Relationships between quantitative histological measurements and noninvasive assessments of bone mass.

We performed a comprehensive analysis of the relationships between histologic indices in the iliac crest (cancellous bone volume, trabecular structural indices, cortical width, and core width) and bone density in the spine, hip, and wrist in 81 patients with various metabolic bone diseases including osteoporosis, osteomalacia, hyperparathyroidism, and Paget's disease. In the whole group, all of the histologic indices correlated significantly with bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine and the three regions of the hip (r = 0.28-0.73), with the exception of cortical width which correlated with the hip but not the spine (r = 0.21). There was no relationship between the histologic variables and either the distal or proximal radius. When the osteoporotic subgroup was considered separately, the relationships between BMD and both cancellous bone volume and the structural indices (trabecular number, separation, and thickness) were lost. In contrast, cortical width correlated more strongly with both spine and hip BMD. The relationship between core width and the spine was lost but persisted in the hip region. In female osteoporotic patients alone, only cortical width remained significantly correlated with spine or hip BMD. We conclude that the relationships between bone densities in the axial and peripheral regions and histomorphometric variables in iliac crest are not constant. In addition, cancellous bone volume and the trabecular structural indices relate well to noninvasive axial BMD measurements only in a heterogenous group with a large variance in both parameters. In the more homogeneous group with osteoporosis, cortical width appears to be a more powerful predictor of BMD at the important sites of osteoporotic fracture.

Skeletal disease in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Most patients with primary hyperparathyroidism in the 1980s do not have evidence of bone disease when they are evaluated by conventional radiography. We sought to determine whether skeletal involvement can be appreciated when more sensitive techniques, such as bone densitometry and bone biopsy, are utilized. We investigated 52 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. They had mild hypercalcemia, 2.8 +/- 0.03 mmol/liter (11.1 +/- 0.1 mg/dl), low normal phosphorus, 0.9 +/- 0.03 mmol/liter (2.8 +/- 0.1 mg/dl), and no symptoms or specific radiological signs of skeletal involvement. The greatest reduction in bone mineral density was found at the site of predominantly cortical bone, the radius (0.54 +/- 0.1 g/cm; 79 +/- 2% of expected), whereas the site of predominantly cancellous bone, the lumbar spine (1.07 +/- 0.03 g/cm2), was normal (95 +/- 3% of expected). The site of mixed composition, the femoral neck (0.78 +/- 0.14 g/cm2), gave an intermediate value (89 +/- 2% of expected). Preferential involvement of cortical bone with apparent preservation of cancellous bone in primary hyperparathyroidism was confirmed by percutaneous bone biopsy. Over 80% of patients had a mean cortical width below the expected mean, whereas cancellous bone volume in over 80% of patients was above the expected mean. The results indicate that the majority of patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism have evidence by bone densitometry and bone biopsy for cortical bone disease. The results also indicate that the mild hyperparathyroid state may be protective of cancellous bone. The therapeutic implications of these observations await further longitudinal experience with this study population.

Trabecular architecture in iliac crest bone biopsies: infra-individual variability in structural parameters and changes with age.

A histomorphometric study was conducted on bilateral iliac crest samples obtained at autopsy from 27 subjects who had died suddenly. Six parameters related to cancellous bone structure were measured: bone volume (BV/TV), surface density (BS/TV), surface/volume ratio (BS/BV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th.), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp). There were no significant differences between right and left sides in the mean values for each parameter. However, when subjects were considered individually, there was a substantial difference in the majority of cases for all parameters. The intra-individual variation (IIV) was calculated for each subject as the percentage deviation from the mean for the two sides. There was a wide range in IIV (0.05-30.27%) with a mean value of approximately 11.5% for each parameter. In males the mean IIV ranged from 9 to 11% and from 14 to 16% in females. The IIV in BV/TV was positively correlated with age. Data generated on a subsample of 15 males were used to predict patient group sizes required to detect minimum significant differences in studies involving repeat biopsies. Sample sizes of 32, 16, and 8 patients would be required for relative increments in BV/TV of 29, 36, and 46%, respectively, to be statistically significant. Tb.Sp increased significantly with age but there was no significant change in Tb.Th. This supports the view that bone loss with aging occurs primarily through a mechanism involving complete disappearance of individual trabecular plates.

Unicameral bone cyst of the talus.

Unicameral bone cysts are rarely observed in the foot. A histologically proven unicameral bone cyst occurred in the talus of a three-year-old boy. Six additional cases in the world literature are cited to illustrate the therapeutic and diagnostic problems encountered with this lesion.

Prosthetic synovitis.

The term "prosthetic synovitis" is applied to reactive changes resulting from a synovial-like membrane formed between a failed prosthesis (noninfected) and the bone interface. This report is the result of light-microscopic and clinical examination of more than 100 specimens obtained at surgery of failed previous hip replacements. The morphology and cell distribution of those tissues removed at surgery in 51 noninfected cemented total hip operations allowed a quantitative estimate of surface cell population by a "touch imprint" technique; qualitative and quantitative estimate (scale, 1 to 4+) of cell population and foreign body materials by light microscopy; and electron microscopy and biochemical analysis of selected samples. Histologic examination included the following cell population, in decreasing order of frequency: acidophilic histiocytes (95%); giant cells (80%); fibronoid material (80%); lymphocyte and plasma cells (26%); and neutrophils (8%). Microscopic examination showed that the largest particles of acrylic cement and shards of high-density polyethylene appeared to be walled off by connective tissue capsules. The majority of smaller particles were incorporated into the histiocyte/macrophage or giant cell population. Histochemistry indicated that these particles elicited "foci" of cellular activity within the synovial-like membrane. This increased activity included the appearance of increased endogenous peroxidase activity in those macrophages within the "foci"; increased betagalactosidae activity among these histiocytes; and a localization of acid phosphates activity within giant cells along the borders of inclusions within the cell cytoplasm. We conclude that wear products resulting from total hip arthroplasty, including the bone cement, can induce increased lysosomal and proteolytic activity within the histiocyte and giant cell populations. It may be important to emphasize that there were "reactive foci" within the membrane and that the entire membrane, even though infiltrated with macrophages, did not respond uniformly to the presence of prosthetic debris. We advance a theory that the first step toward a distractive phenomenon at the interface is micromotion between the cement and bone. Micromotion may be caused by removal of subchondral plate during total hip replacement, leading to fatigue and loss of trabeculae and resultant increase motion, thus bone loss. Bone loss may be the direct result of mechanical injury, increased osteoclasis, or direct lysis of bone by various enzymes released by the interface membrane.