Bone Abstracts

Objectives: Synovial fluid glutamate concentrations increase in various arthritides. Activation of kainate (KA) and AMPA glutamate receptors (GluRs) increase interleukin 6 (IL6) release and cause arthritic pain respectively. GluR antagonists represent potential peripheral treatments for inflammatory arthritis and inflammatory mechanisms that contribute to osteoarthritis (OA). We hypothesised that AMPA and KA GluRs are expressed in arthritic joint tissues and that peripheral ad...

Background: We have recently identified interleukin 1B (IL-1B) as a potential biomarker for predicting breast cancer patients at increased risk for developing bone metastasis. In mouse models, IL-1B and its receptor (IL-1R1) are upregulated in breast cancer cells that metastasise to bone compared with cells that do not. We have now investigated whether blocking IL-1R with the clinically licensed antagonist, anakinra, might be a potential treatment for breast cancer and bone me...

Background: Primary tumoral calcinosis is an orphan disease. The data about the incidence of this disease, as well as clinical recommendations for treatment are not presented in the literature.Presenting problem: Two patients – 11.5 years old boy and 8 years old girl with primary tumoral calcinosis had multiple foci of the subcutaneous calcification, walking impossibility, wheel-chair condition, fatigue, high fever and equinus deformity of the left ...

Background: Severe vitamin D deficiency (VDD), is a common disorder, which has complications including rickets, hypocalcaemia, hypotonia, delayed development and cardiomyopathy. Although nutritional rickets associated craniosynostosis has been reported, there is little awareness of this or knowledge about its clinical course or severity. We present five cases of late onset craniosynostosis in association with nutritional rickets.Clinical presentation: Th...

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...

Background: Hypophosphatasia is generally regarded as a disease of bone and teeth. Lack of Tissue Non-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase (TNAP) leads to an accumulation of inorganic pyrophosphate and the Vitamin B6 metabolite pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP), a reduction in pyridoxic acid (PA) and increased PLP/PA ratio. Vitamin B6 deficiency in the brain impairs synthesis of neurotransmitters, and is a well-recognised cause of neonatal seizures. We have found no previous reports...

Aim: Scoliosis is a common skeletal problem affecting 10–30% of patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). NF1 patients have been shown to have reduced bone mineral density (BMD) which may play a role in the pathogenesis or progression of scoliosis. Our centre is one of four international centres currently evaluating the efficacy of various spinal imaging techniques and BMD as predictors for scoliosis in NF1. In our cohort we measured the lumbar spine (LS) BMD both by ...

see P487....

An increasing number of biomaterials are in development, seeking to mimic the natural cascade of events during fracture repair. However, these biomaterials need to be rigorously tested prior to clinical application. In vitro testing lacks the physiological environment, while in vivo studies do not always predict the patient response. Here we hypothesize that the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay can be used to culture human living bone and we aim to examin...

see PP360....