Bone Abstracts

Introduction: QCT of the spine is typically restricted to the BMD analysis of the lumbar vertebrae. However, fractures frequently occur in the thoracolumbar region. Also the load distribution in the spine may depend on the intervertebral disc space (IDS), a good approximation of the intervertebral disc, which itself cannot be reliably assessed by X-ray based methods.Materials and methods: A QCT 3D acquisition and automated analysis technique (with option...

Although the fracture risk reduction under bisphosphonate treatment in osteoporosis is clinically well established, it remains understudied why the efficacy of bisphosphonate therapy is higher for the prevention of vertebral fractures compared to other fractures.Our aim was to investigate whether anti-resorptive therapy with alendronate would result in different regional variations of structural indices in the vertebral body. We investigated the microstr...

Introduction: Aging, diabetes and other disease conditions are associated with the accumulation of non-enzymatic collagen cross-links (NE-XL) in human tissues. Non-enzymatic cross-links (i.e. advanced glycation end products (AGEs)), occur at the bone collagen level, where they are associated with individuals increased fracture risk caused by bone’s reduced plasticity.Methods: Here, non-destructive Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was u...

Bone mineral density (BMD) as measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) is biased by the variable marrow composition since marrow fat reduces the apparent BMD. We developed a marrow densitometry (MD) method that identifies subvolumes in the vertebrae that consist of bone marrow only (bone voids) and determines their average mineral equivalent density values. The method was developed for use with in vivo high resolution QCT (HR-QCT). HR-QCT still has limited s...