Bone Abstracts

Objectives: Within the National Health Service there is a recognised need for supporting young peoples transition into adult services1. Focus groups and forums have historically been used to identify how to achieve ‘good’ transition between services, from the perspective of patients, carers and professionals. A recent article recommended an individualised programme supporting transition for young people with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI)2. The ai...

All biological tissues, including bone, require vascular support to survive. In fact, bone is a highly vascularized tissue, although this aspect of bone is often overlooked. Extensive work has demonstrated that the blood vessels in bone are necessary for nearly all skeletal functions, including development, homeostasis, and repair. In addition, blood vessels lost due to trauma regenerate, and new bone tissue formed in response to injury is aggressively vascularized. As a conse...

Objectives: Research studies confirm that children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) benefit from co-ordinated multidisciplinary services to optimise outcomes and reduce morbidity and mortality. Implementation of a tertiary paediatric centre of excellence within the Republic of Ireland is contentious due to the absence of data on the prevalence, service needs and medical requirements of these patients.Methods: A retrospective chart review of all patients...

Background: Osteogenesis imperfecta [OI] is a disorder of bone fragility with a variable spectrum of severity and poor correlation of antenatal findings with postnatal outcome. We present two antenatal diagnosed cases with a mild postnatal course significant for the absence of fractures and progressive remodelling of the long bones. A novel heterozygous pathogenic mutation predicted to replace glycine with aspartic acid at position 913 in exon 42 of the COL1A2 gene has been id...

Objectives: i) To evaluate the bone mineral density (BMD), and clinical outcomes of intravenous bisphosphonate treatment (IVT) and after treatment discontinuation in children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). ii) To compare the clinical outcome of those who discontinued IVT and those who had progressed from IVT to maintenance oral bisphosphonate therapy.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 28 children with OI who had discontinued IVT (21 pami...

Objectives: Cyclical intravenous pamidronate (PAM) and zoledronic acid (ZOL) increases bone mineral density (BMD) and reduces fractures in children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The aims of this study were to evaluate fracture and BMD outcomes after treatment discontinuation in children with OI treated with ZOL compared to PAM.Methods: 21 patients (mean age 5.1±3.8 years) received PAM (1 mg/kg per day x 3 days q 3 months for the first year). Se...

Skeletal strength, maintained through bone remodelling, is regulated through complex communication networks between bone cells and other tissues including endocrine cells. Bone also functions as an endocrine organ in its own right. The peptide hormone amylin (or Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (IAPP)), has links to both bone and energy metabolism. A member of the calcitonin family of peptides, it is co-secreted with insulin from pancreatic β-cells and is linked with diabetes-as...

Tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) plays a key role in osteoclastogenesis through the regulation of RANK/CD40 TRAF6-mediated signaling. Mice deficient in TRAF6 exhibit high bone mass and were protected against inflammation-induced bone loss. Here we describe the effects of a small-molecule 6877002 that has been shown to prevent the binding of TRAF6 to its domain on RANK/CD40 receptor on osteoclast formation in vitro and in vivo and on...

Introduction: Hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis is a rare genetic disorder causing reduced FGF23 activity. Recurrent and occasionally disabling subcutaneous calcifications are major disease manifestations. We describe the successful use of acetazolamide in two cases presenting in childhood with a homozygous GALNT3 mutation.Case 1: A five year old girl developed tender subcutaneous calcifications in the right elbow which were surgically resect...

Objectives: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is an autosomal dominant disorder attributed to mutations in the Notch signaling pathway. Children with ALGS are at increased risk for fragility fracture, but the etiology of this disposition is unknown. Our objective was to characterize bone mass, geometry, and microarchitecture in children with ALGS.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 10 children (9 females) ages 8-18 years, with a clinical diagnosis of ALG...