Bone Abstracts

Introduction: Effective screening for vitamin D (Vit-D) insufficiency is desirable. Pigmentation of unexposed (constitutive) skin and exposed (facultative) skin can be measured with skin colourimetry to assess dermal capability in synthesizing Vit-D and degree of sunlight exposure respectively. This study aimed at evaluating whether skin colourimetry could be used to screen Vit-D insufficiency among adolescents.Methods: 240 healthy adolescents (mean age=...

Objectives: High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) was used to evaluate bone quality and volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD). However, manufacturers only provide a standard protocol for adult but not for growing subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference on measurement between two different HR-pQCT scanning protocols in adolescence with unfused growth plate.Methods: 27 boys and 26 girls aged 13&#15...

Objectives: AIS is a prevalent three-dimensional spinal deformity associated with low bone mass which has been reported to be a significant prognostic factor for curve progression in AIS. If left untreated, low bone mass in AIS could persist into adulthood thus leading to subsequent health problems. This study aimed at evaluating the therapeutic effect of oral calcium plus Vit-D supplementation for low bone mass in skeletally immature AIS girls.Methods: ...

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used clinically to assess bone marrow, muscle and joints. The assessment of cortical and trabecular structure using MRI may provide further insight into the muscle–bone–bone marrow unit. Previous studies using MRI to evaluate microarchitecture are confined to research due to the need for specially adapted coils and navigator software to limit motion artifact. We present a novel statistical method using HRpQCT to determi...

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in pediatric (ped) and adult ESRD patients. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of mortality in ESRD. Besides traditional risk factors, such as high BP & fluid overload, high plasma FGF23 is associated with LVH in adult ESRD patients. Little is known about Kl, the renally produced cofactor of FGF23 for phosphorus (P) homeostasis. We studied ped HD patients for risk factors for LVH, ...

Arterial stiffness or pulse wave velocity (PWV) is increasingly recognized as a strong predictor of future cardiovascular events and all cause mortality. Literature date indicate a relationship between vitamin D (25-OHD) deficiency and arterial stiffness in isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), but it is still unclear how 25-OHD deficiency may contribute to functional changes of the arterial wall in hypertensive patients. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between ...

Objective: According to National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) guidelines, treatment is recommended for osteoporotic patients and patients with osteopenia and high fracture probability (FRAX with BMD over 3% for hip and/or over 20% for other fractures). In this study, a pocket size pulse-echo (PE) ultrasound (US) device and FRAX with BMI is used in treatment pathway analysis and compared to NOF guidelines.Materials and methods: Elderly Caucasian woman (<...

Cancer-associated muscle weakness is an important paraneoplastic syndrome for which there is currently no treatment. Human breast cancer bone metastases (MDA-MB-231 cells in immune deficient mice) induce extensive bone destruction, leading to the release of TGF-β from the bone matrix. We have previously shown that bone-derived TGF-β is responsible for muscle weakness in this model. Mechanistically, TGF-β signaling increases the expression of NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox...

Background: The co-occurrence of achondroplasia with Trisomy 21 is extremely rare, with only a handful of published case reports in the literature.Presenting Problem: A baby girl had an antenatal diagnosis of incomplete atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD), and a subsequent postnatal diagnosis of Trisomy 21. At birth she had respiratory distress and required CPAP until 5 days of life. AVSD was confirmed on postnatal ECHO. Phenotypic traits consistent wi...

Objectives: Low birthweight has been shown to be associated with poorer musculoskeletal health in later life in a variety of epidemiological studies. We investigated relationships between birthweight, and grip strength or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of muscle volume in UK Biobank.Methods: UK Biobank is a large prospective cohort of men and women aged 40–69 years, including a detailed baseline assessment in which birthweight was collect...