Bone Abstracts

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) of prematurity is a well-recognized complication of preterm birth. Yet there is limited evidence for the optimal assessment, monitoring, and subsequent bone health management.Retrospective audit of 171 infants born <32 weeks’ gestation between November 2012 and January 2014 at three Monash Health neonatal units (Melbourne, Australia) was undertaken. Infants had mean gestational age (GA) 28.6±2.1 weeks and birth ...

Background: Cancer patients often receive a combination of drugs that target both the microenvironment and the tumour cells. However, the role of the bone microenvironment (BME) in mediating peripheral breast cancer growth remains poorly understood. This is the first study to determine whether reduced subcutaneous tumour growth following combination therapy is due to direct interactions between the drugs and tumour cells or through zoledronic acid induced alterations to the BM...

Osteoporosis and vertebral fractures are recognised complications of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) but the underlying causes are incompletely understood. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a decoy receptor for RANK-L and inhibits osteoclastogenesis. We have previously demonstrated that antibodies to OPG (OPG-Ab) are associated with osteoporosis and increased bone turnover in patients with autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether OPG-Abs were detectable in AS pat...

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women and frequently results in osteolytic bone metastases. Amino-bisphosphonates are a standard bone protective therapy and, similarly to statins, inhibit the mevalonate pathway that is crucial for posttranslational protein modifications (farnesylation and geranylation). Direct anti-tumor effects of amino-bisphosphonates and statins have been suggested but high concentrations are necessary to achieve meaningful effects. Our stu...

We recruited 60 healthy volunteers ages 5 to 21 to perform scan-rescan precision tests on the XtremeCT II. Participants were positioned in a carbon fiber immobilization cast. iPad-based video content was used to facilitate motion-free compliance. Distal radius and tibia scans were acquired starting 2 mm proximal to the proximal margin of the growth plate or growth plate remnant. Diaphyseal radius and tibia scans were centered at an offset from the same landmark, corresponding ...

Objectives: Bone disease is a long-term complication in patients with thalassaemia and therefore current UK guidelines recommend biannual bone density assessment from the age of 10 years. The aim of this study was to evaluate bone health in children with thalassaemia major.Methods: Twenty-nine patients (11 boys) with a mean (S.D.) age of 13.07 year (2.29) with thalassaemia major had measurement of lumbar spine BMAD (L2-L4) and of total bod...

Objectives: Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is commonly used to monitor changes in bone mineral density (BMD). Small changes in BMD can be clinically meaningful; therefore precision-error calculations are needed to estimate true changes in BMD. The few published studies of precision errors in children with cerebral palsy (CP) are diverse in terms of ethnicities and medical comorbidities. Application of these estimates is inappropriate to our particular Midwest American ...

Objectives: Children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) receiving long-term glucocorticoid (GC) therapy are at risk for osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Recent studies showed that cortical thickness and areas were associated with increased fracture risk. Digital X-ray measurement of the cortical thickness of the metacarpal bones has a potential role as a marker for bone health in children, but has not been evaluated in DMD. The aim of this study was to compare bone ag...

Objectives: In the context of a lack of national consensus, the aim of this study was to identify the clinical impact of skull base imaging in children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of case-notes and radiological images of children with severe, complex and atypical OI at a designated specialist centre, between 01/2012 and 08/2018. Patient demographics, clinical features at time of imaging and radiological...

Background: Lean and bone mass are heritable traits with high phenotypic correlation (rho=0.44), likely reflecting the underlying mechanical and biochemical interactions between tissues.Aim: Estimate the shared heritability (genetic correlation) of both traits in children and identify genetic determinants displaying pleiotropic effects on lean mass and bone mass accrual.Methods: Participants make part of two prospective po...