Bone Abstracts

Heritability of bone mineral density (BMD) varies at skeletal sites, possibly reflecting different relative contributions of environmental and genetic influences. To quantify shared genetic influences across different sites, we estimated the genetic correlation of BMD at the upper limb (UL), lower limb (LL) and skull (S) obtained from whole body DXA scans, using bivariate genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA). The study (n=9395) combined data from the Avon Longitu...

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...

Background: Nutrition is a cornerstone of child health. Appropriate nutrient intake contributes to bone health, relevant to conditions of bone fragility. Nutrient intake in chronic conditions can be adversely affected by altered dietary behaviours such as mealtime behaviour and food choice. Dietary behaviour and nutrient intake have not been explored in children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), the commonest cause of children’s bone fragility.Aim:...

Objectives: To describe the incidence of vertebral fractures in steroid-treated children.Methods: Fractures were assessed prospectively each year for 3 years according to the Genant semi-quantitative method. Proportions of children with incident fractures were determined annually over the study period. To examine associations with baseline clinical factors, the 3-year total number of incident fractures was analyzed using multivariable Poisson regression....

Introduction: We recently showed that patients with primary Sjögren Syndrome (pSS) have significantly higher bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine and femoral neck compared with healthy controls. The majority of those patients (69%) were using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which may have favourable effects on BMD.Aim: To evaluate whether HCQ modulates human bone cells in vitro.Methods: Osteoblasts were differenti...

Glucocorticoids (GC) are effective drugs in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including various forms of arthritis. However, their use is limited by negative effects on bone mass and strength, resulting in increased osteoporotic fractures. Conditional knockout mice demonstrated that the GR in osteoblasts is essential for GC-dependent bone loss. Recent studies show that GC profoundly inhibit Wnt signaling by stimulating the expression of Wnt antagonists such as dickkopf-1...

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Introduction: Pregnancy- and lactation-associated osteoporosis (PLO) is an uncommon disease. The majority of cases are seen in the third trimester or early post-partum in the primagravid women and the prominent clinical feature of PLO is the severe and prolonged back pain and height loss. To date the prevalence and the aetiology of this disorder are unclear and there are no guidelines for its treatment.Case report: We report the outcomes of teri...

Bisphosphonates (BPs) such as zoledronic acid (ZA) are widely used to treat bone diseases. The use of BPs can lead to osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), but it is not clear why in particular the jaw bone is affected. Previously, it was shown that osteoclasts derived from different bone sites have different properties. We hypothesize that BPs have distinct effects on bone-site specific osteoclasts or precursors. To investigate this, female C57BL/6J mice were injected intraperitone...

HLA-B27 transgenic rats, developed by inserting into rat genome the gene for HLA-B27, a human Class I major histocompatibility molecule involved in antigen presentation, spontaneously develop arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gastrointestinal inflammation, and severe alveolar bone loss, among other signs of a generalized inflammatory response. Clinical manifestations in these rats closely resemble features of HLA-B27–associated diseases in humans. More recently, investig...