Bone Abstracts

Objectives and method: We retrospectively reviewed records of current patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) to identify those on risedronate, doses used and effects of treatment. BMD changes over time were calculated as difference between measurement before risedronate and at one year (including measurements −3–0 m and 10–14 m after starting risedronate respectively).Results: 219/296 (74%) patients with OI had received bisphosphonate...

Introduction: Treatment in thyroid function disorders, which lead to clinical hypothyroidism, is replacement with levothyroxine. We aimed to investigate the effect of long-term levothyroxine therapy on vitamin D metabolism and bone mineral density in children.Materials and methods: Twenty-seven children with hypothyroidism receiving levothyroxine therapy (M/F: 13/14, mean age, 12.1±0.7 years) and 21 healthy controls (M/F: 13/8, mean age, 11.8±0...

Aims: To review changes in the advice regarding vitamin D deficiency in the UK and compare these with other national guidance.Methods: All Vitamin D guidance in the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 2003 guide (Medicines for Children) and in the eight editions since the British National Formulary for Children (BNFc) was first published in 2005 was reviewed.Results: Dosage and indications of prevalence are shown in the T...

Extracellular nucleotides, signalling through P2 receptors, play a significant role in bone biology. ATP and ADP act via the P2Y1 or P2Y12 receptors to promote osteoclast formation and activity. Bone cells express the P2Y2 receptor and, in osteoblasts, it plays a role in regulating bone mineralisation. This investigation examined the role of the P2Y2 receptor in osteoclasts. Primary osteoclasts were isolated from the bone ma...

High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) in combination with micro finite element analysis (μFEA) is a promising tool to assess longitudinal changes in bone mechanical properties during the fracture healing process in the distal radius. In the present study we investigate if these changes can be detected as well when using images with lower resolutions, comparable to clinical QCT images.Postmenopausal women with a stable...

Vascular calcification (VC) involves hydroxyapatite deposition in the arteries and cardiac muscle. VC is thought to share some outward similarities to skeletal mineralisation and has been associated with the transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to an osteoblast-like phenotype. We have previously shown that ATP, UTP and synthetic ATP-analogues (α, β-meATP, β, γ-meATP, Bz-ATP) (≥1 μM) act to potently inhibit both bone minera...

Background: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type VI is a rare recessive disease that may present with long bone fractures in early childhood. Bone in this condition is particularly brittle; the resulting pattern of long bone fractures and lack of distinct radiographic findings can make the diagnosis less obvious than in other types of OI. We report 2 unrelated children who presented with long bone fractures and were suspected of having suffered physical abuse with removal of pare...

Introduction: Bone metastases represent a frequent complication of breast cancer and are characterized by increased tumour-driven activation of osteoclasts and subsequent bone loss. Aminobisphosphonates inhibit osteoclast function and are established therapies of skeletal metastases. Similar to statins, they block the mevalonate pathway and are thought to have direct anti-tumour effects. Here, we report on the anti-tumour potential of a sequential inhibition of the mevalonate ...

Pioglitazone is a drug of the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. TZD is an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) that improves insulin sensitivity, glucose and lipid metabolism and inflammation. However, TZD induces bone marrow adiposity with suppression of osteogenesis, that could contribute to bone loss and osteoporotic fractures. β-Cryptoxanthin is a carotenoid with antioxidant properties abundant ...

Background: At present, clinical assessment of bone strength in children predominantly relies bone mass measurement using absorptiometry (DXA) or QCT densitometric approaches. However, bone strength is not only dependent on mass/density, but also structural and material mechanical properties. Currently no technique measures bone mechanical properties. Recently, a new micro-indentation device, the reference point indentation (RPI) instrument has been validated for the measure o...