Introduction Obesity and osteoporosis share many features and recent studies have identified many similarities suggesting common pathophysiological mechanisms. Obesity is associated with a higher risk of non-traumatic fractures despite bone mineral density (BMD) being normal or even increased. Materials and methods 54 obese subjects were analyzed (51 ± 16 years, 10 males, 44 females). Spinal deformity index (SDI) is a semi-quantitative method that may be a surrogate index of bone microarchitecture. SDI index was higher in patients than in controls. In 87.5 % of patients and 10 % of controls we found morphometric vertebral fractures, despite a DEXA Tscore not diagnostic of osteoporosis. Conclusion The objective of this study was to assess in obese patients levels of 25OH vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, serum and urinary calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P), BMD, and SDI. 87.5 % of the obese subjects present nontraumatic vertebral fractures and reduced bone quality as measured by SDI.
The increase in lifespan in western society has led to a consequent increase of osteoporosis substantially decreasing quality of life and increasing healthcare costs and the need for additional therapeutic strategies. Even obesity, a major health issue in industrialized countries, has recently been associated to deteriorated bone microarchitecture and increased prevalence of vertebral fractures [8]. Currently approved therapeutic options to treat osteoporosis are several and include the estrogen replacement therapy, the use of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) such as raloxifene, the bisphosphonates (e.g., alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate, and zoledronic acid), calcitonin, recombinant human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH) and its derivatives (e.g., teriparatide), the monoclonal antibody denosumab that binds the receptor activator of nuclear factor κ-B ligand (RANKL), and strontium ranelate (not approved in the United States) [9,10]. However, there are particularly challenging categories of osteoporotic patients that show an inadequate response to therapy and patients with pre-existing conditions, such as renal or gastrointestinal diseases, that may not tolerate the existing therapies [11]. Indeed, most of the drugs currently available present contraindications and even severe side effects. For example, biphosphonates, that represent often the first-choice therapy for osteoporosis, although effective in reducing bone loss and vertebral
Introduction: It is common experience that the chronological and biological ages of the cervical spine don't always match because of several etiopathogenic factors: if it were possible to have an evaluation score of the biological age of the spine, this would be a useful diagnostic and therapeutic tool. To this purpose we have started a study of the sole cervical spine based on MRI. We report our provisional results in this communication. Materials and methods: We've taken into consideration the following evaluation criteria in order to establish the cervical rachis aging:
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