The Biochemical Bone Marker of the Pre and Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women

The main objectives of this study were to assess the age related changes of biochemical indices of bone turnover in postmenopausal osteoporotic females, and to assess the correlations of these indices with bone mineral density(BMD) of lumbar spine measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DEXA). Subgects were 70 osteoporotic women in pre and postmenopausal periods. The results showed that Postmenopausal women had higher level of Osteocalcin(OS) and Deoxypyridinoline(DPYD) with lower level BMD of lumbar spine compared with premenopausal women. Age, height, and weight had significant correlations with BMD of lumbar spine. Also a significant correlation was observed between the OS and DPYD. Pre and postmenopausal osteoporotic women(5, 10, 15 year duration) were similar for the rate of bone turnover. These results indicate that the biochemical indices used in our study are the potential markers to predict an age related change of BMD, as well as bone turnover rate of the lower BMD subjects. The combination of BMD measurement and assessment of the bone turnover rate by measuring biochemical indices would be helpful for the screening and treatment of patients with risks of osteoporosis.

Effects of Etidronate Therapy on Osteoporosis in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

One of the sequelae of spinal cord trauma which start soon after the onset of injury is the loss of the calcium from bone. Bone mineral and matrix resorption causes negative calcium balance, and eventually osteoporosis. Etidronate disodium(etidronate) is an oral diphosphonate compound known to reduce bone resorption through the inhibition of osteoclasic activity. Since continuous oral treatment with high doses of etidronate may lead to the impairment of bone mineralization and the cessation of bone remodeling, a ideal therapeutic regimen consist of the intermittent cyclical administration of the diphosphonate in a dose that inhibits bone resorption. To assess the effect of etidronate on bone metabolism and bone mineral density after spinal cord injury, we studied two groups of 7 spinal cord injury(SCI) patients with etidronate and 7 SCI patients without etidronate. Seven patients of treatment group received oral etidronate (5 mg/kg/day) for 2 weeks followed by a 10-week period in which no drugs were given. This sequence was repeated 4 times, for a total of 48 weeks. The results showed that the patients receiving etidronate had siginificant decrease in the serum osteocalcin(OC), urine deoxypyridinoline(D-PYD) level but no increase in their mean bone density. We can carefully conclude that intermittent cyclical therapy with etidronate siginificantly reduces bone metabolic rate and inhibit bone mineral loss on osteoporosis in spinal cord injury patients.

Normal Values of Tendon Reflexes in Normal Korean Adults

The purpose of this study was to establish the normal values of tendon reflex in normal Korean adults. Ankle tendon reflex(ATR), patellar tendon reflex(PTR) and medial hamstring tendon reflex (MHTR) responses were recorded in 96 limbs of 48 normal Korean adults by delivering tendon taps with an electric reflex hammer. Latency to the onset of the triggered response, peak to peak amplitude and duration of the wave were measured after several repetitions. Minimum latency and duration of the elicited response were chosen to calculate normal means. Side differences were also evaluated. As amplitude showed a marked interindividual variation and side to side variation, lowest recorded value was selected to represent the lower limit of normal. Mean values of latency, duration and amplitude were 30.27?3.18 msec, 11.05?1.08 msec and 1.98?0.89 mV for ATR, 16.37?1.58 msec, 20.63?1.68 msec and 1.56?0.76 mV for PTR and 20.25?2.14 msec, 10.95?1.57 msec and 0.71?0.56 mV for MHTR. Age, height, and leg length showed significant correlation with the latency of ATR, PTR and MHTR latency(P<0.001). We believe our results can be used as guideline researches in clinical practice.