Personalized anti-fracture treatment

With increasing age of the population, Sweden and industrialized countries across the globe are facing a substantial increase in osteoporotic fractures, which account for considerable disease burden and costs.

The aim of this five-year proposal is to find novel treatments for fracture prevention and identify clinically useful biomarkers for fracture prediction.

To identify candidate fracture targets, we will use recently developed human genetic instruments for circulating proteins and metabolites as well as for gut microbiota composition as exposures in Mendelian Randomization analyses of fractures. Identified candidate fracture targets such as ephrin-A1 will be taken forward to translational studies.

Proof of concept of our translational competence is our previous successful studies identifying novel fracture targets, starting from human genetic signals.

To identify candidate biomarker risk scores for fractures, circulating proteomics and metabolomics as well as fecal metagenomics association signals for fracture risk will be identified.

These will then be used in machine learning procedures to develop biomarker-based risk scores for fractures, which will be validated in independent cohorts.

Finally, the clinical usefulness of identified candidate risk scores for fractures beyond the currently used fracture prediction tool FRAX will be evaluated.

Our vision is to develop improved tailored diagnostic tools and treatments facilitating a personalized anti-fracture treatment.