Coronary-artery calcification is common and progressive in young adults with end-stage renal disease who are undergoing dialysis.

Intermittent calcitriol therapy is commonly used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients undergoing regular dialysis, but there is little available information about the histologic response of bone to this form of therapy. Accordingly, 14 children and adolescents with biopsy-proven secondary hyperparathyroidism were treated with intermittent oral or intraperitoneal doses of calcitriol for 12 months. Biochemical indices of mineral metabolism including serum intact PTH levels were measured monthly throughout the study, and bone biopsies were repeated at the end of treatment. Before treatment, 11 patients had osteitis fibrosa and three had mild lesions of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Histologic improvement was seen in 12 of 14 patients, and osteitis fibrosa resolved in 10 of 11 cases. Bone formation decreased in all patients during intermittent calcitriol therapy, falling from 861 +/- 380 to 150 +/- 170 microns2/mm2/day, P < 0.001. Bone formation decreased to normal in six patients, but six patients developed adynamic lesions of bone with subnormal bone formation rates. Serum PTH and alkaline phosphatase levels declined in those who developed adynamic bone, but values remained elevated in patients with normal rates of bone formation at follow-up evaluation. Neither the mean dose of calcitriol nor the average dose per kilogram body weight differed in patients with adynamic lesions. Thus, adynamic renal osteodystrophy develops in a substantial number of patients during intermittent calcitriol therapy. Although declining serum PTH and alkaline phosphatase levels suggest the development of the adynamic lesion, bone formation decreases in some patients despite persistently high serum PTH levels. Calcitriol may directly suppress osteoblastic activity in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism when given in large doses to patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.

Serum intact PTH [1-84] levels were evaluated as a potential non-invasive method for the diagnosis of renal osteodystrophy in children treated with CAPD/CCPD. Sixty-eight bone biopsy samples were obtained from 55 patients, aged 13 +/- 5 (X +/- SD) years, undergoing CAPD/CCPD for 29 +/- 13 months; osteitis fibrosa was present in 34 cases, mild lesions of secondary hyperparathyroidism in six, 15 had adynamic lesions, and 13 were classified as normal histology. Serum calcium levels were higher in patients with adynamic bone or normal bone histology than in those with secondary hyperparathyroidism, whereas serum phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and PTH levels were greater in patients with osteitis fibrosa. The combination of a serum PTH level > 200 pg/ml and a serum calcium value < 10 mg/dl was 85% sensitive and 100% specific for identifying patients with high-turnover lesions of bone. Serum PTH values < 200 pg/ml were 100% sensitive but only 79% specific for patients with adynamic bone; specificity increased to 92%, however, using the combined criteria of a PTH level < 150 pg/ml and a serum calcium level > 10 mg/dl. Higher serum calcium levels and serum PTH values within or below the normal range characterize patients with the adynamic lesion of renal osteodystrophy. Serum PTH levels of approximately 200 pg/ml are useful for distinguishing patients with low-turnover lesions of renal osteodystrophy from those with secondary hyperparathyroidism.

SummaryBackground and objectives The relationship between parathyroid hormone, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), and indices of bone turnover and mineralization in children with early CKD is unknown; thus, this study characterizes the features of renal osteodystrophy and their relationship to biochemical markers of mineral metabolism.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Fifty-two patients 2-21 years of age with predialysis CKD underwent tetracycline-labeled bone biopsy. Anthropomorphic measurements and biochemical values were obtained at the time of biopsy.Results Serum phosphorus levels were increased in 4% of patients with stage 3 CKD and 43% of those with stage 4/5 CKD. Parathyroid hormone concentrations were elevated in 36% of patients with stage 2, 71% with stage 3, and 93% with stage 4/5 CKD, whereas FGF-23 values were elevated in 81% of all patients, regardless of CKD stage. Bone turnover was normal in all patients with stage 2, but was increased in 13% with stage 3 and 29% with stage 4/5 CKD. Defective mineralization was present in 29% of patients with stage 2, 42% with stage 3, and 79% with stage 4/5 CKD. Defective skeletal mineralization was associated with lower serum calcium levels and increased parathyroid hormone concentrations.Conclusions Elevated circulating FGF-23 levels and defects in skeletal mineralization early in the course of CKD suggest that factors other than the traditional markers of mineral deficiency play a crucial role in the development of renal bone disease.