Bone Abstracts

Objective: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter with multiple functions in the gastrointestinal tract and CNS. Recent animal studies indicate that serotonin regulates bone mass and remodelling. In humans, a handful of studies have shown decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in adults treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) for depressive symptoms. Although SSRI’s are prescribed in pediatric practice, there are few studies examining the effect of SSRIs on bon...

Thalassemia is a chronic anemia associate with high rates of osteoporosis. To determine how erythropoiesis leads to bone loss in thalassemia, we used the th3/+ thalassemia mouse to study the role of erythropoietin (EPO) and hematopoietic progenitors (HP), since they are both increased in thalassemia.Methods: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cultures and MSC cocultures with various HP from wild type (wt) and th3/+ mice were diff...

Objective: Transfusion dependent thalassemia (TM) patients have routinely been placed on vitamin D supplementation due to their increased risk of osteoporosis, as well as their high rates of vitamin D deficiency (serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) <11 ng/ml) and insufficiency (25-OHD <30 ng/ml). Furthermore, recent studies have linked 25-OHD levels to hypercalciuria and nephrolithiasis in TM. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of vitamin D supplemen...