Bone Abstracts

Bone resorption and formation occur in a tightly regulated fashion reflecting the coupled activities of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Several pathological conditions perturb this balance, including osteoporosis and skeletal metastases. In the case of metastases, the uncoupling of resorption and formation activities contributes to disseminated tumor cells homing to the bone and to tumor growth within the bone in highly localized regions. Therefore, a site-specific marker of bone...

Bisphosphonate treatment reduces fracture risk in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. However, some patients have an inadequate response to treatment. Estradiol and sclerostin play an important role in bone metabolism. Sclerostin is an endogenous inhibitor of osteoblastic activity and estrogen deficiency increases osteoclast activity and bone resorption.We examined the influence of both measures on fracture incidence in postmenopausal osteoporosis in...

Hip fractures are a major cause of burden in terms of mortality, disability, and costs. In Ireland, 3000 hip fracture occur annually and is expected to increase over the coming years1. Estimated cost of hip fractures is &z.euro;14 300/admission2. Outpatient non-attendance is a source of inefficiency, wasting time, resources and lengthens waiting lists. Non attendees have a significant negative impact on productivity, their own care and resources. In 2008,...

Cases of non-vitamin D deficiency rickets have been reported in African countries including The Gambia, South Africa and Nigeria where the likely aetiology is a chronically low dietary calcium intake. Additional aetiological factors in Gambian studies are iron deficiency leading to a disruption in phosphate metabolism.Surgical correction of pathological rickets-like lower-limb deformities is the most common operation performed at the Beit Cure Orthopaedi...

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) of prematurity is a well-recognized complication of preterm birth. Yet there is limited evidence for the optimal assessment, monitoring, and subsequent bone health management.Retrospective audit of 171 infants born <32 weeks’ gestation between November 2012 and January 2014 at three Monash Health neonatal units (Melbourne, Australia) was undertaken. Infants had mean gestational age (GA) 28.6±2.1 weeks and birth ...

Introduction: Insulin sensitising agents are reported to have a diverse range of effects on bone with metformin exerting positive effects and thiazolidinenediones (TZDs) exerting negative effects. 5’AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a critical role in cellular energy homeostasis. It is widely expressed in the body and can be activated by metformin.Objective:: We investigated the role of AMPK pathway in mediating the effects of metformin on t...

Background: Cancer patients often receive a combination of drugs that target both the microenvironment and the tumour cells. However, the role of the bone microenvironment (BME) in mediating peripheral breast cancer growth remains poorly understood. This is the first study to determine whether reduced subcutaneous tumour growth following combination therapy is due to direct interactions between the drugs and tumour cells or through zoledronic acid induced alterations to the BM...

Osteoporosis and vertebral fractures are recognised complications of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) but the underlying causes are incompletely understood. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a decoy receptor for RANK-L and inhibits osteoclastogenesis. We have previously demonstrated that antibodies to OPG (OPG-Ab) are associated with osteoporosis and increased bone turnover in patients with autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether OPG-Abs were detectable in AS pat...

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Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women and frequently results in osteolytic bone metastases. Amino-bisphosphonates are a standard bone protective therapy and, similarly to statins, inhibit the mevalonate pathway that is crucial for posttranslational protein modifications (farnesylation and geranylation). Direct anti-tumor effects of amino-bisphosphonates and statins have been suggested but high concentrations are necessary to achieve meaningful effects. Our stu...