ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to clarify the efficacy of alendronate and raloxifene for preventing bone loss in patients with hip fracture by monitoring bone mineral densities (BMDs) and biochemical markers during the 9-month period after fracture. Patients and Methods: Eighty-two female hip fracture patients from 50 to 99 years old (mean ± SD: 81.6 ± 9.5) were randomly divided into two groups; there were 46 patients in the alendronate-treated group (group ALN) and 36 patients in the raloxifene-treated group (group RLX). Drugs were administered to patients six weeks after their operations. Lumbar spine BMD and neck, trochanter, Ward's and total BMDs of the contralateral proximal femur, serum intact osteocalcin (intact OC), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and urinary N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) were measured just before the start of drug administration and at 9 months thereafter. Results: Twenty-two out of 46 patients in group ALN and 23 out of 36 patients in group RLX completed the study. The most common reason for dropping out was the patient's failure to visit the outpatient clinic. Trochanter BMD in group ALN tended to increase by 8.4% compared with the baseline, and total hip BMD in group RLX showed a significant increase (5.7%), although neck BMD in both groups decreased during the 9 months of treatment (–8.7% for group ALN and –4.2% for group RLX compared with the baseline). Spine BMD did not change significantly in eithr group. Serum BAP and urinary NTX decreased significantly in both groups. Serum intact OC did not change significantly. Conclusions: Both alendronate and raloxifene have a favorable effect on trochanter and total BMDs of the contralateral proximal femur in the short period after hip fracture. However, both drugs could not prevent bone loss in the femoral neck during the 9 months of treatment.
ABSTRACT
We present here a case of gouty synovitis of the knee in a patient with partial hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase deficiency (Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome), which is an inherited purine metabolic disorder. Magnetic resonance images and computed tomography showed a diffuse mass with stippled calcification around the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the posterior intercondylar notch. Arthroscopic examination revealed that the articular surfaces and menisci in the affected knee were almost completely covered with white chalky monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. The diffuse mass around the PCL was composed of proliferative synovial villi covered with MSU crystals that looked like "snow covered trees". Arthroscopic total synovectomy was performed. The posterior trans-septal portal was especially useful for removal of the proliferative villi around the PCL. To our knowledge, this is the first report of arthroscopic examination in a patient with Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome.