Bone Abstracts

Introduction: QCT of the spine is typically restricted to the BMD analysis of the lumbar vertebrae. However, fractures frequently occur in the thoracolumbar region. Also the load distribution in the spine may depend on the intervertebral disc space (IDS), a good approximation of the intervertebral disc, which itself cannot be reliably assessed by X-ray based methods.Materials and methods: A QCT 3D acquisition and automated analysis technique (with option...

New treatment agents against osteoporosis may not only lead to an improved trabecular structure, but can probably also strengthen the cortex. To assess this treatment effects by means of QCT, one has to deal with significant partial volume effects observing this very thin, but compact structure. A new method for cortical thickness estimation has been developed using an analytical deconvolution approach. After estimating the point-spread-function (PSF) of a scanner/kernel combi...

Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) can be performed with different protocols. We investigated whether selection of spatial resolution, reconstruction method, and scanner type have an impact on measured treatment effects for different bone compartments.Methods: In a multi-center study, a group of 50 men, age 55.1 (range 25–78) undergoing 18 months of either osteoanabolic (n=25) or antiresorptive treatment (n=25) were scanned wit...

Degradable bone implants may provide improved long-term healing, tissue remodeling and quality of life. In order to optimize alloy composition and degradation properties, in-vivo monitoring of the degradation process and its impact on bone formation is essential because degradation progresses differently in-vivo versus in-vitro. We aim to understand how degradation of magnesium alloy implants influences bone remodeling and bone structure using Micro-...

Bone mineral density (BMD) as measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) is biased by the variable marrow composition since marrow fat reduces the apparent BMD. We developed a marrow densitometry (MD) method that identifies subvolumes in the vertebrae that consist of bone marrow only (bone voids) and determines their average mineral equivalent density values. The method was developed for use with in vivo high resolution QCT (HR-QCT). HR-QCT still has limited s...

Introduction: Genetic disorders are usually characterised by subjective morphological traits. Mouse models should represent the human situation but it is difficult to translate morphology traits from one species to another. Thus, there is a demand to objectively assess morphological traits. Geometric morphometrics is a mathematical tool to evaluate morphology based on normalised three-dimensional coordinates. Here we use geometric morphometrics to compare the morphology of <em...

Tumors contain a small population of cancer stem cells (CSC) proposed to be responsible for tumor maintenance and relapse. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) activity has been used as a functional stem cell marker to isolate CSCs in different cancer types. This study used the Aldefluor assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis to isolate ALDH1high cells from five human sarcoma cell lines and one primary chordoma cell line. ALDH1high cell...

After trauma or carious lesion dental pulp healing is difficult to predict. In addition systemic diseases like diabetes mellitus can impair the regenerative capacity. New regenerative strategies target prolyl hydroxylase (PHD) by pharmacological inhibitors to stimulate hard and soft tissue healing. PHD inhibitors such as L-mimosine (L-MIM) induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production by promoting angiogenesis. However, it is unclear if L-MIM is a feasible tool t...

Purpose: This combined qualitative and quantitative study aimed to investigate women’s personal reasons for and choices to decline the screening for osteoporosis. The ROSE study is a randomized prospective population-based trial investigating the efficacy of a screening program to prevent fractures in women aged 65–80 years.Methods: A triangulated approach combining data from interviews and questionnaire. 7020 questionnaires from the screening ...

The switch from a cartilage template to bone during endochondralossification of the growth plate requires dynamic and close interaction between the cartilage and the developing vascular structures. Vascular invasion of hypertrophic cartilage, with blood vessels coming from the bone collar, serves to bring in osteoblast- andendothelial precursor cells along with chondroclasts and their precursors into future ossification centres of the growth plate.Potent...