Bone Abstracts

Vitamin D deficiency is common in older persons and non-western immigrants. Vitamin D is often started in loading doses of 50 000 IU/ml solution. Though, generally considered safe, this highly concentrated solution carries some risks as is illustrated by the following cases. A woman of >80 years old was admitted with hypercalcemia, calcium 3.27 mmol/l. She complained of nausea, thirst and polyuria for 3 months. History included cholecystitis, atrial fibrillation, myocardia...

The murine osteoprogenitor cell line, KS483 (Percuros, The Netherlands) is a well-established model for investigation of osteoblast differentiation and bone formation processes. The mesenchymal characteristics of this cell line allow it to differentiate into either adipocytes or mature, mineralizing osteoblasts. Various phases can be distinguished during osteoblast differentiation and maturation; namely proliferation, matrix formation, matrix maturation, and mineralization.</p...

Although trials have shown that exercise has positive effects on bone mineral density (BMD), not all exercise modalities are osteogenic and the majority of exercise trials have been conducted in older women. The aim of this study was to systematically review trials examining the effect of weight-bearing and resistance-based exercise modalities on the BMD of hip and lumbar spine of middle-aged and older men. Eight electronic databases were searched in August 2012. Only randomis...

Young transsexuals at a minimum age of 12 years are treated with GnRH-analogues (GnRHa) to suspend pubertal development until the addition of hormones of the desired sex is started at a minimum age of 16 years. The effect of this treatment on adult bone mineral density (BMD) is still unknown. We aimed to assess BMD at the age of 22, as this is near its peak in healthy individuals.In this prospective observational study 19 female to male (FtM) and 16 male...

Background: Long-term use of bisphosphonates has raised concerns about the association with Atypical Femur Fractures (AFFs) that have been reported mainly in postmenopausal women.Clinical case: An 18-year-old patient with juvenile osteoporosis based on X-linked osteoporosis due to a PLS3 mutation developed a low trauma femoral fracture after seven years of intravenous and two years of oral bisphosphonate use, fulfilling the revised ASBMR diagnostic crite...

Background: Elevated plasma homocysteine levels are a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures. Supplementation with vitamin B12/folic acid lowers homocysteine levels. This study aimed to determine whether vitamin B12/folic acid supplementation reduces osteoporotic fracture incidence in hyperhomocysteinemic elderly.Methods: B-PROOF is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial including 2 919 participants aged &gE;65 years with elevated homocyste...

Destruction of the articular cartilage is the major feature of Osteoarthritis (OA). Ageing is the primary risk factor, but how ageing results in OA is still an enigma. In OA, articular chondrocytes degrade their own matrix, while in healthy articular cartilage they preserve it.Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a central regulator of chondrocyte proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix production. Deregulation of TGFβ si...

Objective: To study the trends in prescription of different anti-osteoporotic drugs (AOD) in the UK population aged 50 years or above from 1990 till 2012.Methods: Retrospective observational study using the CPRD data link representative for the total UK population. The incidence of prescription of a specific AOD was calculated by dividing the number of prescriptions by the total person-years (py) of follow-up.Results: AOD prescript...

Since the identification of LRP5 as the causative gene for the osteoporosis pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) as well as the high bone mass (HBM) phenotype, LRP5 and the Wnt/β-catenin signalling have been extensively studied for their role in the differentiation and proliferation of osteoblasts, in the apoptosis of osteoblasts and osteocytes and in the response of bone to mechanical loading. However, more recently the direct effect of LRP5 on osteoblasts and bone formation has...

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with impaired physical functioning and several chronic diseases and might thereby affect quality of life and self-rated health. The aim of this study was to assess relationships of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) with quality of life and self-rated health, and to examine whether physical performance and number of chronic diseases mediate these relationships.Methods: Data were obtained from the LA...