More on bone mineral screening for osteoporosis

Morpho-densitometry of bone using a trigonometric function

When long bone is considered to be a tube-like structure filled up with a homogenous material, single-directional densitometry of it separately shows cortical and medullary bone mass using a trigonometric function at any given section. Both bone masses can be differentiated from each other using the values of peak bone density and central bone density. This densitometry is based on the two-dimensional structure of long bone. This principle can be universally applied to skeletal disorders including osteoporosis, metabolic bone disorders, and bone tumors in which the mineral content is altered. Dynamic changes in calcium metabolism can be analyzed serially without any invasion at low cost.

The value of bone scintigraphy in the follow-up of vertebral osteoporosis

In an open study, we have assessed the bone/soft tissue uptake index in recent osteoporotic vertebral collapse using scintigraphy. The evolution of these cases was followed-up at 6 months in 22 patients treated with 100 IU of salmon calcitonin plus 500 mg of elemental calcium/10 days per month and in 18 patients treated with 500 mg of elemental calcium only on a daily basis. There were no index differences between groups prior to treatment. At six months, the group treated with calcitonin plus calcium showed a significant decrease from 10.2 +/- 6.4 to 3.2 +/- 1.1 (p less than 0.001), while the calcium only group did not show any significant changes (12.1 +/- 6.6 vs 9.2 +/- 4.6), considering that there were significant differences between groups (p less than 0.001). On a mid-term basis, these results have shown the values of the bone/soft tissue index in the follow-up of osteoporotic vertebral collapse.

An evaluation of the contribution of bone mass measurements to clinical practice

Measurement of bone mass by dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) provides a powerful research tool, but its role in clinical practice is contentious. In the present review, several questions of clinical relevance relating to bone mass are addressed and the contribution of DPA assessed. While there is currently much conflicting data in the literature, it is nevertheless predicted that with the recent improvements in DPA (X-ray systems) there will be much wider clinical application.