Bone Abstracts

Sclerostin, encoded by the SOST gene, functions as an inhibitor of the Wnt pathway and thus it is an important regulator of bone homeostasis. The fact that osteoblasts, the only cells expressing SOST, lay buried deeply in the bone matrix, poses intrinsic difficulties to the study of the regulation of this gene. Since RUNX2 and SP7/OSX are two known regulators of the differentiation of cells of the osteoblastic lineage, the aim of this study was to determine t...

Background: Hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis (HFTC)/hyperostosis-hyperphosphatemia syndrome (HHS) is an autosomal recessive disorder due to deficiency of or resistance to intact fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). This leads to hyperphosphatemia, increased renal reabsorption of phosphorus (TRP), and elevated or inappropriately normal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D). Affected individuals may develop ectopic calcifications and/or diaphyseal hyperostosis. Mutations ...

Radiographs of the second metacarpal are used to assess bone strength development in paediatric populations. Children with achondroplasia and osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) have known differences in bone strength. Details of how bone strength develops and compares within these populations to unaffected children are lacking. A data set for patients with achondroplasia and OI was established.A retrospective IRB-approved review of bone-age films (n=6...

Introduction: Effective screening for vitamin D (Vit-D) insufficiency is desirable. Pigmentation of unexposed (constitutive) skin and exposed (facultative) skin can be measured with skin colourimetry to assess dermal capability in synthesizing Vit-D and degree of sunlight exposure respectively. This study aimed at evaluating whether skin colourimetry could be used to screen Vit-D insufficiency among adolescents.Methods: 240 healthy adolescents (mean age=...

Context: Variations in sex hormones influence bone health in men. Aging in men is associated with a decrease in testosterone (T) levels.Aims: To examine the relationship between T levels and changes in bone health status as measured by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) at the phalanges and the os calcis and by peripheral bone mineral density (pBMD) at the phalanges in healthy elderly Spanish men.Methods and material: We examined 162 me...

Introduction: We have recently shown that T cells play a key role in postmenopausal bone loss, here we investigate the influence of estrogen replacement therapy in the control of the immune system and osteoclastogenesis.Description of methods: We enrolled in the study 30 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis randomized to estrogen replacement therapy (HRT) or raloxifene (RLX) associated with calcium and vitamin D or calcium and vitamin D alone.<p cl...

Participation in high impact sports during growth increases bone quality. Gymnasts have previously displayed increased bone mass and strength at both the upper and lower limbs compared with controls. However, it is not yet understood how bone microarchitecture is affected by gymnastics participation, and if this differs based on gymnastics discipline. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of gymnastics discipline on bone microarchitecture in a...

Introduction: Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is an inflammatory disease causing rapid loss of teeth in young patients.Aim: Determine degree of impact of COL1A1 gene on likelihood of AgP development.Materials and methods: Study included 47 patients with AgP, 40 patients with osteoporosis (OP), and 64 healthy patients (HP). Polymorphic variant c.104-441G>T (COL1A1) was studied. Statistics: Fisher’s...

Tissue healing/reconstruction as well as exacerbated inflammatory diseases may benefit from stem cell based therapies. Ex vivo isolated tissue mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) displaying multi-potent activity and immune-regulatory functions were long ago proposed as therapeutic cells and already tested in many clinical assays. Nevertheless, their use may be restricted because of the few number that can be recovered from adult tissues, their limited in vitro e...

Tissue healing/reconstruction as well as exacerbated inflammatory diseases may benefit from stem cell based therapies. Ex vivo isolated tissue mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) displaying multi-potent activity and immune-regulatory functions were long ago proposed as therapeutic cells and already tested in many clinical assays. Nevertheless, their use may be restricted because of the few number that can be recovered from adult tissues, their limited in vitro e...