Bone Abstracts

Temporary brittle bone disease has been a controversial explanation of multiple unexplained fractures in early childhood. Evidence for its existence is growing. We report the clinical and laboratory features of 104 patients investigated personally. These patients had in aggregate 984 fractures or fracture-like lesions.Our patients included disproportionate numbers of infants born preterm or as a result of multiple pregnancy. The fractures were mainly ide...

This paper reviews clinical reports of vitamin D deficiency rickets in neonates from 1930 onwards. In 24 reports there was good evidence of maternal deficiency. In some the diagnosis of the rickets led to the identification of symptomatic osteomalacia in the mothers; several had been severe and longstanding. Of the 15 mothers who had assays for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) 13 had values <25 nmol/l (10 ng/ml) and 10 had values <12.5 nmol/l (5 ng/ml).<p class="a...