on the blood flow and bone. The blood flow in uncompressed side was higher than compressed side. There was a significant growth of tibial cortical bone in the uncompressed side versus compressed side in HUIC group. In general, unilateral IC increased the blood flow in both sides and was able to prevent contralateral bone loss induced by hindlimb unloading and the blood flow was involved in this contralateral effect. The cross-over effect of IC on the body provides us a new idea for the treatment of osteoporosis.

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Fig. 1: Representative cross sections and 3DμCT images of tibia.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11472033, No.11421202), the national key research and development plan (2016YFC1101101) and supported by the 111 Project (B13003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beihang University, No.37, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yunfei Huang, Lianwen Sun, Shouhui Wang & Yubo Fan

  2. Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yunfei Huang, Lianwen Sun & Yubo Fan

  3. Beijing Key Laboratory of Rehabilitation Technical Aids for Old-Age Disability, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Rehabilitation Technology of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical Aids, No.1, Ronghuazhong Road, Daxing District, Beijing, 100176, China

    Huiqin Luan & Yubo Fan

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  1. Yunfei Huang
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Correspondence to Lianwen Sun or Yubo Fan.

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All animal treatments were approved by the Animal Care Committee of Beihang University in accordance with the Regulation of Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals of State Science and Technology Commission of China.

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Huang, Y., Luan, H., Sun, L. et al. Increased Blood Flow by Unilateral Intermittent Compression on Hindlimbs May Prevent Bone Loss. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 30, 987–993 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-018-9661-2

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