Bone Abstracts

Objective: This study evaluated the differences in physical performance and risk of fall in old oldest people affected by severe osteoporosis.

Methods: The subjects were all ≥85:45 women (mean age 88±3) and six men (mean age 88±2) affected by severe osteoporosis. In seven women and one man we discovered a new spinal fracture after treatment. Thirty-eight women and three men had multiple spinal fractures (>3). The subjects were prescribed teriparatide treatment (PTH 1–34).The design of the study included at T0–T24: i) spine and hip DEXA densitometry; ii) spine X-ray with morphometry; and iii) blood tests. The physical performance was assessed through the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) which results in a combination of a balance test according to three increasingly difficult positions, a walking test on a 4-m-course and a standing-up test from a chair, and whose final SPPB score was comprised between 0 and 12. The Tinetti balance and gait scale inspects the balance and the gait and shows a variability in score: score <1 indicates non walking; 2<score<19 walking but with a high risk of fall; and score >20 walking with a low risk of fall.

Results: At T0 we considered: i) SPPB Geriatric: mean score seven in 78.9% subjects (P<0.05); ii) Tinetti balance and gait scale: mean score 8 (high risk of fall) 83.8% subjects (P<0.5); mean score 1 (non walking) 16.2% subjects (P<0.5). At T24 we evaluated: i) SPPB: mean score nine in 61.3% subjects (P<0.05); ii) Tinetti balance and gait scale: mean score 14 (high risk of fall) 93.1% subjects (P<0.5), mean score 1 (non walking) 6.9% (P<0.5). At T24 in all subjects we detected no new spine fractures through spine X-rays and morphometry.

Conclusion: Since a reduced physical performance and an increase in the risk of fall indicate frailty in the elderly affected by severe osteoporosis, we inspected, after teliparatide treatment (PTH 1–34), the markers’ severity variations.