A simulation study of marrow fat effect on bone biomechanics

Bone marrow was assumed to be negligible on the aspect of bone mechanical behavior, where bone mass and bone mineral density were most studied. As a result, if the bone marrow, especially the marrow fat, plays a role in the bone mechanical properties is unknown yet. Marrow fat content was found increased in osteoporotic bone. However, the relationship between such change of bone marrow and bone strength is not clear yet. This study was proposed to investigate the effect of marrow fat on the bone biomechanical performance by computer simulations. A finite element model was established based on trabecular structure extracted from quantitative CT at L3 vertebrae. Simulations were conducted on the models with and without marrow fat under the same condition, respectively. The results showed that the cancellous bone with marrow fat had a 7.56%~18.81% higher maximum stress in trabeculae. Further, trabeculae with higher Young´s modulus tend to sustain a higher maximum compressive stress when considering the marrow fat. As a conclusion, the marrow fat has effect on bone biomechanics, which cannot be ignored. Such effect in osteoporosis should be further investigated in deep.