Bone Abstracts

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gaseous molecule produced endogenously in mammalian cells. H2S was recently found to play important roles in the regulation of inflammation, redox homeostasis and cell lifespan. Moreover, H2S was shown to maintain mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) function and stimulate osteogenic differentiation of MSC. However, it is unclear whether H2S plays any role in the bone loss induced by estrogen deficiency.<p clas...

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of low serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities in patients referred to a tertiary children’s hospital. Another item was to explore potentially missed diagnoses and to evaluate the role of laboratory screening for hypophosphatasia.Study design: A retrospective evaluation over an 6-year period (between December 2010 and December 2016) carried out to identify children and adolescents, referred to Anna Meyer Chi...

Objectives: Bisphosphonates are frequently used in children with skeletal disorders, however optimal dosing and regimens are unknown. Early treatment focused on pamidronate (PAM), a second-generation formulation, however use of zoledronate (ZOL), a more potent third-generation bisphosphonate, has recently increased due to shorter and less frequent infusions. The objective of this study is to compare short-term safety of ZOL and PAM in a pediatric population.<p class="abste...

The neuro-hypophiseal hormone oxytocin (OT) is a novel anabolic regulator of bone mass (Tamma et al. PNAS, 2009), upregulating expression of critical osteoblast transcription factors. These effects are mediated by oxytocin receptor, a GPCR expressed by osteoblasts. Recently an increasing number of reports indicates that GPCRs could be targeted to the nuclear membrane; prostaglandin receptors, endothelin receptors and β-adrenergic receptors among others (...

Introduction: Recently reported high incidences of hip fractures emphasize the need of more effective methods for osteoporosis diagnosis, currently performed essentially by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examinations of the proximal femur. However, high costs and radiation-related issues do not allow DXA employment for population mass screenings. Aim of this study is to carry out a preliminary clinical validation of a new ultrasound (US)-based method to perform femoral...

Introduction: Currently, the only available method to reliably predict osteoporotic fractures is represented by bone mineral density (BMD) measurements on proximal femur or spine, which require the use of X-rays. Aim of this study is to illustrate working principles and feasibility of a new ultrasound (US) method for bone densitometry and osteoporosis diagnosis applicable on both proximal femur and spine.Methods: A new fully automatic algorithm was devel...

Objective: Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopment disorder. More than 95% of RTT female have mutations in methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2), whose protein product modulates gene transcription. Specific MECP2 mutations may lead phenotypic variability and different degrees of disease severity. It is known that low bone mass is a frequent complication of subjects with Rett syndrome. This study aimed to investigate if specific MECP2 mutations may affects the degree...

To evaluate the regeneration of alveolar bone after treatment with bone-resorption inhibitors in old acyclic rats that had been through a long period of low estrogen. Thirty-two female Wistar rats with 20 months old intact and ovariectomized (OVX at 4 months of age), were randomized into four groups (n=8/group): i) intact; ii) OVX/O (corn oil); iii) OVX/E2 (17β-estradiol, 400 μg) and iv) OVX/RLX (Raloxifene, 1 mg/kg per day). All treatments began ...

Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated to an higher risk of fractures despite a normal or increased bone mineral density measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).The purpose of this 3-years longitudinal study was to assess the changes of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters in a group of postmenopausal women with T2DM and in healthy controls.Materials and method: The analyses were performed on a gro...

Objectives: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a bone disease mainly caused by collagen type I mutations and characterized by bone fragility. No definitive cure is available and the search for novel treatments is necessary. The small teleost D. rerio is particularly appealing for drug screening approaches. A zebrafish OI model (Chihuahua) carrying in heterozygosis the G574D substitution in the α1 chain of collagen type I is available. To use this model for ...