Bone Abstracts

Introduction: Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody to RANK ligand, effectively reduces bone resorption by inhibiting RANK-L binding to RANK. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of denosumab in post-menopausal women, by monitoring the evolution of different parameters of bone health: T-score, morphometry, osteocalcin and β-Ctx.Methods: A 34 women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis, characterized by multiple vertebral fractures wer...

Background: The prevalence and severity of Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) have fallen over recent years but it is unclear if this has impacted on disease presentation. Here we evaluated the presentation of PDB in a contemporary cohort and conducted a systematic review of MEDLINE on the mode of presentation.Methods: The presenting features of PDB were recorded in 87 patients who had presented to a specialist clinic between 2005 and 2013. The systemati...

Background: The optimal level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25(OH) D) for a healthy bone is not clear, nor the effects of treatment with vitamin D. Few previous studies have measured treatment effect on BMD in young deficient individuals.Materials and methods: A treatment group of vitamin D deficient immigrant women and a control group of ethnic Swedish women were recruited during pregnancy. A treatment of 800–1600 IU cholecalciferol and 500–1000 mg...

TGFβ is a family of ubiquitous growth factors that play a prominent role in bone biology. In normal bone remodeling, TGFβ1 released from the bone matrix by osteoclasts, attracts mesenchymal stem cells to sites of resorption thereby ensuring that new bone restores eroded older bone. TGFβ also promotes osteoblast proliferation but later restricts osteoblast maturation by repressing the expression of genes involved in bone formation. Recent evidence has demonstrate...

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...

Introduction: Benign osteopetrosis type 2 (OPTA2) (Albers-Schönberg disease) is usually associated with a heterozygous mutation in CLCN7. Patients may be asymptomatic and present following an x-ray taken for other reasons or with a low trauma fracture. There may be a family history. Homozygous mutations in CLCN7 usually result in severe disease which presents in the neonatal period or early infancy. We present a case of benign osteopetrosis associated wi...

Introduction: Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a common disorder characterised by increased and disorganised bone remodelling. Previous genome wide association studies identified a locus for susceptibility to PDB on chromosome 1p13, tagged by rs484959 which lies 87 kb upstream of the CSF1 gene. This is a strong candidate for PDB since it encodes macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) a critical cytokine for osteoclast formation and survival.Pu...

Introduction: Aging, diabetes and other disease conditions are associated with the accumulation of non-enzymatic collagen cross-links (NE-XL) in human tissues. Non-enzymatic cross-links (i.e. advanced glycation end products (AGEs)), occur at the bone collagen level, where they are associated with individuals increased fracture risk caused by bone’s reduced plasticity.Methods: Here, non-destructive Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was u...

Aim: Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) is an invasive treatment able to control local disease and pain of bone tumors. Unfortunately, there is not any scientific evidence of the biological effect of MRgFUS treatment on tumor cells, especially in lower dose region, where tissues are only warmed to sub-lethal temperatures. Here we investigate the effect of in vitro MRgFUS treatment, at different levels of acoustic energy (200–630 J), on ...

Introduction: Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with several clinical outcomes including diabetes and myopathy and is implicated in the human aging process. We previously showed that the mitochondrial DNA point mutation mtDNA3243A>G is associated with lower BMD and altered bone structure. The aim of this study was to assess bone turnover markers in individuals with the mutation and controls.Methods: We recruited 45 patients (29 female, 16 male)...