Bone Abstracts

Diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system are a major cost burden to society. Articular cartilage loss or damage in these diseases is detected by radiography and measuring decreases in joint space width (JSW). The early stages of the disease may remain latent and asymptomatic for many years. This forms the rationale for applying molecular marker technology (biomarkers) to identify patients prone to joint diseases. One such biomarker is cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (...

Introduction: Liver transplant candidates have bone and mineral metabolism disorders that may influence the development of fractures after liver transplantation (LT).Objective: To analyze the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) in patient candidates for LT and the factors associated with vitamin D deficiency.Methods: Between January 2010 and May 2012, 116 liver transplant candidates (85 male and 31 female patients) were include...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a common complication in patients with chronic cholestasis, usually characterized by reduced bone formation. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) improves differentiation and mineralization and counteracts the damaging effects of bilirubin and lithocholic acid (LCA) in osteoblastic cells. Moreover, UDCA decreases apoptosis in a number of cell lines, but this antiapoptotic effect has not been investigated in bone cells.Aims: To assess...

Wnt–β-catenin signalling and its antagonists (sclerostin and Dkk-1) play an important role in the regulation of bone mass and osteoblastogenesis. Glucocorticoid therapy (GCCT) is a well known factor related to decreased bone formation and osteoporosis development. Therefore, we analyzed the effect of GCCT on Wnt signalling antagonists (sclerostin and Dkk-1) and their relationship to bone mass and bone turnover.Methods: 22 patients (11M/11F, age...

We recently observed an increased risk for vertebral fractures (VF) in a randomized controlled trial comparing the analgesic effect of vertebroplasty (VP) vs conservative treatment (CT) in symptomatic VF. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the risk factors related to the development of VF after VP in these patients.Methods and results: We evaluated risk factors including age, gender, bone mineral density, the number, type and severity of verteb...

Low bone formation is considered to be the main feature in osteoporosis associated with cholestatic and end-stage liver diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated the deleterious consequences of retained substances such as lithocholic acid (LCA) and bilirubin (Bil) on osteoblastic cells. These effects are neutralized by ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). To gain new insights into cholestatic-induced osteoporosis, we have assessed the differential gene expression of osteoblastic ce...

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) modulates activity of proteins by removing two aminoterminal amino acids. DPP4 inhibitors are currently being used to improve glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetes patients by increasing the half-life of DPP4 substrates. It has been shown that these substrates do not only increase pancreatic insulin secretion, but also influence bone cell activity. The potential therapeutic effect of DPP4 inhibition on bone metabolism is thus worth being investigat...

Introduction: Vascularised fibula autograft combined with a massive bone allograft (Capanna 2007) is used in skeletal reconstructions in children. If vascularisation is successful a clear remodelling of the reconstruction can be observed. This study aims to define a protocol to characterise bone’s structural evolution in skeletal reconstructions through a computer-aided analysis, and attempts a biomechanical interpretation of the observed phenomena through a multiscale mo...

Low bone mineral density (BMD) and an increased rate of both peripheral and vertebral fractures have been observed in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but studies on bone metabolic alterations in this disease are still very few.We are now presenting the preliminary findings of an ongoing multicenter, prospective study aimed to identify the characteristics of DMD boys carrying a higher risk of bone loss and fractures, through the evaluatio...

The microenvironment of osteolytic metastases includes carcinoma cells derived from the primary lesion as well as bone-forming and bone-resorbing cells, namely osteoblasts (OB) and osteoclasts (OC). At this site, both the high glycolysis of cancer cells, and the bone resorption process result in a very acidic milieu. This, in turn, induces the surrounding stroma and OB to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors that promote tumorigenesis and cancer-associated ost...