Bone Abstracts

Introduction: The fat-soluble and vitamin K2 homologe Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) is needed for post-translational modification of proteins essential in blood coagulation, and in metabolic pathways in various tissues like bone. Recent studies found an association between long-term anticoagulant treatment (OAC) and reduced bone quality due to reduction of active osteocalcin. OAC is often linked to an undesired soft-tissue calcification in both children and adults and may lead to incre...

Infantile spinal muscular atrophy X-linked 2 (SMAX2) is a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy manifesting in severe hypotonia, areflexia, arthrogryposis, facial weakness and cryptorchidism, as frequently accompanied by bone fractures.We present a boy patient with SMAX2 who presented typical symptoms from birth, as preceded by reduced fetal movements in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. In the first days of life the patient was found to have s...

Metastasis to bone is the leading cause of death for breast carcinoma, and much focus in the biology and therapy relays on epigenetic alterations. Since DNA-methyltransferase blockade counteracts tumour growth, we utilized 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (dAza) to clarify whether molecular events undergoing epigenetic control were critical for bone metastatization. Here, we studied Secreted-Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC), matricellular glycoprotein associated with bo...

Introduction: Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is currently the best technique available to evaluate bone mass, enabling the diagnosis of osteoporosis, the prediction of fracture risk and monitoring.Clinical good practices consider as preferred measuring sites the lumbar (L1–L4) and proximal femur (neck and total). The vertebral morphometry is a quantitative method for the diagnosis of vertebral fractures based on measuring vertebral heights.<p...

Objectives: Postural balance and gait speed are risk factors for falls and hip fractures independent of bone mineral density (BMD). The standard risk assessment tool, FRAX, does however not include any estimate of fall risk. Identifying high-risk individuals correctly is be of great clinical importance why further improvement of FRAX would be clinically valuable. The primary aim of this study was to see if one-leg standing time, the maximum number of steps on a line or gait sp...

Objective: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the most commonly used method for evaluating bone mineral density (BMD) in children and adolescents. An innovative echographic approach for osteoporosis diagnosis, directly applicable on both femoral neck and lumbar spine, has been recently introduced and clinically validated through single-center and multicenter studies in a adult population. This developed approach has been subsequently defined as Radiofrequency Echographi...

Background: Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) are treated with L-thyroxine (L-T4) in relatively hight doses to suppress endogenous TSH levels. Very long-term effect of thyroid hormones supplementation on bone are controversial.Objetive: To study the possible negative effects on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone markers in DTC patients followed in our center.Methods: A 46 po...

Acute phase reaction (APR) is the most frequent side effect following i.v. nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) infusion. A recent observation in osteoporotic women treated with N-BPs evidenced a negative association between 25(OH)D levels and APR, likely due to the immuno-modulatory effects of vitamin D on γδTcells. However, this association remains to be demonstrated in patients with Paget’s disease of bone (PDB). Moreover whether vitamin D supplementat...

For a reliable assessment of bone’s material quality in a clinical environment, a fast way to measure the mechanical properties of bone is needed. The investigation of material heterogeneity and anisotropy resulting from bone remodeling and mineralization requires an imaging technique with micrometer resolution. Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) using high-frequency lenses allows measuring the stiffness of bone under wet conditions in a non-destructive way with this spat...

Radiation therapy is one of the most effective and indispensable treatment modalities for cancer patients. Known tissue complications caused by radiation-induced stem cell depletion, may result in structural and functional alterations of the surrounding matrix. Although, studies have demonstrated that ionizing radiation can induce apoptosis and senescence, little is known about the effects of therapeutic irradiation concerning the commitment of mesenchymal stem cells to the os...