Toward a Mathematical Modeling of Diseases’ Impact on Bone Remodeling: Technical Review

A wide variety of bone diseases have hitherto been discovered, such as osteoporosis, Paget’s disease, osteopetrosis, and metastatic bone disease, which are not well defined in terms of changes in biochemical and mechanobiological regulatory factors. Some of these diseases are secondary to other pathologies, including cancer, or to some clinical treatments. To better understand bone behavior and prevent its deterioration, bone biomechanics have been the subject of mathematical modeling that exponentially increased over the last years. These models are becoming increasingly complex. The current paper provides a timely and critical analysis of previously developed bone remodeling mathematical models, particularly those addressing bone diseases. Besides, mechanistic pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models, which englobe bone disease and its treatment’s effect on bone health. Therefore, the review starts by presenting bone remodeling cycle and mathematical models describing this process, followed by introducing some bone diseases and discussing models of pathological mechanisms affecting bone, and concludes with exhibiting the available bone treatment procedures considered in the PK/PD models.