Breaking a bone reduces bone density throughout the body



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A search was conducted to find out why even a fracture can lead to others.

According to two new studies from the UC Davis Health show, breaking a bone results in bone density losses throughout the body, not only near the site of the fracture and primarily at the time of the fracture.

Studies are among the first to associate fractures with systemic bone loss. They are also starting to look for treatments that preserve long-term skeletal health and reduce sensitivity to additional fractures and, possibly, osteoporosis, which is diagnosed when bone density losses are severe.

"We know that a fracture seems to lead others, but we did not know why," said lead author Blaine Christiansen, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of California at Davis. "Our work is the first step on the road to identifying the cellular mechanisms of systemic bone loss."

The first study, published in Osteoporosis International, involved approximately 4,000 participants in the study of osteoporotic fractures, an observational study of older women including measurements of bone mineral density of the hip and history of osteoporosis. fractures regularly collected over 20 years.

The results showed that hip BMD decreased with time in all women in the study, but it was higher in those who had fractured a bone even though the fracture was not close to the hip. The reductions in BMD ranged from 0.89 to 0.77% per year for fractures and 0.66% per year for fractures without fractures. These losses were greatest during the first two years of a breakup.

Published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, the second study was conducted in mice with femur fractures and BMD tests in various bones. Again, bone loss occurred throughout the body, especially in the spine, and was greater in the first two weeks of fracture. It was also accompanied by higher rates of inflammatory markers in the blood.

Results from the second study also revealed interesting age-related recovery differences. Younger mice finally recovered their BMD levels before the fracture, unlike older mice.

Christiansen then hopes to further characterize post-fracture inflammatory factors that may contribute to bone loss after a fracture.

"It is possible that these factors are essential to trigger BMD loss once a bone is broken," Christiansen said. "Ultimately, we hope to develop therapeutic strategies that interrupt these processes and prevent bone loss.

(This article has not been modified by Business Standard staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed).

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